West Indies legend Sir Curtly Ambrose says that Trinidadian Nicholas Pooran has to prove himself before he is selected to play Test cricket for the West Indies.
The 57-year-old Ambrose who took 404 Test wickets for the West Indies said: "There is no doubt that Pooran is a special talent and has done well in T20 cricket. However, there is a process in place and he has to go through that process before he is selected to play Test cricket.
"Let him play First Class cricket and show us how good he is in the longer format before he is included in the Test team. He has done really well in T20 cricket but he needs to prove that he can get success in the longer format of the game."
Pooran has been selected for the West Indies team's tour of New Zealand and will take part in the three T20 matches which begins on November 28. He will also feature with the West Indies 'A' team in two four-day First Class matches as well. This will give him an opportunity to show what he can do in the longer format of the game.
Meanwhile, Ambrose thinks that the West Indies team can defeat New Zealand in the three-match T20 and two-match Test series.
"The West Indies team has the quality to complete and even beat New Zealand in New Zealand. While the New Zealanders play well at home, both teams will be starting from scratch and, the West Indies have to back themselves.
"The bowling is good enough to take 20 wickets to win a Test match, so the batting has to come good."
The Antiguan who last toured New Zealand in 2015 as the West Indies bowling coach said the batting is a bit of a worry but he is still confident. "The batting has to click in order for us to win. It is up to the batsmen to battle well and give the bowlers something to work with.
"During the last series against England, the West Indies batting was good in the first Test and they went on to win the match. When the batting failed in the other two Test matches, we lost the games."
The West Indies made 318 and 200/6 to win the opening Test at the Agaes Bowl in Southampton. They then had scores of 287, 198, 197 and, 129 in the remaining two Tests at Old Trafford in Manchester which they lost, to surrender the Wisden Trophy 1-2.
After the T20 segment of the tour, the West Indies will play two Test matches against the Kiwis, with the first starting on December 2 and the second on December 10.
The West Indies team left Barbados at 6 pm yesterday evening and will arrive in New Zealand on Thursday night. All these squad members have completed COVID-19 tests and were all given a clean bill of health to travel.
On arrival in New Zealand, the squad will be based in Christchurch where they will quarantine before commencing training and warm-up matches. There are two squads, one for the three-match T20 International (T20I) Series and one for the two ICC World Test Championship matches which follow immediately afterwards. Six reserve players will travel with the Test squad to prepare and ensure replacements are available in case of any injury and, along with other members of the T20I squad, will form an ‘A’ Team to play two four-day matches concurrently with the Test team.
This is the West Indies second tour in 2020, the only international team to fulfil two away tours during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, said the organisation is fully committed to ensuring the game thrives amidst the challenging environment.
“As the players and support staff depart on the journey to New Zealand, we wish them the very best – this is a very important tour for us as we build towards defending our ICC T20 World Cup title and also complete another series in the ICC World Test Championship. Fans all around the world have been missing their favourite sports, so we want to continue to play our part to bring joy and smiles to the faces of those who support and enjoy our cricket,” Grave said.
“This itinerary and schedule took a lot of detailed planning and we want to thank everyone who played a part in putting it together. In the present COVID-19 environment everything requires great attention to detail. Our medical and logistics teams here have been working very closely with their counterparts in New Zealand to ensure everyone would be in a safe environment which is also conducive to exciting and entertaining cricket on the field.”
Phil Simmons leads the coaching staff as head coach. The coaching staff includes Roddy Estwick, Monty Desai, Rayon Griffith, Andre Coley and Trevor Penny, as the assistant coaches.