ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – Out-of-touch West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been included in the UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI for their one-day tour match against Zimbabwe which bowls off here yesterday.
The right-hander Sarwan is part of the 13-man squad that will be skippered by teenaged left-hander Anthony Alleyne, who plays for Combined Campuses and Colleges.
Sarwan was recalled for the recent one-day tour of Australia following an 18-month absence for the West Indies side but struggled with the bat, managing just 12 runs from three innings. He fell without scoring in his first two innings.
Already named in the West Indies squad for the first two One-Day Internationals against Zimbabwe starting Friday here, Sarwan will have the opportunity to gather precious form ahead of the doubleheader at the National Stadium.
He averages 42.52 from 176 ODIs and remains one of the region’s leading batsmen, despite his recent form.
Alleyne, meanwhile, with just one first class game to his credit, will take charge of the UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI for the contest at Progress Park.
The 19-year-old stroke-maker will skipper a side that also includes fellow West Indies Under-19 stars Sunil Ambris and Jerome Jones.
He made an enterprising start to his first class career a fortnight ago when he struck 84 for CCC in a losing effort against Windward Islands in Gros Islet.
The match is the only warm-up tour game for the Zimbabweans before the three-match ODI series which is set for the National Stadium here.
Zimbabwe will then clash with West Indies in a Twenty20 doubleheader in Antigua on March 2 and 3, before turning their attention to the two-Test series which begins in Barbados on March 12.
The second Test is set for Dominica from March 20-24.
SQUAD: Anthony Alleyne (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope, Sunil Ambris, Wayne Morgan, Jerome Jones, Kristopher Ramsaran, Dawnley Grant, Dawayne Sealy, Keone George, Chaim Holder, Michael Bedward.