Darren Bravo has recovered from the hamstring injury which forced him out of the World Cup after two matches to take his place in West Indies’ 20-man training squad ahead of the Test series against England next month.
Bravo was injured during the match against Pakistan in Christchurch but can now be expected to return to bolster a brittle top order for the three-Test series. He averages 43.60 in Tests, with six hundreds, although his average at home slips to 32.32 and only one of those centuries has come in the Caribbean.
West Indies training squad
Sulieman Benn, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Leon Johnson, Veerasammy Permaul, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Jerome Taylor
Miguel Cummins, the highly-rated quick bowler from Barbados who has a 82 first-class wickets at 23.07, is one of four uncapped players in the squad along with fellow paceman Carlos Brathwaite and a pair of wicket-keeper batsmen, 23-year-old Shane Dowrich and 21-year-old Shai Hope.
Legspinner Devendra Bishoo and left-armer Veerasammy Permaul are in the frame for recalls if West Indies decide to bolster their spin attack. Sulieman Benn is currently the first-choice spinner. Thirteen of the squad were involved on the Test tour of South Africa earlier this year and the captaincy of the Test side remains with Denesh Ramdin.
The training camp begins on April 5 and the Test series starts in Antigua on April 13 with further matches in Grenada and Barbados. It will be Phil Simmons’ first series in charge of West Indies following his appointment as the coach after the World Cup.
