Windies boosted by veterans' T20 value: Christian

Dan Christian believes the sheer number of matches their West Indian counterparts have played has been a major factor in the hosts' dominance of the ongoing series, but is unsure whether such a T20 selection approach could work for Australia. 

With 353 games under his belt, Christian is the most experienced T20 cricketer Australia has produced but even his considerable experience is dwarfed by the aggregate game numbers of his current opponents, who hold an unassailable series lead heading into this morning's (AEST) fourth T20I in St Lucia.

Injured Windies skipper Kieron Pollard (545 T20s at domestic and international level) is the all-time leader, while veterans Dwayne Bravo (485 T20s) and Chris Gayle (431) round out the top three.

Andre Russell, who has been in devastating touch against Australia, is also in the top 10 with 364.

The latter three have been all been instrumental in the series victory.

While stressing "I don't think we're as far away as the 3-0 scoreline suggests", Christian admitted the reigning T20 world champions' experience has been telling.

"The West Indies are a fantastic team. Their main three guys in Gayle, Pollard and Bravo have played near on 1500 games of T20 cricket, so they're extremely experienced and they're an extremely good side," the 38-year-old said.

"And we've seen the way they've gone about their bowling innings, they're extremely well-drilled. They're a tough side and given their success in previous World Cups, they're an extremely tough team to beat."

Limited-overs captain Aaron Finch is the next most experienced active Australian T20 player after Christian with 322 games, with Moises Henriques (219) coming in next.

The Aussies will rightly point out that the vast short-form knowledge possessed by Glenn Maxwell (313), David Warner (304) and Steve Smith (215) is missing from both this tour and the five-game Bangladesh T20 series to follow.

But England have showed they can more than make do without their big guns after their second-string side recorded a remarkable 3-0 ODI series sweep of sixth-ranked Pakistan this week, chasing down 332 with two overs to spare in the final game.

The 50-over world champions had to find an entirely new squad for the home campaign, including five debutants in the series opener, after the 16-man squad they initially picked was sidelined due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

India will attempt to show off similar depth when they begin a limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka while their expanded Test squad, featuring their all-format stars like Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, prepares for a series in England.

But Christian refuted any suggestion Australia's talent pool might not be as deep.

"If we rolled out our supposed 'A' team in a one-day series in Australia, I think we'd belt them," he said.

"Yes we haven't got as many of our first string guys as we'd like (in the Caribbean) but we are playing against the West Indies in the West Indies in a T20 series, which they've proved is their best format over the last 10 years or so.

"It's an extremely tough place to come and win in this format."

Christian himself is not certain whether his path from T20 freelancer to an international call-up is necessarily one that will be followed by many of his countrymen in the coming years.

Andrew Tye is the only other player in the current T20 touring party to hold the rare distinction of being picked in an Australian squad while not holding a state contract, something Chris Lynn has also done in recent years.

On the other hand, just one West Indian in the ongoing T20 series played more than two games in their regional first-class competition last season – Andre Fletcher.

"It depends on those individual guys I guess and whether they still have ambitions of playing Test cricket and one-day (international) cricket," Christian said when asked whether more T20 freelancers might get picked for Australia. 

"At 33, I still had ambitions of playing in the Test team and that was still the pinnacle for me. Cricket Victoria basically made the decision for me at 34, 35 that I was done in those formats – that's why I concentrated on the T20s.

"In terms of being selected for Australia from that perspective (as a T20 freelancer), I'm really pleased that … my own performances in those tournaments around the world in the last couple of years have been reflected.

"I feel like I have been playing well and have been doing that specialist finishing role and doing that bowling role in the middle and at the death (well). It's been nice that's been recognised."

Qantas Tour of the West Indies 2021

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils, Tanveer Sangha.

West Indies T20 squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr

T20 series
(all matches at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia)

First T20: West Indies won by 18 runs

Second T20: West Indies won by 56 runs

Third T20: West Indies won by six wickets

Fourth T20: July 15, 9.30am AEST (July 14, 7.30pm local)

Fifth T20: July 17, 9.30am AEST (July 16, 7.30pm local)

ODI series
(all matches at Kensington Oval, Barbados)

First ODI (D/N): July 21, 4.30am AEST (July 20, 2.30pm local)

Second ODI (D/N): July 23, 4.30am AEST (July 22, 2.30pm local)

Third ODI (D/N): July 25, 4.30am AEST (July 24, 2.30pm local)

* Details of five-match T20 tour of Bangladesh are yet to be announced by the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Tours are subject to agreement on bio-security arrangements and relevant government approvals.