Uncapped Joseph gets the nod in WI T20 squad

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Joint hosts and two-time world champions West Indies rolled the dice and named uncapped pacer Shamar Joseph in their provisional 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup to be staged next month in the Caribbean and the United States.

The 24-year-old Guyanese fast bowler, who has played only three official Twenty20 matches in his career and has not taken a wicket, is yet to make his international debut in the format, but West Indies lead selector Desmond Haynes and white-ball head coach Daren Sammy felt he was worth the gamble.

“You really can’t question Shamar Joseph’s skills,” Haynes told reporters during a news conference yesterday in the Barbados capital of Bridgetown to announce the squad. “You saw him in Australia. We were looking at someone up front bowling the first Power Play, and he ticks the boxes.”

Joseph rose to prominence on his Test debut in January when he took seven wickets in an innings and bowled West Indies to their first Test win in Australia for 27 years against the hosts and world champions.

Sammy was in Australia at the time preparing the white-ball outfit for the subsequent One-day and Twenty20 Internationals matches on the trip, and he spoke glowingly about the rookie fast bowler and hinted that he could be a dark horse to make the Caribbean side for the global showpiece.

Joseph is one of several West Indies players taking part in the ongoing Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament, being signed by Lucknow Super Giants as a replacement player, but he had a difficult debut and conceded 47 against Kolkata Knight Riders in his only match.

But Sammy said the pace and control of Joseph gave him the edge over other contenders such as Matthew Forde and Oshane Thomas.

“Shamar has the pace, he has skills with the new ball. Not saying Matthew Forde doesn’t but, when you look at the role, it makes it easier for us to now pick the personnel to fit that role,” Sammy said about the young fast bowler.

At the same time, Guyanese left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer earned a recall, after being dropped during the series against England last Christmas, overlooked in January for the Tour of Australia, and modest runs in the IPL.

Haynes said it was a close call between the 27-year-old former West Indies Under-19 World Cup-winning captain and Barbadian ambidextrous all-rounder Kyle Mayers, who had been a regular feature in the line-up over the past couple of years.

“It was a very close decision regarding selection between Kyle and Hetty, but we wanted the extra batsman to be the one batting down the order,” the lead selector said. “We are hoping that Hetty would play that role as a finisher.”

The rest of the squad – to be led by Rovman Powell with fast bowler Alzarri Joseph his deputy – was pretty much straightforward and includes most of the players that played in the series against England on home soil and in Australia.

Sammy also disclosed that while a knee injury kept Brandon King out of the Tour of Nepal, there was the opportunity for the Jamaican to play in the T20 home series against South Africa before the World Cup – and, if found to be unfit, a replacement could be named.

All World Cup provisional squads may be changed up to May 25, after which any alterations will require approval from the technical committee of the tournament.

Squad: Rovman Powell (captain), Alzarri Joseph (vice-captain), Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas.