Cricket West Indies yesterday announced a 16-man squad for an upcoming two-week camp that includes Guyanese players, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Keemo Paul and Nial Smith.
This is according to a release from the body which indicated that the camp will run from Thursday to April 13 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua.
Paul, 24, is the most experienced of the trio with 19 one-day internationals (ODIs), scoring 214 runs and taking 23 wickets to date. His last 50-over match was against Sri Lanka in 2020. Since then, the all-rounder has been appointed Guyana Harpy Eagles’ vice-captain. Paul has also featured in 20 T20Is. The hard-hitting left-handed opener, Hemraj has played six ODIs with his last being in 2018. Both players have been establishing themselves on the T20 circuit over the last five years.
Smith is among three uncapped players in the training camp, joining Nyeem Young and Keacy Carty.
The other players in the squad are Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer and Devon Thomas.
Head Coach, Phil Simmons outlined that the camp will focus on improving skill sets as the West Indies look ahead to two major global events over the next two years – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India.
Simmons said, “The camp will be a chance for us to do some work with players in the white ball formats, players who might have a chance to play in the coming white ball teams later this year. The most important thing is that we will be doing things in the camp that we have not been doing well, such as rotating strike, sweeping, and playing spin better. It’s about working on things that we’re not 100 percent at yet. We have several players at IPL who will be working at their games as well, so we’re working with the players here to make sure they keep up the standard and improve.”
It will also help preparation for West Indies 2022 schedule with home and way tours all featuring white ball cricket. In late May, West Indies travel to The Netherlands for the first ever three-match One Day International Series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan which was postponed in December. These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, where teams will have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
West Indies will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand with all three series featuring white ball matches.
