West Indies are set to field their latest fast-bowling quartet during this week's first Test against England in Southampton, with the likes of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, captain Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph all vying to make an impact.

The Caribbean has a long and proud history of producing top-class fast bowlers.

We look back at some previous West Indies pace attacks in England:

1980: Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft

-- The original 'fearsome foursome' revolutionised world cricket under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd by ensuring there was no respite for batsmen even when the shine had gone off the ball.

Although all capable of being genuinely quick, the guile of Roberts, the speed through the air of Holding, the steepling bounce and crushing yorkers of the 6ft 8in Garner and the awkwardness of Croft, from wide of the crease or around the wicket, meant they each posed different problems for batsmen.

Meanwhile this series also saw Malcolm Marshall, arguably the greatest West Indies fast bowler of them all, start to establish himself in the side.

Even so, the West Indies only won the series 1-0, with Roberts taking eight wickets in a two-wicket win in the opener at Trent Bridge before the other four matches were all drawn largely due to weather interruptions.

1984: Marshall, Garner, Holding, Eldine Baptiste

-- The 'Blackwash' team hammered England 5-0. The writing was on the wall for the hosts when Marshall struck debutant Andy Lloyd on the head with a bouncer in the series opener, with the batsman never playing another Test.

Marshall's mastery was evident when he took seven for 53 in the third Test at Headingley despite a broken thumb an he finished the series with 24 wickets at 18.20 despite missing a match through injury. Barbados team-mate Garner took 29 wickets at 18.62.

1988: Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Winston Benjamin/Patrick Patterson

-- West Indies won 4-0 in a series where England's disarray was summed up by the fact they got through four captains.

Marshall, capable of both sheer pace and late movement, led the way with 35 wickets at a staggeringly low average of 12.65 apiece, with Ambrose -- soon to become the leader of the attack -- and Walsh offering excellent support.

1995: Ambrose, Walsh, Kenny Benjamin, Ian Bishop

-- With the likes of batting greats Gordon Greenidge and Vivian Richards having now both retired, the West Indies found themselves held to a 2-2 draw in a six-Test series.

But all four frontline bowlers still took more than 21 wickets each.

Nevertheless there were signs the West Indies were not the force they had been and in 2000 England beat them in a series for the first time in 31 years.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

International cricket finally returns after months of suspension, with West Indies taking on England in the first of three Tests, before Pakistan travel to England for another series. While many ICC regulated protocols have been put in place, fans will still be excited to look at the development of the sport post the global pandemic.

The contest will see a first for many of those players, with West Indies bringing their youngest Test team ever for the tour of England. The team will be buoyed by the prospects of their challenge, having beaten England back at home in 2019. The onus of retaining the trophy for the first time since 1998 lies on the young guns as well as the following players:

Shai Hope

Shai Hope has been one of the most dependable batsmen for West Indies on many occasions. During his last tour of England in 2017, Hope scored a century in both innings against England as the Windies went on to seal an important five-wicket victory in the second Test to level the series.

The Windies batsmen looked shaky during the practice matches and Hope will need to be at his usual best from the get-go against the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in order to ensure his side gets a favourable result in the series.

Alzarri Joseph

Alzarri Joseph is a rising star in the West Indian bowling line-up and has complemented the senior bowlers quite well.  In the nine Tests that he has played, he has picked up 25 wickets at an economy rate of 3.23 runs per over. He was part of the squad that last beat England in the Wisden Trophy, picking up crucial wickets for the Windies.

He has played four of his nine Tests against England but bowled less than 90 overs across seven innings, which makes the Windies pacer somewhat of a mystery factor to the English batsmen. 

Kemar Roach

One of the most dependable bowlers for West Indies, Kemar Roach has been a mainstay in the side for the last few years. In 56 Tests for the Windies, he has picked up 193 wickets at an economy rate of 3.13. He will need to be at his best on England's slow pitches as well, and his partnership with Shannon Gabriel will be crucial to the Windies' bowling line-up.

Meanwhile, Joe Root is not a part of the first Test, with the captaincy falling into the lap of Ben Stokes. England played their last Test back in January and will be buoyed by the return of a few of their injured players. They have a bag of experience in their squad, with the likes of Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley, as well as young talents like Sam Curran and Zak Crawley. However, the onus for their first victory since the global pandemic will fall on the following players:

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has established himself as a leader in the English dressing room since his heroics in the 2019 ICC Men’s World Cup on home soil. He will be raring to prove his mettle as a skipper against the Windies, and the onus to command the batting lineup in case of a collapse falls on the English all-rounder. Moreover, he will have to do the same for the bowling unit on Anderson and Broad and hope to churn out a victory for his side in the absence of Joe Root.

Ollie Pope          

Ollie Pope is one of the youngsters in the squad, and although he has just seven Tests under his belt, his prowess against short bowling makes him a dangerous unit in the English batting line-up. His record against short balls stands at 67 runs off the 54 while being dismissed only once. He also faced the likes of Ben Stokes and Jamie Overton on the final day of their warm-up match but came out unscathed.

Jofra Archer

Still only 25, Jofra Archer is already a world-cup winner with England. Although it seems like he has been around the scene for a while, he has made only seven Test appearances for England. However, during this time, he has picked up 30 wickets and commands a strong economy-rate of 3 RPO. He will be key to the England bowling unit, having already established himself as the best alternative to Anderson and Broad should the senior pair fail to perform.

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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SportsAdda.

Alzarri Joseph is likely to miss the remainder of the Indian T20 League after picking up an injury during Team Mumbai's last game against Team Rajasthan.

