West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie is eagerly anticipating the final Test of the three-match series against England, starting tomorrow at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Motie is fully recovered after a bout of flu kept him out of the second Test played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham and is once again available for selection. He was replaced by off-spinner Kevin Sinclair who took three wickets in the match.
West Indies are 2-0 down, having already conceded the Richards-Botham Trophy with one game still to go, after losing the opening Test at Lord’s by an innings and 114 runs and then the second at Trent Bridge by 241 runs last week.
Guyanese left-arm spinner Motie had figures of two for 41 when dismissing England captain Ben Stokes and former captain Joe Root in the opening Test. He was also twice not out with the bat, scoring 14 unbeaten in the first innings, and 31 not out in the West Indies’ second turn at the crease. Having missed the second match, Motie said he was really looking forward to the third match.
“The series is already gone, so the next thing is looking to the Test championships, (gaining) game points and see how we could move up the table,” he said.
And even with the South African tour of the West Indies coming up next, Motie said the focus was still on winning the final Test in England.
“We are just looking at one game at a time. So we have the next game here, and we going to go out and give our best shot,” he declared.
Motie spoke of personal positives coming out of the first Test.
“I was just playing my role,” he said. “My role in the team was just to give the fast bowlers a break, and get wickets, and I did exactly that.”
Motie’s dismissal of Stokes and Root, brought plenty joy, given the amount of work he had put in leading up to the start of the series.
“I think so far in my career those are the two biggest wickets to my name” Motie said. “We all know how good they are.”
Motie also managed to get his highest Test score in the second innings.
“I always do a lot (of work) on my batting,” he explained. “Going into that game I told myself, I don’t want to get (bowled) out.”
In related news, seamer Jeremiah Louis has been ruled out of the final Test due to a hamstring injury, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced in a statement. The visitors have opted for a like-for-like replacement, bringing Barbadian Akeem Jordan into the squad.
Kittitian Louis picked up the injury during the second Test at Trent Bridge. He will remain with the squad for further treatment. Jordan, who was playing cricket in the UK at the time of his call-up, has already joined the squad and took part in yesterday’s training session at Edgbaston.
Jordan is yet to make his Test debut but has featured in 19 first-class games, taking 67 wickets since 2022 at an average of 24.10. His performances include two five-wicket hauls with a best innings haul of five for 44.