West Indies Cricket Fans Forum
Murray: WI need to strengthen squad
Former West Indies wicket-keeper and vice-captain, Deryck Murray, is contented with the 1-0 series win by the regional team in their two-Test series away to Zimbabwe.
But the ex-Trinidad and Tobago player and TT Cricket Board (TTCB) president insisted that the Jason Holder-led squad will need to be bolstered with a series against New Zealand on the horizon. He believes batsman Darren Bravo and bowler Sunil Narine need to be part of the Test team moving forward.
With Kyle Hope and Jermaine Blackwood having inconsistent returns, both in England and Zimbabwe, Murray hopes that selectors reach out to Bravo who is currently engaged in the Bangladesh Premier League.
“They need to ensure that our top players are playing in our domestic competition, as well as available for our Test team,” said Murray. “There are accommodations made by almost every other international team around the ICC tournaments, and it’s beyond me why the West Indies cannot have those accommodations and have all the best players available, particularly those that are in their peak years. And Darren Bravo is certainly one of those.”
Reflecting on the 1-0 series win vs Zimbabwe, Murray said: “I fully anticipated that the West Indies would dominate the series. I actually expected them to win 2-0. In a sense, kudos to Zimbabwe for actually saving the second Test match. Some of the things may not have gone quite right because we should really be dominating a team like Zimbabwe. That is a concern that Zimbabwe have scores of over 300 regularly.”
In the First Test at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe posted scores of 159 and 316 while, in the Second Test, the Graeme Cremer-led team notched totals of 326 and 301 runs for seven wickets.
Asked if captain Jason Holder may have to shoulder some of the blame for the WI’s inability to wrap up the match and complete a series sweep, Murray replied, “I sympathise with Jason Holder in many ways, because he was thrust into the role of captain a few years ago, when he was himself a junior member of the team, just finding his way in the game.
“It’s a very difficult situation for him to try to establish his own game. I think he has the potential to be a very good all-rounder for the West Indies but (I hope) the burden of captaincy would not retard his progress.”
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