Caribbean Cricket Podcast
Why Daren Sammy made changes for the West Indies vs Australia test series
27 Jan 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What changes did Daren Sammy make for the West Indies vs Australia test series?
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This is Kimo Roach, and I listen to the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. Yes, yes, yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another edition of the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. I'm on half the Caribbean Cricket Podcast, Mashal St. Patrick Hewitt, and Santoki is not here. He's travelling the world, as ever, so I'm here on my ones, delivering the show, delivering the content. First things first...
I hate to say I told you so. Let's just get that out of the way off the jump. Do you know how many people go back and watch the archive episode? Go back and read our tweets. Do you know how many people messaged me when I did those Brandon King videos saying he's going to get in the West Indies Test Squad? Remember, I did these videos months ago. right? I said, he's going to get called up.
I had bare uncles messaging me going, you don't know what you're talking about. He's not done enough to get into the test squad. And whether that's true or whether that's not true, the point is, so said, so done. I'm tired of telling people, you might not like the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. You might have an issue with what we say and how we go about saying what we say.
But the one thing you can never criticise Caribbean Cricket Podcast for is we look at the thing forensically. Yeah, we bust some jokes, we bust some laughs along the way, but we look at this thing forensically. And more importantly, we have the receipts. You can go back and watch plenty of episodes where we directly said, I think Shea Holt's going to get back into the squad.
I even said that I thought Shea Holt would be test captain. And by all accounts, that's what Sammy wanted. But Holt said no, right? But he's back in the squad. King is in the squad for the first time properly.
in line to make a Test match debut if you go back and watch the press conference with Casey Carty after the second ODI in Cardiff if you go back and watch that if you can get access to it one of the copycat cricket channels will have posted it up for views right if you go and watch that you'll hear my voice because I was the only Caribbean journalist there right and you'll hear me say to Casey Carty in that interview
do you think or do you hold ambition to be in the test squad for Australia? And the reason why I asked Casey Carty that question is because in my head, my line of thinking was this. The man's just scored three centuries, right, in quick succession. Couldn't give a damn that it's in white ball cricket. It's three international centuries. We have a test series coming up against Australia.
Runs is currency. Sammy Dunn told you lot from time. There's no red ball and there's no red ball over there and white ball over there. Those days are done in West Indies cricket. We don't have a deep enough talent pool to be siphoning off people to Red Bull cricket, OJ cricket and T20 cricket. That was a dunce strategy. It doesn't work.
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Chapter 2: Why were Brandon King and Shai Hope brought back to the test squad?
Let me read some stats to you. The thing is, I'm running through this episode quite quickly. One of the reasons why is it's 10.30 at night in the UK. Santoki's also not here. So for me, I'm just getting to the point. No long talk. No long analysis. No bald-headed man just ranting and raving. I'm just going to say what needs to be said, right?
So let me read this tweet, see if I can even put it up on the screen. Because true say when I say that I've said stuff in the past, people think I must be making it up. So let me try and share my screen here. Let's see if you can see this. Which one do I want to share? Let's share this one. Right. Look at this, people. This tweet, look at the date. That's December the 31st.
I'm just highlighting it here. December the 31st, 2024, we tweeted the following at 5.14 p.m. UK time. And you can read it for yourselves. These were the batting averages across the whole of 2024. And remember, this is before the down bad Pakistan tour where basically no one made runs, right? I think apart from a Braithwaite 50 and an Athenase 50, no one really made runs on that tour, right?
So you don't know already that most of these averages go down off the back of that Pakistan tool. In 2024, these were the batting averages. Jason Holder, 276 runs at 35. I'm reading them out because maybe some of you are listening to this on a pod platform rather than watching. Justin Graves, 207 runs at 30. And bear in mind, he flopped in Pakistan. Kavem Hodge, 516 runs at 29.
