Wed 24 Dec ’25 by KRISSANIA YOUNGC
Poor personal form and a winless run mean Chase has nowhere to hide
“I think I’ve had a tough run, well below par for my level. I wasn’t really leading from the front on the pitch. Leading, in terms of words and encouraging and inspiring the team, was all good, but in terms of going out and producing and letting the team have someone to look up to as a leader, I let myself and the team down.”
That was captain Roston Chase’s self-assessment after West Indies’ 2-0 defeat in their three-match Test series against New Zealand. Chase finished the tour with a batting average of 7.0 and a high score of 29.
The 33-year-old’s criticism of his performance was preceded by that of head coach Daren Sammy, who argued ahead of the third Test that “runs don’t come from [our] numbers seven and five” was a potential injury trigger for bowlers. While showing appreciation to his bowlers, Sammy chided the Windies batters for not spending enough time at the crease.
However, contrary to Chase’s suggestion, his poor output predates the just-concluded series. The Barbadian has scored 221 runs in 16 innings since being recalled to the Test squad as skipper.
Chase’s batting record as Test captain
Innings Runs Average High Score
16 221 13.8 44
(Cricmetric)
His bowling record wasn’t great either, claiming three New Zealand wickets at 119 runs each. And a broader perspective does not brighten the prospects. As captain, Chase has an average of 71 with the ball for his 9 wickets in 13 innings.
The Sammy/Chase duo also faced criticism throughout the series for their team selection, and the final Test was no different. While the hosts stuck to the prediction of including a specialist spinner in their team in anticipation of the pitch that would provide the most spin in the series, the West Indies captain’s response was: “I don’t think there will be much spin.”
Almost in the same breath, he confirmed that the visitors were replacing their injured fast bowler (Ojay Shields) with a batsman (Alick Athanaze). A decision that left their specialist spinner, Jomel Warrican, unused for the tour. Chase would later admit in the pre-match presser that his assessment of the wicket ‘could be wrong’.
His concession won’t bring much comfort to the West Indies now, but he was right. And it became clear when their part-timer, Kavem Hodge, claimed the only two second-innings wickets they managed while their specialist was in the pavilion.
In fact, spin was responsible for seven of the twelve second-innings wickets that fell during the Test, and that happened at a paltry rate of 16.7 runs each. After the match, Chase explained where West Indies had gone wrong with their assessment.
“We didn’t look [the pitch] to deteriorate as with the cracks and the uneven bumps. After the first day we could see a lot of green coming out of the wicket, unlike the others where it was green for a longer period of time.”
To be fair to Chase, West Indies had won just two of the last nine Tests before he took over. Now he is winless in his first eight games and has lost seven. West Indies have managed to avoid defeat only once during Chase’s tenure. That was the first game of this series.
With his poor personal form in one hand and incorrect pitch evaluation in the other, he was then asked to re-examine his team’s approach to the run-chase in that first match, where they decided not to push for a win, which gave them a share of the spoils, 74 runs away from victory with four wickets in hand.
“No, I don’t regret it,” Chase said. “Because we sat down and we had a plan. So once the team comes up with a plan, we’ll stick to it.”
There is plenty of time for planning as they wait for their next Trial assignment in the summer of 2026.
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