Full speed ahead; Windies pick four pacers for first Test vs Bangladesh

There will be no secrets about West Indies’ approach for the first Test versus Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua starting on November 22, as Cricket West Indies confirmed the playing XI for the match which includes four fast bowlers.

The West Indies XI was announced via social media posts by Windies Cricket on November 21, with Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales and Barbados veteran Kemar Roach all included in the team. It will be the first time all four seamers are playing together for the Men in Maroon, and the West Indies will hope it’s a combination that can do great damage against the ninth-ranked Bangladeshi team. The West Indies are currently ranked eighth in Tests.

In the Windies’ preceding two-match Test series against South Africa in August, Shamar and Seales showed what they were capable of in tandem as they both claimed five-wicket hauls in the second Test at Providence Stadium, Guyana.

The result didn’t go in the host’s favour, though, as they lost by 40 runs chasing a 263-run target in the second innings as South Africa got a 1-0 series win.

The West Indies will be led by captain Kraigg Brathwaite, with exciting young players Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty and Mikyle Louis all retaining their spots from the second South Africa Test. The team also includes middle-order batsman Kavem Hodge, TT wicket-keeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva and sees a return for allrounder Justin Greaves, who rattled off three straight centuries in the ongoing CG United Super50 tournament for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

When the teams last met in the Caribbean in June 2022, the West Indies got a 2-0 series win after racking up comfortable victories in Antigua and St Lucia.

Despite his team winning six of their last seven Test series versus Bangladesh, Brathwaite said the history between the teams is water under the bridge.

“Everything gone is history. We’re playing against a talented Bangladesh team,” Brathwaite said, at the pre-series presser. “What’s gone is gone. We obviously have to look forward to tomorrow (Friday) and start well in whatever we do.”

After playing to an epic 1-1 series draw away to Australia early in the year, West Indies have suffered back-to-back series losses to England (3-0) and South Africa.

Brathwaite sees this series as the Windies’ chance for redemption at the end of the year.

“We’ve been having a difficult year thus far, but we’ve been having some good performances with the bat. It’s just to draw from them as much as possible. We’ve got four innings here and it’s just to back our plans 100 percent.”

Brathwaite said the 36-year-old Roach is integral for West Indies both on and off the field, and he expects his countryman to continue to be an exemplar for the younger seamers.

The West Indies skipper expects the Sir Vivian Richards surface to offer something for the seamers in the early stages of the game.

“Here in Antigua, you always tend to get some movement and carry with the pacers. It’s quite similar to how it is normally...the ball comes on to the bat nicely so we can expect a good cricket pitch assisting the pacers and a bit of spin probably later in the game.”

Action in the two-match series will commence from 10 am in Antigua. The second Test will be played at Sabina Park in Jamaica from November 30.

West Indies XI for first Test versus

Bangladesh:

Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales.