West Indies Test boys up for Sri Lanka challenge, says Captain Brathwaite

– revised squads named for today’s Best v Best practice

The West Indies T20 team are in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) battling it out in the T20 World Cup while most of the Test players are in Antigua preparing for the Sri Lanka Test series, which will commence on November 21, with both Tests being hosted in Galle. In the first three-day Best v Best practice match, Test batsmen Nkrumah Bonner and Shai Hope scored centuries while Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Raymon Reifer scored half-centuries.
Speaking to Cricket West Indies (CWI) media after the first Best v Best match, skipper Brathwaite said his men were looking forward to the upcoming Test challenge.

“Sri Lanka is a very strong team, especially at home. As a team, we look forward to the challenge. The last time we went down (to Sri Lanka), we did well as a team, so we look forward to the challenge,” he said.
Brathwaite, who is slated to open the batting, will be looking to set the foundation in the batting department.
He also said the batsmen in the practice match looked good ahead of the Test series. With World Test Championship points up for grabs, Brathwaite and his Test side will be looking to capitalise.
CWI also announced the two teams for the second and final Best v Best three-day match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground that bowls off today, Monday, November 1 and runs until Wednesday, November 3. The teams will again be led by Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood.
The selection panel has made several changes, with most of the bowlers switching sides to offer the batters preparation against different types of bowling and vice versa. Fast bowlers Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Preston McSween and Chemar Holder, along with spinners Imran Khan and Jomel Warrican are now on the Brathwaite Team. Fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel, Nial Smith and Jayden Seales, along with spinners Rahkeem Cornwall and Veerasammy Permaul are now on the Blackwood Team.
West Indies players are using the Best v Best series as part of their preparations for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka next month. Both matches will be played at the Galle International Stadium. West Indies will have a four-day warm-up match in Colombo from November 14 to 17. The Test matches will follow on November 21 to 25 and November 29 to December 3.
The series is the second of six series – three at home and three away – that West Indies will play in the 2021-2023 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship.
Brathwaite Team: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain); Shamarh Brooks; Joshua Da Silva; Chemar Holder; Shai Hope; Alzarri Joseph; Imran Khan; Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween; Kemar Roach; Jeremy Solozano and Jomel Warrican.
Blackwood Team: Jermaine Blackwood (Captain); Nkrumah Bonner; Rahkeem Cornwall; Shannon Gabriel; Jahmar Hamilton; Kavem Hodge; Shayne Moseley; Veerasammy Permaul; Kieran Powell; Raymon Reifer; Jayden Seales and Nial Smith.