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In an interview with Saj for iSport, the former West Indies captain has spoken about Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and why England should tour the West Indies this winter.
Courtney Walsh has acknowledged that the West Indies missed a golden opportunity to retain the Wisden Trophy after losing consecutive Test matches to give England a 2-1 series win.
“The West Indies boys will be disappointed with the outcome of the Test series, especially after how the first Test match went,” the legendary former West Indies fast bowler told i.
“The lack of consistency in the batting was a huge problem and the batsmen should be looking closely at their own performances. There were no centuries, none of the batsmen dominated and that was a major factor in losing the last two matches.”
Walsh, who captained his country in 22 Tests, was unhappy with Jason Holder’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss in the final two matches, which he believed negated any advantage the tourists had over their opponents.
“I’m not sure what the thought process was after winning the toss,” the 57 year-old said. “I was surprised they chose to bowl first, especially after they included Rahkeem Cornwall for the final Test. With the team they selected, their best chance was to bat first and then test England on a wearing wicket as the game progressed.”
But, despite the disappointing eventual outcome for the West Indies, the efforts of Shannon Gabriel and his fellow pace bowlers were commendable and deserve appreciation, according to Walsh.
“The bowlers held their own and Shannon Gabriel was a big stand-out. He put in a lot of effort to firstly get fit for the series, but I would have rested him after the first Test match and then brought him back for the Third Test when he was fresh again. Kemar Roach and Jason Holder also bowled very well throughout the series, and whilst I was a little disappointed with Alzarri Joseph, he has a lot of potential and I hope he will have learnt from this tour of England.”
The West Indies earned universal praise for touring England at a time when the threat of Covid-19 was at its most dangerous and Holder’s call for England to return the favour has definite support from Walsh.
“I echo what Jason Holder said, in that it would be great to have England returning the favour from the West Indies and touring the Caribbean this winter if their schedule allows it,” Walsh added.
“Financially, West Indies cricket needs it to happen as we need all the help that we can get. But I’m also hoping that the International Cricket Council can structure things in future in such a way where the less well-off Test-playing nations can get more help and assistance from the richer nations and from the ICC itself, which used to happen in the past on away tours when we would tour places such as Australia.”
Walsh says love for Test cricket among Caribbean fans has not waned, despite the steady decline of West Indies in the five-day format, but concrete steps do need to be taken to strengthen the domestic structure to prevent further erosion of the fanbase.
“Test cricket remains very popular in West Indies, but the problem is the team has lacked consistency and the results have reflected this over the years,” Walsh said.
“What cricket in the Caribbean needs is to get first-class cricket back up and running, with each team playing at least 10 matches and only then will we see high-quality players coming through.”
Stuart Broad’s excellent performances at Old Trafford enabled him to join the exclusive 500 Test wickets club alongside Walsh, who says the achievement is one that Broad fully deserves.
“It’s been a tremendous effort from Stuart Broad. It shows what a quality bowler he is and I am really happy for him,” Walsh added.
“It’s his hard work and dedication that has paid off and it’s nice to see another pace bowler join the list of bowlers with 500 Test wickets. Without any disrespect towards spin-bowlers, I think it’s tougher for pace bowlers to reach milestones such as 500 wickets.
“James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been spearheads of the England Test bowling attack for many years, and for both of them to have taken so many wickets shows their work ethic, professionalism and quality.”
Jofra Archer has looked at ease in international cricket from the off and Walsh, who played 132 Tests, believes he has the ability to become a tremendous asset.
“Jofra Archer is a future superstar. I spent some time with him at Sussex, when his coach Jon Lewis asked me to have a chat with him and look at his bowling,” Walsh said.
“I realised straight away what a wonderful prospect he was.
“He’s a good kid, he’s eager to learn and he will get better with time. I’m sure he’ll learn from the recent episode where he was in the news for the wrong reason. His ability and skills are tremendous. He has self-belief and a real desire to work hard and he’s going to be very big in the game of cricket for many years.”
The England attack has been described as the best in the business in home conditions, a sentiment Walsh agrees with wholeheartedly.
“England has built a fearsome pace-bowling unit and the future looks bright,” said Walsh.
“The experience of Anderson and Broad, the potential of Archer, the consistency of Woakes – and don’t forget Wood and Curran.
