West Indies

Recently the duo of Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmeyer returned to the batting line-up, but there was no room for the out of form Shai Hope, once a staple of the batting order.  With Bravo looking to be in good form on his return to the line-up and some displays of consistency from the likes of Sharmarh Brooks and Roston Chase, Simmons hopes the tussle for places leads to steadier performances in the future.

“It’s a case where everybody is under pressure.  We are getting more and more of a group of batsmen where everyone is competing for four or five places,” Simmons told members of the media via an online press conference from New Zealand.

“With the likes of Hetmyer coming back in and Bravo coming back in, after missing the England tour, Shai Hope is not here.  You are getting a group that is fighting for three or four positions in this case,” he added. 

“So, it is putting pressure on them to perform, that is what we want.  If you perform you will be there and the performance we are talking about is 100s, big 100s that is what we keep singing to the players.”

The regional team ending up beating Sri Lanka in the first T20 by a fairly comfortable margin, in the end, but things did not always look so straightforward.  Overall, a few of the players did not have the expected impact straight out of the gate for the Windies.  This was particularly the case with the batting line-up where three players, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen were dismissed for ducks.

In pursuit of the modest target of 131 for 9, the Windies were rocked in the third over by an Akila Dananjaya spell, which saw the dismissal of Evin Lewis, Gayle, and Pooran.  Gayle was batting in the unfamiliar third spot, which worked well during this season’s IPL campaign.

Pollard is adamant he is, however, in no hurry to change things around, particularly after one game.  In fact, he believes the practice is one that has hurt the team in the past.

“If we are honest with ourselves, that’s one of the problems that has plagued us over the years, the constant chopping and changing when things don’t go right after one or two games,” Pollard told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Thursday.

“We don’t expect miracles from people.  Sometimes you have to give them a chance and opportunities to fulfil what they are trying to achieve and after a period of time you can make a judgment call,” he added.

“After one game I don’t think we are even thinking of doing any changes or anything like that.  We need to get away from the fact that if a guy doesn’t perform, not exclusively using Chris for example, but any individual that has played one or two games, thinking they are not good enough and just be looking to discard them."

The 41-year-old has not precisely gone out on his own terms, with the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum setup opting to move on from an all-time bowling great.

Speaking ahead of his farewell appearance against West Indies on Monday, Anderson reiterated that he was bowling as well as he ever has, but said he had "made peace" with England's decision to revamp their attack.

Now, his focus will be going out on a high as he plays his 188th and final Test on the same ground where he made his debut 21 years ago. 

Ahead of an emotional few days at an iconic venue, we run through the Opta data surrounding Anderson's remarkable career.

The records

Anderson will, without a doubt, be remembered as the finest paceman England have ever produced. In fact, he is the all-time leading Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers from any country, managing 700 dismissals in his 187 matches.

Stuart Broad, his close friend and team-mate for 138 of those contests, is a distant second with 604 in 167 outings, with Australia's Glenn McGrath (563), Windies' Courtney Walsh (519) and South Africa's Dale Steyn (439) rounding out the top five. 

Among all bowlers in Test history, Anderson ranks third for wickets taken, behind Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Australia icon Shane Wayne (708), some way clear of Anil Kumble (619) in fourth.

Anderson also edges out Broad in England's all-time appearance charts, though he will fall short of the global Test record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who represented India 200 times between 1989 and 2013.

While Anderson's legacy in the bowling stakes is set in stone, his contributions to the tail end of the batting order should also not be forgotten.

Anderson has 1,353 Test runs in total, with 687 coming at #11. No other batter in history can match that return at the position, with his highest score – a remarkable 81 versus India at Trent Bridge in 2014 – coming when he batted last.

The highs

That haul was certainly Anderson's best moment with the bat, but what about with the ball, doing what he does best? 

Anderson started as he meant to go on when making his Test bow against Zimbabwe in 2003, going 5-73 in the second innings for the first of 32 career five-wicket hauls.

His best Test figures came in September 2017, as he finished 7-42 in the third innings of a win over West Indies at Lords. His only other seven-wicket haul came in 2008 at Trent Bridge as New Zealand were vanquished.

In fact, 2017 was the most efficient year of his Test career, as he conceded just 17.6 runs per wicket taken. In no year where he played at last 10 matches did Anderson record an average worse than 33.9 (2011).

