BRISBANE–West Indies made a quiet arrival in the picturesque east coast city here yesterday, to begin preparation for their three-Test series against Australia staring next month.
The squad, led by captain Jason Holder, arrived via New York and Los Angeles following two days of travel from the Caribbean.West Indies will train their attention first on a five-day camp at the Allan Border Field here before taking on a young Cricket Australia XI in a four-day game starting Wednesday at the same venue.
A significant presence in the squad is that of head coach Phil Simmons who missed the recent Test and limited overs tour of Sri Lanka through suspension.He was pulled from that tour by the West Indies Cricket Board after he bizarrely claimed in a media conference that the selection of the one-day squad had been influenced by "outside interference."
Simmons, appointed following the ICC World Cup earlier this year, subsequently apologised after appearing before the WICB's human resources committee, and was promptly reinstated.The Trinidadian will be leading West Indies for the first time on an overseas tour after presiding over the home tours against England and Australia.
While Simmons has returned, the series will mark the final one for Sir Richie Richardson in his five-year stint as team manager.The former West Indies captain and batting star is set to take up duties as an ICC match referee following the series.
For the Caribbean side, the highlight of the series will be the Boxing Day second Test in Melbourne, as the tourists have not had the courtesy of being part of this historic fixture in 15 years.Several hundred West Indians, who reside in Australia, are expected to mark the Boxing Day Test with a mini-carnival.
West Indies will play the opening Test in Hobart starting December 10 and the third Test in Sydney, starting in the New Year, and are expected to face a tough assignment against the powerful Aussies.Significantly, they have not won a Test Down Under in 18 years and have also not beaten Australia in a Test for 12 years.
Yesterday, Cricket Australia announced that several of Australia's Test cricketers will be made available for Big Bash League matches between the first and second Tests.
The BBL begins on December 17 and some of Australia's Test cricketers will be available for at least the first four days of the Twenty20 tournament, given the lengthy gap between Tests. The first Test against West Indies will be played in Hobart from December 10 to 14, and there is then a 10-day break before the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
However, the Test fast bowlers will not take part in the BBL matches and opening batsman David Warner, who is yet to sign with a team for this season, will sit out to spend time with his pregnant wife Candice. Allrounder Mitchell Marsh's availability is yet to be decided, with his workload in the coming Tests likely to determine if he will play in the BBL during thatperiod.
Steven Smith, Joe Burns, Peter Nevill, Nathan Lyon and, fitness pending, Usman Khawaja, will be available from December 17 to 20. There is also a possibility the Perth Scorchers players in the Test squad–Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Marsh–will be made available for their team's first game on December 21.
The Test players will gather in Melbourne on December 22 ahead of the Boxing Day Test.
CMC
WI SQUAD
Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Rajindra Chandrika, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Jomel Warrican.