BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies have called up pacer Ravi Rampaul and opening batsman Dale Richards for the two One-Day Internationals against England here at the weekend.
The pair are the only changes to the squad that split the first two matches in Guyana last weekend, losing the first by one run under the Duckworth/Lewis method on Friday and winning the second by 21 runs on Sunday.
Rampaul and Richards will replace Windward Islands opener Devon Smith and out-of-sorts Jamaican fast bowler Daren Powell.
Smith has been left out after not playing in either match in Guyana while Powell sent down five overs for 27 runs in the first ODI before being overlooked for the second.
The 24-year old Rampaul has already played 20 ODIs for the regional side but his career todate has been plagued with injury.
In fact, he missed Trinidad & Tobago’s first four matches of the current WICB Regional first class season with a fractured finger before returning for the sixth round clash against the Leeward Islands.
To date, he has grabbed 18 wickets in five matches at an average of 24 and more importantly, seems to have returned to full fitness.
Richards, meanwhile, has been given a second bite at the cherry after injury unfortunately curtailed his participation in the preceding Test series following his call up for the first Test in Jamaica last month.
The attacking, right-handed Barbadian opener only returned to the Barbados side recently after missing four matches with a foot injury but wasted little time in reminding selectors why they had called him up in the first place.
He hammered a 117 against Jamaica last week and has already scored 240 runs in six innings since his return.
The third ODI is scheduled for Kensington Oval on Friday with the second match of the doubleheader being played at the same venue on Sunday.
The final match of the series will be played in St Lucia on April 3.
SQUAD – Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin (vice captain), Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Nikita Miller, Keiron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Dale Richards, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons.
