Alex Javier

Daren Sammy’s future as all-format Head Coach could hinge on the West Indies’ performance at the upcoming T20 World Cup, says renowned cricket commentator Ian Bishop.

Sammy, who captained the West Indies to two T20 World Cup titles, has endured a tough start since becoming all-format head coach on April 1.

He has won just two series; a historic 2-1 victory over Pakistan in their One Day International (ODI) series in August and a 3-0 whipping of Bangladesh in October in their T20I series.

However, he has suffered Test and T20I losses to Australia, a Test series loss to India, an ODI series loss to Bangladesh, while New Zealand downed the regional side in their recently concluded T20I, ODI and Test series.

With the 2026 T20 World Cup set to be held in Sri Lanka and India from February to March, Bishop believes Sammy’s tenure could be tied to the West Indies’ showing at the marquee event.

Speaking during an interview on iSports i95.5 FM last Saturday, Bishop admitted that Sammy’s results thus far had been unflattering.

“The results so far are not going to be pleasing reflection for Daren Sammy.

“He started off with three very difficult series, but he knew that when he took the job against Australia in the Caribbean, against India in India and then against New Zealand in New Zealand, where we haven’t won since 1995; that’s 30 years of Test cricket where we haven’t won a game, so there will be disappointment certainly from a Test match point of view…” Bishop noted.

“From a white ball point of view, the real proof is going to be the T20 World Cup next year. That is a team that has a lot of potential from a batting point of view if not from a bowling point of view, and so what are we going to judge him by? And I think it’s going to rest heavily on the white-ball component of the game that will come up in the next two months.”

Chase misfiring

Meanwhile, Bishop believes that in the coming months Cricket West Indies (CWI) will have to decide whether Roston Chase is the right man to lead the Test team.

In their final Test series for the year, the West Indies ended on a losing note, going down to New Zealand 2-0, their third successive Test series defeat in 2025.

It followed a 3-0 whitewash against Australia at home in July and a 2-0 loss to India in October. Chase was also at the helm of those defeats, having been appointed Test captain in May.

The 33-year-old all-rounder has endured a torrid start as Test captain. In his 16 innings as skipper, he averages below 14, with nine single digit scores and a highest score of 44.

To make matters worse, he averaged just seven in the three-match Test series in New Zealand. His efforts with the ball are equally unimpressive, as he is conceding close to 71 runs per wicket and bowling more than 17 overs for each dismissal.

The West Indies won’t play a Test series for six months, with a two-match home series against Sri Lanka in June their next assignment.

“Roston by his own admission has struggled big time with the bat and it still bemuses me that a guy who can score five Test match hundreds in his first 20 or so Test matches has reached this point of his career at age 33 where he’s struggling to put even moderate innings together.

“So, the West Indies are fortunate in that they have five or six months before their next Test series to try to determine whether Roston is capable first of all of holding his place in the team and whether he can continue, so that’s their decision to make,” Bishop said.

“His bowling hasn’t really fired in the way that he would have hoped and he’s still not as sharp in terms of the captaincy strategically as I was hoping that he would reach, but again, they have five or six months to make that decision as to whether he continues.

“But it’s more than the captaincy. For me the big thing is how we develop batters around the Caribbean. How do we fulfil Alick Athanaze. You’ve got one or two other young guys around the Caribbean and how do we bring them to maturation, otherwise we’re going to chase leadership, we’re going to change coaches, and the results still won’t be what we expect,” he added.

Roston Chase’s appointment as West Indies’ Test captain ahead of the 2025-27 World Test Championship in June 2025 came as a surprise.

He had not played Test cricket for more than two years.

With their red-ball side in flux and struggling to settle on a combination capable of delivering home or away, Cricket West Indies (CWI) turned to an experienced head to anchor a period of transition.

Chase’s assignment, though, was never likely to be gentle.

His first three series as captain were scheduled to be against Australia at home, followed by away tours of India and New Zealand later in the year.

The returns ended up being stark: seven defeats in eight matches, with a solitary draw salvaged in Christchurch.

If West Indies’ struggles have been collective, Chase’s own numbers have brought them into sharper focus.

