WI ‘subs’ face Border

EAST LONDON: As expected, West Indies have included all three tour newcomers in their final 11 for the four-day, first-class cricket tour match against Border, starting today at Mercedes Benz Park.

Left-arm chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed, batsman Dwayne Smith and fast bowler Adam Sanford will all play in their first match, since joining the touring party as replacements for Jerome Taylor, Marlon Samuels and Omari Banks, all of whom have returned to the Caribbean with injury. Wicketkeeper/batsman Carlton Baugh and teenaged fast bowler Ravi Rampaul, both of whom performed creditably in the warm-up match prior to the opening Test at Johannesburg, will also come under the microscope. West Indies cannot afford to take the match lightly after crashing to a heavy defeat in the Johannesburg Test. As the only warm-up match prior to the Second Test at Durban, starting on Boxing Day, and the Third Test at Cape Town, beginning on January 2, it will be the last opportunity for the fringe players to impress.

With fast bowler Corey Collymore 50-50 for the Second Test and opening batsman Chris Gayle at shorter odds, both down with hamstring injuries, the reserve players will have a chance to stake a claim for a place should one or both fail to recover in time for the higher intensity tussles. On the other side of the coin, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini, two members of the South Africa team that won the opening Test, have been excluded from Border’s final 11 for the match. Wicketkeeper Abondile Sodumo returns in the place of Test star Mark Boucher, while top-order batsman Michael Smith takes Ntini’s place. The weather over the first two days is expected to be mostly sunny, but replaced with showers over the last two days.

TEAMS:
Border: Justin Kreusch (capt), Mark Bruyns, Laden Gamiet, Tyron Henderson, Charl Langeveldt, Steven Pope, Michael Smith, Abongile Sodumo, Pieter Strydom, Craig Sugden, Monde Zondeki; 12th man: Burton de Wett.
West Indies: Brian Lara (capt), Wavell Hinds, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ram-naresh Sarwan, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh, Dave Mohammed, Vasbert Drakes, Ravi Rampaul, Adam Sanford, Fidel Edwards; 12th man: Daren Ganga.