THE West Indies have taken the bold and exciting step into the unknown by naming the relatively inexperienced Jason Omar Holder to lead the regional side for the forthcoming five-match One Day International series against South Africa.
It’s a strong vote of confidence as Holder is only 23 and has played just 21 One-Day Internationals. With the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting in February, it is almost certain that the young Barbadian all-rounder will be given the job to lead the West Indies on the biggest stage in the limited overs cricket.
This is a tough time to make such a major transition and one only hopes that Holder is ready for such a stern challenge so early in his career.
The selectors are clearly biting the bullet and now seem to have had enough of players such as Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard, all of whom have been such an integral part of the team for several years.
Bravo, 31, a regular in the team since 2004, with the experience of 164 One-Day Internationals, has been dumped both as captain and player, and odds are he will not be part of the side for the World Cup.
The flamboyant Trinidadian, who was at the forefront of the recent bitter contractual dispute with WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), is still part of the T20 squad but that is small consolation.
Sammy, who was dumped on his birthday – – he was 31 on Saturday when the news release came in – is unlikely to add to the 115 matches he has played, while the swashbuckling Pollard has been ignored at the age of 27.
It is hard to argue against those who feel that Bravo, Pollard and Sammy have been penalised for being among the 15 who pulled out of the tour in India.
Certainly the axeing of Pollard is hard to understand and must be for reasons outside of cricket. He has a strike rate of 93 and two of his three One-Day International tons are against Australia, one of them in Sydney last year, coming to the crease at 17 for three.
Holder is without question one of the best young cricketers in the Caribbean, but it may be asking too much to burden him with captaincy at this stage of his career.
It is a gamble to introduce a new captain, especially one with such limited experience weeks before a World Cup. The only country bold enough to do such is England, who have just sacked Alastair Cook and replaced him with Eoin Morgan. The big difference is that Morgan has been playing One-Day Internationals for eight years and has 130 caps, Holder’s timeline is just a year and a half.
Ready or not, Holder has a stern challenge awaiting him.
ODI squad – Jason Holder (capt), Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Narsingh Deonarine, Leon Johnson, Chris Gayle, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.
