Bangladesh “A” reached 175-5 off 49 overs at stumps on a rain-affected day one of the second four day “Test” against West Indies “A” at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Afif Hossain and Saif Hassan have top-scored so far for the hosts with 37 and 31, respectively.

Akeem Jordan has taken 2-24 in his 11 overs, so far, while Kevin Sinclair, who has also bowled 11 overs, took 2-37.

The West Indies have made two changes to their XI from the first Test with Gudakesh Motie and Yannic Cariah being replaced by Keacy Carty and Anderson Phillip.

Half centuries from Kirk McKenzie and Tagenarine Chanderpaul have left West Indies “A” in an excellent position after day one of their first four-day “Test” against Bangladesh “A” at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the tourists ended day one 220-2 off 68 overs.

McKenzie and Chanderpaul laid a solid foundation with a 130-run opening partnership.

McKenzie led the way with a 124-ball 86 including 12 boundaries and a six while Chanderpaul ended the day 70* off 190 balls including five fours.

Raymon Reifer was the other batsman dismissed for 26 while Alick Athanaze was 35* alongside Chanderpaul at stumps.

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel on Friday named the fifteen-man squad for the West Indies “A” Team tour of Bangladesh. Joshua Da Silva, the West Indies Test wicket-keeper/batter, will captain the team in the three four-day “Test” matches against Bangladesh “A” starting on 16 May.

Along with Da Silva, the 15-member squad includes other players with West Indies Test match experience: left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, left-handed allrounder Raymon Reifer, fast bowler Anderson Phillip and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.

The squad also includes three newcomers to the international level: openers Kirk McKenzie and Zachary McCaskie as well as fast bowler Jair McAllister. All three made their first-class debuts during the West Indies Championship four-day first-class tournament earlier this year.

Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes, stated that the aim was to pick a balanced team as they look to expose the players to overseas conditions.

“We selected a group of players who we think could benefit from the exposure in Bangladesh and we also have our eyes on the upcoming Test Series against India in the Caribbean.”

He added: “Among the newcomers, we have pace bowler McAllister who is fast and strong and has the ability to unsettle batters. McCaskie had a solid start to his first-class career, showed good temperament, and also has the ability to play all around the wicket. McKenzie was eye-catching during his double-century for the West Indies Academy in the Headley Weekes Tri-Series. It was a superb knock and demonstrated that the investment in the Academy is bearing fruit.”

West Indies “A” Team will arrive in Bangladesh on 11 May and play the three four-day “Test” matches at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) in Sylhet. These matches will have full first-class status.

This “A” team tour reciprocates the Bangladesh “A” team tour of the West Indies in August 2022, when the teams drew both a two-match series of four-day first-class matches and also a three-match 50-over series at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia.

FULL SQUAD

Joshua DaSilva (Captain)

Alick Athanaze

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Tevin Imlach

Akeem Jordan

Brandon King

Jair McAllister

Zachary McCaskie

Kirk McKenzie

Gudakesh Motie

Anderson Phillip

Raymon Reifer

Kevin Sinclair

MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches at SICS, Sylhet

16-19 May: 1st “Test”

23-26 May: 2nd “Test”

30 May to 2 June: 3rd “Test”

The West Indies ‘A’ team will play three four-day ‘Test’ matches Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) in Sylhet, Bangladesh, CWI announced on Monday.

These matches will have full first-class status. The West Indies “A” Team will arrive in Bangladesh on May 11.

This will be the second West Indies Men’s “A” Team series since 2020, when COVID-19 caused major disruptions. It is a reciprocal tour by West Indies “A” following the Bangladesh “A” team’s visit last August, when they played two four-day first-class matches and three 50-over List A matches at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia.

West Indies Men’s “A” team matches are an important development opportunity for players pushing for selection to the West Indies senior team and for emerging players to build their first-class international experience.

Roland Holder, CWI’s Manager of Cricket Operations, reiterated that the series would provide exposure for several players and noted it was significant part of CWI’s commitment to continually develop talent and prepare them for the demands at international cricket.

“We are again pleased to work closely with the BCB as we confirm the match schedule for this upcoming Men’s ‘A’ Team Series,” Holder said.

“Last summer we had a competitive five-match series with red ball and white ball matches in Saint Lucia. This time around our players will get to experience foreign conditions and this is a vital part of their development in the pathway toward full international selection and provides a platform for further exposure and progress following the recent West Indies Championship and new Headley Weekes Tri-Series.”

MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches at SICS, Sylhet

16-19 May: 1st “Test”

23-26 May: 2nd “Test”

30 May to 2 June: 3rd “Test”

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today announced the squads for the West Indies “A” Team series against Bangladesh “A” Team to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia from 4 to 20 August. The two teams will play two four-day first-class matches followed by three 50-over matches.

Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper/batter, will lead the team in both formats, with Andre Coley as the Head Coach. The squads feature several players with international experience, as well as others who have graduated from the CWI Rising Stars U19 and CWI Emerging Players teams.

Speaking ahead of the series, Lead Selector the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We stated from very early that we would look to give the opportunities to players and broaden the pool. The ‘A Team’ programme is a very good thing for West Indies cricket and CWI must be complimented for ensuring that we have these matches back up and running and arranging these games in Saint Lucia.”

Haynes added: “The squad is selected for us to have a closer look at the players in the longer format and also 50-over format as we have a lot of international cricket around the corner. We want to give the players exposure and the chance to play ‘A Team’ cricket and President’s XI matches as we had earlier this year as it is vital and much needed.

“Joshua has done quite well so far in his Test career, and we believe he will be a good leader for both formats. We also have a few others in the squads who have played at the international level and performed reasonably well, so we want to see them grow even more and this series against the visitors from Bangladesh will present that golden opportunity.”

The four-day matches will start at 10am (9am Jamaica Time) and the limited-overs matches will start at 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica Time). LIVE ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre while CWI will be LIVE streaming via the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.

FULL SQUADS

Four-day “Tests”

Joshua Da Silva (Captain)

Colin Archibald

Alick Athanaze

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Bryan Charles

Justin Greaves

Tevin Imlach

Shermon Lewis

Jeremiah Louis

Marquino Mindley

Anderson Phillip

Jeremy Solozano

One-Day 50-overs

Joshua Da Silva (Captain)

Alick Athanaze

Teddy Bishop

Yannic Cariah

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Justin Greaves

Tevin Imlach

Shermon Lewis

Jeremiah Louis

Preston McSween

Marquino Mindley

Anderson Phillip

Kevin Sinclair

Shamar Springer