“There is a lot of quality there and the attack is well-balanced for Test cricket. The younger guys are quickly learning, which shows the importance of having experienced guys around.”
https://inews.co.uk/sport/cricket/c...-jofra-archer-england-west-indies-tour-566435
Courtney Walsh has acknowledged that the West Indies missed a golden opportunity to retain the Wisden Trophy after losing consecutive Test matches to give England a 2-1 series win.
“The West Indies boys will be disappointed with the outcome of the Test series, especially after how the first Test match went,” the legendary former West Indies fast bowler told i.
“The lack of consistency in the batting was a huge problem and the batsmen should be looking closely at their own performances. There were no centuries, none of the batsmen dominated and that was a major factor in losing the last two matches.”
Walsh, who captained his country in 22 Tests, was unhappy with Jason Holder’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss in the final two matches, which he believed negated any advantage the tourists had over their opponents.
“I’m not sure what the thought process was after winning the toss,” the 57 year-old said. “I was surprised they chose to bowl first, especially after they included Rahkeem Cornwall for the final Test. With the team they selected, their best chance was to bat first and then test England on a wearing wicket as the game progressed.”
But, despite the disappointing eventual outcome for the West Indies, the efforts of Shannon Gabriel and his fellow pace bowlers were commendable and deserve appreciation, according to Walsh.
“The bowlers held their own and Shannon Gabriel was a big stand-out. He put in a lot of effort to firstly get fit for the series, but I would have rested him after the first Test match and then brought him back for the Third Test when he was fresh again. Kemar Roach and Jason Holder also bowled very well throughout the series, and whilst I was a little disappointed with Alzarri Joseph, he has a lot of potential and I hope he will have learnt from this tour of England.”
The West Indies earned universal praise for touring England at a time when the threat of Covid-19 was at its most dangerous and Holder’s call for England to return the favour has definite support from Walsh.
“I echo what Jason Holder said, in that it would be great to have England returning the favour from the West Indies and touring the Caribbean this winter if their schedule allows it,” Walsh added.
“Financially, West Indies cricket needs it to happen as we need all the help that we can get. But I’m also hoping that the International Cricket Council can structure things in future in such a way where the less well-off Test-playing nations can get more help and assistance from the richer nations and from the ICC itself, which used to happen in the past on away tours when we would tour places such as Australia.”
Walsh says love for Test cricket among Caribbean fans has not waned, despite the steady decline of West Indies in the five-day format, but concrete steps do need to be taken to strengthen the domestic structure to prevent further erosion of the fanbase.
“Test cricket remains very popular in West Indies, but the problem is the team has lacked consistency and the results have reflected this over the years,” Walsh said.
“What cricket in the Caribbean needs is to get first-class cricket back up and running, with each team playing at least 10 matches and only then will we see high-quality players coming through.”
Stuart Broad’s excellent performances at Old Trafford enabled him to join the exclusive 500 Test wickets club alongside Walsh, who says the achievement is one that Broad fully deserves.
“It’s been a tremendous effort from Stuart Broad. It shows what a quality bowler he is and I am really happy for him,” Walsh added.
“It’s his hard work and dedication that has paid off and it’s nice to see another pace bowler join the list of bowlers with 500 Test wickets. Without any disrespect towards spin-bowlers, I think it’s tougher for pace bowlers to reach milestones such as 500 wickets.
“James Anderson and Stuart Broad have been spearheads of the England Test bowling attack for many years, and for both of them to have taken so many wickets shows their work ethic, professionalism and quality.”
Jofra Archer has looked at ease in international cricket from the off and Walsh, who played 132 Tests, believes he has the ability to become a tremendous asset.
“Jofra Archer is a future superstar. I spent some time with him at Sussex, when his coach Jon Lewis asked me to have a chat with him and look at his bowling,” Walsh said.
“I realised straight away what a wonderful prospect he was.
“He’s a good kid, he’s eager to learn and he will get better with time. I’m sure he’ll learn from the recent episode where he was in the news for the wrong reason. His ability and skills are tremendous. He has self-belief and a real desire to work hard and he’s going to be very big in the game of cricket for many years.”
The England attack has been described as the best in the business in home conditions, a sentiment Walsh agrees with wholeheartedly.
“England has built a fearsome pace-bowling unit and the future looks bright,” said Walsh.
“The experience of Anderson and Broad, the potential of Archer, the consistency of Woakes – and don’t forget Wood and Curran.
“There is a lot of quality there and the attack is well-balanced for Test cricket. The younger guys are quickly learning, which shows the importance of having experienced guys around.”
https://inews.co.uk/sport/cricket/c...-jofra-archer-england-west-indies-tour-566435
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