‘Give 100 per cent!’
Windies Coach Estwick urges ‘young’ players to seize opportunities in New Zealand
ASSISTANT Coach Roddy Estwick is urging players to solidify their place in the West Indies set-up by seizing any opportunity given to them on the New Zealand tour.
The Caribbean men are slated to face the Black Caps in three Twenty20 (T20) and two Test matches.
The T20 series is scheduled to begin on November 27 (Caribbean time) in Auckland, before the second and third matches, which are both set for Mount Maunganui, on November 28 and 30.
The Tests are set to start December 2 and 10 in Hamilton and Wellington, respectively.
For the T20s, the seasoned campaigner Dwayne Bravo was forced out due to injury, opening the door for pace bowler Romario Shepherd to step in as replacement.
“You’re going to miss somebody of Dwayne’s experience,” Estwick said during a recent virtual media conference in New Zealand.
“But the key thing for me is for people who are given the opportunity like Romario Shepherd — it’s time for them to stake a claim before the next T20 World Cup [in India in 2021].
“If Dwayne is not here it gives people like Kesrick Williams and those people a chance to stake a claim and give the selectors a little headache,” the Barbados former fast bowler told journalists.
The 25-year-old Shepherd, who hails from Guyana, only made his T20 International debut this year. Vincentian Williams, 30, a popular figure in the franchise-based Caribbean Premier League, has played the shortest format 25 times for West Indies.
Switching focus to the Test squad, Estwick named opening batsman John Campbell and bowling all-rounder Keemo
Paul as players who could be impactful for the regional side.
The Jamaican left-hander Campbell, 27, played the first of his nine Tests last year against England in the Caribbean. He enters the New Zealand tour under considerable amount of scrutiny after scraping only 84 runs in six innings as West Indies lost 1-2 to hosts England in the summer.
Estwick, one of the assistants to Head Coach Phil Simmons, is backing Campbell to address the technical kinks which were exposed in England.
“John would know that this is Test cricket and you’ve got to be a tight as possible… and you’ve got to be disciplined when you’re facing that new ball. But you don’t want to lose your strengths — if a bad ball comes you’ve got to put it away but you cent keep getting out got 20s and 30s. John will be the first to admit that he’s got starts in international cricket and hasn’t
kicked on,” he said.
“You don’t play two Under-19 World Cups for the West Indies and not be a talented batsman. He started well against England in the series in the Caribbean, but he hasn’t kicked on and John would know that,” he reiterated.
Paul, the 22-year-old Guyanese, was a key member of the triumphant West Indies Under-19 World Cup squad from 2016. Paul, who played the most recent of his three Tests last year, declined the tour to England due to health concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus. He is a regular on the global T20 franchise circuit.
“It’s good to have him back and see where he is at. We know the talent that Keemo Paul has got, there’s no doubt about that — a wonderful, talented cricketer. It’s just how quickly he adjusts to playing red-ball cricket.
“He reminds me of the late Keith Boyce from Barbados who represented the West Indies. He is a very athletic fielder, a good mover, [and a] nice timer of the ball. The last time he played a full first class season he got 40-odd wickets,” Estwick told reporters.
The Caribbean side has not won a Test series in New Zealand since 1995. When West Indies last went there three years ago they were heavily beaten in both Tests.
On that 2017 tour, the Black Caps won the three-match T20 series 2-0 after the second encounter was rained out. The hosts swept the One-day International series 3-0.
While seeking to rally the troops, Estwick noted his players will be pushed to handle the New Zealand threat, especially from their experienced and skilful pace bowlers.
“You’re representing the West Indies…it doesn’t matter what format, you should always give 100 per cent. It should be an honour and privilege to represent the West Indies. It’s very important that every time you go on the park you give 100 percent. You leave no stone unturned to make sure your preparation is spot on and that you’re up for the challenge.
“You look at the New Zealand attack, and it’s a very good attack and you’ve got to work out a game plan and then you execute. You can’t expect everybody t0 play the same way… and they’ve got to trust the process and trust their skills,” he said.
Squads: Test — Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane
Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.
Test reserves — Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Dasilva, Preston Mcsween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales.
T20 — Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh, Kesrick Williams, Romario Shepherd.