In 16 innings as captain, he has recorded nine single-digit scores, with a highest of 44 and a batting average under 14.

His overall Test average has now dipped below 25.

With the ball, as captain, he is conceding close to 71 runs per wicket and bowling more than 17 overs for each dismissal, leaving him as West Indies’ lowest-returning batter and among their least effective bowlers in the current WTC cycle.

Five of those nine single-digit scores came during the 0-2 defeat in New Zealand, where Chase also let go of the reputation he once carried as Barbados and West Indies’ “crisis man” – the batter who stood firm amid collapses.

At the end of the Mount Maunganui Test, he was candid about his own shortcomings.

“Yeah, I think I had a tough series, very below par for my standards,” Chase said at the conclusion of the series. “I didn’t really lead from the front on the field.

“I thought that leading, in terms of words and encouraging and inspiring the team, that was all good and well. But in terms of going out there and producing for the team and letting the team have someone to look up to as a leader, I thought I let myself down and the team down as well.

“I want to lead both on the field and off the field in terms of encouraging and getting the best out of my players. I want to do that, but I want to go out there and show them that I’m not just talking it, I’m doing it as well and I’m giving my all for the team.

“So, yeah, I was a bit disappointed with my efforts. I thought I got some good balls in the series, but it’s Test cricket, so you will get those periods. But I still thought that I could have given some more. I’ve been working here on some of the deficiencies that the coaches have been seeing in terms of the dismissals. But, yeah, it’s always a work in progress.”

Batting collapses have been a recurring theme for West Indies across these eight Tests, even as isolated individual efforts have flickered through the tour.

Chase, however, drew encouragement from the three centuries scored in New Zealand. Justin Greaves (202*) and Shai Hope (140) batted West Indies into the contest in Christchurch, while Kavem Hodge followed with an unbeaten 123 in Mount Maunganui.

Those knocks accounted for three of the five Test hundreds scored by West Indies across the entire year.

“Yeah, I was going to say that because before this series started, the goal for the batters was to at least get a hundred in every game and we got three hundreds. We didn’t get one in the last match [in Wellington], but three hundreds over the three-game period [was a positive],” Chase said. “So we were very happy with that. It’s something that we’ve not been able to do in the recent past.”

Tactically, Chase felt New Zealand had consistently stayed ahead, particularly in Mount Maunganui. The hosts wore West Indies down by posting 575 for 8 in the first innings, then sensed an opening on the fourth day and accelerated to 306 for 2 at 5.66 runs per over in their third innings.

That approach left enough time to exploit a pitch that deteriorated rapidly, as Jacob Duffy’s five-wicket haul and Ajaz Patel’s support ripped through West Indies, who were bowled out for 138 after reaching 87 without loss.

“As I said, disappointed,” Chase said. “We really wanted to get a win here for the first time since 1995. That was the ultimate goal for the team, and we fell short.

“We thought it would have spun, but we didn’t look for it to deteriorate as much as it did with the cracks and the uneven bumps and stuff. Because after the first day, we could see a lot of green coming off of the wicket, unlike the other wickets where it was green for a longer period.

We thought that this wicket got brown very, very fast.”

West Indies’ next chance to earn WTC points will not come until Chase turns 34. In June-July 2026, Sri Lanka tour the Caribbean for a multi-format series.

West Indies will then play home Tests against Pakistan in July-August and a two-Test tour of Bangladesh in November.

That means they are scheduled to play just six Tests for the entirely of 2026. (ESPNcricinfo) 

Former Test Captian Kraigg Brathwaite, Joshua Da Silva and Kavem Hodge have been left out of Cricket West Indies’ men’s annual retainer contracts for the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, Justin Greaves, Guyanese T20 Star Sherfane Rutherford and Jomel Warrican have been added to the 15-player list for the upcoming season.

In the women’s retainer list, Shamilia Connell, Cherry Ann Fraser, Chedean Nation and Rashada Williams have been left out, while Jannillea Glasgow and Shawnisha Hector have been added. The list for the women’s team has been trimmed down from 15 to 13 players.

Five players (three men and two women) were handed starter contracts, while 15 men and 14 women were also handed academy contracts. The contracts are set to commence from October 1, 2025.

