Mikyle Louis has been rewarded for an excellent season with the bat for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel has unveiled the 15-member squad set to tour England for the three-Test Richards Botham series, which starts at Lord's on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.
Test matches between these two rivals date back to 1928 when the West Indies made their first trip to England. The Teams now compete for the Richards Botham Trophy, named in honour of West Indies legend Sir Vivian Richards and England great Lord Ian Botham.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite will continue his leadership role, with fast bowler Alzarri Joseph again serving as Vice-Captain. The team is scheduled to arrive in England on 23 June for a training camp at Tonbridge School, ahead of a 4-day warm-up match at Beckingham commencing on the 4 July.
CWI Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes, expressed confidence in the squad's composition.
“The squad has been shaped with both experience and emerging talent, ensuring a strong balance as we face the challenge of playing in English conditions. Over the past year, our red-ball program has continued to develop. Following our victory in the last Test in Australia in January, it is evident that we are seeing the fruits of that investment. Each player selected has earned their place through consistent performances and hard work. We are confident that this blend of seasoned players and emerging faces will perform admirably against England.”
Young Fast Bowler Jayden Seales returns to the squad having missed the last Test Series against Australia due to injury and experienced all-rounder Jason Holder has earned a recall having made himself unavailable for the last tour.
There is also a first international selection for 23-year-old opening batsman Mikyle Louis.
Louis, a former West Indies U19 International, scored 682 runs in his debut First Class season for the Leeward Island Hurricanes at an average of 48.71. Should he debut for the West Indies in England, he will become the first Kittitian to wear the famous Maroon test cap.
The West Indies 15-member test squad is as follows:
These players will be supported by the following team management unit:
West Indies' last test match was a resounding victory in Australia earlier this year. Since then, all selected players were involved in the West Indies Championship, which concluded in April and was won by the Guyana Harpy Eagles.
19-year-old fast bowler, Isai Thorne will travel with the squad as a development player, following impressive performances in this debut First Class season taking 31 wickets at average 16.29 in his first eight matches.
The West Indies are the current holders of the Richards Botham Trophy following the 1-0 Home Test Series win in March 2022.
Denmark coach Hjulmand ready to go toe-to-toe with Euro 2024 hosts Germany
Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand is relishing the opportunity of facing Euro 2024 hosts Germany in the knockout stages of the tournament this Saturday.
The Danes concluded their Group C campaign with a goalless draw against Serbia in Munich, finishing second behind England in the standings.
"The last seven, eight minutes (against Serbia) were just defending, so I think our defence was really good, Hjulmand said after the game.
"We had to fight through the game at the end. But I think we showed character and there are so many things from the game that I'm happy about.
"There are a few things in the attack that we have to tweak in order to succeed but I know that we can we can do that. We have some great players there."
Denmark drew all three of their group games, finishing ahead of Slovenia based on their disciplinary record, ultimately coming down to Milivoje Novakovic, a member of Matjaz Kek's coaching staff, being shown a yellow card against the Danes.
It sets up a meeting with Germany, a side they have failed to beat in their last four meetings, with their last triumph coming in an international friendly in March 2007.
"I really love football here in Germany and playing against Germany with the Danish team, it can't be better, I can't wait. It's a great team. But we're a great team as well. And when we play the big nations, we always step up," Hjulmand said.
'England have to be at our best to beat India', Moeen Ali insists
Moeen Ali acknowledged England will "have to be at our best" to beat India when they lock horns in the T20 World Cup semi-finals on Thursday.
The reigning champions have recovered from a slow start to their total defence to reach their fourth successive semi-final in the competition.
England have subsequently set up a rematch of their showdown with India at this stage of the 2022 competition, when Jos Buttler and Alex Hales inspired England to a 10-wicket victory with four overs to spare.
Two years later, they face an India side full of momentum having won all six of their completed matches, while eliminating 50-over world champions Australia with a 24-run win on Monday.
And Moeen knows England cannot afford to be off the pace in Guyana if they are to replicate their 2022 exploits.
"They looked very, very strong, like they did in the last World Cup," he said. "They're just a brilliant side. They've got everything covered, so we're going to have to be at our best to beat them. I'm looking forward to it.
"It's a great challenge, similar to the last time we played them in the semi-final in Australia. It's going to be a challenge, and we're going to have to plan and play really well."
