Image Credit- Reuters
Captain
Kraigg Brathwaite of the West Indies, who hailed his mostly inexperienced team
for making excellent use of their warm-up match in Adelaide, is “quite
clear” about the XI he will take into the first Test against Australia
next week, which will include at least three debutants.
Several
players in the top order spent valuable time in the middle over the course of
the three days against a Cricket Australia XI comprised of players without BBL
contracts. On the last day, wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva struck a century,
while Kavem Hodge scored 52 and 99 and Justin Greaves scored twice.
“[I’m]
quite clear on the XI,” Brathwaite told reporters. “Very happy with
how all the guys went about the camp [and] went about this game. This time next
week it’s about making West Indies proud.”
Although Brathwaite withheld additional information
regarding the West Indies’ lineup, the warm-up game suggests that Hodge and
Greaves, along with Shamar, will be making their debuts at Nos. 5 and 6,
respectively.
The encounter against Zimbabwe a year ago saw
left-armer Gudakesh Motie take 13 wickets; but, Kevin Sinclair, an all-rounder,
might have given the selectors something to think about.
In the second innings, the West Indies rearranged
their batting order. Da Silva, who was involved in the last Test series in
Australia, took full advantage of his opportunity and scored a hundred, while
Hodge made two valuable contributions, which impressed Brathwaite.
Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Alzarri were also on the
previous tour, but Brathwaite (87 Tests) and Roach (79 Tests) will be crucial
in leading the way.
Pakistan may have lost the Melbourne Test because they
were unable to catch well during their Test series, something that the West
Indies did admirably during the match.
West Indies’ squad is missing a host of senior players
including former captain Jason Holder and allrounder Kyle Mayers who opted to
play in T20 leagues.