NICK FRIEND: The unique circumstances of this year's tournament should provide a platform for some hugely exciting young players, while there are plenty of experienced heads still worth keeping an eye on...
When you watch Jermaine Blackwood at the crease, it is hard to believe that he is the holder of such a poor T20 record. The all-action, fearless, reckless abandon of his stroke-play would seem ideally suited to the game’s shortest format, complete with his athleticism in the field.
And yet, the opposite has been true through his career – so much so that he only received a deal with Jamaica Tallawahs at the last moment as a Covid-19 replacement following the withdrawals of Andre McCarthy and Jeavor Royal. In 19 T20s, Blackwood has never passed 38, with an average of 12.92 and a strike rate of 80.38. He comes into this year’s edition in some form, however, having impressed during West Indies’ Test series in England.
Still only 22 years of age, Holder – no relation to his national team captain – has only played four T20 matches. But he has excited watchers of Caribbean cricket, earning himself a place in West Indies’ Test squad for their tour of England, even if he never made it into the side itself.
Only Veerasammy Permaul took more wickets than his 36 during this year’s West Indies Championship first-class competition, which was ultimately curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He has spent the last two CPL campaigns with Barbados Tridents, with only intermittent involvement. This year, however, he finds himself representing St Lucia Zouks, with an experienced core of Roston Chase, Mohammad Nabi and Darren Sammy to learn from.
Keon Harding was part of West Indies' reserve squad on their tour of England
As Ian Bishop watched Jayden Seales terrorise batsmen at this year’s Under-19 World Cup, he heaped praise on the 18-year-old seamer. “I think Jayden is ready,” he said. “And why I’m saying that is the pace with which he bowls, the control with which he bowls it. I remember watching Alzarri Joseph in 2016 when West Indies won the Under-19 World Cup. Jayden is slightly ahead at a similar stage of where Alzarri was.”
After the tournament had come to an end – he took 10 wickets in six games, Tom Moody compared the snap of his wrist to that of Pat Cummins. Part of an emerging pool of young players picked out by Cricket West Indies in March, Trinidad and Tobago-born Seales is one to watch.
As a local, he has been able to train while those arriving from elsewhere have had to self-isolate. Among a star-studded line-up including Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo and Sunil Narine, watch out for this teenager – both now and in the future.
It might seem almost churlish to include Dwayne Bravo on a list of players to watch, given that in the history of T20 cricket only Kieron Pollard has played more matches than the 36-year-old allrounder. But it is two years now since Bravo turned out in the Caribbean Premier League, having missed last year’s campaign with a finger injury.
He will want to make up for lost time, having handed over the captaincy on a permanent basis to Pollard, who is also West Indies’ white-ball skipper these days. It will be interesting, too, to see how Bravo – one of the franchise circuit’s most engaging characters – deals with the atmosphere of a behind-closed-doors competition. Playing on home soil, though, will surely benefit the old-stager.
Dwayne Bravo has won this competition as captain before...
Still yet to make his professional T20 debut, the wicketkeeper-batsman made a Test bow of sorts midway through the third match between England and West Indies, replacing Shane Dowrich behind the stumps after the regular gloveman had been hit in the face by a Shannon Gabriel delivery that burst through his gloves.
Da Silva had already announced himself on the trip, making an unbeaten 133 in an intra-squad warmup match at Emirates Old Trafford. The 22-year-old was the fifth-highest run-scorer in this year’s West Indies Championship, racking up 507 runs at 50.7 apiece, dislodging Denesh Ramdin behind the stumps in the process. He finds himself at St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, competing once again with Ramdin.
St Lucia-born Kimani Melius was only born in January 2001, but he could be one to watch over the course of the next month, should he be handed an opportunity by his Zouks franchise.
The 19-year-old captained West Indies at this year’s Under-19 World Cup and was his country’s leading run-scorer, with 191 in six games. An aggressive stroke-player, he hit a 34-ball century in the St Lucia T10 Blast in June.
Joshua da Silva made his first Test appearance as a substitute wicketkeeper following an injury to Shane Dowrich
It is two years now since Andre Fletcher was last seen on the international stage, but the 32-year-old batsman is a veteran of the franchise circuit. In last winter’s Abu Dhabi T10 League, only Chris Lynn, Luke Wright, Rilee Rossouw and Shane Watson outscored him, with his 186 runs coming at a strike rate of 195.78 and his eight innings featuring 19 sixes.
St Lucia Zouks will be hopeful that he can take some of that form – albeit in a kamikaze, ultra-aggressive format – into the Caribbean Premier League. He endured a mediocre 2019 tournament, scoring just 184 runs in 10 games.
Until recently, Keon Harding wasn’t going to take part in this year’s Caribbean Premier League. But with Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Marcus Stoinis all unable to travel, Harding has been signed up by Barbados Tridents as a Covid-19 replacement. Another who impressed in this year’s West Indies Championship, he took 29 wickets in seven games, with a pair of five-wicket hauls.
A place among West Indies’ reserve group for their tour of England followed, during which time Harding was spotted enjoying a long conversation with Stuart Broad about fast bowling. It will be intriguing to see how much of an opportunity Harding finds in a squad full of bowling options. He is, though, one of few specialist seamers in the group, alongside Jason Holder, Raymon Reifer and Nyeem Young.
Top image © ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2018
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