WEST Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite said his players must be ready to battle as Bangladesh will want to rebound after losing the last time the teams faced off.
The two-match Test series between West Indies and Bangladesh bowls off at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, at 10 am, on Thursday.
The regional side should be confident as the last time the teams played each other in a series West Indies won 2-0. That series was played in February 2021 in Bangladesh.
Speaking on Wednesday, Brathwaite said, “We got to be in the fight. We can’t take them for granted, that’s the main thing…we beat them in Bangladesh 2-0, so obviously they will be coming and looking to do well against us.”
Experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach has been included in the squad after passing a fitness test. He picked up an injury in the English County Championship with Surrey and was not included in the original squad announced last week.
Several West Indies players missed the tour of Bangladesh in 2021 because of covid19 concerns allowing others to impress.
Kyle Mayers and Nkrumah Bonner, who both made their debut on the tour, grabbed their chance.
Mayers cracked an unbeaten 210 and Bonner had scores of 86 and 90. Both players are in the team for the series.
This series may also give others a chance to deliver at the international level as three uncapped players are on the West Indies squad.
They include left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, fast bowler Anderson Phillip and wicket-keeper/batsman Devon Thomas.
Phillip has been in the Test team squad previously but did not play.
Brathwaite is anticipating the contribution of newcomers Motie and Thomas.
“Devon has a lot of experience at first-class level (and) he obviously played some international One Day games and he is hungry. From the beginning of the (Cricket West Indies four-day) season this year I was very impressed with how he went about his batting and even outside of cricket seeing him put in the work. I thought that was good.”
Giving his thoughts on Motie, Brathwaite said, “Motie is obviously a talented spinner. It was great to see him get a hundred, obviously unfortunate it was against my team but it was good to see him getting runs.”
Motie scored a century playing for Guyana Harpy Eagles against Barbados Pride in the West Indies Four-Day Championship recently.
Brathwaite is “very excited” if Motie and Thomas get the opportunity to play.
TEST SQUAD
Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, John Campbell, Joshua Da Silva, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas, Kemar Roach
Reserves
Tagernarine Chanderpaul, Shermon Lewis
MATCH SCHEDULE (Bangladesh tour of West Indies)
Thursday-Monday: First Test – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, 10 am
June 24-28: Second Test – Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia, 10 am
July 2: First T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica, 1.30 pm
July 3: Second T20I – Windsor Park, Dominica, 1.30 pm
July 7: Third T20
