THROUGH Opposition teams in their last four Test matches, the results of the West Indies are arguably statistically encouraging.
Under the captaincy of batsman opener Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indies beat Bangladesh 2-0 away in February and battled 0-0 against Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Caribbean series, or to be more precision, in Antigua on flat fields in the Vivian Richards Stadium Sir.
This is the first time since 2012-13 that the West Indies have played three or more Tests in a row without defeating. As my old school cricket teammate Trevor Eastmond, who later became a well-known comedian, would say, “clap for that”.
But this is not a joke. The statistics tell us that the West Indies have been battling for a long time to dominate teams.
Coincidentally, it was against Bangladesh in November 2012 when they won 2-0 and then enjoyed a similar win over Zimbabwe (for the Clive Lloyd Trophy) in March 2013 in the Caribbean – Daren Sammy captained both series – and last West Indies. play three or more Tests in a row without losing.
Since beating Zimbabwe eight years ago, the West Indies have played 26 series, winning just six, while losing 17 with three drawn.
Of the 64 games in the period under review, West Indies has won 17, lost 37 and drawn ten.
The winning series was against Bangladesh (three times; all 2-0) – 2014, 2018 and 2021; Zimbabwe (1-0), 2017; England (2-1), 2019 and Afghanistan (1-0), 2019. (See list at bottom).
Of the top ten teams in the ICC Test rankings, India leads the way followed by New Zealand, Australia, England, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Now, people like head selector Roger Harper and head coach Philip Simmons have spoken about the spirit and determination shown by the West Indies team over the past two series.
Nobody can blame them for feeling enthusiastic but they know that much harder exams are expected this year at home against South Africa and Pakistan.
In the absence of some of the leading players for the trip to Bangladesh as they cite concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, a few crews performed impressively, including batter Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers, wicket keeper / batsman Joshua Da Silva -spinning Rahkeem Cornwall in general.
“I think the dressing room is exciting. There’s energy around the dressing room, ”said Simmons.
“I think winning the two Test matches in Bangladesh brings that kind of energy, and there are a lot of young players who are just coming into the team that bring that kind of energy also, be it batting, keeping, bowling.
“Whichever it is, they bring that energy and it’s a nice feeling in the dressing room in a nice way. Players care for each other and want each other to succeed.
“So the energy in the dressing room is great but it can always get better. We are continuing to work on improving it and ensuring it continues to improve. ”
Against Sri Lanka, Brathwaite batted in a typical obdurate style, accumulating the most runs for his team (237) including one century averaging 59.25.
His 126 in the first inning of the second match was his first in 38 Test innings and ninth. He batted for 514 minutes and with a beat of 85 in the second inning lasting 299 minutes, now holds the minute record (813) for the longest time in the crease in a West Indies game.
Five West Indies batters averaged over 50.00. Aside from Brathwaite, Bonner scored 144 runs (ave: 72.00); former captain Jason Holder 138 (ave: 69.00); Cornwall 134 (ave: 67.00) and Mayers 201 (ave: 50.25).
Next in the averages was Da Silva (33.50), having scored 67 runs.
Opener John Campbell and lieutenant Jermaine Blackwood had two disappointments. Campbell scored 68 runs (ave: 17.00) and Blackwood 42 (ave: 10.50).
Veteran fast bowler Kemar Roach was the West Indies premier wicket-keeper with nine (ave: 23.55), while Holder picked up seven (ave: 18.57).
Mayers at medium speed grabbed four wickets for 11.25 runs each to lead the averages. Pacer Alzarri Joseph got four (ave: 53.00) and Cornwall off the spinner, also four (ave: 60.00).
Experienced fast bowler Shannon Gabriel struggled and managed just one wicket for 146 runs.
Below are the results of the Test series played by West Indies since 2013-14: + denotes win, * lost, # draw.
* 2013-14 v India in India (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2013-14 v New Zealand v New Zealand (win 0, lose 2, draw 1).
* 2014 v New Zealand in West Indies (win 1, lose 2, draw 0). (Taken from Barbados Today)
+2014 v Bangladesh in West Indies (win 2, lose 0, draw 0).
* 2014-15 v South Africa in South Africa (win 0, lose 2, draw 1).
# 2015 v England in West Indies (win 1, lose 1, draw 1).
* 2015 v Australia in West Indies (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2015-16 v Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2015-16 v Australia in Australia (win 0, lose 2, draw 1).
* 2016 v India in West Indies (win 0, lose 2, draw 2).
* 2016 v Pakistan in UAE (win 1, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2017 v Pakistan in West Indies (win 1, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2017 v England in England (win 1, lose 2, draw 0).
+2017 v Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe (win 1, lose 0, draw 1).
* 2017-18 v New Zealand v New Zealand (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
# 2018 v Sri Lanka in West Indies (win 1, lose 1, draw 1).
+2018 v Bangladesh in West Indies (win 2, lose 0, draw 0).
* 2018-19 v India in India (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2018-19 v Bangladesh in Bangladesh (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
+2019 v England in West Indies (win 2, lose 1, draw 0).
* 2019 v India in West Indies (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
+ 2019-20 v Afghanistan in India (win 1, lose 0, draw 0).
* 2020 v England in England (win 1, lose 2, draw 0).
* 2020-21 v New Zealand v New Zealand (win 0, lose 2, draw 0).
+2021 v Bangladesh in Bangladesh (win 2, lose 0, draw 0).
# 2021 v Sri Lanka in West Indies (win 0, lose 0, draw 2).