Friday, March 29, 2024

Three sidelined

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by HAYDN GILLin AntiguaWEST INDIES’ injury report did not make for good reading yesterday.After tests and analysis, news emerged that three players are to be sidelined for the remaining One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in the Digicel Series against South Africa.Scans in the morning revealed the inevitable in the case of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Nikita Miller, while Kemar Roach is also unable to take his place.It was confirmed that Sarwan had sustained a Grade 1 hamstring tear that will rule him out of action for two to three weeks.Miller is also facing a similar period out with a side strain, while Roach has been recommended to rest a sore left ankle until the start of the Test series, beginning on June 10.The only positive news came on the availability of key batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who is almost fully recovered from an injury to the left hand that kept him out of the first two ODIs.Both Sarwan and Miller picked up their injuries during Monday’s second ODI which West Indies lost by 17 runs to go down 2-0 in the series.Sarwan got into trouble while trying to complete a tight single to mid-on, while left-arm spinner Miller managed only 2.5 overs before leaving  the field.Both returned to bat with runners in the dying stages of the match, when West Indies’ hopes were revived by a belligerent unbeaten 58 off 24 balls by Darren Sammy, but neither survived more than a ball. Sarwan, restricted by his movement edged a catch to the ’keeper,  while Miller’s runner Kieron Pollard failed  to make his ground  at the non-striker’s end despite a desperate dive.There is no word on the squad for the next two matches at Windsor Park in Dominica on Friday and Sunday, but one of the replacements is expected to be gifted batsman Darren Bravo.The 21-year-old Bravo was expected back in the Caribbean last night, having to cut short his duties with the West Indies “A” team in Bangladesh where he pushed his claims for a recall with two centuries.Meanwhile, there was no word on whether the final ODI, scheduled for June 3, and the first Test, scheduled to begin on June 10, would still be staged in Jamaica following the declaration of a state of emergency in some sections of Kingston, the capital, triggered by attacks on the security forces since Sunday.Tension had been growing in West Kingston ever since the Jamaica government agreed last week to reverse a  long-standing refusal  to sign an extradition order for Christopher “Dudus” Coke, the reputed leader of the Shower Posse gang, one of the most notorious criminal organisations in the Western Hemisphere.Speculation remains that both matches will be shifted to the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. Ironically, the first four limited-overs matches  of the series were moved from Trinidad to Antigua because of the general elections in the twin-island republic which took place on Monday.

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