But fans will likely remember a couple of special Ashes performances most fondly. 

Having played a supporting role as England won a legendary home series in 2005, Anderson had to wait a while to experience a big moment against Australia, his first real taste of the rivalry coming as England were whitewashed 5-0 down under in 2006-07.

Twelve wickets in support of Broad (18) and Graeme Swann (14) helped England reclaim the urn on home soil in 2009, but it was in 2010-11 when he really made his mark.

England had not won an Ashes series in Australia for 24 years, while some had expressed doubts over Anderson's ability to take wickets on foreign soil, but he finished with a magnificent 24 dismissals as the tourists claimed a famous 3-1 series victory.

The urn was retained on home soil in 2013, the tone being set by a nail-biting 14-run victory in the opener, with Anderson claiming a five-for in each innings. 

The opponents

Anderson took 117 wickets in his 39 matches against Australia, but India were his favourite opponents, with 149 in 39 appearances against the Men in Blue.

His historic 700th wicket came against India earlier this year, with Kuldeep Yadav his victim as he became the first paceman in history to reach that landmark.

He took 103 versus South Africa, including his 100th, which came versus Jacques Kallis back in 2008.

This week's match, meanwhile, will give him the chance to add to his 87 wickets in matches versus West Indies. He previously reached the 500 mark against them in 2017, bowling Kraigg Braithwaite to kick-start that remarkable spell of 7-42.  

In terms of opposition players, India's Cheteshwar Pujara is the man to have fallen victim to Anderson most often, being dismissed by him on 12 occasions between 2014 and 2022.

Lord's: A fitting farewell

Anderson may be a Lancashire lad, but one might suggest Lord's has been his spiritual home since he made his red-ball bow on the ground 21 years ago.

He has taken 199 of his Test wickets on the ground in 28 matches there. Only Sri Lanka great Muralitharan has ever taken more at a particular venue, finishing his career with 166 in 24 matches at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

If Anderson adds to that haul on his farewell appearance this week, there won't be a dry eye in the house. 

The issue comes to the for on the back of a tough, lopsided loss to South Africa, where the batsmen, in particular, struggled to deal with the guile and pace of the opposition bowlers.  Many, however, will point to the team’s proclivity to succumb to batting collapses as a chronic illness.  From his perspective, the situation has left the former batsman to ponder about the amount of work and investment being put in by individual players behind the scenes.

He, however, admitted that the overall issue was a complicated and difficult one to assess.

“Is it that heading into a Test series we aren’t preparing well enough technically and mentally, or is it that when players have their own downtime they are not targeting key areas that are critical,” Adams asked on the Mason and Guest radio program.

“Any successful player, at the international level or the elite level, who stays there for any period of time, would have spent all of that time doing remedial work because the cycle never ends,” he added.

“If you get exposed, you cover that gap.  When you think you have that gap covered you get exposed somewhere else.  You talk to any of them, the Laras the Ricky Pontings, the Sachins, they can confirm that they spent all their careers doing remedial work.”

Against the South Africans, the Windies batsmen were floored for 97 in the first innings and never managed to make 200 in any of the four innings against the visitors.

 “I would throw it out for consideration, do we have that mindset amongst our quote and quote elite players? I’m not talking about just international players; I’m talking about first-class cricketers as well.  Are they attacking themselves enough?

“Not just batsmen, bowlers, and wicketkeepers as well.  The one thing that you can guarantee at the international level is you will know where your weaknesses are.  If you are deaf and blind, then the rest of the world will know.  The critical question is am I as a player embracing that? I am taking ownership in a way that as soon as I have my spare time I am attacking myself, I am getting at my weaknesses because the opposition already has it.”

The West Indies on Friday named a 14-man squad that is expected to play three T20 Internationals in New Zealand later this year that included Andre Fletcher who was making a return to the squad after a two-year absence as well as Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo. However, it was noticeable that Russell, Lewis and Simmons were absent.

Chief selector Roger Harper explained during a press conference Friday morning that the three batsman gave different reasons why they opted out.

Simmons, he said, decided against travelling after discussions with his family. Lewis, he said, also discussed the issue with family but was also concerned about a injury that needed more time to heal.