West Indies men’s contracts 2025-26

Senior men: Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Jomel Warrican.

Starter contracts: Jewel Andrew, Jediah Blades, Johann Layne.

Men’s academy: Ackeem Auguste, Ryan Bandoo, Jediah Blades, Rivaldo Clarke, Mavendra Dindyal, Giovonte Depeiza, Nathan Edward, Damel Evelyn, Amari Goodridge, Mbeki Joseph, Johann Layne, Zishan Motara, Kelvin Pittman, Renico Smith, Carlon Tuckett.

West Indies women’s contracts 2025-26:

Senior women: Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Jannillea Glasgow, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Zaida James, Qiana Joseph, Hayley Matthews, Ashmini Munisar, Stafanie Taylor, Karishma Ramharack.

Starter contracts: Jahzara Claxton, Realeanna Grimmond.

Women’s academy: Abigail Bryce, Asabi Callender, NaiJanni Cumberbatch, Shabika Gajanbi, Brianna Harricharan, Trishan Holder, Djenaba Joseph, Nyia Latchman, Samara Ramnath, Amrita Ramtahal, Selena Ross, Shunelle Sawh, Steffie Soogrim, Kate Wilmott.

Mitchell Owen shared an 80-run stand for the fifth wicket with fellow all-rounder Cameron Green, who made 51 off 26 balls, as the tourists chased 190 with seven balls to spare at Sabina Park.

West Indies captain Shai Hope admitted his side fell short with both bat and ball in a frustrating three-wicket loss to Australia in the opening T20 International at Sabina Park on Sunday night, after a promising start with the bat unravelled in the closing stages and a spirited Australian fightback turned the tide.

“We left ourselves 20 or 30 runs short in the back end,” Hope said after the match. “With the ball, we didn’t take as many wickets as we wanted to. We’ve got some very good batting in the lower order. Some missed execution [from our bowlers].”

Having posted 189 for 8, West Indies looked on course for a far bigger total at one stage. Powered by half-centuries from Roston Chase (60 off 32) and Hope himself (55 from 39), the home side cruised to 152 for 2 in the 15th over. Chase had dominated the middle overs with a flurry of boundaries, while Hope anchored confidently at the other end.

But a dramatic collapse followed. The home side lost six wickets for just 37 runs in the final five overs, a slide triggered by the dismissal of Chase and compounded by Australia’s superb death bowling. Ben Dwarshuis took 4 for 36, including three wickets in a single over, while Nathan Ellis kept things tight at the death with pinpoint slower balls and yorkers. West Indies managed just seven runs in the final 16 deliveries.

Despite the sub-200 total, the hosts had Australia in trouble early. Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder struck inside the powerplay, and when Gudakesh Motie removed Glenn Maxwell to leave the visitors 78 for 4, West Indies looked in control. But Australia’s middle order had other plans.

Cameron Green, in at No. 4, hammered 51 off 26 balls, and debutant Mitchell Owen added a fearless 50 from 27 balls—including six sixes—to seize control of the chase.

Together, they put on 80 from 40 deliveries to tip the match in Australia’s favour. Even after their dismissals, the visitors kept their nerve to reach the target with seven balls to spare.

In what proved to be a critical disparity, Australia out-hit West Indies 17 sixes to nine—an unusual reversal for a Caribbean side that once prided itself on outmuscling opponents in the shortest format.

While West Indies’ innings was built largely on calculated Strokeplay, Australia’s firepower through the middle and lower order proved decisive.

There was also a key moment in the field that might have changed the outcome. With Australia on 183 for 7 and needing just seven runs to win, substitute fielder Jewel Andrew dropped Sean Abbott at fine leg—a missed opportunity that came just before the winning runs were nudged home.

The result leaves West Indies trailing 0–1 in the five-match series, with the second T20I set for Tuesday at the same venue. While there were positives to draw from strong top-order performances, Hope and his team will need to address their death-over frailties and sharpen their execution if they are to level the series.

Legendary West Indies batsman and former captain, Sir Vivian Richards, has described newly appointed Test captain Roston Chase as a “smart leader” and believes that once given a fair opportunity he could bring stability to the struggling squad.

