ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – West Indies have called up batsman Darren Bravo and all-rounder Dave Bernard Jr in a 14-man squad for the two One-Day Internationals here this weekend, as they seek to halt their losing slide against South Africa.
Selectors were forced to look for replacements after injury forced the trio of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kemar Roach and Nikita Miller out of the series.
Bravo comes into the line-up against the backdrop of a run of good scores on the West Indies A team’s tour of Bangladesh from where he was summoned.
The stylish, 20-year-old left-hander, the younger brother of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, scored 314 runs, including a century, in the Tri-Nation Limited Overs series that featured Bangladesh A and South Africa A.
He also scored 102 and 37 in the first four-day “Test” against Bangladesh A which West Indies A won by 114 runs.
Bernard, meanwhile, surprisingly overlooked for the World Twenty20 Championship, returns to the squad after playing his last ODI against Ireland in the Jamaica Cricket Festival last month.
The right-armer, who scored a century in a three-day match for Jamaica against the Irish during that tournament, could find himself in the final XI especially with Roach and Miller out.
Selectors have discarded the woefully out of form opener Andre Fletcher who has scored nought, four and three in his last three innings in the series.
Meanwhile, Sarwan, Roach and Miller have returned to their respective territories to recuperate.
Sarwan is suffering with a left hamstring strain, Roach has a sore left ankle while Miller has been hampered by a right side strain.
West Indies were beaten by South Africa in both matches of the Twenty20 series and also lost the two opening ODIs in Antigua.
SQUAD – Chris Gayle (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Sulieman Benn, Dave Bernard Jr, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Dale Richards, Darren Sammy, Jerome Taylor.
