BRIDGETOWN, Barbados CMC – West Indies ‘A’ were keeping their eyes on the skies as they prepared for their opening four-day ‘Test’ against India at Grace Road in England today. The tourists were forced to complete their final practice session at the Leicestershire County Ground yesterday after rain swept across the central England venue.
In fact, coach Hendy Springer said the squad had been restricted to all indoor sessions since arriving for the match but said the Caribbean side would try to make the most of their opportunities.
“The forecast is not great and we will be watching the weather closely, but we will be hoping that we can get in some cricket and look to create more opportunities. It is great that we will have an opportunity to play against India A and I know all the players in the team will be looking forward to the challenge.
“The Indians have a good team, they include a number of players who have played in the IPL (Indian Premier League), so they are experienced and should provide us with a good challenge, the kind of challenge we are looking for. On our side we have been playing well, so we want to maintain the consistency and continuity.”
West Indies A did not have the best of build-ups to the encounter, with their three-day first class match against Glamorgan in Cardiff abandoned as a draw last weekend after rain ruined the final day.
They were dismissed for a paltry 151 in their only innings though their bowlers bowled impressively to restrict Glamorgan.
However, the squad has been since boosted by the arrival of all-rounder David Bernard Jr who left the Caribbean immediately after representing the senior Windies squad in the final one-dayer against South Africa last week.
Jamaican pacer Andre Russell, called up to replace fast bowler Nelon Pascal who was named in the senior Windies squad for the first Test against South Africa, has also joined the squad.
Springer said the new additions would help to strengthen the unit which is being led by Test left-hander Devon Smith.
“It is good to have these new players join the squad. Bernard is an experienced player and has represented the West Indies in Test, One-Dayers and T20s, so he brings knowledge and skill to the team,” the former Barbados off-spinner said.
“I had a look at Russell and he is clearly a young man with a lot of ability. He bowls with good pace and has a first-class century, so it is clear he has some batting ability as well.”
Squads:
West Indies A – Devon Smith (captain), David Bernard, Omar Phillips, Lionel Baker, Kraigg Brathwaite, Andre Russell, Assad Fudadin, Odean Brown, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Justin Guillen, Imran Khan, Gavin Tonge, Chadwick Walton.
India A – Cheteshwar Pujara (captain), Wriddhman Saha (vice-captain), Bipul Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Chandrasejar Ganapathy, Iqbal Abdulla, Kedar Jadhav, Jaskaran Singh, Dhawal Kulkarni, Abhinav Mukund, Mahish Pandey, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Sudeep Tyagi, Jaidev Unadkat.