Hetmyer left out of West Indies white-ball squads for Australia tour

January 11, 2024 in Sports

Shimron Hetmyer has been left out of both the ODI and a full-strength West Indies T20I squad for their series against Australia next month after he was dropped against England late last year. Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers have been included for the T20Is after they had made themselves unavailable for the Test tour to take up T20 franchise contracts.

Holder and Mayers are not part of the ODI squad for the three matches which precede the T20Is while batters Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford have been allowed to play franchise cricket before returning for the T20Is.

The ODI group captained by Shai Hope contains two potential debutants, Grenadian top-order batter Teddy Bishop and Guyanese wicketkeeper-batter Tevin Imlach, who is also part of the Test squad. Allrounders Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge are recalled as is legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr.

Hetmyer, who averages 32.23 in ODIs with a strike-rate of 104.55, struggled for form against England with scores of 1 and 2 in the first two T20Is which followed 32, 0 and 12 in the three ODIs.

“On the back of a series win against England, we are expecting our ODI team to be very competitive in Australia,” lead selector Desmond Haynes said. “We have some new inclusions, who have impressed over a significant period and a couple of returning players, who we think will have an impact.

“For the T20I series, this forms part of our crucial preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup where we are hosts. We are hoping to build on strong overall performances against India and England and to keep improving as we approach the major tournament.”

The three ODIs take place in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra on February 2, 4 and 6 followed by the T20Is in Hobart, Adelaide and Perth on February 9, 11 and 13.

Steven Smith will captain Australia in the ODIs while the home side have yet to name their T20I squad but it is expected to include David Warner.

West Indies ODI squad vs Australia

Shai Hope (capt), Alzarri Joseph, Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.

West Indies T20I squad vs Australia

Rovman Powell (capt), Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas