Cricket West Indies picks two uncapped players for Test series against England

Cricket West Indies has selected two uncapped players in their 15-member roster to the test series against England. Windies will play three Tests against the Three Lions in England. The squad was announced by Cricket West Indies on Saturday, 15th July. 28-year batsman Kyle Antonio Hope and 26-year old all-rounder Raymon Reifer have been handed their Test debuts.

Kyle Hope, the elder brother of cricketer Shai Hope, has been good with the bat in the recently concluded ODI series against the men in blue. His scores in the three matches are 45, 35 and 19. Besides that, he has a healthy First-class average of over 30. Like Kyle, Reifer also hails from a family of cricketers. His cousin Floyd Reifer has played 6 Tests, 8 ODIs and a single T20I for the national team.

Veteran bowler Kemar Roach has also been called up for the series. Roach featured in the Windian Test team in January last year against the Aussies. He is making a comeback after one and a half years. Chairman of Cricket Windies selection panel Courtney Browne is optimistic about Roach’s performance in the upcoming series. “Kemar’s return is welcomed as he was one of the best fast bowlers in Tests in the recent past for us. We have seen him during the last [first-class] season show signs of his return to form. He may not be bowling as quickly as before, but still possesses that skill we all knew he had, plus his experience adds greater depth to the attack,” he said.

He also revealed that Hope will be the 3rd choice opener of the team or might also find a place for himself at number 3. “[In Reifer and Kyle Hope] we have two players who will be new to Tests, but they have experience at first-class level. Kyle will be our third option as an opener and he can also be a possible No. 3. Raymon adds variety to our attack with his left-arm swing bowling and has proven to be very useful with the bat in the lower order. He, therefore, adds value to our team and could be very useful in English conditions,” said the Chairman.

Here is the 15-member Windies squad:

Jason Holder (C), Kraigg Braithwaite (VC), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach.