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Trinidad and Tobago spinner Bryan Charles, 29, is in line to make his Test debut against South Africa this month, after he was named in a 15-man squad to represent the West Indies today.
West Indies face South Africa in the First Test at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on 7 August while the two teams meet at the National Stadium in Guyana from 15 August for the Second Test.
Photo: Daniel Prentice/ Wired868
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel made three additional changes with 32-year-old Barbados spinner Jomel Warrican and the Barbadian pace duo of 36-year-old Kemar Roach and 30-year-old Justin Greaves also included for the two Test series.
West Indies pacer and team vice-captain Alzarri Joseph is rested for the South Africa series while spinner Kevin Sinclair has not recovered from a fractured forearm in the Second Test against England last month.
Batsmen Kirk McKenzie and Zachary McCaskie were both replaced.
West Indies were swept 3-0 in England last month and McKenzie’s returns during the series were: 1, 0, 11, 1, 12 and 8 respectively. McCaskie’s only outing in Britain was a warm-up match against a County Select XI—and he scored two runs off four balls.
McKenzie and Athanaze both represented the WI “A” team against Bangladesh “A” in June 2023.
Photo: CWI Media
CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe expressed confidence in the competence of their squad.
“We are confident about the team selected for this important series against South Africa,” Bascombe told CWI Media. “The selection process for this squad was led by our head coach, Andre Coley, pending the implementation of our new selection process, which will be rolled out in the coming days and articulated publicly shortly.
“This squad reflects a thorough evaluation of players’ recent performances and suitability for the conditions we anticipate. We are confident that this team is well-balanced and capable of competing at the highest level.”
Coley noted that the West Indies team, which includes three spinners, was chosen with the anticipated playing conditions in mind. And he further explained the omissions of Sinclair and Joseph.
(Copyright Gareth Copley/ Getty)
“The squad we have chosen for this series is a balanced mix of experience and youth, strategically selected to maximize our performance in the conditions of Trinidad and Guyana,” said Coley. “We have decided to rest our vice-captain Alzarri Joseph for this series. Alzarri has had a considerable workload recently, and this break will allow him to recuperate and return to peak performance.
“Kevin Sinclair is presently recovering from an injury.”
(Copyright Daniel Prentice/ Wired868)
West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Joshua Da Silva (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican
Team Management Unit: Andre Coley (head coach), Rawl Lewis (manager), Jimmy Adams (assistant coach), Rayon Griffith (assistant coach), Shaun Tait (assistant coach), Dr Denis Byam (physiotherapist), Ronald Rogers (strength and conditioning coach), Fitzbert Alleyne (masseuse), Avenesh Seetaram (analyst)
The full schedule for the series is as follows:
Test Series
7 – 11 Aug 2024 — 1st Test Match Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad and Tobago
15 – 18 Aug 2024 — 2nd Test Match National Stadium, Guyana
T20I Series
23 August 2024 1st T20I — Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago
25 August 2024 2nd T20I — Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago
27 August 2024 3rd T20I — Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago
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