AFTER four consecutive Tests without a defeat, West Indies have returned to the norm in recent years, after a feeble showing with the bat yet again.
The short period without a Test defeat was hailed as a great accomplishment of this current squad, as the previous stretch of an unbeaten run in Test was since 2012.
Between August 2012 and May 2013, under the leadership of Darren Sammy, West Indies won six consecutive Tests – defeated New Zealand (2-0), Bangladesh (2-0), and Zimbabwe (2-0).
West Indies hold the record for the most consecutive Tests – 27 – without a defeat. It is a feat they accomplished between January 1982 and December 1984.
The jolt of reality that in order to consistently beat top sides in Test cricket the fundamentals of batting and bowling must be present was brought at a rapid pace by South Africa in St. Lucia.
South Africa are ranked seventh in Test, just one below West Indies, but the latter have never won the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy, and by losing the first Test, the trophy will return home with the Proteas, irrespective of the result in the second Test which starts June 18.
With the decision to appoint Kraigg Brathwaite as full-time captain after the sensational success in Bangladesh, there were numerous positive signs with the hard-fought series draw with Sri Lanka that followed.

The confidence transferred to tactics, as they opted to bat first in seam-friendly conditions.
It was the first time since January 2019, when they defeated England at Bridgetown, that they won the toss in Test outside of Asia and opted to bat first.
The rest is history – bundled out for 97 – as the Proteas ‘fire’ rocked the hosts, who eventually lost the match by an innings and 63 runs.
It was their 200th loss in Test cricket and sixth innings defeat in 253 Tests played at home.
Head coach Phil Simmons, in response to a question whether the loss was a reality check, stated at the post-match media briefing: “I know it will definitely be for me. I don’t take things for granted, we played well in four Test matches but that is only the start of how you have to get up the table and how much you have to play and this has shown us there is still a lot of work to be done which we kept reiterating with the players last week. There is a lot of work still to be done, so we need to keep working.”

No hope in Hope?
Arguably, one of the best batting talents in the Caribbean, Shai Hope continues to dumbfound many as to why his prowess for One-Day International runs, where he averages 53.74, is not transferred to the Test arena where he averages 25.87 after 66 innings. In the role of an opener, Hope produced scores of 68 (for President’s XI versus Sri Lanka in March), followed by 79 and 106 in the ‘Best v Best’ Four-Day match, which merited his return to the Test squad. He was dropped after the England tour in July last year.
However, his returns were 15 (opening) and 12 (batting at three) in the first Test. Simmons was questioned whether it is the “comfortable role” for Hope and he expressed, “I think you would have to ask Shai Hope if he is comfortable as an opener. I think he has the ability to bat anywhere in the top six where he wants to bat and it is a case where this is the position he was asked to go because of where he scored his runs leading into the Test.”
The numbers suggest he is better suited in the middle-order but with strong performances from Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers and the return of Roston Chase, it is extremely difficult for him to find a spot. Hope averages 50.00 while batting at number five, where he also has his Test-best of 147, and 32.70 at number four while as an opener he averages 14.40 with a best of 36 and in the number three position the average is 17.00.

Opening conundrum
From December 2014 to the present, Brathwaite had six different opening partners – Devon Smith, Shai Hope, Rajendra Chandrika, Kieran Powell, Leon Johnson, and John Campbell – all of whom brought little success. The lone century stand – 113 – was between Smith and Brathwaite against Bangladesh in July 2018.
“That is one of the things we have been trying to work on very desperately because if you watch back when we won Test matches against top teams, we have good opening stands. That has not been happening and we are working very hard on that.” He added, “It is disappointing because when you look at the last seven Test hundreds scored by an opener, I think they are all scored by Kraigg; so it is disappointing for us and we are trying to work very hard on that.” Powell, who averages 26.64 after 77 innings, and last played Test cricket in November 2018 on West Indies tour of Bangladesh, is another recalled opener in the current squad.