– Windies name training camp squad for upcoming season
The West Indies cricket selectors continue to find no place for talented batsman Shimron Hetmyer in their plans after the batsman was not named in a 30-man training squad named to prepare for the upcoming season yesterday.
Although Veerasammy Permaul and Nial Smith were named to participate in the three-week, high performance, red ball training camp, there were no places for Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd and Keemo Paul, who have all donned West Indies colours at various levels in the past.
Permaul has been a consistent performer at the regional level over the years but Smith’s call up was unexpected. Permaul recently toured Bangladesh with the West Indies team although he did not play in the test matches.
The 25-year-old Smith, son of former coach Albert Smith, made his regional first class debut for Guyana last year where he picked up some 20 wickets from seven matches before the coronavirus pandemic cut short the season. Hetmyer was recently not granted a contract by Cricket West Indies.
Also not included in the 30 man squad is former West Indies test captain Jason Holder, current test captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Kemar Roach.
“The camp provides an opportunity for established Test and developing players alike to sharpen and enhance their red-ball skills in a high-performance environment after a month-long break after the Sri Lanka Series,” a release from Cricket West Indies (CWI) stated.
“Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph will not be attending as they are currently competing in the English County Championship and will return to the West Indies for the Test Series if selected,” the release added but gave no reason for Holder’s and Hetmyer’s absence.
The camp will include two ‘best v best’ inter-squad matches, as the West Indies look ahead to their final series in the ICC World Test Championship with two Test Matches against the Proteas in June.
West Indies head coach Phill Simmons, weighed in on the camp. “This camp is very important for our preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa and for the rest of our busy and exciting summer. We will continue the work which we begun last year in England, to further develop our Test team into a force to be reckoned with in world cricket. We welcome the good news of a rise to sixth in the ICC Test Rankings, however, this is just the beginning of our journey and we know we have lots of hard work ahead of us,” said Simmons.
The CWI high-performance training squad: Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keron Cottoy, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Jahmar Hamilton, Kavem Hodge, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Nial Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr., Jomel Warrican
Team management unit: Head Coach – Phil Simmons, Team Manager – Rawl Lewis, Assistant Coach – Roddy Estwick, Batting Coach – Andre Coley, Fielding Coach – Rayon Griffith, Physiotherapist – Denis Byam, Physiotherapist – Lyndon Knights, Strength & Conditioning Coach – Ronald Rogers, Massage Therapist – Zephyrinus Nicholas, Massage Therapist – Kurlyn Smith-Nicholas, Mental Skills Coach – Donald La Guerre, Media & Content Officer – Dario Barthley
