West Indies name squads for Ireland and England white-ball series, Kieron Pollard returns to lead

The Cricket West Indies (CWI), on December 31, announced the squad for the upcoming home series against Ireland and England. West Indies will play three ODIs against Ireland between January 8 to 14, which will all be a part of the ICC ODI Super League, followed by a one-off T20I on January 16. All the games are scheduled to be played at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

The team will then host England for a five-match T20I series between January 22 to 30, all fixtures scheduled at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which will count towards the ICC T20I rankings. West Indies come into this series after a 0-3 thrashing against Pakistan in the recent T20I series, while the three-match ODI series had to be postponed to June 2022 after a Covid-19 outbreak in the visiting camp.

Kieron Pollard, who missed the Pakistan series due to a hamstring injury, has come back to lead, with Nicholas Pooran named his deputy. The Ireland squad includes two Covid-19 reserves – uncapped pacer Keacy Carey and Sheldon Cottrell – while the England squad has three reserves – Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph and Devon Thomas.

Meanwhile, Fabian Allen, who was one of the members to test positive for Covid during the Pakistan tour, has not been considered for the Ireland fixtures due to the same reason and will return to the team in England series. Obed McCoy, who is recovering from a shin injury, has been excluded from both squads, while Darren Bravo has been named only for the England T20Is.

“We have tried to maintain the general make-up of the squads from the Pakistan Tour before Christmas, with the captain and some senior players coming back in. COVID-19 has also played a part in the final make-up of the squad. The challenges in the next couple of months are getting the young players in both squads to not only improve on their skills but maintain the attitude and desire we saw in Pakistan,” Head Coach Phil Simmons was quoted by CWI website.

“We do need to start the year on a high. And we know both Ireland and England have very good teams, so we expect a very strong challenge as we look to improve our chances of automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and building the T20 team for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022,” he added.

West Indies squad for Ireland ODIs

Kieron Pollard (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas

COVID-19 Reserves

Keacy Carty, Sheldon Cottrell

West Indies squad for one-off Ireland and England T20Is

Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabian Allen (England T20Is only), Darren Bravo (England T20Is only), Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akel Hosein, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

COVID-19 Reserves

Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Devon Thomas

Series itineraries 

Ireland Series at Sabina Park, Jamaica

January 8: 1st ODI (9:30 am local time/10:30 am Eastern Caribbean)

January 11: 2nd ODI (9:30 am local time/10:30 am Eastern Caribbean)

January 14: 3rd ODI (9:30 am local time/10:30 am Eastern Caribbean)

January 16: one-off T20I (4 pm local time/5 pm Eastern Caribbean)

England Series at Kensington Oval, Barbados

January 22: 1st T20I (4 pm local time/3 pm Jamaica)

January 23: 2nd T20I (4 pm local time/3 pm Jamaica)

January 26: 3rd T20I (4 pm local time/3 pm Jamaica)

January 29: 4th T20I (4 pm local time/3 pm Jamaica)

January 30: 5th T20I (4 pm local time/3 pm Jamaica)