Russell, who is currently playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, said he needed time to clear his head after being in quarantine situations in the Caribbean Premier League and IPL competitions.

“Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell are two very experienced T20 players who performed very well on the last tour of Sri Lanka and their absence will surely be noted,” Harper said in a release from CWI.

However, the respective decisions to decline the invitations to tour will not factor in the selection process to future teams, CWI said.

The 1993 winner-takes-all showdown between the teams was decided by Ambrose’s magical 32 ball spell - from 85 for 2, the Australians tumbled to 119 all out. West Indies closed the first day on 135 for 1, and that was effectively that. The match was over by lunch on the third day. 

In recently reflecting on the match itself, however, the bowler explained that the almost perfect circumstances for fast bowling was one reason the spell did not rank at the top of his list.

“When people ask me about some of my top spells, I will include that, because seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries is unheard of but I’ve never had it at the top of the tree,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“It was the best spell, yes, but when you looked at the game itself, the first morning of a Test match, the pitch was ripe for fast bowling.  Everything was there for a fast bowler.  I was not under any pressure or anything, that is why I never rated it as my best spell,” he added.

  Interestingly, the WACA groundsman was subsequently dismissed for preparing such a home away from home pitch for Ambrose and the other Windies bowlers.

“The spell against South Africa, I would put it ahead because of the nature of the game.  Our backs were against the wall.  When we bowled England out in Trinidad for 46, I would have that spell ahead of it as well because of the nature of the game.  The 8 for 45 against England in Barbados is the same thing.  The situations were all different but that 7 for 1, I was not under any pressure on the first morning with a good pitch.”

The West Indies batting legend, after a few months of battling with an ailment, died at his Christ Church home at around noon.

Already, Cricket West Indies and Barbados Cricket Association president Conde Riley have expressed sadness at the news.

“Sir Everton was one of our greats. He has a massive contribution to Barbados and West Indies cricket. This is a sad time for cricket. We have lost a legend,” said Riley.

In a Tweet less than an hour ago, Cricket West Indies had this to say:

“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of an icon. A legend, our hero, Sir Everton Weekes. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and many fans around the world. May he rest in peace.”

Sir Everton Weekes began his international career against England on January 21, 1948, and would go on to enjoy a career spanning 48 Tests in 20 years of service to the regional side.

In that time he would average a remarkable 58.61, score 15 centuries and 19 half-centuries with a highest score of 207.

In combination with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, Weekes was a major part of the West Indies transition from being a competitive team to being one of the most dominant units in all of sporting history.

The three Ws, along with George Headley made what used to be a talented but fickle batting line-up, into a picture of consistency.

The 41-year-old big-hitter had been tipped to return to the line-up last week but instead ended up in the hospital after a bout of food poisoning.  It seems, Gayle, the record T20 runs scorer will finally step on to the pitch to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday. 

"To all the fans out there, the wait is over. The Universe Boss is back. I know you all have been waiting for such a long time and the wait is over," Gayle said in a video posted on KXIP's official Twitter handle.

It will be difficult circumstances that will great the player, with Kings XI having lost six of its first seven games.  The results leave them firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, with very little hopes of making it to the playoffs. Gayle, however, encouraged fans to have hope.

"Unless something drastic happens to the Universe Boss again, which I hope not. You know it's still possible. I know we are at the bottom of the table but it is still possible," he added.

"Seven games to go, we believe we can win all seven it is still possible. I urge each and every one of the guys to still have that self-belief as I said, the only way we can go is up is only up from here. So, we gonna do it, we can do it.”

On the back of a responsible 95 from Windies batsman Jermaine Blackwood, and a 9-wicket haul from pace bowler Shannon Gabriel, the regional team claimed a 1-0 lead after a 4-wicket win in Southampton, on Sunday.  With the omission of veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad from the first Test, however, former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested the hosts may have underestimated the West Indies.  England instead, opted for a line-up that included Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and James Anderson.

 "Hats off to West Indies for a super performance, but I'd like to ask England one question. If this had been the first game of the Ashes, would they have left out Stuart Broad?" Hussain asked in his post-match analysis.

Simmons has, however, refuted any suggestions of underestimation.

