Still unofficial, but 30-man provisional squad is best combination

– says Brandon Corlette

Cricket West Indies (CWI) did not make an official announcement when some 30 players were shortlisted to participate in an uncertain three-match Test tour to England. Various regional publications across the Caribbean disclosed this list of 30 to the general public.

Three of those players have been selected from the Guyana Jaguars franchise: Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul and Veerasammy Permaul. That is a good sign, especially for the latter, who led the Regional 4-Day bowling charts.

The 30 players shortlisted may be reduced to 25 if the series is given the green light. According to the hopeful chief selector Roger Harper, he and West Indies Test captain Jason Holder have had discussion. This was disclosed in an interview on the popular Barbados Radio show Mason and Guest earlier last week.

Harper, who was discreet in his discussion when it came to squad combination, hinted that if the conditions in England make for a “dry summer”, more fast bowlers would be on the tour, since the pacemen would find those conditions enjoyable.

In the 30-man squad shortlisted, four spinners are named. Left-arm spinners Veerasammy Permaul and Jomel Warrican and off-spinners Roston Chase and Rahkeem Cornwall are the main spin options. If the squad is trimmed to 25 and the

series is given the green light, some of these spinners may be eliminated.
Harper also believes in current form of players in his selection policy. In the 30-man provisional squad, most of these players, especially the prospective Test players, have registered strong performances in the truncated 2020 Regional 4-Day tournament.

Unfamiliar and familiar batting suspects
Regular Test openers John Campbell and Kraigg Brathwaite, together with Shayne Mosely, are the three specialist openers in the 30-man squad. In the 2020 Regional 4-Day tournament, Campbell scored 491 runs, the most among opening batsmen in the Caribbean. He also scored two centuries.
A left-handed Jamaican, Campbell has also played six Test matches for the West Indies, and is likely to accompany the experienced and calm Brathwaite, who had encountered somewhat of a baptism of fire in international cricket in recent times, but had a mini-redemption in the recent 4-Day season with 468 runs, but with only three fifties to his name.
Promising left-handed Bajan opener Shayne Mosely had also been in the runs in the recent season. He scored 490 runs, one run less than Campbell.
The middle-order batsmen in the squad include leading Regional 4-Day batsman Jermaine Blackwood (768 runs), Nkrumah Bonner (523 runs), Paul Palmer (432 runs), Kyle Mayers (654 runs) and Joshua Da Silva (507 runs), who each had a good outing with the bat and are the in-form players.
West Indies class act Darren Bravo, together with Sunil Ambris, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Roston Chase and Shamarh Brooks, are the familiar middle-order men in the squad.

Steam trains
The new seam bowling options who picked up some wickets in the Regional 4-Day tournament are newbie Marquino Mindley (24 wickets), Anderson Phillip (21 wickets), Windward Islands seamer the left-arm Preston McSween, who claimed 31 wickets, the second highest by a seamer in the 2020 four-Day season, Chemar Holder (36 wickets, most by a seamer), and Keon Harding (29 wickets).
Popular West Indies players: captain Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach are also frontline options. Leeward Islands wicket-keeper Jahmar Hamilton will serve as back-up to main gloves-man Shane Dowrich.
While some players may have counted themselves unlucky, the selectors have stuck with the nucleus of the Test squad, and recognize those who made significant contributions in the recent Regional 4-Day season.
Windies provisional squad reads: John Campbell (Jamaica), Jermaine Blackwood (Jamaica), Nkrumah Bonner (Jamaica), Paul Palmer Jr (Jamaica), Marquino Mindley (Jamaica), Daren Bravo (T&T), Joshua Da Silva (T&T), Anderson Phillip (T&T), Shannon Gabriel (T&T), Sunil Ambris (Windwards), Preston McSween (Windwards), Alzarri Joseph (Leewards), Jahmar Hamilton (Leewards), Rahkeem Cornwall (Leewards), Shimron Hetmyer (Guyana), Veerasammy Permaul (Guyana), Keemo Paul (Guyana), Jason Holder (Barbados), Kraigg Brathwaite (Barbados), Shayne Mosely (Barbados), Kemar Roach (Barbados), Chemar Holder (Barbados), Keon Harding (Barbados), Shane Dowrich (Barbados), Shai Hope (Barbados), Kyle Mayers (Barbados), Roston Chase (Barbados), Shamarh Brooks (Barbados), Jomel Warrican (Barbados)