Jamaica and West Indies batter Jermaine Blackwood
SQUAD GOALS
Sammy paying attention to Jamaican players while fine-tuning Windies team for future Tests
OVER the years Jamaican players have struggled to break through in the West Indies Test team, mainly due to their performance. However, that could change in the future as new Head Coach Daren Sammy says he’s provided a framework to franchises like the Jamaica Scorpions, to better understand his expectations.
Replacing Jamaica’s Andre Coley, former Windies Captain Sammy, who has coached the One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International teams since May 2023, will assume his role as the red-ball coach next month, with his first Test series set for July during Australia’s tour of the Caribbean.
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Jamaican players will be looking to make a return to the Test set-up in Sammy’s first squad as none were included in the squad for the last three series against South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan, between last August and January of this year.
Kirk McKenzie, who made his debut in July 2023 against India, was dropped in August following the Windies’ tour of England where they were swept 3-0. Despite scoring a total of 170 runs in his first six innings, including a half-century against Australia in January 2024, the 24-year-old batsman could only muster 33 runs in six innings against England last summer.
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McKenzie is just one of four Jamaicans to make the Test team in the last seven years. Jermaine Blackwood, with 56 caps, last played in 2023; and Nkrumah Bonner, with 15 caps, was dropped in 2022; while John Campbell with 22 caps hasn’t played since 2022, largely due to his anti-doping ban.
When asked by the Jamaica Observer if any Jamaican player would be selected for his upcoming squad, Sammy hinted that Campbell could be amongst the front-runners due to his early performances in the four-day West Indies Championship.
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“I’ve seen the first half of the tournament,” Sammy said. “I watched John Campbell, out of Jamaica, look really well, look really good [on] opening. From my head, he’s scored about 300 runs at an average of 70 or so — and he’s one, before the ban, that was really looking to take his game to another level.”
However, while making clear that only the best players will be selected, regardless of nationality, Sammy wants players from the Scorpions and other franchises to display their abilities in the four-day tournament and prove they can adapt to his intended playing style for the Test team.
“We will have clear roles and be able to share our vision in how we want to play Test cricket and filter it down to the regional franchises as to what we expect from openers, what we’re looking for from middle order batsmen, and what we want from the bowlers. It’s [working] with the idea of building a champion 11 — based on roles that is required,” he said.
“We’ve collected the data from the top four teams, both regional and international, so every franchise now understands and has the conversations with the different players to say, ‘If you’re aspiring to play for the West Indies and you’re an opener, this is what they’re looking for.’ If Kraigg Brathwaite is out of the team — through injury or whatever — the next person in line already has an idea of what is required because they’ve been fulfilling it in the four-day competition.”
The next Windies Test squad will likely be revealed at the end of May or early June, ahead of their three-match series against the Aussies starting on June 25. The third Test, from July 12 to 16, will be played at Sabina Park in Kingston.
West Indies all-format Head Coach Daren Sammy.
Jamaica and West Indies opener John Campbell (Photo: CWI Media)
Jamaica Scorpions batter Kirk McKenzie on his way to 90 off 92 balls against West Indies Academy during their Regional Super50 match at Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Saturday. (Photo: CWI Media)
