Massive Blow For West Indies In Final 3 T20Is vs England; Premier All-rounder Ruled Out

After two successive defeats at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has received a huge blow ahead of their series-deciding third T20I game of the five-match series against England at the Darren Sammy International Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia, as their premier all-rounder has been ruled out of the series.

The first two games found the West Indies struggling with both bat and bat in different periods of the contest. They failed to defend 182 in the opening encounter thanks to the century from wicket-keeper batter Phil Salt. However, 18 hours later, the batting department struggled to cross the 160-run mark and had to accept the defeat before Jos Buttler’s aggressive knock.

The rest of the series won’t be comfortable for the home side, as they won’t have the service of their premier all-rounder, Andre Russell, who has been ruled out of the series with a left ankle sprain. The Jamaica-born didn’t feature in the second T20I after nailing 30 runs in 17 deliveries and going for 27 runs in two overs without any prize.

West Indies to enjoy the return of Alzarri Joseph

The veteran all-rounder, who has gained so much fame around the world for his incredible performance with both bat and ball, having smashed 8874 T20 runs in 454 innings at a strike rate of 170 and picking up 464 wickets at an economy of 8.69, won’t take part in the remainder of the series due to the left ankle sprain.

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The anticipated replacement in the playing eleven for the West Indies is expected to be Shamar Joseph, the seam-bowling all-rounder who has been part of nine T20Is so far, picking ten wickets at an average of 27.10 and an economy rate of just below ten with a best figure of 3/31.

Shamar Springer has made his appearance in the updated squad. The all-rounder has played 32 T20s, in which he has smashed 234 runs at a strike rate of 102.63. He has also picked up 30 wickets at an average of 22.76 and an economy rate of 9.20.

In a massive boost for the Caribbean side, Alzarri Joseph will return to the squad after missing the first couple of games due to the ban he was imposed for his behavior towards the ODI captain and wicket-keeper Shai Hope during the final ODI game of the series.

The lanky fast bowler wasn’t happy with a certain field placement, which led to him picking up the wicket on the very next delivery and leaving the field straightaway without celebrating with his teammates, keeping the West Indies a man short in the field.

His experience of 32 T20I games, in which he has picked up 50 wickets at an average of 20.78 and an economy rate of 8.65, will make the side more powerful for the last three games.

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Rovman Powell, the captain of the West Indies T20I side, struggled to keep a lid on the charge of Jos Buttler. The inclusion of Springer means the captain will now have other options to work with, as the latter made his T20I debut against Sri Lanka last month, taking 1 for 25 and 1 for 24 in his two international caps so far.

Updated Squad For West Indies In Final 3 T20Is vs England

Rovman Powell (captain), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Akeal Hossein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer.