West Indies
Previous appearances: 1975, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015
Best finish: Winner - 1975, 1979
Jason Holder (Captain)
All-Rounder | Age: 27
Matches– 93 |
Runs - 1574
| Avg - 26.23
| HS – 99*
| 50s- 8
| Wickets – 121 |
Best – 5-27 |
Eco – 5.54
Skipper of the West Indian side, Jason Holder is a bowling all-rounder, who has also taken up the role of a finisher now. He was only 23 when a selection panel headed by former World Cup-winner Clive Lloyd appointed him captain of the ODI squad five years ago. Less than a year later, he was handed the responsibility to captain the Test side as well and that alone speaks volumes about the dedication Holder has towards the game. And how can we forget his match-winning knock of 202* against England at Barbados in January this year? Goosebumps, is it?
Kemar Roach
Bowler | Age: 30
Matches - 85 | Wickets - 117 | Best - 6-27 | Eco - 5.08
Kemar Roach, a ferocious pacer just under six feet, may not have the height of some of the earlier West Indian legends, but he does possess the ability of consistently generating speeds in the upper spectrum of 140s. Roach recently received a lot of attention after he managed to get 13 wickets in his last two Test matches against England. Fans will be hoping that Roach, who is in tremendous form in red ball cricket replicates his performance in the limited overs format as well.
Ashley Nurse
Bowler | Age:
30
Matches- 45
| Wickets – 42
| Best– 4-62
| Eco– 5.16
Ashley Nurse’s selection raised many questions and there were many who criticised the move. But interim chairman of Cricket West Indies, Robert Haynes defended the move saying the spinner's ability to bowl at the death gave them the confidence to fill the side with all-rounders instead of a back-up spin option.
"We all believe that with Ashley Nurse's experience, and with him able to bowl the death overs, he has the ability to get the wickets and keep it tight in England."
Fabian Allen is the only spin-bowling option beside Nurse. Devendra Bishoo missed out on the selection while Sunil Narine wasn't considered because of an injured finger.
Shimron Hetmyer
Batsman | Age: 22
Matches - 24 | Runs - 899 | Avg - 40.86 | HS - 127 | 100s - 4 | 50s - 2
The Guyanese is one of the most exciting batsmen in world cricket at the moment, scoring big, and usually quick, runs across formats. Fearless, aggressive and a free-flowing batsman, the left-hander, who came up through the Under-19 ranks, is the next big thing. Still under 1,000 runs, the 22-year-old averages 40.86 and has four centuries in ODI cricket. He is another batsman who has scored heavily against India [in an overseas series] and Bangladesh. The 83-ball 104 not out against England in February ticked his proficiency against seamers as well.
Chris Gayle
Batsman | Age: 39
Matches - 288 | Runs - 10151 | Avg - 38.02 | HS - 215 | 100s - 25 | 50s - 51
The big man from Jamaica has played four World Cups — 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 — and he has been with the side through the tough times; right from the qualifier tournament. Ever since he announced that he will retire after this World Cup, the bat started piling up runs. At 39, Gayle is probably at his best ODI form. He smashed two centuries and two fifties in the home series against England. The Universe Boss, as he is fondly called, will look to conquer as much as he can.
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Darren Bravo
Batsman | Age: 30
Matches - 106 | Runs – 2820 | Avg -30.65 | HS – 124 | 100s -3 | 50s - 18
The younger brother of the now retired Dwayne Bravo, Darren brings in a nostalgia element in the side. His flourish reminds one of the legendary Brian Lara. He has been in and out of the team but Darren has been around in international cricket for 10 years. The left-hander is a seasoned campaigner, who has milked bowling attacks across the world since 2009, and a senior who one can turn to in times of trouble.
Sheldon Cottrell
Bowler | Age: 29
Matches - 13 | Wickets – 17 | Best - 5-46 | Eco - 6.05
A late bloomer, Cottrell first turned heads for his salute send-off to batsmen — an act as a sign of respect to the Jamaican Defence Force. He was a soldier by profession, and now, the left-arm pacer is back in the battlefield; this time, for the Windies. Being a left-arm fast bowler, he holds the advantage of creating those vicious angles against right-handers. Cottrell also has the delivery that nips back in — perfect in the English conditions. He recently claimed his maiden five-for, against England, in Barbados.
