Injuries force Samuels, Joseph out of NZ ODIs

KINGSTON: After a 0-2 drubbing in the two-match Test series in New Zealand, Windies have now lost key players ahead of the limited-overs series, starting on December 20.

An injured right hand to Marlon Samuels and a back strain to Alzarri Joseph has ruled the two out of the series.Windies are already without the services of Sunil Ambris, who fractured his forearm during the Test series.

They’ll also miss the services of Sunil Narine, who was part of the Twenty20 squad. The offspinner has decided to miss the series owing to personal reasons. Sheldon Cottrell, Chadwick Walton and Shimron Hetmyer will join the ODI squad. Walton is also part of the T20I series. Shai Hope will replace Samuels in the T20I squad while Ashley Nurse will fill in for Narine.

Cottrell last played for Windies in January 2015 when he played against South Africa in Centurion. He impressed against Sri Lanka A, picking up eight wickets in two List A games for just 63 runs. The teams are scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is.

ODI squad: Jason Holder (c), Chris Gayle, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wk), Jason Mohammed, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams, Ronsford Beaton, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse.

T20 squad: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Chris Gayle, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Andre Fletcher, Shai Hope, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton, Kesrick Williams, Samuel Badree, Ronsford Beaton, Rayad Emrit.