Making the case for the West Indies to re-surrender the reins to Evin Lewis

Evin Lewis last played for the West Indies in November of 2021; due in part to positive COVID results, and what Cricket West Indies (CWI) described as personal reasons. He was then not considered for the Caribbean side’s trips to the Netherlands and Pakistan earlier this year. Unfit, CWI reasoned at the time, with Lead Selector, Desmond Haynes stating, “As a professional cricketer, there’s a level of fitness that is required, and all players should try to reach that.” [Jamaica Gleaner]

On the floor of these culminating bases, Lewis missed 26 T20 Internationals (T20Is) across seven series in the eleven months that followed. Though seemingly fit again and a part of the West Indies squad to contend for the title of 2022 T20 World Champions in Australia, the emergence of Kyle Mayers the T20 batter, along with the form of Brandon King hold firm a probability which was unimaginable a year ago: Lewis might not make the final XI. 

Lewis’ History of Consistency 

And here’s why it was unimaginable. Whether via a quick peek or through a detailed examination, Lewis’ T20I career tells a story of consistency. Yet, at the age of 30, his status on the International scene continues to be understated, regionally. I have gone from once speculating the rationale behind the subconscious abandon with which Caribbean fans dismiss Lewis’ body of work; to now observing the appreciation for the left-handed opener from the thinkers of the game, the detailed-oriented analysts, and the tactical geniuses.

Evin Lewis T20I Career

MAT	RUNS	Balls Faced PM	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
50	1423	18.6	30.93	155.51	4.2

Lewis’ career strike rate (SR) of 155.51 is the highest among opening batters from Full Member nations in T20Is who have played a minimum of 25 games. And his 30.93 average (AVG) rounds out the top ten highest averages for openers who have played at least the same number of games he’s featured in. 

Lewis in Elite Company

Lewis had two T20I tons under his belt by 2017, the same number as Chris Gayle. Both were scored against India. The first (100 from 49) was forged in the scorching 220 SR he rocketed on after facing up to15 deliveries from India’s pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah on the day.

Already then with a dangerous record of aggression that prompts respect, if not skepticism from opposition bowlers, at the ripe age of 28 and perhaps in his prime, the Trinidadian shifted gears in 2020, scoring noticeably faster than he did throughout an underwhelming 2019. 

His SR through 2020 and 2021 (159.02) meant he was the fastest-scoring opener of those who’d played a minimum of 20 games through the period. Lewis was scoring faster than India’s Rohit Sharma and England’s Jos Buttler.

Evin Lewis Strike Rate (2019-2021)

Year	Strike Rate
2019	126.5
2020	177.2
2021	155.7

Comparing Lewis as a Pace-Hitter

On the basis of form, one could make the argument that the likes of King and Mayers are the first-choice options to form West Indies’ opening pair at the World Cup. And with Johnson Charles scoring 345 runs at 43.12 (AVG) and 133.20 (SR) ahead of Lewis’ 133 runs at 19.00 (AVG) & 133 (SR) in last month’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022, the St. Lucian could have easily snuck past Lewis in the pecking order. 

However, neither argument concedes the fact that of these four, Lewis is immobile as WINDIES’ most prolific scorer of, and most aggressive hitter against pace. *Whispers, The World Cup is being held in Australia* 

Evin Lewis vs Pace in T20Is (2020/21)

Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Ball Faced PM	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
Pace	213	10.7	364	36.40	170.89	3.38

Kyle Mayers vs Pace in T20Is

Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Ball Faced PM	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
Pace	184	10.8	270	33.75	146.73	3.9

Brandon King vs Pace in T20Is

Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Ball Faced PM	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
Pace	301	11.6	401	22.27	133.22	4.6

Johnson Charles vs Pace CPL 2022

Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Ball Faced PM	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
Pace	125	13.9	192	38.40	153.60	4.2

Striking at 170.89 against pace since 2020 and with a T20I career SR of 173.31 against the bowling type, Lewis is the clear front-runner as the fastest-scoring opening option in the squad. And his 36.40 average is not far off the 38.40 which got Charles a recall to the International stage after an impressive CPL 2022 campaign. The same can be said of how Lewis’ most recently accumulated 364 runs match up against King’s 401 in the period, but in 88 fewer deliveries.

