ST JOHN’S, Antigua– West Indies will be going into the second Test against Bangladesh on Friday with the same squad from their opening Test, with the chief selector praising the team for their discipline and hard work in the first contest.
Following their seven-wicket victory at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday, the Kraigg Brathwaite-led team headed to St Lucia, where they will play the second and final Test at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet.
“We have a group of players who are very disciplined and are giving 100 percent,” said Lead Selector of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel, the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes, in a statement on Wednesday.
“It was an excellent victory in Antigua. The team played well and must be feeling confident heading into Saint Lucia for the second match…. I know we will try our utmost to win,” he added, noting that Bangladesh, who also bowled well and were quite disciplined, could not be taken lightly.
Haynes credited West Indies bowlers who “worked hard in the first Test match.”
He singled out Player-of-the-Match Kemar Roach, who ended with figures of 7-74 – including the match-winning 5-53 in the second innings – which took him to 249 wickets in his career, joint sixth alongside the legendary Michael Holding on the West Indies all-time list of wickets-takers.
The fast bowler is the leading West Indies at eighth position in the latest ICC Test Match bowling rankings.
“Kemar is a legend. He has done well for West Indies,” said the chief selector. “He made a great start to his career, then had some injuries, worked his way back, and is our leading bowler. He’s among the best in the world.”
“I am very pleased with his performances, not just on the field, but the way he had been guiding the younger players and the way he has been interacting with the other team members,” Haynes added.
The second Test will bowl off at 10 a.m. local time/9 a.m. Jamaica time.
FULL SQUAD: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice-Captain), Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Almarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas
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