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Chase eager to lead new-look Windies into fresh WTC cycle with eyes on Australia upset
Written by Sherdon Cowan. Posted in ICC Test Championship. | 24 June 2025 | 1137 Views
Tags: Kraigg Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Shai Hppe, West Indies V Australia

Roston Chase is ready to embrace the moment. With the weight of history, the expectations of a proud cricketing region, and a personal milestone all colliding in Bridgetown this week, the newly appointed West Indies Test captain is focused not on the past, but on sparking a new era of belief, starting with Australia.

When Chase leads the West Indies out at Kensington Oval on Wednesday for the first Test of the new ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, it will be his 50th Test appearance—and his first as skipper. Despite having not played a red-ball match for the regional side in over a year, the 33-year-old all-rounder says he is motivated by the task of helping his team write a fresh narrative.

"It's a great honour and privilege for me to achieve that milestone, so I'm really thankful for it. I mean, it'll be my first game as captain, so I think it will be a little emotional for me. But I think that once I can overcome that and put that energy towards cricket, it'll be good for me," Chase told reporters in a pre-match conference on Tuesday.

Still, Chase is well aware of the magnitude of the task ahead for West Indies, who have not played Test cricket since January in Pakistan. Australia have long held the upper hand in West Indies conditions.

In fact, West Indies have not defeated Australia in a home Test since a record-breaking fourth-innings chase at the Antigua Recreation Ground in 2003. Even more damning, they have not claimed a home series against the Australians since 1991, and though they snatched a historic win at the Gabba last year, it will take efficiency and consistency with both bat and ball to not only repeat but surpass that feat.

"It's a new era. I mean, it's a new start, a fresh start, a new World Test Championship cycle. So I mean we're looking forward to it. Me, my first time as captain, and [Darren] Sammy also his first time being the coach of the team. So we're really looking forward to it, and hopefully we can bring some new energy, and we can turn it around. We've been on the bottom half of the table for a number of years now. So we're really looking to change that and see if we can make a change in West Indies cricket for the better," Chase declared.

That change is reflected in the squad selection as the Caribbean side enters this series with fresh faces and bold intent. Brandon King is set to make his debut, while Shai Hope and John Campbell return to the Test setup for the first time in years. Hope, who also captains the white-ball sides, will don the gloves in a Test for the first time.

“Shai is a class player. He brings a lot of experience in the international arena. So I'm just looking for him to lead by example as a senior player and someone that I can lean on in precious situations. Him taking the gloves is something new, but Shai Hope is a quality player, so I'm looking forward to him doing it for us," Chase said.

That said, Chase revealed that they have set themselves a goal for this WTC cycle, which is to finish between fourth and sixth. Though it is not quite shooting for the stars, Chase believes it is both ambitious and achievable.

"We wanted to be realistic in the goals that we set going forward. So right now we are currently at eighth or ninth, so we don't want to set goals that are beyond our reach. So we said if we could finish between fourth and sixth, because we have 14 games in this cycle, if we could win 44% of those games, that will put us in a position at the end of the cycle around there," he explained.

That process, Chase explains, starts with smart cricket, as they intend to mix flair with discipline, especially on surfaces like the one expected in Barbados.

"We're looking to play with a bit more flair and bring back that Caribbean style to the game. And we're just looking forward to making the Caribbean nation proud. I just want to ask the fans to just support the boys through and through," the Barbadian stated.

Despite Australia’s impressive WTC record, in which they have lost just one of their last seven Tests and have not dropped a multi-Test series in the previous cycle, Chase is hopeful that West Indies’ underdog tag can work in their favour, especially if Australia are still mentally haunted by their dramatic loss to the Windies at the Gabba.

"I hope there are some scars. I mean, if they're still thinking about that loss going out there tomorrow, that would be very good for us. I think that that would be part of the job done for us. Test game has evolved a lot, and guys are trying to move the game forward, but it's still Test cricket, so you still have to have some type of patience. So I think it's just for the guys to mix their aggression with that patience," Chase ended.

West Indies XI: Kriagg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Brandon King, Roston Chase (capt), Shai Hope (wk), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood