West Indies recall Roach, pick uncapped Hope and Reifer for England tour

Photo: WICB

Antigua: Right-arm pacer Kemar Roach has been recalled into the 15-member West Indies Test squad for the Tour of England, starting later this month.

29-year-old Roach, who has not played a Test for 18 months, was chosen after displaying fine form in domestic competition, said chairman of selectors Courtney Browne.

"Kemar's return is welcomed as he was one of the best fast bowlers in Tests in the recent past for us. We have seen him during the last Digicel R4Day season show signs of his return to form. He may not be bowling as quickly as before, but still possesses that skill we all knew he had, plus his experience adds greater depth to the attack."

Roach has played 37 Tests in which he has taken 122 wickets.

Opening batsman Kyle Hope and left-handed all-rounder Raymon Reifer are the only two uncapped players in the squad for the tour.

"We have two players who will be new to Tests, but they have experience at first-class level having played in the expanded Digicel Regional 4-Day Tournament. Kyle will be our third option as opener and he can also be a possible No.3," said Browne.

"Raymon adds variety to our attack with his left-arm swing bowling and has proven to be very useful with the bat in the lower order. He, therefore, adds value to our team and could be very useful in English conditions," he added.

All-rounder Darren Bravo has not been picked, despite his recent apology for calling Cricket West Indies (WICB) president Dave Cameron a "big idiot" in a tweet following disagreement over his playing contract late last year.

"Darren Bravo was not considered for selection, as the squad was chosen before he issued his apology," said the board in a media release.

The apology came too late for him to be considered.

The Test Tour will feature the first ever day/night Test in England from August 18 to 22 at Edgbaston.

The second match will be at Headingley (August 25 to 29) with the third at Lord's (September 7 to 11).

Following the Test matches, the West Indies will have the limited overs segment of the tour. The squads for the five One-Day Internationals and one-off T20 International will be named at a later date.

West Indies' Test squad: Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Braithwaite (vice-capt), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.