Inexperienced West Indies: Legendary West Indies wicketkeeper-batter Jeffrey Dujon believes the inexperienced Test side sent for the upcoming two-match series against top-ranked side Australia is similar to sending lambs to slaughter.
From the team which played in the 2022 Test tour of Australia, only skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Joshua Da Silva and Tagenarine Chanderpaul are in the West Indies team for the 2023 tour. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers have preferred to play in franchise T20 leagues, while Jayden Seales is out due to a shoulder injury.
Seven of the 15 players in the Test squad are uncapped -- batter Zachary McCaskie, wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach, all-rounders Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge and Kevin Sinclair, plus fast bowlers Akeem Jordan and Shamar Joseph.
“It’s a bit of an embarrassment because Australia doesn’t suffer from the same situation as us. Maybe their players are more patriotic, but this is like sending lambs to the slaughter. It would have been better if we had sent a young team like this to play a weaker nation, but I don’t think there’s a whole lot to be gained sending a team with seven debutants against a team so experienced, established and powerful,” said Dujon to The Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica.
West Indies’ first Test against Australia starts on January 17 in Adelaide, followed by the second Test at The Gabba beginning on January 25. The last time West Indies won a Test series in Australia was in 1992/93 when they won 2-1.
West Indies’ inexperienced Test squad also brought in sharp words from former Australia captain Steve Waugh, who called for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene and save Test cricket, an opinion which Dujon agrees with.
“Cricket can’t improve unless you have your best players playing. However, it’s not a situation that’s easily solved, and Steve Waugh is right, this is signalling the doom of Test cricket because the boards don’t have enough control over the players and they (players) can dictate when and where they want to play,” concluded Dujon, who played 81 Tests and 169 ODIs for the West Indies from 1981-1991.