“I guess he would be the right choice at this point. I believe he is a much better player in that particular format and he would have had the experience of playing before and, with what’s presently there, I don’t think it’s a bad choice. I think he is a smart cricketer and he might bring something totally different, and,with the results he [has had], I don’t think a lot of people expected him — especially with some of the tournaments he [has] played in — to be successful and he would have done so. So he brings some sort of stability in terms of what we know he can do when he performs,” he said.

Cricket West Indies (CWI), on May 16, appointed the Barbados national as captain of the senior men’s Test team following weeks of speculation as to who would take up the role left vacant following the resignation of Kraigg Brathwaite in March. Chase’s last Test was against South Africa in March, 2023.

Sir Viv, who amassed 8,540 runs from 121 Tests, added that it must however be a complete team effort.

“It’s nice to know you’d want some commitment from the guys but there are a lot of players there who are playing for their careers and by giving your all in terms of what you are capable of, that’s a good support for the captain and so I am hoping that’s the case. Everyone should be looking to perform so if you have everyone performing on the same level and being successful then it can only make the team better so they have that obligation to themselves personally,” he said.

According to a CWI release, six players were a part of the screening process from which Captain Chase and Vice Captain Jomel Warrican were selected for the upcoming home series against Australia in June. The CWI Board unanimously approved the appointments.

West Indies batsman Keacy Carty should have been basking in the full glory of his third and second consecutive One Day International (ODI) hundred as West Indies post a mammoth 385-7 in a bid to level the series against Ireland in Dublin.

Having lost the first ODI and with the second encounter getting washed out, it was a must-win encounter for West Indies, and they ended up hammering 385/7 in 50 overs.

Keacy Carty smoked 170 off 142 deliveries – the joint-sixth highest for West Indies in ODIs. Meanwhile, Shai Hope (75-ball 75) and Justin Greaves (23-ball 50) also slammed fifties.

His previous hundred, an unbeaten 128 against England in Barbados, is part of a high point in Carty’s growing ODI career. But this latest innings, though statistically impressive, left something to be desired emotionally.

In Friday Carty said post-match

The West Indies entered the second ODI eager to respond after a lacklustre performance with the bat in the series opener, which they lost by 124 runs. Carty said the team regrouped quickly and made necessary adjustments.

“We planned on how to counteract what they were doing to us, for our respective skills as batters. Everyone plays differently, so we had a few methods that we went through in training to see what works best for who, and we applied that today (Friday),” he explained.

Carty’s measured start gave way to a more aggressive display once he reached his half-century. His ability to change gears mid-innings was evident and instrumental to building momentum.

“We all know it’s difficult to start, so the toughest thing is just to try and get in and then excel in your innings. I would have liked to push on a bit earlier, but it’s a tough pitch, so you just had to stick with it and trust your skills,” Carty shared.

Interestingly, Carty’s form in ODIs has been one of the few consistent pillars in an otherwise unpredictable West Indies setup.

He finished 2024 as one of the team’s leading ODI run scorers with 560 runs, and he has already started 2025 with another milestone knock.

“I would definitely credit it to my preparation,” he said when asked about the transformation in his white-ball game.

“I’m focusing on the key specifics that you need to excel in ODI cricket, both for myself and for the team, and just trusting the process,” he added.

In the third and final One-Day International (ODI) against Ireland in Dublin on May 25 (Sunday), West Indies posted their second-highest total in the 50-over format.

Having lost the first ODI and with the second encounter getting washed out, it was a must-win encounter for West Indies, and they ended up hammering 385/7 in 50 overs.

Keacy Carty smoked 170 off 142 deliveries – the joint-sixth highest for West Indies in ODIs. Meanwhile, Shai Hope (75-ball 75) and Justin Greaves (23-ball 50) also slammed fifties.

The Men in Maroon’s highest ODI total came against England in 2019, when they posted 389 at St George’s.

Highest totals by West Indies in ODIs

389 all-out vs England in St. George’s, 2019

385/7 vs Ireland in Dublin, 2025

381/3 vs Ireland in Dublin, 2019

374/6 vs Netherlands in Harare, 2023