Exciting teenage quick Jayden Seales has been named in the West Indies’ squad for the first Test against South Africa, starting Thursday.
Included in the West Indies’ provisional 17-man squad for the first time this month, Seales will now be hoping to make his Test debut at St Lucia against the touring South Africa team.
Seales’ inclusion follows the news pace spearhead Shannon Gabriel will not be available for selection due to injury.
Roston Chase, Shai Hope and Kieran Powell have all also made the 13-man group after being left out of the squad against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Hope’s last Test was in England in July last year, while Powell’s last Test was against Bangladesh in late 2018.
Seales, who has played 10 professional matches to date, impressed national selectors across a run of intra-squad games.
“Jayden Seales is young, very enthusiastic and has a big heart. In the ‘Best v Best’ matches he bowled with pace, got movement and has displayed the ability to take wickets. We think he is capable of adding potency to the bowling attack,” said CWI chief selector Roger Harper of Seales’ inclusion.
Seales first jumped into the spotlight at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup claiming ten wickets in six matches at an average of 18.30.
“Kieran Powell we know is a very capable batsman who we expect to add quality and depth to the batting department,” Harper added. “He put himself in the mix with his performance in the Best v Best match.
“Shai Hope has performed very well in the red ball matches he has played, following on the back of his highly successful One-Day International series against Sri Lanka, so he has forced his way into the squad by performance.”
Harper added: “The aim is to continue to build on the performances of the last two Test series and to keep improving as a Test team. We must continue the process of working hard, playing with great passion, playing with determination and a great desire to succeed. Doing that consistently will bring us the right results. The training camp gave the players the opportunity to prepare for the Betway Test series in all departments, considering that no real red ball cricket has been played since the series against Sri Lanka in March.”
