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22nd February 2017

The next big West Indian stars?

Chris Gayle; Dwayne Bravo; Carlos Brathwaite; the West Indies have some of the most explosive limited-overs cricketers on the planet.

But just how good are the next generation of players coming through from the Caribbean Islands?

The West Indian selectors favoured a youthful squad for last year’s tri-series in Zimbabwe and have selected a similar squad for the ODI series with England, which starts next week.

We’ve picked out three with huge potential who may well grace the Emirates Riverside turf in the NatWest IT20 come September.

 

Evin Lewis

A strong, left-handed opening batsman capable of smashing the ball over the boundary – it’s no wonder Evin Lewis has drawn comparisons with Chris Gayle.

Though inconsistent at the moment, Lewis has already notched two international hundreds and shown signs he may eventually succeed his illustrious counterpart as the Windies’ leading batsman.

He carted the Indian bowlers around the park to score the fifth-fastest IT20 century in history, including five consecutive sixes off Stuart Binny, and then notched 148 from 122 balls against Sri Lanka last month.

 

Rovman Powell

Called up following promising performances in the Caribbean Premier League, the West Indies’ domestic T20 competition, powerful all-rounder Powell made his limited overs debut against Sri Lanka in November.

Predominantly a batsman, the 23-year-old is capable of big-hitting and evidenced it during the CPL campaign, striking an unbeaten 34 from 14 balls days after top-scoring with 44 in the previous game.

He knocked 14 sixes in his maiden T20 tournament and then scored 44 in his debut One-Day international, with another three maximums in that innings.

The all-rounder furthered his reputation with a 45-ball 95 in this month’s domestic 50-over competition, taking 5/36 in the same match, and earned an IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the auction on Monday.

 

Shai Hope

Hope is a more recognisable name in international circles, having debuted in the Bridgetown Test against England during 2015 – called up off the back of scoring 628 runs in nine domestic matches.

Despite being called up at Test level first, the wicketkeeper-batsman has found more success in the white ball formats.

He started the Zimbabwe/Sri Lanka tri-series with 47 before scoring a maiden One-Day international ton with 101 against Zimbabwe, adding to his two half-centuries in 11 appearances. 

Like Powell he has starred in the recent 50-over competition in the West Indies and has passed 50 in five consecutive innings, turning the most recent two into hundreds.

 

Watch the up-and-coming talent from the West Indies in action at Emirates Riverside later in the year; a highly limited tickets amount of tickets remain in the Don Robson Pavilion!