“Born to lead and not to follow.” That is the mantra driving Roston Chase, who will become the 38th Test captain to represent the West Indies when he steps onto the hallowed grounds of Kensington Oval to spin the toss against Australia on June 25 in the opening Test of the coveted Sir Frank Worrell Trophy series.
Standing at six feet five inches tall, Chase—raised in Christ Church, Barbados—is embracing the moment. From childhood dreams on local pitches to now steering the ship of West Indies Test cricket, he finds himself on the brink of a new chapter, charged with leading a revival of pride and performance in the longest format of the game.
The 33-year-old etched his name into West Indies folklore in his debut series in 2016 against India, where he scored a century and took a five-wicket haul in the same Test—becoming just the fifth West Indian to achieve that rare feat. Since then, he has recorded four more centuries and three additional five-wicket hauls, including a match-winning career-best 8 for 60 against arch-rivals England on home soil.
CRICKET AS A FIRST LOVE
Already living the dream of representing the West Indies, Chase now steps into an even greater honour—leading a region of millions of proud Caribbean nationals who long to see the maroon reign supreme once again.
“I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead the West Indies Test team. This is a real privilege, and I’m excited about getting started this summer against Australia and looking forward to what this team can achieve in the future.”
“Playing for the West Indies means everything to me so I’m ready for the responsibilities which come with the job at hand which includes showing that passion and desire to our loyal fans in the region and across the world.”
Though the magnitude of the job is not lost on him, Chase has never shied away from leadership. Still, captaincy wasn’t always in his sights.
“I always had leadership skills when I was younger, but I did not see myself at this stage at the start because I only wanted to play and win games for the West Indies.” Chase shared. “I never really thought about it, but as you get older and you understand the game a bit more you realize certain things and then obviously you hear people saying stuff you then sit and think about all the possibilities because captaining the West Indies is a great job to have and a legacy is attached to it.”
THE VALUE OF FAMILY
Despite the excitement of 2025, Chase’s path to prominence was shaped by an honest conversation with his mother at age 18, following his first-class debut for Barbados against Jamaica.
“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 because I was at the UWI Cave Hill.” Chase expressed. “I was a student at UWI and at the time and I would be taking a lot of leave to go and play like in the first-class competition.”
He continued,
“my mother said she would give me the time to go and work on my game so that I could become a fixture in the team but if not, I had to go to school. 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.”
While childhood heroes like Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, and Sir Curtly Ambrose filled his imagination, his real-life superhero was his father.
“My father was more the driving force because he 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 that could take me to the next level.”
A CLEAR MINDSET
Interestingly, Chase started out as a fast bowler before transitioning into a spinner through a process of trial and error. He credits former coach Henderson Springer for helping him find the right balance between bat and ball.
“I was always more of a batter than a bowler but when I got around Barbados senior team, I wasn’t really bowling because we had a lot of spin options in Sulieman Benn and Ryan Hinds, so I wasn’t really bowling, and I started to focus more on my batting.”
Chase shared.
“Henderson Springer the coach at that time, told me that contributing with bat and ball makes it difficult for any individual to be left out of a team, so I really took that to heart, and I said I would never stop bowling, so I just continued to work on my skills and worked out.”
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Having previously served as vice-captain, Chase now steps into the lead role, focused on setting a tone that encourages excellence both on and off the field.
“Well, for me, firstly, I just want to have fun. Go there, have fun with my troops and I want to try to bring out the best in my players. Obviously, you want them to play some good cricket, play some hard cricket, as I said, have some fun.”
Chase said.
“Hopefully we can win more games than we lose but at the end of the day, I just want to help the guys improve as cricketers and as human beings.”
With Chase at the helm, West Indies cricket enters a new era—led by a man of humility and purpose, who wears the maroon with pride, reverence, and an unshakeable commitment to regional glory.
This article was written by Jerome Foster, Content and Media Officer assigned to the West Indies Men’s Senior Team
