‘Will be looking to dominate’ – Roston Chase hopes Sri Lanka series win is a ‘stepping stone’ for West Indies in WTC 2027 cycle

West Indies captain Roston Chase believes his side’s maiden series win of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 cycle can serve as a “stepping stone” for the team’s future in red-ball cricket.

The Caribbean side defeated Sri Lanka in the opening Test before holding on for a draw in the second, sealing their first Test series victory after 11 series. It was also their first series win over Sri Lanka in 23 years.

Unlike previous campaigns where the bowling unit often carried the team, West Indies’ batting played the defining role in the series. Chase highlighted the improvement with the bat and praised the batters for giving the bowlers competitive totals to defend.

“Yeah, the batting is something that we put a lot of emphasis on because it was mostly the bowling that was standing up for us in the majority of the games,” Chase said after the second Test. “It’s something that I really put forth to the guys that we need to be able to at least give the bowlers something to work with and they raised their hands tremendously in this series,” Chase was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.

West Indies piled up a massive 626/9 declared in the first Test, with Amir Jangoo smashing 233 and Chase narrowly missing out on a double century with 194. The pair added a remarkable 401 runs for the fifth wicket.

In the second Test, Justin Greaves (180) and Shai Hope (112) stitched together a vital 242-run partnership that helped West Indies secure a draw and clinch the series.

“We had four hundreds [in the series]. I mean, we’ve been scoring hundreds in the past games but these are big hundreds and not only that, we turn them into big totals as well. Not just one guy getting a hundred and we probably just getting over 250, but for two guys to get hundreds in two innings, that says a lot,” he continued.

The skipper also acknowledged the significance of beating Sri Lanka, a team that has traditionally troubled the West Indies in Test cricket.

“Yes, I’m very elated, especially against a team like Sri Lanka, that we struggle to beat even at home and especially when we go away to them – it’s very difficult to beat them. So to come here and to beat them – just not beat them but in a dominating kind of way – is very pleasing. And we haven’t won against them in 23 years. It feels great, especially after the year that we had last year, to come and start the year with this series victory, it feels great.”

Looking ahead, Chase expressed hope that the series triumph would lay the foundation for consistent performances in the current WTC cycle.

“I think this is a stepping stone for us going forward. Especially, we sit down and we plan for this Test Championship and we said last year it was going to be tough and it was tough. But we said this year we think that the two series at home especially, these are series that we’ll be looking to dominate and to win. So I just want the guys to continue from this and let this be a stepping stone, as I said,” Chase concluded.

West Indies will next host Pakistan in a two-match Test series later this month. While Pakistan currently sits below the Caribbean side in the WTC standings, they remain in contention for a place in the final, having played fewer matches so far in the cycle.

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