BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies Test captain Jason Holder will lead Barbados Pride in next month’s Super50 Cup in Antigua, following his decision to opt out of the ongoing tour of Bangladesh.
The highly rated all-rounder leads a strong 15-man squad announced here yesterday, and which includes the trio of West Indies stars Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase who also declined selection for the Bangladesh tour due to “COVID related concerns”.
Fast bowlers Chemar Holder and Keon Harding, currently in Bangladesh with the West Indies side, have been included for the February 7-27 tournament.
The 29-year-old Holder’s presence will be a big boost for Pride who faltered at the semi-final stage of the last Super50 Cup, in a stunning upset at the hands of eventual champions West Indies Emerging Players.
Holder missed that tournament due to international commitments.
He was at the helm the last time Pride won the Super50 Cup in 2017, hitting a half-century in the final when they defeated Jamaica Scorpions at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Holder featured in only one match of the abbreviated Regional Four-Day Championship last season, when he turned out in the eighth round encounter against Guyana Jaguars in Georgetown.
Meanwhile, out-of-favour West Indies stroke-maker Kyle Hope has been included in the squad, after spending several seasons with Trinidad and Tobago Red Force.
The right-hander, Shai Hope’s older brother, struggled in the last Super50 Cup with 147 runs from seven appearances.
Batsman Jonathan Drakes and fast bowler Akeem Jordan, who previously played for Combined Campuses and Colleges, will feature in the Pride squad.
Head coach Emmerson Trotman, under whom Pride captured the four-day title earlier this year, has been replaced by Dexter Toppin.
SQUAD – Jason Holder (captain), Joshua Bishop, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Chemar Holder, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Akeem Jordan, Nicholas Kirton, Ashley Nurse.