By Nikhil Uttamchandani

After two exciting matches in the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series, 22 players will have one final opportunity to display their expertise with selection for the West Indies A: Team tour of Bangladesh and the upcoming International Home Series against India looming in the near future.

The West Indies Academy remained unbeaten against both Team Headley and Team Weekes, with impressive performances in all three facets of the game. The two teams, filled with 22 of the region’s best players, will battle it out from Wednesday at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in the four-day final match of the series.

Team Headley

The Joshua Da Silva-led men came up short against the Academy, with their batting failing to put substantial scores on the board. Even after a resilient century by skipper Da Silva, they only managed 378 runs in both innings. Their top five struggled, only putting up a combined 96 runs across the two innings and never garnered the momentum to compete.

However, credit must be given to the Academy, whose seamers utilized the new ball perfectly, getting lateral and sideways movement off the pitch complementing their disciplined line and lengths. The Headley lost 13 out of 19 wickets to seam, which their upcoming opposition, Team Weekes could use to their advantage if green grass is present on the Coolidge pitch.

One positive that Team Headley will take though was the prowess of their captain, who spent 201 balls at the crease for his 136 and revealed the key to batting on the surface. They will also expect a fully firing seam attack in this match, packed with experience. Their frontline seamers Marquino Mindley and Anderson Philip, with West Indies Test experience in the last year, are recovering from injury. They will be expected to take on a more significant workload after only bowling 25 overs in Match 1. Akeem Jordan, the third leading wicket-taker in the West Indies Championship, looked menacing swinging the ball both ways and will be hungry for a triumphant return in this match with an India Test series ahead.

Justin Greaves and Chaim Holder were the two picks of the bowlers in the first and second innings, respectively, with Greaves exhibiting many weapons in his arsenal with his variation and ability to swing the ball. Holder only bowled 14 overs in the match, but in the second innings, he skilfully capitalized on the variable bounce of the surface to scalp three wickets in just eight overs. As Team Headley’s leading spinner, expect Holder to have a big part to play in the upcoming fixture.

Team Weekes

Unlike Team Headley, Team Weekes drew their encounter against the Academy, compliments of their batting line-up maximizing good batting conditions to post a mammoth 401 in the first innings. After an impressive maiden first-class season, Zachary McCaskie continued where he left off with a stroke-filled 93. With Brandon King, who got 92, the pair put on 136 runs together to build a platform for Team Weekes, with Jahmar Hamilton and Kevin Sinclair both getting to half-centuries to ensure a loss would be unlikely. The four-half centuries meant that the side spent almost a day-and-a-half at the crease making the Academy bowlers toil hard in the Antiguan heat.

On a pretty placid surface, Team Weekes’ bowlers were made to work hard for wickets, especially after 22-year-old opener Kirk McKenzie’s double hundred. Still, Jair McAllister stood out with his bursts of extreme pace challenging the opposition batters. His figures of 4-84 were an excellent reflection of the control he possessed, especially early in his spell, one of the areas of his game he has been working tirelessly to improve. If he can find increased control in this match-up at that pace, he could be a severe handful for the batters of Team Headley to contend with.

Moreover, another stand-out was the all-round performance of Kevin Sinclair. The tall allrounder was the only player in the Top 10 of the batting and bowling charts of the West Indies first-class Championship and continues to enhance his all-around ability. He scored 64 of his 86 runs came in boundaries, with the Guyanese counter-attacking prolifically to help Team Weekes go past the 400-run mark. His all-around presence will be needed for his side to compete in the upcoming fixture.

It is also important to note that Raymon Reifer and Devon Thomas are with the team but did not play in the first encounter. They could feature in the next game, bolstering an already experienced batting line-up featuring Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Keacy Carty, and skipper Alick Athanaze who is yet to come to the party in the series. Reifer and Thomas have recently played Test cricket and would provide additional options with both bat and ball for Team Weekes.

Conclusion

All in all, the upcoming encounter should be an intense one with a lot at stake. The 22 players involved will all want to make an individual impact ahead of a momentous year in West Indies cricket. At Coolidge, batting-friendly conditions are expected initially. However, we have grown to expect a green grass covering, which aids the seamers by providing some sideways movement. As the pitch tires, spinners tend to get purchase off the surface and can use the variable bounce on offer to their advantage. The surface provides a bit for everyone, which should make the final match of the Headley-Weekes series an entertaining one.

Nikhil Uttamchandani - Freelance Sports Journalist

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Cricket West Indies.