ESPNcricinfo
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite is “quite clear” on the XI he will take into the first Test against Australia next week, which will include at least three debutants, and praised his largely inexperienced team with making good use of their warm-up match in Adelaide.
Across the three days against a Cricket Australia XI, made up of players without BBL deals, a number of the top order spent useful time in the middle with wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva hitting a century on the final day while Kavem Hodge struck 52 and 99 and Justin Greaves was twice in the runs.
The bowlers were able to knock over the CA XI for 174 in their first innings with an eye-catching performance from quick Shamar Joseph who is in line for a debut next week along with the senior pair of Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph.
“[I’m] quite clear on the XI,” Brathwaite told reporters. “Very happy with how all the guys went about the camp [and] went about this game. This time next week it’s about making West Indies proud.”
While Brathwaite did not divulge further details of how West Indies will line up, if the warm-up game is an indication it will see Hodge and Greaves making their debuts at No. 5 and 6 respectively along with Shamar.
Left-armer Gudakesh Motie, who took 13 wickets in the match against Zimbabwe a year ago, would appear to be the frontline spinner although allrounder Kevin Sinclair may have given selectors something to ponder.
West Indies shuffled their batting order in the second innings with Da Silva, one of the players who was part of the Test series in Australia last time around, making the most of his chance with a hundred while Brathwaite was pleased with how Hodge twice made contributions.