West Indies to stick with the same side versus Zimbabwe in Tests

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) recently announced the squad for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe and went ahead with the same squad which featured during the England tour even though the Maroon Caps lost the three-match series against England by 2-1.

The Carribean side orchestrated a heroic comeback in the series after suffering a humiliating loss in the first Test. The visitors were bowled out in a single day twice in the Day 3 of the First Test match. Many of the cricket pundits such as Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan already wrote the team off by stating that the series would be difficult to watch and the squad was the worst Test side in the last 50 years.

However, Shai Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite helped their team chase down an improbable target in the Headingley Test to shut their critics and set up a historic win. Even though the Maroon Caps lost the series, they won hearts of all cricket fans.

As a result, the selection committee decided to go in with the same squad against the newly improved Zimbabwe Team for the 2-match Test series. “The dedication, commitment and focus in their preparation and during the series in England showed immense character for such a young team in very difficult conditions against World-class competition,” commented the chairman of the Cricket West Indies selection panel, Courtney Browne.

“The lessons learnt on that tour augurs well for the individual players and the team’s continued development as a whole and we wish them well on the Tour of Zimbabwe,” concluded Browne.

Here’s the Squad:

Jason Holder (capt), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice capt), 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.

Schedule:

Oct 15-17- Tour match v Zimbabwe A

Oct 21-25 – 1st Test v Zimbabwe

Oct 29-Nov 2 – 2nd Test v Zimbabwe