“I don’t think so.  England is a professional unit and I would not expect that from them. I think they thought on the day they needed to bat first.  Maybe they looked at how the match would end, the wicket and how dry it was at the time,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.

“There are many factors why they could have batted first. I don’t want to speculate but I don’t think they took us for granted,” he added.

“I think there is a choice between five quality bowlers, so one had to sit out.  It came to Broad that day but there are three back-to-back Test matches and England has maybe five or six Test matches, so sometimes we think that’s the way we have to go.”

The West Indies and England have had competitive outings in the last two Test match series between the teams.  The West Indies also won a Test match, in England, in 2017, before claiming the Wisden Trophy with a 2-1 win over England in the Caribbean last year.

For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about.  The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.

Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.

“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.

“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs.  I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.

In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.

“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world.  How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.

 “People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth.  We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region.  It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”

The topic of player fitness has been a hot-button issue in recent years, with a few cricketers failing fitness tests and others on occasions noticeably overweight.  The issue is back in the spotlight following the recently concluded Women's T20 Blaze where Jamaica were crowned champions. 

Some critics have pointed to the lack of a regulatory fitness program for the regional, players but Perry insists it must also be an issue of personal responsibility.

“I don’t think enough work is being put into our cricketers and our cricketers are not properly monitoring themselves.  They eat anything they want, they eat KFC, they eat Burger King, they eat Chinese, they don’t have a proper program,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“A part of the program is nutrition.  You have to be eating properly to be a top-class cricketer because your body is going to need it, because, it brings the best out of your body.  Rehydration, you go to the beach, you swim, you do all of these things, you follow a specific program,” he added.

“Players aren’t following that, they go on their phones and they go and sit in the dressing room and do nothing and then they go home and put on weight.  How can you be a professional cricketer and a be putting on weight?  You are not supposed to be putting on weight.”

The omission of promising pace bowler Chemar Holder raised more than a few eyebrows when the squad was named last week, especially on the back of a promising debut in New Zealand.  The Test squad at current features four spinners in Rahkeem Cornwall, Kavem Hodge, Veerasammy Permaul, and Jomel Warrican along with the regular fast bowling trio of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph.

  Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors, Roger Harper, went on to explain that Holder’s exclusion for additional spin bowling was based on the fact that the team was eager to take advantage of Bangladesh’s spin-friendly pitches.

Radford, who was part of a successful tour of the region in 2012, is unsure if that was the best approach.

“I’ve been listening to what people have been saying.  We have gone heavy with a lot of spin.  You expect the pitches to be slow and turn out there.  Whether they need as many spinners as they are taking, I’m not too sure,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“In fact, when we won in 2012 it was done with good batting, posting big scores and having pace, actually, guys who could get it down in the high 80s, 90 miles and hour, not just assuming that because it’s slow pitches spinners are going to do the work.  I’m actually working for Bangladesh at the moment, I spent 6 weeks out there, they play spin very well, they’re brought up playing that kind of bowling.”

Following the promising start but a disastrous end to the tour of England, a lot of discussions surrounding how to improve the team’s performance focused on increased technological infrastructure around the region.

The typically fiery former pace bowler was, however, quick to point out that such investment is unlikely to make a difference if the attitude and work ethics of the batsmen do not improve.

“Infrastructure will not make you a better player.  You have to make yourself a better player and I don’t think the commitment is there from a lot of West Indies players,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“It’s not just the Test players but a lot of people who play cricket in the West Indies, I don’t think they commit themselves enough.  If you did, you would not be averaging 30 in first-class cricket and that is what we are getting.”

In the recently concluded series, it was Jermaine Blackwood that averaged the most for the team with 35.17 but he was the only one to get to 30.  Overall, for the series, the team averaged closer to 20.  In fact, the team’s highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66 and that was against Zimbabwe in 2017.

“You can’t beat any quality team with that type of average.  So, our guys first have to stand up in front of the mirror and think what am I doing to improve myself, because, until our players improve their batting we are not going to score runs against a strong team.”

The omission of the likes of Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamarh Brooks, Shane Dowrich, Sheldon Cottrell, Rovman Powell, and Oshane Thomas from the international retainer contracts lists, for the upcoming year, has rubbed a few supporters the wrong way.  Particularly, based on the fact that fewer contracts were handed out this year.

