Bravo on Academy team for Lankans

FORMER WEST Indies middle-order batsman Floyd Reifer was appointed captain of a Shell Cricket Academy Invitational XI to face Sri Lanka in a limited-overs practice match at the Queen’s Park Stadium, St George’s, Grenada next Wednesday. The 30-year-old Reifer, a hard-hitting left-handed batsman who played four Tests — two against Sri Lanka at home in 1997 and two on the disastrous tour of South Africa in 1998-99 — is the only senior player named in the squad, announced yesterday. Despite his shortcomings at the international level, Reifer has been one of the most prolific batsmen at the regional level, with an aggregate of 624 runs at an average of 48.0, including one century and four half-centuries, in nine matches during the recent Carib Beer Cricket Series.

Also chosen are highly-touted all-rounders, Trinidad and Tobago’s Dwayne Bravo and Guyanese Narsingh Deonarine; and the up-and-coming pace trio of Jamaicans Jerome Taylor, Andrew Richardson and Barbadian Jason Bennett. Barbados’ middle-order batsman Kurt Wilkin-son, who came good in the Carib Beer Inter-national Series semi-final against TT and the final against Jamaica, Nevisian strokemaker Tonito Willett, son of former Test left-arm spinner Elquemedo, and former Windies one-day pacer Kerry Jeremy are also among the 12-member unit. Team — Floyd Reifer (capt), Krishna Arjune, Dwayne Bravo, Kurt Wilkinson, Tonito Willett, Narsingh Deonarine, Matthew Sinclair, Kerry Jeremy, Jerome Taylor, Jason Bennett, Andrew Richardson, Carl Simon.