Playing for Windies means everything to me, proclaims Chase after appointment as Test skipper

Roston Chase will become the 38th man to lead the West Indies out on the field at the start of a Test match when the team walks out in Bridgetown on June 25 for the three-match Test series against Australia, which will mark the beginning of the 2025-27 World Test Championship Cycle for the Caribbean nation. Chase himself did not play any part in their latest endeavour where the team finished eighth out of nine teams, yet found himself as the preferred choice to take over from Kraigg Brathwaite after the veteran opener stepped down in March. Chase was amongst a short-list of six and won the captaincy race after Shai Hope pulled out to focus on his white-ball leadership duties.

Chase has represented the West Indies in 49 Tests so far, scoring 2,265 runs at 26.33 and scalping 85 wickets at 46. He made his debut versus India in 2016 following a standout year with both bat and ball in domestic cricket, and went to register five tons before a horrid patch on an African tour saw him dropped in early 2023. 

‌"I was a student at the University of West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill at the time, and I would be taking a lot of leave to go and play like in the first-class competition. I wasn't cemented in the Barbados team at that stage. So my mother encouraged me, but gave me an ultimatum that I will be given two years to make myself a permanent fixture in the Barbados team or I will have to go to school permanently," Chase was quoted saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

"I loved cricket more than school. I was always a good student, but cricket was my love. I worked hard, and I'm glad that she gave me that ultimatum because that really was the driving force for me to carry my cricket to the next level. [My father] would come and watch all my games, and talk to me about the game, where I need to improve or I need to work on - the dos and don'ts," he added.

Chase has big shoes to fill with Brathwaite having led the Caribbean islands in 39 Tests, level with Garry Sobers for the fourth most in their history. Even though the stint was not particularly successful, producing 10 wins and 22 defeats, it helped take a lead from Jason Holder's reign over 37 Tests and usher an era of relative stability. Captaining the Windies has always been a unique challenge given they are a federation of nations playing under a united banner notwithstanding the fierce rivalry that can exist between the comprising nations, but Chase is determined to carry on from the legacies of Clive 'Supercat' Lloyd, Vivan 'King Viv' Richards, and Brian 'Princey' Lara -- the former two firmly establishing the Windies as the world's top Test nation in a golden era for the Caribbean islands.   

"Captaining the West Indies is a great job to have, and there's a legacy attached to it," he said.

"Playing for the West Indies means everything to me, so I'm ready for the responsibilities which come with the job."