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August 2, 2024
Kemar Roach Returns for West Indies’ Series Against South Africa
Kemar Roach is set to rejoin the West Indies Test team for their upcoming home series against South Africa. Roach missed the recent tour of England due to a knee injury he sustained during the County Championship.
Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph will be rested for this series. In his absence, Joshua Da Silva will take on the role of vice-captain. Kevin Sinclair, who is still recovering from a fractured forearm, will not be returning yet. “We have decided to rest our vice-captain Alzarri Joseph for this series”, head coach Andre Coley said in a CWI press release. “Alzarri has had a considerable workload recently, and this break will allow him to recuperate and return to peak performance.”
Coles had laid out a long-term outlook with regards to Alzarri’s workload management in an interview with thewicketinsider, “As far as Alzarri is concerned, it always helps to have a period of time away from the game to work on your individual skills, because you could get drawn into moving from one tournament to the next and might actually lose some of your skills.”
“So it’s building in the right amount of rest time where he does nothing, but then also have little periods where he is not in competition. That way he will be able to create more control around his bowling.”
Offspin-bowling allrounder Kevin Sinclair is absent from the West Indies squad as he continues to recover from a fractured left forearm, an injury he sustained from a Mark Wood delivery during the England tour.
Uncapped offspinner Bryan Charles, pace-bowling allrounder Justin Greaves, and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, who were not part of the England tour, have been included in the 15-member squad.
Jeremiah Louis, who withdrew from the final Test in England due to a hamstring injury, and his replacement Akeem Jordan are not in the squad. Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, and Akeem Jordan have also been dropped. McKenzie, who played all three Tests in England, managed only 33 runs in six innings. McCaskie, who toured Australia and England but has yet to make his Test debut, is also left out.
“The selection process for this squad was led by our Head Coach, Andre Coley,” Miles Bascombe, CWI’s director of cricket, said, “pending the implementation of our new selection process, which will be rolled out in the coming days and articulated publicly shortly.”
The West Indies, fresh off a 3-0 defeat in England and sitting at the bottom of the World Test Championship table with just one win in seven matches, will face South Africa in two Tests. The matches will be held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from August 7 to 11, and in Providence, Guyana, from August 15 to 19.
West Indies Squad:
Pooran Leads Northern Superchargers to Victory Over Oval Invincibles
Nicholas Pooran delivered another impressive performance, scoring 65 not out from 41 balls to lead the Northern Superchargers to a 19-run victory over the Oval Invincibles at the Kia Oval. Pooran’s innings, which included four big sixes, helped his team post a total of 145 for 5.
Despite a challenging start, Pooran’s powerful hitting and Ollie Robinson’s quick 20 runs provided a strong finish. The Superchargers’ bowlers, including Jordan Clark, Dillon Pennington, and Matthew Potts, kept the Invincibles in check throughout their chase. Excellent fielding, with key catches from Adam Hose and Mitchell Santner, supported the bowlers and ensured the Invincibles fell short, finishing at 126 for 9.
This loss ended the perfect records of both the Oval Invincibles men’s and women’s teams and left the competitions wide open.
Mitchell Santner, along with spinners Adil Rashid and Matt Short, provided strong support to the Superchargers‘ seamers, making it difficult for the Oval Invincibles to build momentum in the middle of their innings. As the Invincibles’ chase faltered, Donovan Ferreira’s explosive 49 off 24 balls, including five sixes, briefly gave hope to the home crowd. However, Ferreira was dismissed by Matthew Potts, and he remained the only player to score more than 20 runs as the chase struggled to gain traction.
After the match, Meerkat Match Hero Nicholas Pooran commented, “IFor me it’s about being consistent with my mindset, and playing the situation of the game. In the past I’ve been in similar situations and just got out, but today I just felt like I had to respect the situation and just be there at the end.”
“Oval Invincibles bowled really well with the new ball; Spencer Johnson bowled really well. For me it was all about being there. As the innings prolonged for me, it felt like it got better, but in saying that it felt like if we could get anything over 130 then it was game on. And I just felt like we could only get there if we constructed the partnership or if I could stay till the end.”
“It’s brilliant. Getting back to back wins in a format like this is really important. Coming outside of our home venue too, coming here to the defending champions and getting a win is really important for us to continue growing as a group as well. We’re heading back to Headingley on Sunday and hopefully we can continue ticking the boxes and getting the right result.”
Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for The Wicket Insider, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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