Posted by You’ve seen a rum old Test match when the team that was 38-7 before drinks on the first morning ends up winning easily. That’s what Jomel Warrican helped the West Indies achieve against Pakistan this week though.
To recap Warrican’s match, he walked in to bat at 95-9 and promptly contributed 36 not out to what ultimately proved to be the biggest partnership of the match (68). When his batting (and soon to be bowling) partner, Gudakesh Motie, was bowled for 55, they took lunch.
After six overs from Kemar Roach at the start of the afternoon session, Warrican came on to bowl. There would be no further seam bowling from the West Indies for the remainder of the match.
Warrican took 4-43 in Pakistan’s first innings to somehow secure a first innings lead. The Windies then delivered one of those mathematically-perplexing team efforts where the tally is somehow 244 even though all you can see is one 50 and a couple of 30s.
Pakistan needed 254 to win, but Warrican took 5-27, so they didn’t get anywhere close. He finished as his team’s top wicket-taker for the two-match series with 19 and also achieved their highest batting average (42.50).
The Pakistan perspective
This feels like a bit of a blow to what started out as Plan B for Pakistan, but which seems to have since earned promotion to Plan A status.
Playing Test cricket at home hasn’t been going well. They lost 1-0 to Australia in 2022. They lost 3-0 to England later the same year. They lost 2-0 to Bangladesh in 2024.
After watching Harry Brook make 317 at the start of England’s next tour, they decided enough was enough and made some changes. They wheeled out the heaters and the fans and put together a strategy that revolved around two players who hadn’t even been in the team.
It seemed at the time like it might be a specific ploy for England, but just to underline the continued centrality of Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, no men’s Test in Pakistan has ever seen more wickets fall to spinners (35) than the second Test against the West Indies. This is a record that has stood since… the first Test, where 34 wickets fell to spinners.
Spin shoot-outs bring few guarantees, but what’s the alternative? Nothing else has worked. Pakistan are bottom of the Test Championship table.
Conclusion
“All right, Mrs Warrican – is your Jomel playing out today?”
Just an absolute classic West Indies cricketer name.
Granted, we’re catching him on a high here, but Warrican also strikes us a man whose cricket is positively soggy with joy.
As just one example, he gave Sajid Khan a mocking send-off when he dismissed him in the second innings by mimicking his celebration and somehow even that brand of niggle came across as borderline friendly.
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Crazy name, crazy guy.
19 wickets in a two-match series is some going.