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Cricket West Indies (CWI) selectors offered a recall to 29-year-old allrounder Fabian Allen and rare opportunities to 25-year-old batsman Alick Athanaze and 22-year-old pacer Matthew Forde, as the West Indies 15-man T20 International squad was announced today to face South Africa.
West Indies face the Proteas in three T20Is on 23, 25 and 27 August at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad. It is the Maroon Men’s first T20I clash since the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
Photo: Getty Images
Forde and Allen were both reserves for the T20 World Cup while Athanaze was excluded entirely. However, they are now in the frame again with Kyle Mayers omitted and Brandon King still unavailable due to injury, while allrounder Andre Russell and pacers Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder are rested.
Roston Chase replaces Joseph as team vice-captain.
“Andre Russell requested a period of rest and recovery as well as Jason Holder, who played five back-to-back Tests against England and South Africa,” CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe told CWI Media.
“During this period, they will work closely with the CWI science and medicine team.”
Photo: Nicholas Bhajan/ Wired868
Coach Daren Sammy said he looks forward to the challenge against the T20 World Cup runners-up, who eliminated the host nation from the tournament—just before the semifinal stage.
“Facing a strong South Africa side is an excellent opportunity for our team to reset and refocus with our game plan,” said Sammy. “We have played them recently and had mixed results, so this should be an exciting and important series.
“I’m confident in the squad we’ve selected, and with eyes already on the next T20 World Cup in 2026, I know the guys will be keen to show their hunger for success.”
West Indies have won four of their last five T20I series and are fourth in the ICC Men’s T20I team rankings—one spot above South Africa.
Photo: CWI Media
The Maroon Men also have four current players who are ranked in the top 15 players in the world. Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran are 10th and 12th respectively in batting while spinners Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie are sixth and 13th respectively.
King is ninth in the batting standings while Joseph is 11th on the bowling charts.
The West Indies squad for the South Africa series is as follows:
WI: Rovman Powell (captain), Roston Chase (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd.
Photo: CWI Media
Staff: Daren Sammy (head coach), Rayon Griffith, Floyd Reifer, Ramesh Subasinghe (assistant coaches), Denis Byam (physiotherapist), Ronald Rogers (strength and conditioning coach), Fitzbert Alleyne (masseuse), Rawl Lewis (manager), Avenesh Seetaram (analyst), and John Phillips (media and content officer).
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