When the West Indies first revealed their original 15-player squad to contest the T20 World Cup in Australia, the major talking points surrounded the inclusion of one Yannic Cariah and the non-inclusion of any recognized off-spinner.
Cariah’s inclusion was especially a mystery as the 30-year-old had not featured in the format since 2016–a domestic career made up of 5 overs; had not played a single T20I, and had only just made his International debut (in ODIs) three months prior.
Therefore, not only does the selected spin department comprising of one leg-spinner and one left-arm orthodox bowler lack variety; we may also presume a deficiency in quality, only being certain of the class of Akeal Hosein.
And if Hosein is anything less than effective, what then?
And even then, the West Indies might find themselves in warm, if not boiling hot water; their biggest weapon with the ball for the last 15 months, the left-handed Hosein, has the odds stacked against him simply by being a finger-spinner seeking success on Australian decks. This as, of pace, wrist-spin, and finger spin, the latter sees the biggest drop-off in effectiveness in the Land Down Under. (CricViz)
Hosein T20I Career
| MAT | Overs | OPM | WKTS | WPM | SR | ECON |
| 26 | 93 | 3.5 | 23 | 0.9 | 24.3 | 6.94 |
This then heightens the significance of a team’s wrist-spinner and their pace attack. However, strictly from the viewpoint of opening bowlers, the responsibility passes to Alzarri Joseph and co.
Joseph
Untouchable. That was Obed McCoy’s place in the West Indies team at the beginning of 2021. And Romario Shepherd (not a part of this squad) was certainly viewed in the mix for a place among West Indies’ five best seamers in the format.
However, with a Novlene Williams-Mills-like anchor leg, enhanced by pace and control in 2022, Joseph has dipped even Holder, Cottrell, and the likes at the line to now be considered WINDIES’ first-choice seamer.
Joseph in CPL 2022
| MAT | Overs | OPM | WKTS | WPM | SR | ECON |
| 10 | 40 | 4 | 18 | 1.8 | 13.3 | 6.75 |
And it is precisely his pace and control that suggests the West Indies’ bowling combination on any given day, and subsequent success, will, in large part be determined by how well the Antiguan performs in the tournament.
As a defensive option in the final two overs of the powerplay when batters are settled and teams are looking to attack, as an enforcer in the middle overs, to break a crucial partnership in the same period or to expertly protect and increase the required run-rate at the death; Alzarri Joseph did it all this past season of the Caribbean Premier League. Therefore his role in the tournament can be either.
However, with a head-scratching query of who should partner or even replace Hosein with the new ball, given the pacer-friendly wickets in Australia, it might be worth it to consider the 25-year-old Joseph for another role: that of opening bowler.
Joseph’s overs are like gold dust at the moment, therefore the West Indies might be reluctant to utilize half of his quota in the powerplay. As this would restrain their use of him for the rest of the innings. If, for example, Joseph is then handed the ball again before the 18th over, the West Indies will only get one death over out of their best death bowler at the moment.
Joseph in Overs 17-20 (CPL 2022)
| MAT | Overs | OPM | WKTS | WPM | SR | ECON |
| 9 | 10.1 | 1.1 | 6 | 0.6 | 10.2 | 6.98 |
Cottrell and/ Mayers
Within this West Indies squad, the other obvious options are Sheldon Cottrell and Kyle Mayers. Designating Cottrell new ball bowler would at least spare Joseph one over in the middle-over phase of the game with still two remaining at the death.
Cottrell in Overs 1-4 in T20s Career
| MAT | Overs | OPM | WKTS | WPM | SR | ECON |
| 81 | 143.4 | 1.8 | 45 | 0.5 | 19.2 | 6.95 |
The disadvantage with both Cottrell and Mayers, however, is that both will be dependent on swing on surfaces that are expected to provide pace and bounce more so than movement through the air.
Holder
Looking beyond Obed McCoy, whose troubled run-up and rhythm might make him an expensive experiment in the powerplay without boundary riders, the West Indies also has the ever-present Jason Holder. But new ball duties are something the Barbadian does less often these days. Instead, he too, like Joseph is more often utilized in overs 5-6 as a counter to batters looking to accelerate through the end of the PowerPlay.
Holder in T20s in Overs 5 & 6 (2020-2022)
| MAT | Overs | OPM | WKTS | WPM | SR | ECON |
| 26 | 26 | 1 | 8 | 0.3 | 19.5 | 7.54 |
However, with Holder’s height expected to extract bounce, and the use of his natural outswingers (to right-handers) if there is indeed swing to be utilized, he might also be an option, if not a better option for the West Indies to hand the new-ball to.
OPM – Overs Per Match
WPM– Wickets Per Match
SR – Bowling Strike Rate
Statistics by Cricmetric
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