A news organisation reports that Joseph has a tear in his right arm, which he dislocated while diving on the field, which has all but ruled him out of contention for the upcoming Mumbai games.

Joseph came into the league as a replacement for New Zealand's Adam Milne, who didn't arrive in India at all because of a swollen heel. Milne had been bought at the December auction for Rs 75 lakh.

Joseph's Indian T20 League sojourn lasted a week. He announced himself spectacularly by picking up 6 for 12 �?the best-ever figures in the league �?to deliver an away win against Team Hyderabad. Three days later, Joseph hit the winning runs against Team Punjab in his first home game. However, he bowled just two overs in that game, in which he conceded 22 runs, going wicketless.

On Friday, before his fall, Joseph had already endured a hard beating, once again going wicketless and leaking 53 runs in three overs.

 

West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph enjoyed a dream Indian T20 League debut for Mumbai on Saturday after returning best ever figures of 6-12 in the Twenty20 tournament.

The 22-year-old, who joined the Mumbai squad in place of the injured Adam Milne of New Zealand, bowled a maiden in 3.4 overs to help his team thrash hosts Hyderabad by 40 runs.

Joseph went past the previous best bowling effort of Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan in the IPL's inaugural edition in 2008.

Joseph, a lanky paceman who made his Test debut in 2016 and took 10 wickets in the West Indies' recent home 2-1 series triumph against England, was named man of the match.

"It's a dream start, can't get better than this. I just wanted to bowl to the plans. When they said I was playing, I decided to keep it simple and back myself," Joseph said.

"When I got my first wicket, I had a muted celebration since I was focused on the game that we had to win. The boys are really playing well, lot of hard work, so all we need to do is go to the park and show them what we can do."

Chasing 137 for victory, Hyderabad were dismissed for just 96 in 17.4 overs with Deepak Hooda top-scoring with 20. Joseph got the in-form David Warner of Australia for 15 on his very first ball. It was a fuller length delivery from Joseph that the left-handed Warner dragged on to his stumps.

Warner's opening partner Jonny Bairstow of England also had an ordinary day with the bat, scoring 16, after falling to leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, who took two wickets.

Earlier, West Indies batsman Kieron Pollard smashed an unbeaten 46 off 26 deliveries to give three-time champions Mumbai a fighting 136-7 after they were reeling at 97-7.

The burly Pollard hit two fours and four sixes, smashing the ball to all parts of the ground as Mumbai managed 39 runs off the last two overs

Indian T20 League side Mumbai have signed West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph to replace injured Adam Milne.

The New Zealand fast-bowler has been ruled out of the tournament owing to a swollen heel, the club confirmed. “Mumbai Indians have picked Alzarri Joseph as a replacement for the injured fast bowler Adam Milne for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019�? the franchise said in a statement.

Joseph, who himself was struggling with a back problem earlier, made his comeback during West Indies�?Test series against England and has only played seven T20s in his career, picking nine wickets. Playing in his maiden Indian T20 League, Joseph will hope to make a statement of intent in a side which has been struggling as far as pace bowling is concerned.

Milne’s absence means Mumbai have lost two bowlers in three days following the shoulder injury to Jasprit Bumrah, while Jason Behrendorff is unavailable due to his commitment for Australia against Pakistan in the UAE. The Indian bowler is set to miss two back-to-back fixtures. The franchise though was handed a massive boost as Lasith Malinga, who was expected to skip first six fixtures, has returned and will be a part of the squad in Bengaluru.

Joseph, 22, has played 9 Tests and 16 ODIs thus far and has scalped 25 and 24 wickets respectively. As far as the fee is concerned, the tournament’s rule states the amount paid for the replacement should not exceed the fee paid for the original player, hence Mumbai will not pay anything more than 75 Lakhs �?they paid for Milne.

Joseph rose to fame during the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he ended up picking 13 wickets; one of which was his soon-to-be teammate, Ishan Kishan.

Mumbai, who lost their tournament opener against Delhi by 37 runs, will face Bengaluru on Thursday at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Darren Bravo could play his first Test for the West Indies in over two years after the experienced top-order batsman was recalled Tuesday for next week's series opener against England in Barbados.

Bravo hasn't featured in a Test since a tour of the UAE in October 2016, but the 29-year-old returned to the international fold late last year as part of the one-day squad.

Aamir Qureshi/AFP

Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph also earned a recall ahead of the three-match series, although fellow quick Oshane Thomas was named as cover as the former continues his recovery from a stress fracture in his back.

John Campbell, a 26-year-old left-handed opener from Jamaica, received his first call-up along with the 30-year-old Shamarh Brooks, who captained the West Indies at the Under-19 World Cup in 2008.

"After a difficult Test Series in Bangladesh late last year the opportunity presents itself for our team to pick itself up," chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said.

"Although a tough series against England is anticipated, home turf has always been a place where our team has made strides."

England have won just one Test series in the Caribbean in the past 50 years, in 2004, although the West Indies were beaten 2-0 in Bangladesh at the end of last year.

"With the return of Darren Bravo, who will add value to a batting department, we expect to see marked improvement," Browne added.

"Young, exciting, fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who was sidelined by injury, returns to the squad and Shamarh Brooks has been elevated for his solid first-class performances over the last three years.

"John Campbell the incumbent 'A' team opener, who has played first class cricket for a number of years will open the batting after a good first-class season in 2018."

Squad: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Oshane Thomas (cover for Joseph)