From Garth Wattley
in Kingston
Chris Gayle is back in the West Indies squad and so too is Xavier Marshall. But having just completed his first match in Test cricket, off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth has been axed for the Second Test against Australia which begins in Antigua on Friday.
Also omitted is allrounder Ryan Hinds.
The West Indies selectors announced a 14-squad for that game yesterday.
Gayle, captain in the Test and One-day series earlier this season against Sri Lanka, missed the First Test at Sabina Park because of a groin injury sustained in the final ODI against Sri Lanka in St Lucia last month.
The West Indies lost by 95 runs at Sabina Park yesterday. And at the end of the match stand-in skipper Ramnaresh Sarwan was optimistic that both Gayle and fast bowler Jerome Taylor, who also missed the game because of a lower back strain, would be fit to play.
“They are much better,” he said. “Chris is about 75-80 per cent and Jerome is about 95 per cent.”
In announcing the squad yesterday, selector Andy Roberts, who witnessed the First Test, explained that Marshall had been with the team at Sabina, “as a replacement cover…and he acted as emergency fieldsman.”