Established players shine in A team tour, Windies Academy to visit Ireland
IT WAS the established trio of Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher and Obed McCoy who shone with the bat and ball respectively, as the West Indies A team prevailed 3-2 in a five-match unofficial T20 International series against Nepal.
The series took place from April 27 to May 4 at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground, Kirtipur.
The West Indies A, perhaps a bit rusty, lost the first match on April 27 by four wickets, with two balls remaining, but rebounded to win the second match on April 28 (by 10 runs), the third match on May 1 (by 76 runs) and the fourth match on May 2 (by 28 runs).
Nepal won the fifth match, on May 4, by six wickets, with 1.1 overs remaining.
Upon the announcement of the West Indies A’s 15-man squad for the historic tour of Nepal, chairman of selectors Desmond Haynes said, “I am confident this Nepal tour marks a crucial step forward in our preparatory phase for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.”
He continued, “It presents an invaluable opportunity to get our players who are not in the IPL back on the park playing competitive T20 cricket as well as provides the chance for us to expose a few emerging prospects.”
Overall, captain Roston Chase, Charles and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie – all frontline members of the West Indies T20 squad during the past year, were named in the 15-man squad for the June1-29 ICC T20 World Cup, which will be staged jointly in the WI and the United States.
Charles played all five games and tallied 212 runs, at an average of 53.0, with a top-score of 119 not out and Fletcher, who played four games, amassed 193 runs at an average of 64.33, with a best of 84 not out.
And the injury-plagued left-arm pacer Obed McCoy topped the bowling charts with eight wickets from five games, with an average of 16.0 and a best haul of 3/36.
With regards to the batting, only Charles, Fletcher, Chase (130 runs at 43.33) and team vice-captain Alick Athanaze (117 at 29.25) were the only players to tally over 100 runs.
As far as the bowling was concerned, pacer Matthew Forde, who made his international debut against England in December, grabbed seven wickets at 23.28 while the spin pair of Hayden Walsh jnr (leg-break) and Motie had six apiece.
After the ICC T20 World Cup, the West Indies are due to play three T20 Internationals during their home series against South Africa in August. The selection panel, which includes coach Darren Sammy, may well have to stick with the tried and tested bunch, as none of the new inclusions (Kadeem Alleyne, Joshua Bishop and Mark Deyal) made convincing claims for consideration for those matches.
In related news, the West Indies Academy team will tour Ireland from June 8-29. The trip will feature three 50-over games and two four-day fixtures versus Ireland’s Emerging Men’s team.
The West Indies Academy team, led by Nyeem Young, with Teddy Bishop as his deputy, will be under the guidance of recently-appointed coach Ramesh Subasinghe.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) director of cricket, Miles Bascombe, said in a media release, “We continue to be methodical in our approach by exposing our academy players to various opposition and conditions across different formats. This is key to their development and fosters resilience and adaptability.”
West Indies Academy squad for Ireland tour: Nyeem Young (captain), Teddy Bishop (vice-captain), Kadeem Alleyne, Jewel Andrew, Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Bishop, McKenny Clarke, Joshua James, Jordan Johnson, Leonardo Julien, Johann Layne, Ashmead Nedd, Kelvin Pitman, Ramon Simmonds, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett.
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