Outside of Charles’ solitary innings in 2013, neither of these batters had played a T20I in Australia prior to West Indies’ 2-0 loss to the Aussies last week. However, Mayers, King and Charles had two opportunities to impress against quality pace in the series. Their responses were tame for the most part, putting up batting averages and strike rates of 8 & 114.3, 6 & 66.7 and 38 &165.2 against high pace, respectively.

Fast/False Start

Here’s another instance in which Lewis holds the upper hand. Strictly from a team perspective, Lewis’ exploits against quicks could remedy WINDIES’ sluggish starts. The Caribbean side’s run-rate of 6.96 in the first four overs of an innings is among the slowest for teams in 2022; an adverse reaction to their openers being notoriously slow starters, with King and Mayers going at 121.6 and 126.1 in that phase, respectively.

Admittedly, Charles, King and Lewis will all finish the powerplay blazing, but the advantage once again stands with the latter if the West Indies are on the lookout for a treatment that would solve their slow starts. And this is not just in theory, as Lewis’ presence at the top of the innings told a contrasting tale in run-rate terms. When he held the reins in 2020 and 2021, 8.03 was the highest run-rate among Full Member nations in overs one to four, and that rate belonged to the West Indies.

Player	Balls Faced PM	Strike Rate (Ovs. 1-4)	Balls Faced PM	Strike Rate (Ovs. 5&6)
Evin Lewis	8.9	138.00	6.3	192.4
Kyle Mayers	9.2	126.1	6	157.4
Brandon King	9.1	121.6	5.8	172.0
Johnson Charles	11.4	114.0	15.25	196.8

Comparing Lewis as a Pace-Hitter+

In addition to being a pace-hitter, Lewis also happens to cover the other general bowling types quite effectively. Looking back at his second T20I century (125* from 62), which Lewis sculpted at Sabina Park a year after his first; it was a century more spectacular that the first, and where he took down Ravichandran Ashwin in a chase of 194. A chase he turned into a one-man show.

Ashwin being an off-spinner should have signalled a ‘bad’ match-up for Lewis. However, this mini face-off where Lewis stole three sixes and a four on his way to 28 runs from13 Ashwin deliveries sum up the West Indians’ quality; where he is also able to sustain reasonably striking even against what should be an unfavourable match-up. As for the others who are set to get the nod ahead of him later this month, how would they counter unfavourable match-ups? Continuing the pattern so far, only Charles’ record could compare to Lewis’.

Evin LewisT20I record against bowling splits

Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Ball Faced PM	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate	Boundaries PBF
OS	196	7	256	51.20	130.61	5.4
SLA	116	5.8	170	28.3	146.6	5.3
WS	102	6	145	20.71	142.15	5.1

King, Mayers, Charles vs Unfavourable Match-ups

Player	Bowling Type	Balls Faced	Runs	AVG	Strike Rate
King	SLA	52	54	54.00	103.8
Mayers	OS	58	65	35.5	112.1
Charles	SLA	30	43	43	143.3

Whether you’re comparing him to the top openers in world cricket or simply his teammates, Evin Lewis is a gem. Yet, incredibly there lingers uncertainty around his place in the final XI; when a year ago, the only concern relating to the West Indies opening partnership was who would open with Lewis at the World Cup.

Ball Faced PM – Balls Faced Per Match     

Boundaries Scored PBF – Boundaries Per Ball Faced

OS – Off-Spin

SLA – Left-Arm Orthodox

WS – Wrist-Spin

Unless otherwise stated, the statistics used for Johnson Charles are from CPL22—the basis on which he got a recall.

Statistics by Cricinfo and Cricmetric.