St John’s, Antigua – Leg-spinning duo Devendra Bishoo and Anthony Martin along with the Barbadian pair of young fast bowler Jason Holder and feisty batsman Jonathan Carter have been named in the West Indies preliminary 30-man squad for ICC Cricket World Cup.
Bishoo and Martin were among the leading bowlers at the West Indies Cricket Board’s One-Day Tournament in October. Bishoo had the best bowling figures of 6-36 for Guyana against Barbados, while Martin took a brilliant hat-trick to help the Leewards beat the Windwards in the semi-finals.
The squad also includes Guyanese batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan and Trinidadian wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin who missed out on selection to the West Indies recently abandoned tour to Sri Lanka. Seasoned pace duo Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, who have just begun their comeback from prolonged injuries have not been included.
Jamaican batsman Brendan Nash is the only player on WICB Central Retainer Contract who has not been included in the preliminary 30 man squad.
Three of the eight players on WICB Developmental Contracts are a part of the squad. They are Kirk Edwards, Gavin Tonge and Bishoo.
Kieran Powell is one of three players from the Sagicor High Performance Center who is in the squad with the other two being Antiguan wicketkeeper/batsman Devon Thomas and Holder.
Veteran Barbadian pair of all rounder Ryan Hinds and pacer Tino Best are also in the mix. Both have been performing consistently well for Barbados at the regional level after being let go by the Windies selectors.
The 30-man squad will be trimmed by half for the tournament which starts on February 19 and will be played in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India.
West Indies 30 Man Squad: Lionel Baker, Adrian Barath, Carlton Baugh Jr, Sulieman Benn, Dave Bernard Jr, Tino Best, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Shiv Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hinds, Jason Holder, Anthony Martin, Nikita Miller, Nelon Pascal, Kieron Pollard, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shane Shillingford, Devon Smith, Gavin Tonge, Devon Thomas.
West Indies World Cup Schedule
February 24 – West Indies v South Africa – New Delhi
February 28 – West Indies v Netherlands – New Delhi
March 4 – West Indies v Bangladesh – Dhaka
March 11 – West Indies v Ireland – Mohali
March 17 – West Indies v England – Chennai
March 20 – West Indies v India – Chennai
AGAIN HERE’S ANOTHER GOVERNING BODY THAT HAS NO INSIGHT INTO WHAT THEY R DOING. CAN THE WICB SEE THAT NASH IS A MORE PASSIONATE CRICKETER THAN CHANDERPAUL. CAN THE WICB SEE FROM WHERE IT IS THAT NASH IS PLAYING HIS GAME TO MATCH THE TYPE OF TOURNAMENT. WHEN ITS TIME FOR AGGRESSIVENESS NASH PUSHES ON. CHANDERPAU PLAYS ALL THE FORMATS THE SAME. TEST, 50 OVERS, OR 20 OVERS HE PLAYS THE SAME. HE WAITS TILL YHE END TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND HOW MANY TIMES IT HAS ENDED IN FAILURE. HE PUSHES EVERY BALL FORWARD, FORWARD OR A NICK HERE THERE FOR A SINGLE. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT NASH SHOULD REPLACE CHANDERPAUL IN THE 50,20 OVERS FORMAT.