West Indies Tri-Nation Series May 19, 2016 Narine, Pollard in WI squad for first four Tri-series Matches
Offspinner Sunil Narine and allrounder Kieron Pollard, who have not played international cricket since November 2015, have been picked in West Indies’ squad for the first four matches of the upcoming Tri-Nation series against Australia and South Africa, which starts from June 3.
Carlos Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels, who played key roles in West Indies’ World T20 triumph earlier this year, have been selected but the squad does not include allrounder Andre Russell. Darren Sammy, Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle have also not been picked.
Hetmyer, Joseph in WICB President’s XI squad
West Indies Under-19s players Shimron Hetmyer and Alzarri Joseph have been named in the 13-member WICB President’s XI squad that will play a 50-over day-night match against the South Africans on May 29 at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
Hetmyer captained West Indies U-19s to their first World Cup triumph earlier this year, while Joseph was one of the leading bowlers in the tournament, taking 13 wickets in six matches at an average of 13.76 and an economy rate of 3.31.
Kraigg Brathwaite will captain the squad, which also includes batsmen Evin Lewis and Jermaine Blackwood.
WICB President’s XI squad:Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Jermaine Blackwood, Damion Jacobs, Shane Dowrich, Jason Mohammed, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Andre McCarthy, Nikita Miller, Rayad Emrit, Delorn Johnson
Narine was reported for a suspect action during West Indies’ tour of Sri Lanka in November last year and was subsequently suspended from bowling in international cricket after his action was found to be illegal. The offspinnerwas picked in the World T20 squad butpulled out citing “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work” on his action. The ICC cleared Narine to bowl in April, days before the start of IPL 2016. He has taken seven wickets in eight matches for Kolkata Knight Riders so far in this season at an economy rate of 6.94.
Pollard, on the other hand, missed international cricket due to a knee injury he suffered while playing the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in South Africa last November. The injury also forced his withdrawal from the World T20, after he was initially named in the squad. Pollard made his return to competitive cricket in IPL 2016, and has scored 198 runs in 12 matches for Mumbai Indians so far with one fifty. He has also bowled six overs in the tournament.
The squad for the tri-series also includes offspinner Ashley Nurse and fast bowlerShannon Gabriel, who are uncapped in the ODI format. Nurse has played four T20Is and was a member of the World T20 squad this year, while Gabriel has played 16 Tests and two T20Is since his debut in May 2012.
The tri-series will be West Indies’ first ODI assignment since their tour of Sri Lanka last year. West Indies will play their first match against South Africa on June 3, followed by a game against Australia on June 5. Both matches will be held in Guyana. Their second round of matches is scheduled for June 13 and 15 in Basseterre, St Kitts.
Courtesy : espncricinfo.com
