Left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul is set to follow his famous father and make his Test debut for West Indies after being named in a 16-man squad to face Australia in a daunting two-Test series Down Under next month.
The 26-year-old will be joined by all-rounder Roston Chase who has been recalled after nearly a year out of the side due to injury and loss of form.
As expected, Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the unit with Jermaine Blackwood as his deputy, the squad expected to assemble in Australia on November 10.
Chanderpaul, the son of Test legend Shiv Chanderpaul, was a reserve for the two-Test series against Bangladesh earlier this year but with John Campbell ruled out due to an anti-doping ban, he is now likely to partner Brathwaite at the top of the order.
“He equipped himself very well in the West Indies Championship four-day matches and also did a very good job at the top of the order against Bangladesh A in Saint Lucia this summer,” said chief selector, Desmond Haynes.
“He has what it takes to do well at the highest level.”
Chase, meanwhile, has not featured for West Indies in the longest format since the tour of Sri Lanka last December when the Caribbean side suffered a whitewash.
He turned out in three of Barbados Pride’s five matches during the First Class Championship earlier this year, averaging 28 and taking six wickets, and has scraped only 66 runs from his last eight Test innings.
Fellow Barbadian Shamarh Brooks has also gained a recall despite averaging 15 against England in three Tests back in March.
“Roston Chase has returned to the squad as an all-rounder and we believe his experience and skill set will be beneficial and Shamarh Brooks has also returned to bolster the middle-order batting,” Haynes explained.
The remainder of the squad is straightforward with selectors retaining the core of the side which beat Bangladesh 2-0 in June, veteran seamer Kemar Roach leading the attack and Brathwaite combining with the likes of Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers and Blackwood to spearhead the batting.
And Haynes said especially with West Indies’ impressive record in Tests this year, he was looking forward to a strong showing against the Aussies.
“We have a core group of players who have been part of the Test squad and have performed well,” he said.
“We have played two series this year – against England and Bangladesh – and won both. We have been playing good Test cricket and expect to do well against the Australians on their home turf.”
West Indies will play two warm-up games before facing Australia in the first Test in Perth starting November 30 and then in Adelaide – a day/night affair beginning eight days later.
SQUAD – Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas.
-CMC
