Test gloveman Joshua Da Silva has been appointed captain of West Indies A for the series against Bangladesh A bowling off in St Lucia on Thursday.
The 24-year-old, who has played 16 Tests, will lead West Indies A in both four-day “Tests” and three one-dayers on the tour which runs from August 4-20 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.
“Joshua has done quite well so far in his Test career, and we believe he will be a good leader for both formats,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes.
“We also have a few others in the squads who have played at the international level and performed reasonably well, so we want to see them grow even more and this series against the visitors from Bangladesh will present that golden opportunity.”
Da Silva is the only player in either squad with extensive Test experience.
Shermon Lewis played two Tests four years ago, fellow seamer Anderson Phillip featured in his only Test against Bangladesh in June while opener Jeremy Solozano made his debut against Sri Lanka last year but never completed the game due to injury.
All-rounder Justin Greaves and batsman Keacy Carty have played a handful of white-ball matches while Tagenarine Chanderpaul – the son of Test legend Shiv Chanderpaul – has been part of the Test setup recently.
Haynes said the series was a critical one in helping expand the options available to the West Indies senior team.
“We stated from very early that we would look to give the opportunities to players and broaden the pool,” he explained.
“The ‘A Team’ program is a very good thing for West Indies cricket and CWI must be complimented for ensuring that we have these matches back up and running and arranging these games in Saint Lucia.
“The squad is selected for us to have a closer look at the players in the longer format and also 50-over format as we have a lot of international cricket around the corner.
“We want to give the players exposure and the chance to play ‘A Team’ cricket and President’s XI matches as we had earlier this year as it is vital and much needed.”
The opening “Test” bowls off August 4 with the second carded to begin six days later. The one-dayers will be played on August 16, 18 and 20.
SQUADS:
FOUR DAY – Joshua Da Silva (captain), Colin Archibald, Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, Shermon Lewis, Jeremiah Louis, Marquino Mindley, Anderson Phillip, Jeremy Solozano
ONE DAY – Joshua Da Silva (captain), Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Yannic Cariah, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Tevin Imlach, Shermon Lewis, Jeremiah Louis, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Anderson Phillip, Kevin Sinclair, Shamar Springer.
