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-man 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 all-rounder 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 infection 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 when required.”
The ten reserve players for the ICC Cricket World Cup are as follows:
Sunil Ambris
Dwayne Bravo
John Campbell
Jonathan Carter
Roston Chase
Shane Dowrich
Keemo Paul
Khary Pierre
Raymon Reifer
Kieron Pollard
