West Indies: Worst batting side of 2020s?
An interesting statistic has emerged regarding the West Indies' batting performance during the previous ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, 2023-25, which undoubtedly places them among the worst batting sides in the world currently.
According to ESPNCricinfo, WI had the lowest collective batting average (20.96) and the lowest run rate (3.13) during the last WTC 2023-25 cycle. During the previous cycle, their top run-getters were Alick Athanaze (627 runs in 13 Tests and 25 innings at an average of 25.08, with four fifties and a best score of 92), skipper Kraigg Braithwaite (586 runs in 13 Tests and 26 innings at an average of 22.52, with three fifties and best score of 92) and Kavem Hodge (556 runs in 11 Tests and 22 innings at an average of 25.27, with a century and three fifties). Nobody in the lineup averaged 40 or more during the cycle, and only these aforementioned batters crossed the 500-run mark.
The team finished in eighth place with three wins, eight losses and two draws.
Even during the 2021-23 cycle, WI was second-worst in terms of average (24.28) and slowest in terms of their run-rate (2.66).
Braithwaite was the top run-getter, with 994 runs in 13 Tests and 26 innings at an average of 43.21, with two centuries and seven fifties and a best score of 160.
Jermaine Blackwood also averaged 31.39 in 13 Tests, scoring 722 runs in 24 innings with a century and three fifties and a best score of 102. Joshua de Silva was the third-highest run-getter, with 484 runs in 13 Tests and 22 innings at an average of 26.88, with a century and fifty and best score of 100*. Only two batters crossed the 500-run mark.
The result, another eighth-place finish with four wins, seven losses and two draws.
After a loss to Australia in the first Test, which saw them knocked down for 141 in pursuit of 301 runs and score 190 in their first innings, with Shai Hope's 48 being the highest score, skipper Roston Chase admitted that batting was indeed an issue, saying as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "We are not the best batting side. We just need to find ways of getting at least 250 runs or 300 runs with the bowling line-up that we have. I think once we can do that regularly, we will become a competitive side. It is just for us to sit and talk and come up with ideas and ways that we can get that 250."
Earlier, before the first Test, coach Daren Sammy had warned against the glorification of an average of 25 in Tests and expressed his frustrations with the poor first-class cricket system. This came as a response justifying the omissions of Kavem and Alick from the Test side for Australia.
"I had the analysts dive into the top three teams in the world and the different batting positions, what the best of the top three are doing in those different positions, the roles they are playing and then we compared them to ours and what we are doing," Sammy was quoted as saying by The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, as quoted by Wisden.
"During that last Test World Championship [cycle], Kavem, I think, scored 500 runs at an average of 25. As Dominicans, we want our players to perform well, but we must not get emotional," he added.
He also said that while neither player has been discarded altogether and doors are still open, he warned against glorifying averages of 25, saying that it would not bring the team success.
"If you notice, these guys just played in the 'A' team series, so they have not been discarded, just that at this moment, the direction that the team is going, the roles that we see from the data collected that is required to play, they just do not fit that role at that moment. However, it is not the end of the road for them," Sammy said."I think we are doing Hodge and Alick a disservice by glorifying an average of 25 in Test cricket, thinking that myself Miles [Bascombe, West Indies' director of cricket] and Jamal [Smith, senior talent manager] have some personal vendetta against any player."
"We are trying to create an environment that breeds success, breeds excellence and we need to keep on challenging, and it shows where our cricket is right now, when players averaging below 35 seem undroppable in our system and that shows how poor our system is, for us to be really talking about a 25 average, that will not bring us success," he concluded.
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