By Akeem Greene
Roston Chase and Nicholas Pooran have been confirmed as respective Vice-captains of the West Indies Test and Twenty20 International teams.
Chase’s ascension is more of a surprise, since Pooran was deputy to Kieron Pollard on the last T20I tour to Sri Lanka in March.
Chase, the dependable all-rounder, replaces fellow Bajan Kraigg Brathwaite as Jason Holder’s assistant in the Test side.
Brathwaite, who has played the most number of Tests (62) in the current squad, has captained the Test side on five occasions in Holder’s absence between 2017-2019, losing all five matches.
Chase has played 35 Tests, while Pooran has 21 T20Is under his belt.
While both Chase and Pooran possess undeniable individual talent, they have little leadership experience, especially at the senior level, since neither lead their respective franchises, Barbados Pride and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.
Cricket West Indies Chief Selector Roger Harper indicated on Wednesday it would be ideal if both players can now captain their territories when they are available as to enhance their leadership skills.
“I hope when the opportunities arise in our domestic season, these guys do have the opportunity to captain their respective territorial teams,” Harper stated on the Virtual press conference.
He added, “One of the challenges of the modern tour is that is there not a lot of First-Class matches so that guys other than the captain of the team would have opportunities to showcase their abilities as captains.”
“On a number of occasions tours clash with our domestic season back in the West Indies and in some cases that prevents [the] guys to get some exposure as far as captaincy is concerned.”
In October, Harper had told News Room Sport, the packed international schedule, which often clashes with Regional cricket, is affecting how they can nurture future leaders for West Indies cricket.
Harper was further questioned on Wednesday on who were some other possible candidates under consideration for the vice-captaincy roles, and particularly, whether Youth World Cup winner Shimon Hetmyer was a part of such a group.
However, the former West Indies Head Coach, who heads the selection panel, which also consists of Miles Bascombe and Head Coach Phil Simmons, did not divulge the particulars of other candidates considered.
He said, “There were a number of names that were discussed; I don’t want to get into particulars. I appreciate that Hetmyer has some leadership experience, he has been a successful captain, and he of course is someone we have at the back of our minds but like I said, we though that Roston Chase would be the ideal person to be appointed as Vice-captain at this time.”
West Indies play three T20Is in New Zealand later this month, followed by two Tests in December.
