ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – West Indies’ selectors have named a largely untested 12-member A-Team squad for a three-day, first-class tour match against Bangladesh from July 3 to 5 at Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Opener Sewnarine Chattergoon – who will captain the side – as well as batsman Lendl Simmons and fast bowler Kemar Roach are the only players to speak of any kind of senior international experience.
Fast bowler Nelon Pascal toured England recently in the Test squad, but was limited to appearance in practice matches only.
Andre Creary, a Jamaican teenaged middle-order batsman who bowls off-spin, is the only player that has not made a first-class appearance, but played two matches for the Young West Indies when they took part in the regional limited-overs competition two years ago.
He was subsequently selected as a member of the final YWI squad that took part in the Youth World Cup in Malaysia last year.
All of the others have been rewarded for solid, if not spectacular seasons in the regional first-class competition.
In the batting, Trinidad & Tobago’s Adrian Barath was the fourth highest scorer with 845 runs at an average of 44.47, Omar Phillips featured with a double-hundred for Combined Campuses & Colleges in 601 runs at 33.38, left-handed opener Kieran Powell made 567 runs at 37.80 for Leeward Islands.
In the bowling, off-spinner Ryan Austin was the leading bowler with 60 wickets at 24.06 apiece for the CCC, and leg-spinner Gavin Wallace ended with 31 at 16.96 for champions Jamaica.
Kevin McClean snared 28 at 18.60 for the CCC, as well as make an appearance for the A-Team against the visiting England in St. Kitts, where he bowled satisfactorily.
The wicketkeeper is Devon Thomas from Leeward Islands. He ended the season with 30 dismissals behinds the stumps and 376 runs in front of the stumps.
Bangladesh visit the Caribbean from late June to early August, when they face West Indies in two Tests in St. Vincent (July 9-13) and Grenada (July 17-21), along with three One-day Internationals in Dominica (July 26 and 28) and St. Kitts (July 31).
The Tigers also play a Twenty20 International on August 2 in St. Kitts.
Squad: Sewnarine Chattergoon (captain), Ryan Austin, Adrian Barath, Andre Creary, Kevin McClean, Nelon Pascal, Omar Phillips, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Lendl Simmons, Devon Thomas, Gavin Wallace.