Kemar Roach will make a return to the West Indies test side for their upcoming series against South Africa at home. Roach sustained a knee injury while playing in the County Championships, which forced him to miss the England tour. West Indies were rolled over by England in a 3-match test series which ended with a scoreline of 3-0 in favor of the hosts.
Roach’s companion Alzarri Joseph has been rested from the series to manage his workload. “We have decided to rest our vice-captain Alzarri Joseph for this series”, head coach Andre Coley said in a CWI press release. “Alzarri has had a considerable workload recently, and this break will allow him to recuperate and return to peak performance.” Joshua De Silva will be serving as the vice-captain of West Indies in Alzarri’s absence.
Kevin Sinclair, the off-spinning all-rounder, is not included in the team as he is still recovering from a left forearm fracture he sustained in Nottingham while on the England tour from being struck by a ball from the pace star Mark Wood. While Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican have made it to the squad after missing out on the England tour.
Jeremiah Louis, who pulled out of the final Test in England because of a hamstring injury, and Akeem Jordan, who took his place, have both been omitted. Kirk McKenzie and Zachary McCaskie are the other people who had to make room. Despite playing all three Test matches in England, McKenzie managed just 33 runs in six innings. McCaskie has not yet made his Test debut, despite being a part of West Indies’ tours to Australia and England.
“The selection process for this squad was led by our Head Coach, Andre Coley,” Miles Bascombe, CWI’s director of cricket, said, “pending the implementation of our new selection process, which will be rolled out in the coming days and articulated publicly shortly.”
West Indies is currently placed at the bottom of the World Test Championship table and their chances of making it to the final is very slim. However, they would want to win these home tests and make a strong statement.
The two Tests against South Africa will be played in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from August 7 to 11 and in Providence, Guyana, from August 15 to 19.
West Indies squad :
Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Joshua Da Silva (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.
