Beaton earns maiden international call up to face Afghanistan

Twenty four year old exciting Guyanese fast bowler and Trinbago Knight Riders player, Ronsford Beaton, is the lone newcomer in West Indies squad to face Afghanistan in an upcoming three-match T20I home series which gets underway on Friday, June 2 at Warner Park in St. Kitts.

The media was informed of Beaton’s selection due to a release yesterday afternoon which stated that the Selection Panel of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced a 13-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20 Series against Afghanistan.

Beaton, the tall 24-year-old fast bowler, who has to date, played for Dhaka Dynamites in the Bangladesh Premier League as well as Guyana Amazon Warriors and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), has captured 31 wickets including best figures of 4-9 from 36 outings .

All-rounder Jason Holder is being rested for the series.

The Panel also announced the 12-man squad for the WICB President’s XI T20 match against the visitors. Ashley Nurse will lead that squad.

All matches will be played at Warner Park in St Kitts. Start time is 7:30pm (6:30pm Jamaica time).

The full squad reads: Carlos Brathwaite (Captain), Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton and Kesrick Williams,

WICB President’s XI: Ashley Nurse (Captain), Jonathan Carter, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Andre Fletcher, Delorn Johnson, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Nicholas Pooran, Raymond Reifer and Devon Thomas.

According to Chairman of the Selection Panel, Courtney Brown, on the composition of the squad; “After the T20 Series against Pakistan we felt that it was important to keep the same group together so that the coaches can continue developing the young players. This coupled with the vast T20 experience of some of our senior players can help us to build a very formidable unit.”

He stated that Beaton’s selection was due to a request from West Indies Head Coach, Stuart Law, seeking someone who can add some firepower to the attack.

The Chairman noted that the panel felt that the Trinbago Knight Rider player has shown he can bowl with sustained pace in T20 cricket and they are confident he will do very well.

The former wicketkeeper informed that Holder has been going for a while now and led the team from the front with his performances. He has requested a break and after discussion with the staff we have granted him this period to refresh himself and prepare for the upcoming ODIs against Afghanistan and India.

“In developing a high performance unit there is never room for complacency and our expectation is to win against a team that is ranked lower than us in the ICC rankings”, Browne noted

He also noted that this is an opportunity for the experienced players to restate their desire to represent West Indies again by way of performance and the inexperienced players to show their ability at a higher level with a view to be considered for selection in the future.

Series Schedule: Tuesday, May 30: WICB President’s XI v Afghanistan – Warner Park, Friday, June 2: 1st T20 International – Warner Park, Saturday, June 3: 2nd T20 International – Warner Park, Monday, June 5: 3rd T20 International – Warner Park.