West Indies men’s high-performance camp starts ahead of SA test series

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named a 30-man squad for a three week high-performance red-ball training camp in St Lucia, starting tomorrow, Sunday May 16, in preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa.

The team said the camp provides an opportunity for established Test and developing players alike to sharpen and enhance their red-ball skills in a high-performance environment after a month-long break after the Sri Lanka Series.  It noted that it will include two ‘best v best’ inter-squad matches, as the West Indies look ahead to their final series in the ICC World Test Championship with two Test Matches against the Proteas in June.

The CWI said most players attending have been involved in recent West Indies Test squads and high-performance camps but said a few players, however, will be receiving their first international training experience since the beginning of the pandemic including Guyanese fast bowler Nial Smith, Jamaican top-order batsman Paul Palmer, Vincentian leg-spinning all-rounder Keron Cottoy and St Kitts & Nevis’ left-hand batter, Kieran Powell.

Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph will not be attending as they are currently competing in the English County Championship and will return to the West Indies for the Test Series if selected, the CWI said. Meanwhile, all-rounder Jason Holder is being rested due to his workload across all formats of the game and will arrive in St Lucia at the end of the month.

The squad is expected to arrive in St Lucia and complete the quarantine protocols established by the Ministry of Health for the bio-secure environment, before they start training led by Head Coach, Phil Simmons and his team management unit.

“This camp is very important for our preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa and for the rest of our busy and exciting summer.  We will continue the work which we begun last year in England, to further develop our Test team into a force to be reckoned with in world cricket,” Coach Simmons said.

“We welcome the good news of a rise to sixth in the ICC Test Rankings, however, this is just the beginning of our journey and we know we have lots of hard work ahead of us,” he continued.

CWI’s Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, said he is looking forward to the camp as CWI continues its investment in and focus on building a high-performance environment:

“The pandemic has made it necessary to assemble larger squads during the pre-tour phase to allow our preparation to be facilitated within one bio-secure bubble. This has turned into a positive for us by creating a much-needed level of focus and intensity leading into tours while also allowing for players to make a case for selection if they perform well in the warm-up games. Given the lack of regional four-day cricket so far this year, these camps have taken on even greater importance in our test match preparations,” Adams said.

The CWI said that in partnership with the St Lucia National Cricket Association, it has been working closely with the Government and Ministry of Health to create a safe bio-secure bubble for the players and staff.  Everyone entering the bio-secure bubble will undergo two COVID-19 PCR tests prior to their arrival in St Lucia and throughout the duration of their stay, the team said.

The Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium (DSCG) will host both Test matches against South Africa, the first bilateral cricket that they have played in the Caribbean since 2010, with the first Test to be played from June 12-16 and the second from June 18-22.

The members of the CWI high-performance training squad are: Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keron Cottoy, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Jahmar Hamilton, Kavem Hodge, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Nial Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, and Jomel Warrican.