ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Batsman Travis Dowlin and off-spinner Shane Shillingford have been omitted from a 14-man West Indies A squad for next month’s tour of England and Ireland, prompting speculation they will be part of the selection shakeup for the three-Test series against South Africa.
In the squad announced yesterday, the duo along with Jamaican left-hander Brendan Nash were omitted from the current squad currently on tour of Bangladesh.
Left-handed opener Devon Smith will lead the squad with the woefully out-of-form Andre Fletcher and the prolific 17-year-old batsman Kraigg Brathwaite and all-rounder Dave Bernard Jr drafted in for the June 5 to July 8 England trip.
West Indies will launch a five-match One-Day International series against the South Africans today with a three-Test series to follow starting June 10.
The right-handed Dowlin came to the fore during the players strike last year and subsequently made the Test and ODI tours Down Under with the full strength squad.
After scoring 11 runs from five ODI innings against the Australians, he was dropped for the Zimbabwe one-day tour and sent on A team duty where he has scored consistently.
Shillingford, meanwhile, has been a reliable wicket-taker for the Windward Islands during the regional first class tournament and had been extremely impressive on the current tour of Bangladesh.
As expected, Nash will return to the Test side where he averages 39 from 12 matches after making his debut back in 2008.
Kieron Pollard and Nikita Miller, both of whom are currently members of the Windies ODI side, will head to England for the A team’s one-day phase of the tour which runs from June 28 to July 8 and involves England Lions and India A.
The tour will begin on June 5 with a three-day match against Glamorgan before Windies A play India A in two four-day “Tests” at Grace Road and Croydon.
SQUAD – Devon Smith (captain), David Bernard (vice captain), Omar Phillips, Lionel Baker, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Odean Brown, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Justin Guillen, Imran Khan, Nelon Pascal, Gavin Tonge and Chadwick Walton.