Uncapped leg-spinner Samuel Badree was included in the West Indies squad announced Sunday for two Twenty20 internationals against New Zealand in Florida this coming weekend. The 31-year-old Trinidad and Tobago bowler was the only player from outside the party selected for the tour of England to be included in the 13-man squad for the two games with the Black Caps at Central Broward Park in Lauderhill. West Indies will be looking for a boost after Sunday’s seven-wicket Twenty20 defeat at Trent Bridge meant they’d failed to beat England across all three formats this tour, having gone down 2-0 in preceding Test and one-day series. In a statement issued in Nottingham, chief selector Clyde Butts said the squad had been picked with a view to the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, which starts in September and that Badree’s performances in domestic Twenty20s, where he has taken 39 wickets at 15.61, merited his selection. “The team is well-balanced and has been selected with the Twenty20 World Cup in mind,” said Butts. “Looking at the team, we expect this side to do very well against New Zealand.” As for the new recruit, Butts added: “Badree has been a consistent performer in regional tournaments over a period of time and the selectors felt it was the right time to introduce him to the team.” All-rounder Darren Sammy continues as captain and is set for another lengthy campaign given, after the two Twenty20s in Florida, West Indies and New Zealand travel to the Caribbean for five one-day internationals and two Tests.
Windies T20 squad to play NZ:
Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel
Badree, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles,
Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Sunil
Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wkt), Ravi Rampaul, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith
NZ to West Indies fixtures
Jun 30: 1st Twenty20, Central
Broward Regional Park, United States
Jul 01: 2nd Twenty20,
Central Broward Regional Park
Jul 05: 1st ODI, Sabina Park, Jamaica
Jul 07: 2nd ODI, Sabina Park
Jul 11: 3rd ODI, Warner
Park, St. Kitts
Jul 14: 4th ODI, Warner Park
Jul 16: 5th ODI, Warner Park
Jul 20-22: WIS A v NZL,
Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua
Jul 25-29: 1st Test, Vivian Richards Cricket
Ground
Aug 02-06: 2nd Test, Sabina Park.