Remembering that 2022 semi-final, Moeen added: "We were unbelievable with the bat. We set the game up on that wicket with the ball. Even when they got away from us a little bit at the end, it was a bit late. That was a great day, and a great performance."
Euro 2024 social round-up: Slovenia create history as Maupay pokes fun at England
Two more groups at Euro 2024 concluded on Tuesday as the tournament approaches the end of the first round.
England, Austria, France, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Denmark all confirmed their places in the knockout stage of the competition.
Here, we unpack the best of the day's social media clips from the tournament in Germany.
Austria advance as group winners
Very few gave Austria a chance of emerging from Group D, let alone expected them to finish top ahead of France and the Netherlands.
But Ralf Rangnick masterminded a spectacular display against the Oranje in Berlin to ensure their progression as group winners.
Having endured a difficult spell with Manchester United, the 65-year-old is showing his class on the international stage, and Austria's official account celebrated along with the coach.
Maupay pokes fun at England
Known for his tormenting antics both on and off the pitch, France's Neal Maupay was at it again following England's goalless draw with Slovenia.
The Everton striker was quick to post on social media shortly after full-time in Cologne, posting a GIF of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards to X.
That trio of pundits have been the target of some ire from the England camp for their disparaging comments in recent days.
Ahead of the new Premier League season, this will surely fail to improve Maupay's popularity.
Slovenia create history
England were met with boos when Clement Turpin's final whistle sounded. However, the opposite end of the Cologne Stadium was sheer euphoria.
Despite failing to win a game at Euro 2024, Slovenia's three draws in Group C were enough to secure their spot in the knockout stages of the competition.
An incredible achievement for a nation with a population of just 2.1 million and the third-lowest ranked team heading into the tournament.
'Southgate, Southgate, thank you for the point'
While Gareth Southgate may not be the most popular among England fans right now, he certainly has the backing of the Slovenian supporters.
Presenter and reporter Phil Kitromilides posted to X a video of a Slovenian thanking the Three Lions manager for the point that sent his nation through to the knockout stages.
France gaining support from afar
While Les Bleus prepare for the knockout stages of Euro 2024, France legend Thierry Henry is prepping for an entirely different competition.
The former Arsenal striker, who won two major honours with his nation, is in charge of France's Olympic team for the Paris games, and is gearing up to win gold next month.
Both the men's and women's teams were snapped taking a break from preparations to cheer on Didier Deschamps' side against Poland. That match finished 1-1.
Oranje take over Berlin
Despite not knowing what was to come at the Olympiastadion, the travelling Netherlands support were in fine voice ahead of their 3-2 defeat to Austria.
A sea of orange (Oranje) lined the streets of the German capital, performing some impressively synchronised dance moves.
The Dutch fans have been a highlight of the tournament, even if their team have failed to spark.
Germany all smiles ahead of knockout stages
Having secured their qualification to the last 16 with their draw with Switzerland on Sunday, Germany's stars were all smiles in training.
Following the conclusion of Group C, Julian Nagelsmann's side will face Denmark in Dortmund this Saturday, and will be hoping to build on their impressive start.
Onana's inspirational Belgium team talk
With Group E finely poised heading into Matchday 3, Belgium's Amadou Onana provided a motivational team talk for the Red Devils ahead of their meeting with Ukraine.
The midfielder also managed to squeeze in his own rendition of R.Kelly's 'I Believe I Can Fly', and he will be hoping to soar into the knockout stages with Belgium.
Last week, Onana hit out at a reporter who repeatedly called him "Andre", so the Belgian social media department had some fun with that, too.
Spain firing on all cylinders
After maintaining their unbeaten start to their Euros campaign, Luis de la Fuente's side are showing no signs of slowing down ahead of the knockouts.
La Roja posted a video on X showcasing a shooting drill from training, and it looks like they could take some stopping in Germany.
Celebrating Van Basten strike
On this day in 1988, the Netherlands beat the Soviet Union to win the European Championships for the first time in their history.
After Ruud Gullit opened the scoring, Marco van Basten secured the victory with one of the most iconic goals ever scored at the tournament.
And what better way to celebrate it than by recreating the strike with Euro 2024's mascot, Albart.
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