Marlon Samuels was an instrumental player in the West Indies ICC T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016. In 2012, Samuels scored a 56-ball 78 that proved to be the foundation for the West Indies 137 for 6 that was good enough to defeat Sri Lanka by 36 runs.
Then in 2016, the outspoken Jamaican scored an unbeaten 85 from 66 balls to help the West Indies pull off a remarkable victory chasing down England’s 155 for 9.
Carlos Brathwaite stole the show at the end with his unbeaten 34 from just 10 balls and which included four consecutive sixes in the final over bowled by Ben Stokes, but it was Samuels who kept the West Indies in the game after they had stumbled to 107-6 and needing 49 from just 27 balls.
Samuels has since retired, but the West Indies might already have a replacement in their camp in the form of Roston Chase.
The lanky Barbadian believes he is the man to take over that very important role as the West Indies go in search of a third consecutive title.
“I see myself playing a similar role,” Chase said while speaking with the media from the West Indies training base in Dubai on Thursday.
“I played for the St Lucia franchise for the past two years where I come in mostly after the Powerplay and knock it around and pick up the ones and twos and the occasional boundary when the ball is in my area to score so it’s an easy role for me.
“I like that role and with the power-hitting guys that we have, my role is just to give them the strike and let them do their thing but if the ball is in my area I will put it away.”
Chase demonstrated as much during the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League in the summer when, after a slow start to the season, he was among the league's leading run-scorers with 446 runs. Those runs came at a remarkable average of 49.55 and strike rate of 144.33.
That success, he revealed, came as the result of an adjustment he made to the way he was playing.
“Early on in this year’s CPL, the pitches were a bit difficult. They had a lot of grass but the grass was kind of spongy. It wasn’t like even grass for the ball to slide on. The ball was bouncing a bit; that was a bit hard so I just thought that after the first couple of matches I was trying to go at the ball a bit too hard. It was a wicket that you needed time to get in first and then it became easier,” he explained.
“So that is what I told myself after the first couple of games, just give myself a bit of time at the crease and then let my stroke play take over from there.”
He might have to make another adjustment for the pitch in Dubai where the West Indies will open the defence of their title on October 23 against England.
“We’ve had three training sessions so far and basically, the pitches have been coming on pretty good. The only issue I see with the pitches is that they’re keeping low, so you probably have to stay low when you’re executing your shots and that should work but the pitches are coming on a lot nicer than the ones we usually get in the CPL, so it should be a bit easier to get some runs,” he said.
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ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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