Ahead of the Test series between West Indies and England, The Cricketer considers who would make a combined XI between the two sides
A solid opening batter, a handy part-time off-spinner and experience in bucket loads.
Since the start of 2018, no one has scored more red-ball runs for West Indies than Brathwaite, who has scored 1,482 runs at 36.94, including three centuries and seven half-centuries, in 30 matches.
With the ball, he has 24 wickets to his name across his Test career and is fairly miserly, conceding 3.2 runs per over.
Crawley has endured a torrid time on the international stage of late, scoring just 173 runs in eight innings in 2021, but he showed flashes of his best in the fourth Ashes Test, posting 77 (100) in the second innings, and produced two decent knocks in England’s warm-up match.
He’s quietly composed at the crease and enjoyable to watch but has a tendency to undo his hard work in the blink of an eye with a rash stroke.
His case is boosted by his strong fielding, both in the slips and in the deep.
The England captain was, unsurprisingly, an automatic pick for this XI.
Aside from his stellar 2021, which saw him score 1,708 runs at 61 in 15 matches, Root has enjoyed himself against West Indies in the past, averaging 53.50 in the Caribbean.
Like Brathwaite, Root is also a useful spin option, picking up 44 wickets in 114 appearances.
Zak Crawley [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
2021 was a difficult year for Ben Stokes, both on and off the field, but fully fit, he would walk into almost any combined XI.
A pace-bowling allrounder, only Root and Virat Kohli have scored more Test runs than Stokes since the start of 2018 while his career average in the Caribbean is a not too shabby 36.20. Over the same period, he has collected 72 wickets at 30.23 with the ball.
A triple-threat, Stokes is also an athletic fielder.
Jonny Bairstow and Kyle Mayers were both in contention for this position, with the latter scoring 636 runs and taking 13 wickets in his first 10 Test appearances. However, it’s Jermaine Blackwood who edges it.
Blackwood, who has scored 2,277 runs (two centuries, 15 fifties) in 43 Tests, averages 32.4 in the Caribbean and has a healthy average of 47.26 against England. He has passed 40 on eight occasions in 18 innings against England, including his Test high-score of 112 not out in North South in 2015.
He can be used higher up the order while he also bowls off-spin, albeit infrequently.
Ben Foakes gets the nod over fellow wicketkeeper Joshua de Silva based on experience.
The 29-year-old has only played eight Test matches and didn’t have an enjoyable time on his first tour of West Indies in 2019, scoring 55 runs in two matches, but his first-class statistics are solid: 6,282 runs at 38.53, including 11 centuries and 34 half-centuries. He isn’t a flashy wicketkeeper-batter a la Rishabh Pant, instead favouring calm and composure.
Technically astute with the gloves, he has 255 catches and 29 stumpings across his red-ball career.
Ben Foakes [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]
Ranked no.1 in the ICC’s Test allrounder rankings, Holder was an easy pick for this XI.
Since the start of 2021, only Kemar Roach (27) has taken more Test wickets for West Indies than Holder’s 22 at 22.86 in eight innings. Though in a different format, he tormented England during their recent T20I series and will be someone to fear for England’s batters.
With the bat, he’s one of only two West Indians to score more than 1,000 runs since the start of 2018, scoring 1,259 at 33.13, and has three centuries and 11 fifties to his name across his Test carer. Very dangerous in the middle order.
When fully fit, Ollie Robinson is a nuisance.
Since making his international debut last June, he has raced to 39 wickets at 21.28 in nine appearances and was a real handful in the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart, oozing consistency with his line and length and creating problems with his height.
It’s just a shame his back issues have already ruled him out of the first Test.
Permaul is something of an unknown, having only played seven Tests since his debut in 2012. However, the left-arm orthodox spinner impressed against Sri Lanka at the back-end of last year, picking up his first international five-for and match figures of 8 for 141.
Over the course of his first-class career, he has picked up 552 wickets at 20.73 in 124 matches and recorded an economy of 2.42. His knowledge of Caribbean conditions could prove crucial.
Kemar Roach [Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images]
Wood was England's best bowler in Australia this winter, picking up 17 wickets at 26.64, and is a hostile enforcer with the ball.
He’s only made one Test appearance in the Caribbean but collected six wickets and best innings figures of 5 for 41. He also made an impression in England’s warm-up match, finding sharp pace in an unhelpful pitch, to suggest bowling in the Caribbean might be right up his street.
West Indies’ veteran pacer, Roach has 231 wickets at 27.22 in 68 Test appearances, 159 of which have come at 21.84 in the Caribbean.
He can swing the ball both ways and beat batters with pace, and was West Indies’ leading wicket-taker in 2021, collecting 27 wickets at 23.88.
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