Windies pace attack harks back to the glory days

The West Indies are showing signs that they are developing a pace attack that could stand comparison with the great Caribbean sides of the past, assistant coach Roddy Estwick has claimed.

The West Indies were world cricket's dominant team from the mid-1970s to the 1990s when they could call on a succession of superb fast bowlers including Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

Their quicks also played a key role when the West Indies beat England 2-1 in the Caribbean last year.

Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and captain Jason Holder are all in the Caribbean tour party for the Test series in England.

The squad are quarantining in Manchester because of the coronavirus as they prepare for the three-match series, which starts next month.

Estwick said the West Indies were "beginning to get blessed with fast bowlers again" but urged against premature comparisons with earlier generations.

"We've got four fast bowlers we think can challenge any team in the world," he said in a conference call.

"I don't know about living up to the greats, they've got to forge their own identity."

"We've (also) got a group of youngsters coming through," he added, citing Chemar Holder and Oshane Thomas.

Estwick, a former Barbados paceman, said the new crop of were showing the stamina displayed by previous generations.

"What we've done is improve our fitness," he said. "Now you can sustain pressure. If you look back at the 80s, that's one thing the fast bowlers had."

The West Indies also had formidable strength in depth in their golden era.

Image Id: 7A18857B18184C1696001D54C563E9DE Image Caption: Jason Holder and Roddy Estwick arrive in England // Getty

"When I played first-class cricket in the 80s, we had six outstanding fast bowlers," recalled Estwick.

"But the likes of Wayne Daniel and Sylvester Clarke only played 10 and 11 Tests and yet they both had about 900 first-class wickets each."

Next month's series will be played behind closed doors as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19 but Estwick said England new-ball veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson would be just as dangerous without home support.

"The '12th man' isn't going to be there but I don't think experienced bowlers like Broad and Anderson will be too fazed by the crowd not being there," he said.

Estwick said there had been some benefits to the quarantine restrictions.

"It's a different situation but we've spent a bit more time as a group together. The spirit has been good. We've got no complaints with the way things have gone so far. The excuses stop now."

When the action gets underway behind closed doors, the West Indies will be looking to emulate last year's 2-1 Test series victory against England in the Caribbean.

That success was inspired by a fierce West Indies pace attack that left England shell-shocked.

Roach took five wickets as England were bowled out for 77 in the first Test and the 31-year-old believes they can take the fight to the hosts again.

"It's different conditions to the Caribbean and the ball will do a bit more here but I don't think our mode of attack will change much," Roach said.

"We saw what happened in the Caribbean and that's pretty fresh in our minds and if we can get stuck into the batsmen we will have a great chance of defeating England.

"We have always had a history of fast bowling and we just needed the pitches to bowl on which our curators have given us. 

"Our bowlers have done a tremendous job over the last couple of years and if we continue to work hard there are some great things ahead of us."

Meanwhile, Roach warned Jofra Archer not to expect a warm welcome from the players he snubbed in order to represent England.

Barbados-born Archer is eligible to play for England because that is where his father was born, and the paceman made his debut for the team last year in the drawn Ashes series.

His decision to reject the West Indies did not go down well and fellow Barbadian Roach says Archer is unlikely to be given a friendly reception in the forthcoming Test series between the sides.

It will be the first time Archer, who featured for the West Indies Under-19s before moving to England in 2016, has faced the country of his birth in Test cricket.

"Jofra made his decision and he's done a fantastic job for England so far but there will be no friendships during this series," Roach told reporters.

"It's all about winning and playing hard cricket. We will devise a plan for our batsmen to counter him and I'm looking forward to that battle.

"I saw him as a youngster in domestic cricket back home in Barbados and always thought he was talented.

"He has come over here and shown what he can do and I want to wish him all the best in his career. 

"But you will definitely see if we have any words for him on the field when that comes around."

Roach also revealed the West Indies squad are still discussing ways to acknowledge the Black Lives Matter cause when they play.

Many sports stars have shown support for the movement, often by taking a knee during matches and training sessions, since George Floyd was killed by a white policeman in Minneapolis.

"I feel very strongly about it for obvious reasons," Roach said. "But the team have discussed it in depth and we are going to go back and have a discussion about it again soon.

"Then as a team we will come up with a way to answer all questions relating to that Black Lives Matter issue."