Switching the captaincy for the 50-overs game from Darren Sammy to Dwayne Bravo, chief selector Clyde Butts explained that he and his panel believed it was “best to freshen the leadership of the team in this format.”
What became evident over the past three weeks of the Champions Trophy is that it is no use “freshening the leadership” without freshening the team and, in a wider context, the structure of domestic cricket that prepares players for the highest level. It is a maxim that applies to several other participants, today’s finalists, the youthful, effervescent, unbeaten India and the settled home team England excepted.
Bravo, the fresh new captain, found himself leading basically the same players in the Champions Trophy who were whitewashed 5-0 in Australia in February under Sammy.
Devon Smith, now aged 32, was recalled after a two-year absence for Kieron Powell, who
