Two uncapped all-rounders included in West Indies squad for home ODI series against England

St John's [Atingua], November 21 : Cricket West Indies senior men's selection panel on Tuesday named a 15-member squad, including two uncapped all-rounders for the upcoming three-match ODI series against England at home starting from December 3 onwards.
"Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men's Selection Panel today named the 15-member squad for the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) Series against England starting on December 3," said a statement from the board.
Shai Hope will again lead the team with pacer Alzarri Joseph named as the new vice-captain.
There are two uncapped players in the squad: batting allrounder Sherfane Rutherford and seam-bowling allrounder Matthew Forde - who has earned his first call-up at the senior international level. The selection panel also recalled experienced wicket-keeper/batsman Shane Dowrich, who played his only ODI in May 2019; and opener Kjorn Ottley, who played two ODIs in January 2021.
Lead Selector Dr Desmond Haynes said:
"We named Alzarri Joseph as vice-captain as he demonstrated maturity and good leadership qualities for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes during the recent Super50 Cup. We believe with exposure and opportunities he could be a future leader in West Indies cricket. Matthew Forde is a whole-hearted cricketer who has been impressive. He is one of the players coming through the West Indies Academy program who can form part of the future."
"England on tour of the West Indies is always filled with excitement and expectation. We expect this to be a hard-fought series, but we also believe this squad will do well in our home conditions. We have a clear vision. We are focused on building a solid team. Our main focus is to rebuild for success at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027," he added.
West Indies notably missed out on the ICC Cricket World Cup this year after not being able to get either of the top two spots in the World Cup qualifiers this year. They reached the Super Six stage in the qualifiers, but losses to Netherlands, Scotland and Zimbabwe throughout the tournament severely affected their qualification chances. Sri Lanka and the Netherlands ended up getting the top two spots and qualified for the marquee tournament.
The series with England will start with two ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday 3 December and Wednesday 6 December. The first ODI is a day game starting at 9:30 am with the second CG United ODI being a day/night game starting at 1:30 pm.
The tour then moves to Barbados for the third and final ODI to be played at Kensington Oval, on Saturday 9 December. This will also be a day/night game starting at 1:30 pm.
Ahead of the first match West Indies squad will assemble for a preparation camp in Antigua, from Monday, November 20. Head Coach Daren Sammy indicated that the camp is a crucial component of the team's preparations to face the visitors. The camp will be at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and Coolidge Cricket Ground with net and planning sessions as well as fitness and strength and conditioning sessions.
"Everyone is fully aware of what is required as we prepare to face England on our home soil. The camp will be detailed and based on specifics that we have identified will be required if we are to be successful at the international level. We will have high-intensity, purposeful training sessions and everything that we do will be geared towards improving and winning,"
Sammy said.
"I believe in preparation. I believe when you prepare well you give yourself the best chance of winning. When you do the hard work, the right kind of work, when you finetune your skills, that will add value to your game," he added.
West Indies squad: Shai Hope (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas.