-Deonarine rewarded for prolific season
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies selectors have called up uncapped fast bowlers Andrew Richardson and Nelon Pascal for the upcoming Test tour of England in the squad announced yesterday.
Richardson and Pascal, along with Barbadian opener Dale Richards are the only uncapped players in the 17-member squad for the tour that bowls off later this month.
The 27-year old Richardson has taken 33 wickets so far in the regional first class season for Jamaica while Pascal has snatched 25 for the Windward Islands.
Richards was a part of the West Indies squad for the recent England tour of the Caribbean but did not play a match.
Guyanese batsman Narsingh Deonarine has been rewarded for his record-breaking season with the bat and has been recalled to the side while 27-year old Jamaican all-rounder David Bernard Jr has also been given the nod, six years after his last match for West Indies.
Trinidadian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been advised not to play the longer version of the game because of his recent ankle injury and as a result has not been named in the squad.
SQUAD: Chris Gayle (captain), Dinesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Nash, Narsingh Deonarine, Jerome Taylor, Fidel Edwards, Lionel Baker, Suleiman Benn, Andrew Richardson, Nelon Pascal, David Bernard Jr, Dale Richards, Darren Sammy.
I like the look of both Richardson and Pascal. They have quite a bit of pace and aggression. They look like good selections. David Bernard Jnr’s selction is a bit mystifying. The last time he played it was obvious that he wasn’t up to international standards. Also, Sammy is already in the squad as an allrounder. Why not carry an additional opener to groom for the future – that is our most problematic position? Adrian Bharath, who has scored so freely in this year’s regional competition as well as a hundred against England, seemed like a much better choice. The rest of the squad picked itself.