[UPDATED] Hetmyer dropped, Joseph rested, WI aim to clinch T20 series vs England

MISFIRING batsman Shimron Hetmyer and a laboured Alzarri Joseph have been replaced by Johnson Charles and Oshane Thomas for the final two T20 Internationals against England at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Tuesday and Thursday.

This was confirmed in a Cricket West Indies (CWI) statement on Monday, which named the 15-member squad ahead of both matches.

Hetmyer has been ineffective with the bat, scoring one and two respectively, in the first two T20Is, and did not make it into the playing squad for the third.

Joseph, however, had commendable hauls of 3/54 and 3/39 in the first two but went wicketless for 50 runs in the third.

“The selection panel is resting fast bowler Alzarri Joseph in consideration of his workload including the forthcoming all-format tour of Australia in January and February. He is replaced in the squad by fellow pacer Oshane Thomas.

“Johnson Charles, the experienced batter is also called into the squad to replace Shimron Hetmyer,” the statement read.

Tuesday’s match bowls off at 4pm and the hosts have another chance to clinch the five-match series.

England staged an impressive fightback in Grenada on Saturday to grab their first win of the series (2-1) despite the hosts posting the venue’s highest T20I target of 222/6.

An opening stance of 115 in under 12 over from Phil Salt (109 not out) and captain Jos Buttler (51) set the stage for England’s largest T20I run chase in the Caribbean, as they rallied to 226/3, with one ball to spare.

Altogether, the 448 runs aggregated by both nations in the third T20I are the most in any T20I match hosted in the region. The previous highest was 428 runs in Bridgetown in 2022, also during a T20I between West Indies and England.

If victorious on Tuesday, the maroon will win the series with the final contest to play on Thursday. However, if England win, Thursday’s result determines the series winner.

The last time both nations met in a T20I series was in January 2022, when West Indies won 3-2.

But having won their first One-Day International series over the English, since 2007, ten days ago, West Indies are intent on closing off this year on a high, with another T20I series win over their European rivals.

West Indies have done well with the bat so far for the series. In the first tie, vice-captain Shai Hope (36) top-scored, with Kyle Mayers (35) chipping. The pair combined with skipper Rovman Powell’s quick-fire, unbeaten

31 from 15 balls, in addition to, Andre Russell’s blistering 29 from 14.

In the second match, opener Brandon King led his charges over the line with an unbeaten 82 from 52 while Powell supported his quest with a speedy 50 from 28.

The last match in Grenada on Saturday, which WI lost, saw Nicholas Pooran (82) step up, Powell (39) deliver with another fine showing alongside Sherfane Rutherford (29).

However, Pooran’s heroics with the bat were overshadowed by Salt, Buttler, Harry Brooks blistering 31 from seven and Liam Livingstone’s 30.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

West Indies have dropped batsman Shimron Hetmyer for the final two Twenty20 matches against England in Trinidad. The series resumes at 4pm on Tuesday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba. West Indies lead the five-match series 2-1.

Hetmyer, 26, has been struggling for runs in the series, with scores of one and two in the first two fixtures. He did not make the playing eleven for the third match.

Th Guyanese batsman has been badly out of form for the maroon, scoring just 44 runs in the preceding ODI series, with an average of 14.66

The selection panel is also resting fast bowler Alzarri Joseph in consideration of his workload including the forthcoming all-format tour of Australia in January and February. He is replaced in the squad by fellow pacer Oshane Thomas. Johnson Charles, the experienced batter replaces Hetmyer.

FULL SQUAD:

Rovman Powell (Captain)

Shai Hope (Vice-Captain)

Johnson Charles

Roston Chase

Matthew Forde

Jason Holder

Akeal Hosein

Brandon King

Kyle Mayers

Gudakesh Motie

Nicholas Pooran

Andre Russell

Sherfane Rutherford

Romario Shepherd

Oshane Thomas