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Brandon Moyo Bulawayo Bureau
THE West Indies arrived in Bulawayo on Monday where they will play two Test cricket matches against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club early next month.
The Windies touched down at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport late on Monday afternoon and wrote on their Twitter page, “Tasvika muZimbabwe.”
It is the Caribbean side’s first Test visit to Zimbabwe since 2017 where they also played two matches at the same venue.
Led by Kraigg Braithwaite, the Windies side arrived in Zimbabwe with legend Brian Lara, who will be part of the team’s technical side. His exact role is, however, not yet confirmed.
The two matches are scheduled for February 4-8 and February 12-16. Before the two Tests, the visitors will play a warm-up match against Zimbabwe A at Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) starting this coming Saturday.
With Lara joining the team, the last time he was with the Windies in Zimbabwe was in 2003/04 season where he scored 191 runs off 203 deliveries in a match that they won by 128 runs in Bulawayo to go on and take the series 2-1.
Experienced fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been recalled back to the side having missed a number of Test matches.
Gabriel is looking at playing his first Test in over a year after being recalled for West Indies’ Test squad to tour Zimbabwe. Spinners Jomel Warrican and Gudakesh Motie will also come back into contention after being included in the 15-man party.
Gabriel (34) last featured in the Test side in Sri Lanka in November 2021. He was subsequently sidelined by a hamstring injury, and spent much of last year working to regain fitness; he had a spell in county cricket with Yorkshire in England and finished joint-leading wicket-taker in the Super50 Cup but was overlooked for West Indies’ Test tour of Australia.
However, with Jayden Seales rehabilitating after knee surgery, Gabriel could be reunited with Kemar Roach and Jason Holder in the West Indies seam attack.
Warrican also played the last of his 13 Tests in Sri Lanka in 2021, while Motie could add to the sole cap he won against Bangladesh in June last year. West Indies were hit by numerous injuries during their 2-0 defeat in Australia, and have omitted Shamarh Brooks, Anderson Phillip and Marquino Mindley, all of whom played in the second Test in Adelaide. For the Windies, it will be the beginning of their international calendar for 2023 and they will be hoping to get off on a positive note.
“This is the start of the international calendar for 2023 and we will hope to start with a win. We appreciate it won’t be an easy assignment as Zimbabwe, like most other teams in world cricket, play very well on their home soil on pitches that will support their style of play.
“We looked at the conditions we anticipate playing in, and have included two left-arm spinners who didn’t go to Australia in Motie and Warrican. With our fast bowlers, Jayden Seales has done extremely well for us since he started back in 2021, but with him unavailable we have decided that Gabriel would be best able to fill that role. He (Gabriel) is an experienced bowler who has been at the international level for over 10 years and has knowledge of the conditions in Zimbabwe when we won there in 2017,” said Cricket West Indies lead selector Desmond Haynes.
In 2017, West Indies won the two-match series 1-0, winning the first contest by 117 runs with the second five-day contest ending in a draw.
The two-Test series against Zimbabwe, which begins in Bulawayo on February 4, will be overseen by interim coach Andre Coley, following Phil Simmons’ decision to step down.
West Indies Test squad:
Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas, Jomel Warrican
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter