As was eventually inevitable, Jason Holder has had the West Indies Test captaincy added to the ODI responsibility unexpectedly placed on him in January for the series in South Africa and the subsequent World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
His record as the youngest of all West Indies captains at 23 has now been extended to the longer, traditional version.
His first assignments in his new role — two Tests in Sri Lanka next month, three in the contrasting conditions of Australia over the new year — loom as demanding as they were in South Africa and the World Cup. West Indies have not won a Test, let alone a series, in either country this century.
The apparent mitigating factors, that each is in a state of rebuilding after the retirement of key, experienced players, that Sri Lanka is coming off successive defeats at home against Pakistan and India and that Australia are under a new captain, are negated by the West Indies’ identical situation.