ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Uncapped opener Jeremy Solozano is poised for his maiden West Indies Test tour after being named in a 15-man squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, but selectors have dispensed with the services of the seasoned Kieran Powell and Alzarri Joseph for the upcoming assignment.
A compact, 26-year-old left-hander, Solozano has played 40 first class matches since his debut eight years ago but has scored only two hundreds and averages just 23.
He struck 74 in the second of two three-day practice matches here this week but managed two and 12 retired in his other innings.
“Jeremy played for the West Indies ‘A’ Team in 2019 (against India ‘A’) with success,” chief selector Roger Harper said Thursday.
“And in the Best v Best matches (practice fixtures) he displayed a sense of application, patience, and composure, while looking very comfortable against both pace and spin which encouraged the panel to invest in him at this point.”
Gone are left-handed opener Powell and seamer Joseph while left-handed stroke-maker Shimron Hetmyer, currently involved in the Twenty20 World Cup in United Arab Emirates, has been again snubbed for a return to the longest format.
The left-handed Powell was recalled following a three-year break for the South Africa series back in June but averaged only 14 from seven innings, after also failing in the two-Test Pakistan series which followed.
Joseph, meanwhile, was one of the heroes from West Indies’ conquest in Bangladesh last February but has played only three Tests since then, slipping down the pecking order with the emergence of 20-year-old pacer Jayden Seales.
The Antiguan has taken 40 wickets from 17 Tests and made two high-quality half-centuries in his last ten innings.
Hetmyer played the last of his 16 Tests two years ago and not even his hundred and two half-centuries in the Regional Super50 for Guyana Jaguars earlier this year, was enough to convince selectors.
Selectors have gone with three spinners for the tour – Rahkeem Cornwall, Veerasammy Permaul and Jomel Warrican – and Harper believes the Caribbean side have a winning formula.
“The squad is well balanced, with good depth in all departments. The composition is very similar to the squad that brought us success in our last away tour to Bangladesh, with a few changes in personnel,” he noted.
“There are a number of players who are familiar with Sri Lankan conditions and most of the others have good experience in the Indian subcontinent, so they know what to expect and are gearing themselves for it.”
As expected, Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the squad which also includes Shai Hope, who though averaging 18 in the two-Test series against South Africa, has been persisted with on the basis of his heavy scoring in the two recent practice matches.
West Indies leave at the weekend for Sri Lanka where they feature in a four-day warm-up match in Colombo from November 14-17 before clashing with the hosts in the first Test from November 21 to 25 and the second from November 29 to December 3, both in Galle.
SQUAD – Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jeremy Solozano, Jomel Warrican.