Windiescricket.com
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – West Indies will continue their preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with a training camp in Southampton, England from May 19 to 23. The four-day camp, involving the entire 15-member squad for the marquee tournament, will include an additional warm-up fixture against Australia, which will be played on May 22 at the Ageas Bowl, the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club.
The original West Indies schedule was based in Bristol from May 23, with two official ICC Cricket World Cup warm-up matches on May 26 against South Africa and on May 28 versus New Zealand. The West Indies opening ICC Cricket World Cup match is against Pakistan May 31 at Trent Bridge.
Batsman Sunil Ambris, and allrounder Raymon Reifer have been called up as cover for the camp in Southampton. They were part of the just-concluded Tri-Nation ODI Series in Ireland. Ambris is available as cover for Evin Lewis, who has recently recovered from a viral illness and Reifer will cover for the bowling group as part of work load management.
According to the CEO Johnny Grave, the idea behind the training camp and playing an extra warm-up game is to give the World Cup squad more preparation time in English conditions and game time together, especially as seven members of the squad missed the Tri-Series in Ireland due to the IPL.
Grave said: “We are very grateful to Hampshire CCC for agreeing to host us at the Ageas Bowl and to Cricket Australia for agreeing the additional warm-up game. Due to the commitments and promises made, to both our players and the BCCI, this is the first time that our entire World Cup squad can get together since the IPL finished. We are confident that these additional five days of training and the extra warm-up game will mean that our players will be ready to perform at their best in our opening match against Pakistan on the 31st May.”
Addressing the reserve players, the Interim Chairman of Selectors, Robert Haynes commented: “The choice of players in the reserve list is to really cover our bases and ensure we have a good balance in the pool of players that can be selected if replacements are required. We think the skill set in this pool is strong with a good blend of experience and upcoming young players who can be ready to contribute if and when required.”
ICC Cricket World Cup Squad
Jason Holder (Captain)
Chris Gayle (Captain)
Kemar Roach
Darren Bravo
Andre Russell
Shai Hope
Sheldon Cottrell
Evin Lewis
Shannon Gabriel
Carlos Brathwaite
Ashley Nurse
Shimron Hetmyer
Fabian Allen
Oshane Thomas
Nicholas Pooran
Reserves for ICC Cricket World Cup
Sunil Ambris
Dwayne Bravo
John Campbell
Jonathan Carter
Roston Chase
Shane Dowrich
Keemo Paul
Khary Pierre
Raymon Reifer
Kieron Pollard
Pre World Cup Camp Schedule
All matches start at 10:30am (5:30 am East Caribbean/4:30am Jamaica) except where indicated
Saturday, May 18: Travel to Southampton
Sunday, May 19: training at Ageas Bowl – 1pm
Monday, May 20: training at Ageas Bowl – 10am
Tuesday, May 21: training at Ageas Bowl – 1pm
Wednesday, May 22: vs Australia – Southampton
World Cup Schedule
Warm-up
May 26: vs South Africa – Bristol
May 28: vs New Zealand – Bristol
Preliminary Round
May 31: vs Pakistan – Nottingham
Jun 6: vs West Indies – Nottingham
Jun 10: vs South Africa – Southampton
Jun 14: vs England – Southampton
Jun 17: vs Bangladesh – Taunton
Jun 22: vs New Zealand – Manchester (8:30 am EC Time)
Jun 27: vs India – Manchester
Jul 1: vs Sri Lanka – Chester-Le-Street
Jul 4: vs Afghanistan – Leeds
Semi-Finals
Jul 9: 1st vs 4th – Manchester
Jul 10: Reserve Day
Jul 11: 2nd vs 3rd – Birmingham
Jul 12: Reserve Day
The Final
Jul 14: Semi-final Winner 1 vs Semi-final Winner 2 – Lord’s
Jul 15: Reserve Day