West Indies Squad for the first Test against England

West Indies squad for the first Test against England featured the likes of uncapped pacer Anderson Phillip, opener John Campbell and Shamarh Brooks. The 13-member squad will be led by Kraigg Brathwaite with Jermaine Blackwood as his deputy.

The major players missing the cut are Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Rahkeem Cornwall. Shannon Gabriel wasn’t available for selection due to injury.

“Anderson Phillip bowled extremely well and was very impressive in the first two rounds of the West Indies Championship and we decided to give him an opportunity in the Test squad to face England. He has been around the squad before in white ball cricket, so he has some experience at the international level,” Lead Selector Desmond Haynes said.

“I expect us to be very competitive against England. This should be a very exciting series, with a lot of players who are out to make their mark. We have a squad that has some experienced players, as well as some exciting young players and we expect them to equip themselves well and do the job,” Haynes added regarding the West Indies squad.

Anderson Phillip had an impressive run in the domestic first-class tourney where he picked 12 wickets at an average of 14.25 runs per wicket with best bowling figures of 5-82 against Jamaica Scorpions.

John Campbell, played 15 tests for Windies and has shown good form in the domestic tourney scoring 213 runs at an average of 53.25 with a best of 127 against Barbados Pride.

WEST INDIES SQUAD FOR 1ST TEST:

Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales

A 12-member CWI President’s XI Squad was also named with wicket-keeper batsmen Shane Dowrich as their captain.

CWI PRESIDENT’S XI SQUAD:

Shane Dowrich (C), Raymon Reifer (VC), Colin Archibald, Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Bryan Charles, Shermon Lewis, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Jeremy Solozano, Shamar Springer, Devon Thomas

Fixtures:

England will kick off the tour with a warm-up match against Cricket West Indies President’s XI at the Coolidge Cricket Ground from March 1-4. The first Test will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium from March 8-12. The second Test will be played at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown from March 16-20. The final Test will be played at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada from March 24-28.