Windies captain Jason Holder suspended from third Test at St. Lucia

Holder was suspended because of his team’s slow over-rate in the second Test at Antigua, which West Indies won by 10 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The sweetness of West Indies’ series win over England after 10 years turned sour after ICC decided to ban Windies captain Jason Holder for the third Test at Saint Lucia starting on December 9. Holder was suspended because of his team’s slow over-rate in the second Test at Antigua, which West Indies won by 10 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite will lead West Indies in the absence of Holder in the third Test. Keemo Paul, the 20-year-old Guyanese allrounder, will come into the squad in Holder's absence. He has played two Tests to date, most recently on the tour of India last October. 19-year-old paceman Oshane Thomas may get a look in the playing XI, provided the Windies concentrate only on finding a replacement of Holder the bowler.

Holder has played a key role along with fellow paceman Kemar Roach in outplaying England in the first two matches of the series so far. Holder scored a record-breaking double century to set up West Indies’ 381-run win in the first Test at Barbados and backed up his performance with a four-wicket haul in the second innings of the second Test to wrap England up. The hosts won the match by 10 wickets.

This is not the first time that Jason Holder was banned due to slow over rate. There were impositions on him multiple times earlier as well.