Pollard, Dwayne Bravo named in WI reserves

SAINT JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda: After missing out on their 15-man squad for the event, all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have been named in West Indies’ list of reserve players for the ICC World Cup 2019.

Bravo’s selection in the 10-man list comes despite him having retired from international cricket in October last year, while Pollard has just returned from a successful IPL season. The reserves will participate in a four-day camp in Southampton from May 19 to 23, which also includes an additional warm-up game against Australia on May 22 at The Rose Bowl.

Apart from the star all-rounders, Sunil Ambris and Raymon Reifer, who were a part of the Windies side in the recently-concluded tri-nation series in Ireland, have also been called up as back-ups. While Ambris will be a cover for Ewin Lewis, who has just recovered from a viral illness, Reifer will help in managing the bowling unit’s work-load.

Speaking about the reserves, Robert Haynes, the interim chairman of selectors, said: “The choice of players in the reserve list is to really cover our bases and ensure we have a good balance in the pool of players that can be selected if replacements are required. We think the skill-set in this pool is strong, with a good blend of experience and upcoming young players who can be ready to contribute if and when required.”

With some key players having missed out on the tri-series due to their IPL committments, Johnny Grave, the Cricket West Indies chief executive officer, said that the training camp and extra warm-up fixture will provide the entire squad an opportunity to get together and get acclimatised to English conditions ahead of the World Cup.

“Due to the commitments and promises made, to both our players and the BCCI, this is the first time that our entire World Cup squad can get together since the IPL finished,” he said.

“We are confident that these additional five days of training and the extra warm-up game will mean that our players will be ready to perform at their best in our opening match against Pakistan on May 31.”