Shai Hope
Wicketkeeper-Batsman | Age: 25
Matches - 54 | Runs – 2247 | Avg -51.06 | HS – 170 | 100s -6 | 50s -10 | Catches- 48 | Stumpings- 9
When the team needed a character to bolster the middle order, the young man stepped in with a pair of wicketkeeping gloves hanging from his shoulders. In 49 ODIs, he averages 45.56; not bad for somebody who made his debut only three years ago. Fairly confident against spinners, Hope has four hundreds — two against Bangladesh, one against India and another, against Zimbabwe [in his second international ODI]. But the two knocks that announced his arrival were against India — the unbeaten 123 in Visakhapatnam and the 95, in the same series, in Pune.
Shannon Gabriel
Bowler | Age: 31
Matches - 22 | Wickets - 31 | Best - 3-17 | Eco – 5.63
Chairman of selectors Robert Haynes talked about how England pitches have failed to promise anything to the bowlers of late. His solution to the flat tracks was brute pace and who other than Shannon Gabriel to perfectly meet the requirements of the role? Gabriel, who last played for Windies more than a year and a half ago, will be looking to stage a strong comeback and, alongside the young and fiery Oshane Thomas, will be expected to cause some serious damage.
Oshane Thomas
Bowler | Age: 22
Matches - 9 | Wickets - 15 | Best - 5-21 | Eco - 7.22
The youngest fast bowler in the West Indies squad, Oshane Thomas has just featured in nine ODIs but has already shown plenty of promise. He got into the West Indies team after finishing as CPL 2018’s highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers. In last year's CPL, he had castled Gayle with a 150kph yorker. And during the India tour he continually troubled India's top three. In March, when the Englishmen toured the Windies, the fifth ODI saw how Thomas single-handedly decimate England’s middle order as the side collapsed for just 113.
Nicholas Pooran
Wicketkeeper / Batsman | Age: 23
Matches - 1 | Runs - 0 | HS – 0 | Catches - 1 | Stumpings - 0
Included in the squad as the backup keeper to Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran has only featured in one ODI against England in Barbados. However, Pooran came into the spotlight after he scored a 130-ball 143 against Australia during the 2014 U-19 Cricket World Cup. He featured for Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019 where he scored 168 runs in six innings, maintaining a high strike-rate of 157.
Carlos Brathwaite
All-rounder | Age: 30
Matches - 32 | Runs - 389 | Avg - 14.41 | HS – 50 | 50s - 1 | Wickets - 31 | Best - 5-27 | Eco - 5.48
2016 T20 World Cup final: One run required off three balls and as the fourth successive six came off Brathwaite’s bat and the commentator roared, “Carlos Brathwaite! Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!”. That one event was enough to let the world know how devastating Brathwaite can be on big matchdays. He has done well recently too, when England toured the Caribbean. The most consistent of the bowlers in the series, Brathwaite also scored 50 off 36 balls in St George's, as the West Indies fell just 29 runs short of England’s mammoth total of 415.
Andre Russell
All-Rounder | Age: 31
Matches - 52 | Runs - 998 | Avg - 28.51 | HS- 92 | 50s- 4 | Wickets - 65 | Best - 4-35 | Eco - 5.87
Andre Russell’s career has often been riddled with injuries and that should be the only concern of Cricket West Indies going into the World Cup. Given how extensive this edition of the tournament is, Russell, who can now be called the Windies’ trump card, should ensure fitness at all costs. Russell has been in electric form recently and that was evident in the Indian Premier League. Cricket is a team game, but Russell proved otherwise this time around, starring for Kolkata Knight Riders, even as others around him failed to perform. He finished the tournament with the highest strike-rate: 204.81, amassing 510 runs from 13 innings.
Fabian Allen
All-Rounder | Age: 24
Matches - 7 | Runs - 32 | Avg - 6.4 | HS – 10 | Wickets - 1 | Best - 1-37 | Eco – 6.0
Another name which was a surprise in the 15-man Windies provisional squad was of the young Fabian Allen. The Jamaican lacks experience and he hadn’t particularly impressed in any of the ODIs he featured in. However, Allen has had a decent showing in the domestic circuit as he has two first-class centuries. He also has a few decent List A performances to show for. Allen might be in the squad for his ability to bowl slow left-arm spin and bat as well. Some unfortunate injuries could see him feature in the playing XI.
Evin Lewis
Batsman | Age: 27
Matches - 34 | Runs - 1010 | Avg - 31.56 | HS – 176 | 100s - 2 | 50s - 3
Evin Lewis’ selection was questioned after incumbent opener John Campbell was dropped from the provisional squad but CWI clearly emphasised on experience.
"If you look at his track record, he's done very well opening the batting with Chris Gayle and we believe that he's somebody we are going to see progressing as the tour goes on."
Lewis last played an ODI in July 2018 against Bangladesh but will be looking to bounce back on the grand stage in England when he opens the batting with ‘mentor’ Chris Gayle.
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