Left-arm fast bowler, O-BED McCoy is the lone Vincentian named by Cricket West Indies (CWI) squads for the CG Insurance Twenty/20 International Series and CG Insurance One-Day International Series against Sri Lanka in Antigua and Barbuda this month.
Batsman, Chris Gayle, and experienced fast bowler Fidel Edwards, have been named in the Twenty/20 International squad marking their return to the international stage, while off-spinner, Kevin Sinclair earns his first West Indies selection, and left-arm, leg-spinner, Akeal Hosein gets his first Twenty/20 International call-up.
The 14-man Twenty/20 International Squad is Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Lendl Simmons and Kevin Sinclair.
The 13-man One Day International Squad comprises Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd and Kevin Sinclair.
All-rounder, Andre Russell is still recovering from COVID-19 which he contracted earlier this month, and despite testing negative over a week ago was ruled out of the Twenty/20 Internationals by the CWI Medical Panel to complete his “return to play” protocols.
Fast bowlers, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, along with batsman Shimron Hetmyer, and all-rounder Roston Chase failed to reach the minimum fitness standard in time for selection consideration. They will remain in Antigua after the CGI Insurance Super50 Cup to work on their fitness and conditioning.
The Twenty/20 International matches will be played under floodlights on 3rd, 5th and 7th March at the Coolidge Cricket Ground starting at 6.00 p. m Eastern Caribbean Time, 5.00 p. m Jamaica Time.
It will be the first time that International matches will be played by the official West Indies Men’s team at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, and will also be the first West Indies Twenty/20 Internationals to be played in Antigua and Barbuda since 2013. The matches will be used by the West Indies as part of preparation for the defence of the ICC Twenty/20 World Cup scheduled for India later this year.
The CG Insurance One Day International Series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on 10th, 12th and 14th March with the final match to be a day/night encounter. The series forms part of the ICC One Day International Super League, and the three matches are an opportunity for the West Indies to secure their first points as the team tries to qualify automatically for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