Bear in mind, he flopped in Pakistan. Pakistan's not included in these numbers. Ali Kathane's 448 runs at 25. He flopped in three innings in Pakistan, but got a 50. Mikhail Louie, 333 runs at 24, flopped in Pakistan. Kevin Sinclair, 69 runs at 23, didn't succeed with the bat in Pakistan. Might have got 20-odd or 30-odd, actually. Joshua Silver, obviously didn't play in Pakistan, 356 runs at 22.
Casey Carty, 172 runs at 22. Craig Braffate, 372 runs at 21. Kurt McKenzie, 171 runs at 17. My point being this... Let me stop sharing that. My point being this... For all of 2024 and through to the Pakistan series, men were cussing. Not about me, I'm talking about in general, within the media. Men were cussing and saying West Indies can't bat.
We had finally got to a stage where everyone accepted that we had the ability to take 20 test match wickets, but pretty much everyone was saying West Indies can't bat. So lo and behold, the first test squad that is announced under the Darren Sammy reign sees multiple changes in the batting lineup. And guess what happens in West Indies cricket media and fan base? Everyone starts cussing.
You lot will cuss for everything and anything. The one thing we lack in West Indies cricket media and West Indies cricket fandom, let me tell you the one thing we lack. We don't have any nuance. And we don't have any patience. People just cuss, just cussing. As soon as they see something, cuss. And I'm not saying you can't cuss, but I'm saying it's not everyday cuss.
Sometimes just see things what they are, shrug your shoulders, say it is what it is. No one really made themselves undroppable. So it is what it is. It ain't that deep to me. It ain't that deep. You think I'm going to get into some long debate about should Brandon King have been there or not? Brandon King supposed to debuted in for the West in his test side time ago.
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Chapter 3: How did Casey Carty's performance influence squad selection?
You best believe I'm going to that man first and saying, wheel and come again. What can you do this time? I don't even know if Shea's going to play, if he's guaranteed a spot. But I get why he's in the squad. I get why Sammy turns to Brandon King and says, you know what? Your time now. Come through.
Because at the end of the day, neither Athanase nor Hodge, and I like both of them, but neither Athanase nor Hodge seized their opportunity. How many tests did Alec get in the end? 13? I think it's 13. Let me just double check. Remember, people, because I did all those episodes about how long should the rope be?
How many tests should you get before you say to a man, you know what, you haven't proven anything? And some of you men were saying to me, Mashi needs to get 20. Well, obviously, Sammy has said, you know what, I ain't feeling it. I ain't feeling it. You've had your chance. Go back into the domestic game and try work on your obvious flaw outside the off stump. I'm not mad at that.
I'm not mad at it. Let me look at Athanase. Let me see here. Where is he? Athanase has played 13 test matches and averages 25. And you lot are going to argue to me, some of you, that we should persist. And remember, I've got Anthony Stocks. I've got Stocks in him. But can you really look me in the face and say, Mash, we should persist with that? 13 tests, an average of 25.
And these times you've got Brandon King, who's not played any test matches. And yes, we can talk about numbers and we talk about this, but even if we delve a bit further. So Alex got an average of 25 from 30 in Test matches. He came back to our domestic system, was rubbish in the domestic season. I think he averaged like 27.
played 18 cricket against South Africa A, both the 50-over version and the two test matches, only just produced a score in the second test match, didn't do well in all the other matches, and then you're saying keep Athanase in the squad. I'm not saying that there's... I get it because people are like, he's young and we should trust in him and we've got to put our faith in him and give him time.
But I get why you wouldn't. I get why you wouldn't. If we want standards to raise in West Indies cricket, you can't keep picking a man who's averaging 25. Even Hodge, Hodge after Pakistan, I think must be averaging, what, 27, 28? And yes, again, we can say, oh, but you've got to give Hodge more time.
But if you lot are adamant that you want standards to raise in West Indies cricket, then you can't be mad that changes have been made. It doesn't mean it's going to work, but you can't be mad that changes have been made. Let's look at the squad. So the squad is as follows. Roston Chase captain, Jamel Warwick and vice captain. Can't be bothered to talk about that.
We've exhausted all the energy we need to talk about those two being captain and vice captain respectively.
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