CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, CMC – West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said young pacers Alzarri Joseph and the uncapped Chemar Holder stand poised to make a name for themselves on the Tour of New Zealand.
Joseph and Holder are part of the Windies team preparing for a two-Test series against the Black Caps next month.
The two young pacers are well remembered for carrying West Indies to its only ICC Youth World Cup title four years ago in Bangladesh.
Estwick, whose substantive role in the Windies support staff is bowling coach, said the future looks bright for Joseph, Holder and the Caribbean side’s pace bowling stocks.
Joseph, 23, has played 11 Tests for the Windies over the past four years and taken 28 wickets at 35.82 apiece. He is generally expected to be part of the team’s attack for the two Tests.
“Over the last two years, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel have been our leading bowlers in Tests and we expect them to lead the attack,” Estwick said during a video conference with the media on Monday from the team’s training base in Lincoln .
“But there is also Alzarri for whom I have high expectations on this Tour. He has been around for quite some time and I have been trying to get him to realise that it is about time now that he really stands up and puts in the big performances, which will be very important for us on this Tour.”
Holder, 22, is on his second trip with the Windies. He was part of the squad that travelled this past June to England, but he has not played any international matches yet.
He may find it difficult to break into the final 11 in New Zealand, but he created quite a stir during the last West Indies Championship, taking 36 wickets at 18.91 each for champions Barbados Pride, and several batsmen have worn the bruises of his disconcerting pace and bounce.
“You always get excited about young fast bowlers,” Estwick said. “I said before the Tour of England last June that we have about 10 young, exciting pacers, but what we have to do is to get matches for them to play.
“They need to play to understand the angles, to be able to understand and read the pitches, and to understand the right lengths to bowl.”
He added: “Chemar is an exciting talent. He had a wonderful first-class season and his time will come. There is no doubt about it…
“He is an exciting prospect. He is also very, very, very hardworking and fit young man, so once his opportunity comes, he will be ready to grab it with both hands.”
Though excited about Joseph, Holder and the other young fast bowlers knocking around the Caribbean, Estwick said opportunities needed to be found quickly for these players to develop.
“We have to find enough cricket for them to play and we have got to continue to talk about the game with them,” he said.
“We have got to pass on our experience. We have got to pass on our knowledge. We have got to make sure that when they enter the Test arena, they are ready to do justice to their talent.
“You do not fully understand Test cricket until you have played about 10 or 15 matches, so you have got to be patient and we have to prepare them well.”
Estwick said pace bowling will be the major factor during the two Tests against the Black Caps because pitches in New Zealand are generally not spin-bowling friendly.
“The spinners will have to play a more containing role, while the pacers have to be aggressive and try to be the chief wicket-takers,” he said.
“We have to be able to assess the pitches as quickly as possible. If we do this, we will know what the right lengths are to bowl and what the right lines are to bowl and adjust according to which batsman is at the wicket.”
He said: “Our pacers have to try and work out (the New Zealanders’) strengths and their weaknesses. It’s all about assessing things very early and sticking to the game plan.
“In New Zealand, something I also find is that (the pacers) have to be very, very patient because the outfields are very, very quick and all the bad balls are punished as batsmen get value for their strokes.
“Being patient is essential. Being aggressive is important. But assessing the pitch quickly is going to be the key.”
The first Test between the Windies and the Black Caps starts on December 3 at Seddon Park in Hamilton and the second Test from December 11 to 15 will be contested at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.
