Filling the Scorpions’ Miller-shaped void
IT IS widely accepted that Nikita Miller’s resignation from the Jamaica One-Day and Four-Day teams has left a space that is virtually impossible to fill.
Where else will we find a bowler who will go on to take over 500 career wickets at 16 apiece? This season will be the first time in a decade and a half that his steady but deadly left-arm spin will not be available to Jamaica for a full regional season. We won’t see the likes of him again in our lifetime.
What may not be readily appreciated as well is the void that Miller has left in the leadership of the team going forward. He has been the captain of both the OneDay and the Four-Day teams, on and off, for the last three years. Even when the selectors made the surprising decision to appoint Paul Palmer Jr captain last year, it was known that Miller was still the brains of the operation and senior pro on the field.
NEW CAPTAIN
His absence now means that the powers that be are searching around for a new captain. Palmer captained the Four-Day team last year, but I doubt the selectors will be going that route again. Palmer has struggled with the bat for the last two seasons, and it is widely believed that the burden of captaincy is not helping his game. He is still one of the most talented batsmen in the country, and if relieved of the captaincy, he may start scoring the runs which his potential warrants. What works against him is that he is not seen as a One-Day player. My sources tell me that the selectors will not want two separate captains, and that, therefore, whomever is chosen is someone who is expected to be available for the full regional season and who can make both teams comfortably.
John Campbell would be a consideration for skipper for the upcoming Cricket West Indies Regional Super 50 tournament, but Campbell will most likely be with the Windies team that will be playing away to Afghanistan at the time the competition is going on. Brandon King and Fabian Allen are names that could be considered, but it is my view that Windies duties against Afghanistan will mean both will not be available for the entire One-Day and FourDay season.
That narrows the field down to Chadwick Walton, Derval Green, Nkrume Bonner, and Jermaine Blackwood. Walton is the most experienced of the lot and may be the front runner in theory, but it is not certain at this point whether he will be available for a full season of regional cricket. The temptations of white-ball cricket elsewhere may still lure him away. Bonner and Blackwood were opposing captains in two practice games earlier this week, which shows clearly that the two are serious captaincy considerations.
Bonner has captained the Leeward Islands franchise team in first-class cricket before, which works in his favour. He has a good cricket head on him and is respected by the players. If he and the team management can find common ground on how to operate, he may well be the man.
DARK HORSE
Blackwood is a dark horse for the job. He is now a seasoned player with genuine ability. The selectors may feel that his ultra aggressive methods may not be ideal, however. They may opt for someone with a calmer, more measured approach, or they may well feel that captaincy may force him to be more responsible and make him deliver on the promise that makes him one of the most talented batsmen in the West Indies. All this may be academic because Blackwood, too, may well be on the plane to play against Afghanistan.
Finally, Derval Green is also a contender. He is a must-pick now in both formats of the game and does have the experience of being a fairly successful captain of Jamaica at the youth level. The decision on the new captain, we are told, has to be made by October 20. I cannot wait to see who the selectors will choose. My mind is not fully made up as to which way I would go. What say you?