However, according to Harper, some players did not meet the minimum criteria for selection or simply did not display the quality need.

“We have to accept that these are performance-based contracts.  So, the contracts are awarded based on performance during the evaluation period, as well as the selection panel must feel that the players must play a major role or form the nucleus of the team going forward,” Harper told members of the media on Thursday.

“The players who were not awarded contracts their performances over the period did not meet the necessary criteria as well as you had new players who came to fore and performed, so they were offered contracts,” he added.

“Going forward as a culture, if we want to see our team progress, if we want to see our team compete with the best in the world.  We have to be more conscious of the fact that we have to earn our stripes and we have to perform consistently.  I think our retainer contracts are given on that basis.”

In addition to playing at least 50 percent of the games during the evaluation period, to be considered, batsmen must average at least 30 in Test and ODI cricket.  For T20Is players the player’s batting average and strike rate combined must be a minimum 150.

The giant West Indian rocketed to fame after swatting away four straight sixes off England’s Ben Stokes, to lift the Caribbean team to the 2016 T20 World Cup title.  Those types of exploits were of course very much like another big West Indian's, Chris Gayle, who has often thrilled IPL crowds with his match-winning, big-hitting exploits in India.

“Cricket is a religion in India. I remember I was filming Chris (Gayle) being mobbed at the airport. But after the World Cup when I came to play for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), the same thing was happening to me,” the 31-year old said in a recent Delhi radio show.

Brathwaite has not quite followed up on the promise of those big heaves over the boundary, in recent years, losing both the captaincy of the West Indies and dropped from the squad.  He was also not selected during the 2020 IPL auctions held late last year, but still hopes to play some part in the tournament.

“Hopefully I will be in IPL in some capacity maybe replacement player or in commentary,” he added.

Due to ongoing global fight with the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was, however, postponed until further notice.

The 24-year-old pace bowler was once considered one of the hottest prospects in regional cricket after bursting on the scene with fiery spells for Caribbean Premier League (CPL) team Jamaica Tallawahs during the 2016 season.

However, despite going on to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the last two seasons and 17 T20 international matches for the West Indies, Thomas is yet to quite hit the heights his talent promised early on.

In-between indifferent spells of forms and fitness issues, the player has taken 19 wickets for the team.  Thomas has, however, looked lively in the CPL this season taking 4 wickets in six games.  The player’s rejuvenated look has been enough to attract the attention of the selectors and Harper hopes the decision pays rich dividends come next month.

“Oshane brings that sort of x-factor to the team, we know when Oshane is at his best he is a real force,” Harper told members of the media on Thursday.

“We haven’t seen him at his best for a while, but we saw him coming to that point in this tournament (CPL).  A lot of work has been done in the various T20 series, behind the scenes with Oshane,” he added.

“When he played, we didn’t see exactly what we were looking for, but now we see a bit of the Oshane that we know in this tournament (CPL) and will feel that if he keeps improving he will be the sort of bowler that could make a difference for us in the right condition.  Hsis extra pace, his extra bounce, and when he is on song he gets the ball to swing at that pace as well.  So, we think he could make a big difference in the team.”

The 23-year-old pace bowler has been added as a reserve for the tour but is not a part of the 14-man squad for the series.  In fact, he is yet to make his test cricket debut but has played 20 ODIs and 12 T20Is since his debut in late 2018 and picked up five-wicket hauls in both limited-overs formats. 

Roberts believes the tour would provide the perfect opportunity to look at the player for the longest format of the game, because of one attribute, his raw pace.

“He should be in that 14-man squad from the onset.  He has what others want, he has pace.  Everybody wants pace,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest Radio program.

“He may not be a wicket-taker but he may create some problems for the opposition and that is what you want.  Sometimes it’s not the guy who gets the wickets, it’s the guy who creates the problem that gets the other guys the wickets.”

Thomas had an impressive outing for the West Indies before the global game was halted due to the spread of the coronavirus.  He took 5 for 28 and 1 for 24 as West Indies swept Sri Lanka 2-0 in a T20I series in the first week of March.

After winning the toss and choosing to field, England posted 289-9 in their allotted 50 overs. The total was built around half-centuries by captain Jacob Bethell (69), James Rew (59) and wicket-keeper Alex Horton (53).

