Hetmyer to be retested next week

West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer will have another opportunity to prove his fitness when he is retested next week.

However, fellow left hander Evin Lewis has asked for an extended period of time to work on his fitness.

Both Hetmyer and Lewis were omitted from the West Indies One Day International (ODI) squad for the three match series against Sri Lanka on the Asian subcontinent from February 22 to March 6th, after failing to attain the new minimum standard fitness requirements in their recent assessments.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY in a telephone interview, Cricket West Indies chief executive officer Johnny Grave confirmed that the 23-year-old Hetmyer would be retested shortly.

He explained that because Lewis had asked for more time he would not be retested until sometime after the tour of Sri Lanka was completed.

Hetmyer did not report to duty for the Guyana Jaguars’ fourth round match of the Regional Four-Day Championship against the Jamaica Scorpions, which the Jaguars lost by seven runs.

Hetmyer, who watched some of the match between the Jaguars and the Jamaica Scorpions has been included in the Jaguar’s squad for their fifth round game against the Windward Islands Volcanoes which begins at the Grenada National Stadium tomorrow.

Lewis, however, who has not played a first class match since 2017, is not in the Red Force squad for their match against Barbados Pride at Kensington Oval, which also begins tomorrow.

“Hetmyer is playing for Guyana Jaguars in their next game [and] he will do the retest next week after the match is over. Lewis has requested more time to work on his fitness, therefore, he won’t be retested for a while because after the West Indies’ tour to Sri Lanka is over we aren’t playing any white ball cricket until New Zealand comes to the Caribbean in July”, Graves said.

In the press statement announcing the omission of Hetmeyer and Lewis from the ODI squad, head selector of CWI’s selection panel, Roger Harper said both batsmen will be missed in Sri Lanka.

“They will be missed. Lewis was the team’s best batsman in the recent Colonial Medical Insurance ODI Series against Ireland where he batted with great composure and proved to be the bedrock for the team’s series win. Hetmeyer appeared to be getting his act together and was an integral part of the team’s batting group,” Harper said.