|| Desk Report ||

West Indies will carry on their preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with a training camp in Southampton, England from May 19 to 23. This will be a four day camp involving the 15 men squad for the World Cup and there will also be a warm up match against Australia on May 22 at the home ground of Hampshire County Cricket Club.

But the Windies will start their official campaign from May 23 in Bristol. They will play two official practice matches with South Africa and New Zealand on May 26 and May 28 respectively. West Indies will take on Pakistan on their opening match in the world cup on May 31 at Trent Bridge.

Sunil Ambris and Raymon Reifer have been called up as cover for the camp in Southampton. They both have been in superb form in the the just-concluded Tri-Nation ODI Series in Ireland. Ambris scored a century and a half century in that tournament and Reifer’s medium pace troubled all the batsmen. Ambris is available as cover for Evin Lewis, who has recently recovered from a viral infection and Reifer will cover for the bowling group as part of work load management.

CEO Johnny Grave thinks the training camp and playing an extra warm-up game will give the World Cup squad more preparation time in English conditions and game time.  Especially as seven members of the squad missed the Tri-Series in Ireland due to the IPL.

“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.” Gravy Said.

The Interim Chairman of Selectors, Robert Haynes addressed the reserve players and said:

“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 when required.”