Bethell and Rew added 87 for the third wicket before the partnership was broken by the 16-year-old Thomas, who bowled with good pace throughout his 10-over spell. He later returned to get the wicket of Horton, who played a late cameo which included four fours and a six, as England scored 85 runs in the last 10 overs.

In reply, the West Indies total of 123 had its main contributions from openers Anderson Amurdan (33) and Matthew Nandu (21) who gave the West Indies a 46 run opening stand in the initial 10 over power play. Amurdan faced 47 balls and hit five boundaries, while left-hander Nandu faced 28 balls and hit two fours. But led by a five-wicket haul from off-spinner Tom Prest (6-2-18-5), who was well supported by the leg-spin of Rehan Ahmed (3-22) and left-arm orthodox Fateh Singh (1-28), they combined effectively to bowl out the visitors in the 30th over.

Last season, Pooran lit up the tournament as one of the competition’s most in-form players, scoring an impressive 353 runs in 14 games, with an average of 35.  He clearly has not started this campaign at a similar pace.

In four matches so far, the batsman has scored just nine runs, and that was in one match.  In the others, he has left the crease much too quickly to trouble the tally.

In addition to just the wretched run of form, however, some fans have poked fun at the order of the player’s scoreless dismissals. 

He was dismissed for a two balls duck against the Rajasthan Royals in his side's first game. He was then out for a first-ball duck against the Chennai Super Kings.  On Wednesday, Pooran got out for a diamond duck, without even facing a ball as he was run out as soon as he came to the crease.  Punjab Kings XI, who could muster only 120 runs in their 20 overs, lost the match by eight wickets and have recorded one win in their first four games.

Wicket-keeper/batsman Devon Thomas, left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and fast bowler Anderson Phillip are the players set to make their West Indies senior Test debuts.

Meanwhile, experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach is to undergo a fitness assessment as he recovers from an injury sustained in the English County Championship with Surrey. If he is passed fit, he will be included as the 13th player in the Test squad.

Allrounder Jason Holder is unavailable for selection as CWI has granted his request for a period of rest and recovery. He will therefore miss Bangladesh’s all-format tour of the West Indies. Batter Tagenarine Chanderpaul and fast bowler Shermon Lewis have been selected as reserves.

Thomas has played 21 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and four T20 Internationals (T20Is) while Motie has so far played one T20I and was a reserve for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates last year.

Phillip was in the squad throughout the recent Apex Test Series victory against England but has not made his debut to date. He has featured in three ODIs, including last week’s 3-0 Series win against the Netherlands and is in the ODI squad for the ongoing ODI series in Pakistan. The Test squad also includes left-handed allrounder Raymon Reifer, who has one match on his record.

“Devon Thomas has been knocking on the door for quite some time. He has done extremely well in our franchise cricket system and we view this as a good opportunity to give him a go,” said lead selector Sir Desmond Haynes.

“You would notice that Raymon Reifer is also in the squad. He is another person that has done impressively well in the four-day competition and against England. So again, we are giving opportunities to guys who are performing.

“We think Gudakesh Motie is one of those guys who is also bowling well and we think it will be a good opportunity for him to be involved. We are looking to pick up World Test Championship points against Bangladesh which will be very important. It would be good for us to use our home advantage to win both Test matches and collect those points.”

The Selection Panel also named the CWI President’s XI to face the visitors in a three-day warm-up match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua from Friday, June 10 to Sunday, June 12. The team will be captained by all-rounder Yannic Cariah.

“Yannic Cariah has captained Trinidad & Tobago at youth level and he was also the captain of the West Indies Emerging Players team which won the CG United Super50 Cup in 2019,” Haynes said.

 ‘We are looking at future leaders. We need to start identifying these persons as early as possible. While we will need some assistance from the territories as well, we want to make sure there are leaders we can identify and begin grooming for the future of West Indies cricket.”

Test squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales and Devon Thomas.

Reserves: Tagernarine Chanderpaul, Shermon Lewis

CWI President’s XI: Yannic Cariah (Captain), Colin Archibald, Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Bryan Charles, Roston Chase, Tevin Imlach, Jeremiah Louis, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Jeremy Solozano and Jomel Warrican.