Having missed the England Test series with a knee injury he sustained in the County Championship, Kemar Roach returns to the West Indies Test squad for the two-match series against South Africa. The experienced campaigner was sorely missed by the Caribbean bowling group as they, by and large, failed to show the discipline necessary to eke out Test wickets.
Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph has been rested for the series, with wicketkeeper-batter Joshua da Silva taking over the vice-captaincy duties.
Promising off-break Kevin Sinclair, who was part of the squad for the England series, hasn’t been considered as he is still recovering from a fractured left forearm. He was struck by a ball from Mark Wood in the Trent Bridge Test.
The West Indies pacers were good in patches but consistency, or the lack thereof, meant England were hardly squeezed into a period of attrition throughout the opening day at Trent Bridge #ENGvsWI #CricketTwitter https://t.co/AzXa4llnAc
— Aryan Surana (@iamaryansurana) July 19, 2024
West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Joshua Da Silva (Vice-Captain), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.
Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican and uncapped Bryan Charles have been included for the South Africa Tests, having not been a part of the England series.
Jeremiah Louis, who suffered a hamstring injury and withdrew from the third Test against England, and Akeem Jordan who replaced him, have both been sidelined for the home series. Kirk McKenzie, who managed an underwhelming 33 runs in the three Tests against England, has also been ousted along with Zachary McCaskie.
West Indies’ first Test against South Africa is scheduled to start on August 7 at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The second Test will be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana from August 15.
