Cricket West Indies (CWI), on June 4 (Friday), has announced a 17-member provisional squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. The final squad is expected to be of 13-members, to be announced on June 7 (Monday).
The two-match Test series will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground for the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy on June 10-14 and June 18-22. These are the final matches in the current cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. Both teams trying to finish higher in the final Championship table.
The 19-year-old fast bowler Jayden Seales is a first-time inclusion in the West Indies provisional squad for a Test Series. The 19-year-old’s 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.
The youngster was particularly impressive in the Team Hamilton vs Team Blackwood four-day intra-squad fixture more recently, taking 4 for 40 in the second innings, including the wickets of Shai Hope and Darren Bravo.
Hope, Roston Chase, and Kieran Powell were also rewarded with spots in the squad for their performances in that four-day fixture. They were not a part of the Test squad that played against Sri Lanka on the last series.
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.
West Indies’ provisional squad
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, 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