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CRICKET West Indies (CWI) lead selector Roger Harper said the selection panel had a tough decision in selecting the West Indies Test team to face Sri Lanka as many cricketers who have served the team for years were overlooked.
The CWI selection panel announced the 13-man squad for the first match which will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, Antigua from March 21 to 25.
The Test squad features several players who recently participated in the 2-0 victorious Test series in Bangladesh. The tour of Bangladesh included three One Day Internationals.
More than ten players chose not to tour Bangladesh because of covid19 related concerns, personal fears or personal reasons.
They included experienced and talented players. Roston Chase, Darren Bravo, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder were among the players who decided not to tour. Holder was named on the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series, but Kraigg Brathwaite was named captain.
Brathwaite filled the shoes of Holder as captain on the successful tour of Bangladesh. The inexperienced team performed admirably with players such as Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner and wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva performing with the bat. The spin pair of Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican also showed their quality.
All-rounder Chase, wicket-keeper Dowrich and batsman Hetmyer did not make the cut to face Sri Lanka in the opening Test of the two-match series.
On Friday, during a Zoom interview, journalists were especially eager to find out why Chase was excluded.
Harper said, “When we looked at the players in Bangladesh I think some of those players performed exceptionally well and more or less grabbed the spots that they had in Bangladesh and grabbed a place in the squad for this series, so unfortunately players had to miss out and Roston Chase was one of them.”
Chase, who has played 37 Test matches, has been a useful player since making his debut in 2016. He has scored five centuries and eight fifties at an average of 29.20. As an off-spinner Chase has snatched 71 wickets.
Pressed more about Chase, Harper said, “When we look at the performances in Bangladesh and we looked at the performances coming off the tour of England, followed by the tour of New Zealand those are some of the things we considered going into selecting this squad for this series against Sri Lanka.”
Chase has had a dismal run of form recently. He scored 157 runs in six innings at an average of 26.16 in the three-match Test series against England last July in England. In a two-match Test series against New Zealand in December Chase, who was the WI vice-captain during the series, could only muster 17 runs in four innings.
Hetmyer has averaged 27.93 in 16 Test matches which includes five half centuries. Dowrich, who has scored nine half centuries and three centuries in 35 matches at an average of 29.09, will make room for Da Silva.
Da Silva has had an impressive start to his Test career. He has scored two fifties in three matches at an average of 39.00.
Harper, questioned about Hetmyer, said, “I think Shimron Hetmyer has the ability to be one of the best batsmen in the world in all formats of the game. However, I think that as far as Test cricket is concerned he has been absent for awhile. He has not played regional four-day cricket for awhile, so he needs to really get some matches under his belt and showcase what he can do.”
The second Test will be played from March 29 to April 2, also at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Test Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican.
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