Nicholas Pooran’s resignation as West Indies white ball captain did not surprise me, mainly because the pressure and responsibility placed upon his inexperienced shoulders turned out to be too much for the youngster. But, having gone past the Pooran captaincy era, let’s talk about his replacement. Cricket West Indies needs to ponder long and hard on its decision. It will not be as easy as many think it will be, mainly because the candidates to choose from are very limited. There is a lack of leadership quality among the present crop of West Indies players. In my opinion, only two names readily come to mind. They are Jamaican Rovman Powell and former Test and One-Day captain Jason Holder.
Let’s take a look at the two candidates in contention for such an arduous task ahead. Powell may be the front-runner because of his recent successes. One, the 2022 CPL T20 title, and his most recent the regional Super 50 crown where he led the Jamaican Tallawahs to victory. Powell, in my opinion, is not an outstanding player (batting or bowling) and he’s not a tactical genius on the field. In other words, he’s not a Mike Brearly who led England on his tactical ability, South African Graeme Smith, Clive Lloyd West indies most successful Test Captain, and the late Joey Carew who was respected by both test and regional players for his tactical ability.
Powell’s strength as a captain will be his form with the bat and if that is not going for him, it can spell disaster for the Jamaican. It will bring his elevation as captain into question. But what I like about him is his humility and his ability to learn quickly.
Holder, on the other hand, was given the West Indies One-Day captaincy at the tender age of twenty-three (23) and he had a tough time during his tenure. Despite his difficulties, Holder maintained his place in the West Indies starting eleven in all three formats of the game. At the age of thirty-one (31), he has matured and has commanded respect among his peers in the three formats. Holder is only one of three West Indies players who are currently involved in all three formats. He seems to enjoy his game even eight years after being relieved of the captaincy. Holder has shown he has grown tremendously and at one point was ranked among the top 3 all-rounders in the world.
I hope and pray Cricket West Indies gets this one right this time around because the road to West Indies becoming World Champion once again is a very steep and uphill climb for the regional team.
