England v WI talking points: Livingstone the leader and Salt and Pepper time?

The Cricket Paper Team

1 month ago

Tags: Australia, Ben Stokes, England, Essex, India, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Middlesex, West Indies, Yorkshire

England return to the Caribbean for another white-ball series against the West Indies which starts on Thursday with the first of three ODIs.

The tourists are light on star power as the likes of Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Joe Root miss out due to the recent end to the Pakistan Test trip and the injured Jos Buttler is absent for the ODI series.

Here, we look some of the talking points of the trip which also includes five T20s.

Caribbean fatigue

England’s third visit to the Caribbean in 11 months amid an unrelenting pre-Christmas itinerary feels especially superfluous.

The well-worn upshot of tours rubbing up against each other – as this one does with the Pakistan Test trip – is some of England’s best players are unavailable for what is their penultimate ODI assignment before the Champions Trophy.

The inexperience of the group is once again highlighted by leg-spinner Adil Rashid being their leading ODI run-scorer and the untried quartet of Dan Mousley, Michael Pepper, John Turner and Jafer Chohan may get the opportunity to strut their stuff.

Livingstone the leader

Cricket has had its unpredictable moments in the last few weeks and not many top Livingstone taking temporary charge of England’s ODI team because of Buttler’s nagging calf injury.

It was only a few weeks ago the all-rounder was initially dropped for Australia’s visit only to barge his way back in following a couple of brutish T20 knocks and an injury setback for Buttler.

He capitalised by making the fastest ODI fifty at Lord’s, brutalising the feared Mitchell Starc for 28 in an over.

Livingstone has some captaincy experience in domestic cricket and is now one of the senior heads in the squad.

Will England spice things up?

Social media was abuzz when Pepper was called up after it was confirmed Buttler would miss the first part of the tour, with speculation rife the Essex wicketkeeper could partner Phil Salt at the top of the order in a dream union for headline writers.

The pair are unlikely to push it together unless injury or illness befalls the camp as Pepper was called up as batting cover for the series.

What about Jafer Chohan?

Unable to make the grade at Middlesex but handed a second chance at Yorkshire after help from the South Asian Cricket Academy and a recommendation from Joe Root, Chohan was another left-field England choice.

The 22-year-old leg-spinner has shown flashes of potential and has a high ceiling England crave right now.

The fact his professional career has only comprised of 23 T20s has been no obstacle.

It seems unlikely he will get an ODI debut and he may instead be on a watching brief on this tour, learning from one of the best in the business in close friend and Yorkshire team-mate Adil Rashid.

What is in it for the Windies?

While the Champions Trophy is on the horizon for England – and a bolter could emerge from the Caribbean – the West Indies did not qualify for the eight-team tournament scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February and March next year.

Their next staging post is the 2027 World Cup after missing out on the 2023 edition in India but they have a proud home record against England, having not lost to them in their own conditions in any format since March 2019.

Shai Hope, who averages close to 50 in this format, captains the side while Shimron Hetmyer will be looking to provide the firepower after his recall.

Also in the Windies squad is 17-year-old wicketkeeper Jewel Andrew, who has been tipped for big things by Caribbean greats including Viv Richards, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ian Bishop.