– Richardson, Williams named assistants
Guyana Amazon Warriors Head Coach Rayon Griffith is heading to Bangladesh as the Head Coach of the West Indies “A” team for the three-match series against Bangladesh “A.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Johnny Grave made this confirmation on Tuesday’s Mason and Guest radio programme, where he also noted that Stuart Williams and Andrew Richardson will serve as assistants to Griffith.
Joshua Da Silva, the West Indies Test wicketkeeper/ batter, will captain the team in the three 4-day “Test” matches against Bangladesh “A”, starting on 16 May.
Besides Da Silva, the 15-member squad includes other players with West Indies Test match experience: left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, left-handed allrounder Raymon Reifer, fast bowler Anderson Phillip, and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.
In addition to Motie and Chanderpaul, Kevin Sinclair and Tevin Imlach are the other Guyanese selected. The squad also includes three newcomers to international level cricket: openers Kirk McKenzie and Zachary McCaskie, and fast bowler Jair McAllister. All three made their first-class debuts during the West Indies Championship four-day first-class tournament earlier this year.
Lead Selector the Most Honourable Dr. Desmond Haynes has said the aim is to pick a balanced team as they look to expose the players to overseas conditions.
“We selected a group of players who we think could benefit from the exposure in Bangladesh, and we also have our eyes on the upcoming Test Series against India in the Caribbean. Among the newcomers, we have pace bowler McAllister, who is fast and strong and has the ability to unsettle batters. McCaskie had a solid start to his first-class career, showed good temperament, and also has the ability to play all around the wicket. McKenzie was eye-catching during his double-century for the West Indies Academy in the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series. It was a superb knock, and demonstrated that the investment in the Academy is bearing fruit.”
West Indies “A” Team will arrive in Bangladesh on 11 May and play the 3 four-day “Test” matches at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) in Sylhet.
These matches will have full first-class status.
This “A” team tour reciprocates the Bangladesh “A” team tour of the West Indies in August 2022, when the teams drew both a two-match series of four-day first-class matches and also a three-match 50-over series at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia.
Full squad: Joshua DaSilva (Captain), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan, Brandon King, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer and Kevin Sinclair
MATCH SCHEDULE
All matches at SICS, Sylhet
16-19 May: 1st “Test”
23-26 May: 2nd “Test”
30 May to 2 June: 3rd “Test”