WI Delivered The Go Ahead To Commence Training
The West Indies undertook their inaugural training session on 3 November, after the entire squad in New Zealand tested negative for COVID-19 on their second Test tour of the year.
However, the squad are scheduled to undergo further coronavirus tests on on day six and day 12 respectively of their arrival in Christchurch last Friday (30 October) before they can be released from their mandatory 14-day isolation.
The West Indies team and management, which will next week be boosted by the arrival of an additional half-a-dozen players of their Twenty20 International (T20I) squad, have been in isolation in a biosecure facility in Christchurch following their 54-hour flight from Barbados.
With their first three days subjected to isolation, they are now set to continue training in small groups at New Zealand Cricket’s High Performance Centre at Lincoln University. But the majority were forced to wear warm clothing and beanie hats as a blustering wind left the temperatures colder than expected.
The T20I world champions are scheduled to play a trio of one-day matches against the hosts before the pair of Test matches begin on 3 December. The Windies are waiting forn six T20I squad members who are competing in the highly lucrative Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, which concludes on 10 November. Yet it seems highly probable that they will be stuck in isolation until the morning of the opening T20I in Auckland on 27 November.
Aiming to put the disappointment of their 2-1 series defeat to England in July behind them and get their fans en masse behind them once more is a tough ask as New Zealand are an unknown quantity. New Zealand have been inactive since March, when they played host to Australia in a behind closed doors one-day international in Sydney.
The Windies have named two separate squads. Jason Holder will captain the two Tests, with the Barbados all rounder given half-a-dozen reserve players that includes Jamaica’s leg spinner Nkrumah Bonner. Trinidad’s Kieron Pollard remains as skipper of the T20I squad.
Having won just seven of their past 20 Tests, their last triumph was in July’s 1st Test in England, the Windies languish at world no.8 in the ICC Test rankings. They will be aiming not to be caught out again after delivering indifferent performances during the seven-week tour of England.
Windies Test squad
Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.
Test reserves
Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales.
Windies T20I squad
Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.
New Zealand v West Indies tour schedule
27 November
1st T20I
Eden Park, Auckland
29 November
2nd T20I
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
30 November
3rd T20I
Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
3-7 December
1st Test
Seddon Park, Hamilton
11-15 December
2nd Test
Basin Reserve, Wellington
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