Style, guile and burning pace: West Indies player-by-player guide

Jason Holder (captain) 40 Tests, 1,898 runs at 33, 106 wickets at 26. Highest score 202*, Best bowling: 6/59
The No 1 all-rounder in Test cricket and the third-best bowler, Holder probably had a point when he said recently that players from India, Australia and England seem to get far more hype than those from the rest of the world. After all, his double century in Barbados last year remains burned on English retinae. Softly spoken but a highly respected captain.

Jermaine Blackwood 28 Tests, 1,362 runs at 30, Highest score 112*
The aggressive Jamaican middle-order bat averages 55 from six Tests against England – including his solitary Test century in Antigua five years ago – but has only recently returned to the fold after losing form. Was leading the run-scoring charts in the Caribbean’s four-day tournament before its early finish.

Nkrumah Bonner Uncapped
Averaging 27 in his first-class career but 58 in the most recent edition of the Caribbean’s four-day competition, this late-blooming 31-year-old Jamaican is either a shrewd form pick or points to a lack of depth in the middle order following the withdrawals of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo.

Kraigg Brathwaite 59 Tests, 3,496 runs at 33, Highest score: 212
Brathwaite has never played a professional Twenty20 match, preferring the slow and steady approach to opening, in contrast to his love of horse racing off the field. An average of 12 in his last 10 Tests is troubling but county experience and eight Test centuries make the 27-year-old certain to face the new ball once more.

Shamarh Brooks 3 Tests, 174 runs at 35, Highest score: 111
A maiden century in West Indies’ most recent Test against Afghanistan points to a run in the middle order for Brooks, a stylish Bajan right-hander whose career since captaining the Under-19s in 2008 has been something of a rollercoaster form wise but, now aged 31, he appears to be enjoying another peak.

Related: West Indies would not swap any of their bowlers for Jofra Archer, says Dowrich

John Campbell 6 Tests, 298 runs at 30, Highest score: 55
Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad didn’t know what to make of Campbell the last time the two sides met, the belligerent Jamaican opener pulling out ambitious ramp shots against the new ball without a care in the world. Just one half-century in 12 Test innings to date but if the left-hander comes off, it could be quite something.

Roston Chase 32 Tests, 1,695 at 31, 59 wickets at 42, HS: 137*, BB: 8/60
A calming presence in the middle order, Chase has said he will “not be happy” if he doesn’t add to his five Test centuries on tour. The most recent came against England in St Lucia last year, yet the more haunting memory for the home side are his off-breaks that ran through them in Barbados for remarkable figures of eight for 60.

Rahkeem Cornwall 2 Tests, 13 wickets at 22, BB: 7/75
His off-breaks, delivered from a 6ft 5in frame, have produced 303 first-class wickets at 22 and pose a threat to England, not least with two Tests to come at the bouncier Old Trafford. A solid slip catcher and dangerous with the bat down the order, talent and results have outweighed any past misgivings about the Antiguan’s lack of athleticism.

Shane Dowrich (wk) 31 Tests, 1,444 runs at 30, HS: 125* 83 dismissals
One half of the unbroken 295-run stand with Jason Holder at the Kensington Oval last year that flogged Joe Root’s ill-chosen attack, the wicketkeeper is another component of the team’s Bajan spine and insists he is now a different batsman to the one who lasted 12 balls on average in England in 2017.

Chemar Holder Uncapped
The latest quick off the Bajan production line, Holder (no relation to the captain) has been tearing up domestic cricket with pace, bounce and, crucially, movement. The question now is whether the 22-year-old, who nearly pursued a career as an 800-metres runner, is unleashed given the competition for pace places

Related: Alzarri Joseph: 'I had to really put a performance out to remember her'

Shai Hope 31 Tests, 1,498 runs at 27, HS: 147
Those glorious twin centuries at Headingley three years ago have possibly weighed heavy on Hope since – certainly he still gets asked about them a lot – with the right-hander managing just a couple of Test half-centuries over the past two years in contrast to his continuing dominant form in ODI cricket.

Alzarri Joseph 9 Tests, 25 wickets at 33, BB: 3/53
Joseph ensured there was no let-up in pace or hostility last year once Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel took a rest and showed immense fortitude during the Antigua Test when playing on despite the loss of his mother mid-game. Still only 23, the right-armer is awaiting his true breakthrough Test performance but it is coming.

Raymon Reifer 1 Test, 2 wickets at 44 BB: 1/36
Just one cap to date and seemingly low down the pecking order when the squad was named, Reifer snared five wickets in 11 balls during West Indies’ first practice match – including the captain lbw first ball – and offers both a left-arm angle plus handy runs down the order.

Kemar Roach 56 Tests, 193 wickets at 27 BB: 6/48
The waspish right-armer was man of the series in 2019, blowing England away on his home ground in Barbados first-up – a stirring second-day burst from which the tourists never quite recovered – and taking 18 wickets overall. Has swapped frightening pace for wily skill during an 11-year career that has seen numerous injuries overcome.

Related: Kemar Roach: 'I'm a better bowler now and it's time to reap the rewards'

Shannon Gabriel 45 Tests, 133 wickets at 30, BB: 8/62
The Trinidadian arrived on tour as a reserve needing to prove his match fitness following ankle surgery. Having now seemingly done so during the warm-up period, there is every chance that the West Indies quick – one who England’s batsmen privately say is the least enjoyable to face – will share the new ball with Roach.

Phil Simmons (coach)
In his second spell in charge. The first – which included the 2016 World T20 win – ended due to “differences in culture and strategic approach”. In plain English, the issue was with board interference in selection but the popular Trinidadian was rehired last year after Ricky Skerritt became the new Cricket West Indies president.

Reserves Sunil Ambris, Joshua Da Silva, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shane Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican.