‘Replacement’ quartet finds favour for Aussie trip -Butts confident squad will do well
ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Four players from the controversial makeshift outfit have been retained but selectors yesterday named a full strength 15-man squad for the tour of Australia, ending a dark period in West Indies cricket where the best players had been sidelined by a bitter contracts dispute.
For the first time in three months, West Indies will put their strongest team on the field following the selection of second string squads for the Bangladesh home tour and the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
Batsman Travis Dowlin, all-rounder Darren Sammy and the fast bowling pair of Kemar Roach and Gavin Tonge will join up with the returning first-choice players for the tour that comprises three Tests and starts later this month.
An upbeat chairman of selectors, Clyde Butts said he was confident the squad selected would do well Down Under in Tests at Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
“I believe the players selected will make positives steps forward and overall I believe the team will have positive results in Australia,” the former Guyana and West Indies off-spinner said.
“I think we have a good combination and an experienced team which I expect to do very well. We expect the players to give a good account of themselves and perform well for West Indies.”
Teenaged Trinidadian opener Adrian Barath, who had his imminent debut against Bangladesh in July thwarted by the players strike, has been called up again along with Guyanese batsman Narsingh Deonarine who had also been named in the squad to face the Tigers.
Chris Gayle, as reported on Sunday, has been confirmed to lead the squad which will see the marquee players outfitted in Windies colours for the first time since India’s one-day tour of the Caribbean which finished in July.
The prolific Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and the dependable Brendan Nash have all returned to sure up the Windies batting while strike bowler Jerome Taylor will lead a pace attack including Ravi Rampaul, Roach and Tonge.
All-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy will provide the medium pace options, with lanky left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn the only spinner named in the squad.
“We have selected a balanced team … we have a quality bowling attack, and a very good batting line-up with players who have performed on the international stage,” said Butts.
“We believe the players all have the ability to deliver at the highest level.”
The quartet, who broke ranks with the West Indies Players Association during the stand-off with the WICB, gave selectors ample reasons to book their airline tickets for Australia.
Against Bangladesh, Dowlin helped prop up the weak batting with scores of 22, 19, 95 and 49 in four Test innings and his unbeaten century in the second One-Day International would have further boosted his chances.
He struggled during the Champions Trophy in South Africa but even then carved out a half-century against Australia.
The 26-year-old Tonge used the Champions Trophy to press his case for selection. Following unimpressive spells in two ODIs against Bangladesh, he snatched four for 25 against Pakistan in the Windies’ five-wicket loss and returned with a notable one for 36 from another 10-over spell as the regional side lost their final preliminary match to India by seven wickets.
Roach was outstanding in both series, grabbing 13 wickets in two Tests against the Bangladeshis and another ten in the three subsequent ODIs.
While he finished with just three wickets in 16 overs at the Champions Trophy, he was the tournament’s fastest bowler and got the attention of opposing batsmen.
Sammy, who served as vice-captain of the second string team, nabbed 12 wickets in the Tests against Bangladesh, including five-wicket hauls in each Test.
Ironically, he was overlooked in the original 13-man squad for the first Test against Bangladesh but now finds himself on the trip Down Under. No room has been found for batsman Runako Morton or Jamaican fast bowler Andrew Richardson both of whom had been named in that squad.
Fast bowler Fidel Edwards has missed out because of injury.
The first Test bowls off November 26 at the Gabba in Brisbane, with the second Test scheduled for December 4-8 at the Adelaide Oval and the third from December 16-20 at the WACA in Perth.
David Williams has been retained as coach while former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner will serve as manager.
SQUAD – Chris Gayle (captain), Adrian Barath, Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Brendan Nash, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor, Gavin Tonge.