Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel on Friday (June 4) named a provisional 17-man squad for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa. The squad is expected to be further cut down to an official 13-members on Monday (June 7).
It will be South Africa’s first bilateral tour to the Caribbean since 2010, followed by a tri-series in 2016 that also featured Australia. The tour, which had to be rescheduled from 2020, will include two Test matches and five T20s, from June 10 to July 3 this year in St Lucia at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground and Grenada at the National Cricket Stadium, respectively.
Cricket West Indies Selectors Name Provisional 17 Man Test Squad For South Africa Test Series As Jayden Seales, Shai Hope, Kieran Powell, And Roston Chase Named
Young Trinidad and Tobago pacer Jayden Seales has been named in the Cricket West Indies’ 17-member provisional squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa, starting on Thursday. The Cricket West Indies Selection Panel also announced that pacer Chemar Holder was unavailable for selection due to injury.
Making a comeback to the 17-member squad were openers Shai Hope and Kieran Powell and all-rounder Roston Chase, all of whom were not part of the home Test series against Sri Lanka.
“The selectors have also revealed that four (4) other young fast bowlers Keon Harding, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, and Nial Smith will remain in St Lucia to assist the Test squad with their preparations,” the Cricket West Indies said in a statement.
In their last bilateral encounter in the Windies in 2010, South Africa won the three-match Test series 2-0 (the second match was a draw) and produced a white-ball sweep, winning the T20 and ODI series 2-0 and 5-0 respectively.
Shai Hope, Roston Chase, And Kieran Powell Returns In Provisional 17 Man Test Squad For Tests Vs South Africa
Jamaican speedster Marquino Mindley, who had recovered from COVID-19 last week, will remain in St Lucia along with fellow pacers Keon Harding, Preston McSween, and Nial Smith to “assist the Test squad with their preparations”. The 19-year-old Jayden Seales’ only first-class match so far was for West Indies A in New Zealand last December, and in all, he has played only ten professional games at senior level.
Shai Hope‘s last first-class game was the Manchester Test in July 2020, but in the intra-squad fixture, he scored 106, the highest score of the match. Roston Chase, who missed out on a West Indies central contract last month, sparkled both with ball and bat.
After taking four wickets in the first innings for Team Hamilton, he closed out a three-wicket win with an unbeaten 45 off 50 balls in the second. Kieran Powell, who top-scored with 95 in that innings, too, earned a recall, after having played the last of his 40 Tests in Bangladesh in 2018.
West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jahmar Hamilton, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.