Orville Higgins | Sleepless nights for Windies selectors

The next time the West Indies play Test cricket, they will be away to England in the summer.

Roger Harper and his group of selectors must be having sleepless nights in determining what the Test squad will look like for that English tour. It cannot be an easy team to select.

For starters, the selectors must be wondering which openers they should carry. John Campbell and Kraig Brathwaite are the front-runners, but they have been very ordinary in the West Indies four-day Championship so far.

Brathwaite has apparently forgotten how to bat. He has been having a really dry spell in Test cricket over the last two years. He is averaging a mere 26 runs in the four-day regional tournament so far. Surely, his place is up for grabs.

John Campbell is only marginally better as he is averaging only 28 runs. The other openers in the regional tournament are not doing all that great either.

Chanderpaul Hemraj is probably the best of the upcoming batch, but he is averaging only 36 runs and not really kicking the door down. Devon Smith is, as always, leading the charge for the openers, averaging 49 runs, but surely, his ship has sailed. Campbell and Brathwaite may just keep their spots out of default.

The middle order is not that easy to identify either.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmeyer are considered automatic, but their Test record is not all that impressive.

Darren Bravo’s form has been on the improve, but he is clearly not the player he once was. Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, and Jason Holder form a fairly reliable quarter in the lower middle order, but the top order is hard to call.

Will the selectors give a cap to Kyle Mayers? He is the leading runscorer in the ongoing four-day tournament. As of yesterday, he had scored 579 runs at 64 per innings. Jermaine Blackwood has not done badly. Is six half-centuries and an average of 39 runs enough to earn him a recall? Has he impressed the selectors enough with his new mantra to occupy the crease as opposed to the ‘shot-a-ball’ dasher he was a few years ago?

Can Nkrumah Bonner finally get a Test call-up? He has had a great season. Up to yesterday, he had scored 471 runs at an average of 78 and has looked as technically equipped as anyone. And what about the bowling?

Has Veersammy Permaul done enough to earn a recall? At this point he is the runaway leader in the bowling department. He has taken 45 wickets at an amazing rate of 10.62. Can the selectors turn their backs on that?

Surely, Chemar Holder will be on the trip to England. He is by far and away the best fast bowler going around in regional four-day cricket at the moment. He has taken 31 wickets at 18 apeice so far and has impressed everyone with his pace and fitness and movement.

Will Shannon Gabriel be fit enough to make the squad? Alzarri Joseph, Sheldon Cotterell, Oshane Thomas, and Kemar Roach are all in the mix for the fast-bowling spots, along with Jason Holder and his namesake, Chemar.

One or two of those will not make the plane.

It will not be an easy call. I do not envy the selectors. Naming the test squad for England will be difficult. I am sure there will be a few surprises. I can hardly wait to see which 15 they will come up with.