‘I’ve always wanted to score a century in England’

Barring injury, Roston Chase will face Jofra Archer at some point during the upcoming three Test series between England and West Indies. It won’t, however, be the first time the pair have faced off in England.

Five years ago, both Chase and Archer were playing club cricket in the Sussex Premier League. Chase, who was playing for Cuckfield, had already played first-class cricket for Barbados and a couple of months earlier had just made two half-centuries for the West Indies Board President’s XI against Michael Clarke’s Australia in a tour match in Antigua.

Archer, three years Chase’s younger and playing for Middleton-on-Sea, was still a year away from making his first-class debut for Sussex when they met for a one-day game in July 2015 at Middleton’s Sea Lane ground. “I do remember the game we played against Jofra,” Chase said. “He got five wickets, he got me out.”

Taking the new ball, Archer reduced Cuckfield, who had won the toss and decided to bat, to five for eight, an opening burst which included pinning Chase LBW first ball. After six overs, however, Archer pulled up injured. “Things became so much easier for us,” Chase said. “We ended up getting a big total and we ended up winning the game quite easily.

“I knew Jofra [already]. I did play against him in the league in Barbados. He was quite young though, playing for the Barbados youth combined schools team. He was always a good talent but he was not always that fast. He had some pace but he wasn’t as rapid as he is now.”

Chase scored four half-centuries in 14 matches for Cuckfield but only averaged in the mid-20s with the bat. Nevertheless, he credits his spell in Sussex with toughening him up. “It wasn’t easy,” he said. “The pitches were a bit up and down so I didn’t get many runs. But it really helped my cricket as a batsman and my all-round game. Not only skill wise, it really helped me mentally.

“I was alone out there. I only had the guys that played in the side with me and outside of the cricket, the guys were busy. It was just me on my own, trying to do my best. That really toughened me up as a cricketer and mentally.” A little more than a year later, Chase made his West Indies Test debut, against India, in Antigua.

Now, with 32 matches to his name, he is one of West Indies’ senior players and he has happy memories of the last time he played England. During the opening Test of last year’s series in the Caribbean, on his home ground in Barbados, Chase scored an important first innings half-century and then took 8 for 60 with his off-spin in England’s second innings to help wrap up a mammoth 381 run victory.

“It was a wonderful memory to think about,” Chase said. “It was a great series. That match is probably the best Test match I have played in with this current side. That match was the start of us winning series. It’s good to look back on that and have that going into this series.”

Although Chase’s conventional off-spin is significantly better than that of a part-timer, he is a batting all-rounder and sees Rakheem Cornwall as the current squad’s number one slow bowler. Did England take him seriously in Barbados? “I guess the England batsman, I don’t want to say underestimated me, but they were a bit complacent in playing me,” Chase said. “As the series went on they got a bit tighter.” Chase didn’t take another wicket in the series.

His primary role in next month’s series will be with the bat, however. Chase may move up the order in the absence of Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo, who both opted out of the series due to health concerns, but wherever he bats, he will be looking to improve on a poor recent record. Although he scored a fine hundred in the third Test against England in St Lucia, Chase is averaging just a tick over 20 from his last eight Tests, with eight single figure scores in his last 14 innings.

He is not alone in his struggles amongst the West Indies batsmen. Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope, the other two key batsmen in the top order, have also found life difficult of late. “It is fair to say that we haven’t had the best time as a top order,” Chase admitted. “But some of the guys, we have played thirty of more Test matches, having that experience and knowhow, they know how to get runs at this level.

“It’s just for us to get that confidence and belief back in our batting and we will be fine. The guys know we have ability and some guys have some centuries so it’s clear that they can perform at this level. It’s just a case of getting that mindset right and backing your ability.

“The key would be to get a good first innings total. The first innings is going to be very important because once you get that good total, there is always pressure on the other time to come and back that up. Our bowling is our strength so once we can get a good target for the bowlers to look after, I think we will be in a good position to dominate in this series.”

Chase has five Test hundreds in all – only one of them has come outside the West Indies – and he says he won’t be happy unless he ends this series with at least one more to his name. “I’ve always wanted to score a century in England. I scored a century against England in the Caribbean but I would love to get one in England,” Chase said.

“When you score hundreds in England, people take you more serious and rate you a bit higher. I am just looking to have a good series with the bat and score as many runs as possible. But I would not be happy if I don’t get at least one century.”