 West Indies will play Bangladesh in the first of the three ODIs at Dominica
on 26th July, and look to avenge their two test match loss to the tourists. The
good news for the West Indian team would be the fact that the strike between the
West Indian cricketers and the West Indian cricket board has been called off and
there is every likelihood that the mainstream team may get a chance to play in
the series.
Click for Live Score Card of West Indies vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh would be cock-a-hoop after their win over West Indies in
the test series, but will know that their task would be cut-out now. They have
lost their captain, Mashrafe Mortaza, who has returned home due to injury,
and will now be led by Shakib-al-Hasan, another all-rounder, who looked
to have filled in the role of captaincy rather well. Amongst the rest, Shahadat
Hossain, Enamul Haque jnr and Saghir Hossain, who were part of the Test squad,
have also returned with Mortaza and that means that Bangladesh could
have a slightly new look team.
Mohammad Ashraful continues to disappoint with his batting as it remains to
be seen whether he will get an opportunity to play in this game or no. However,
the pleasing thing for Bangladesh will be the form of both, Tamim Iqbal and
Junaid Siddique, who had batted rather well in the top order. With Shakib coming
in the middle order, and Mushfiqur Rahim in the lower order, it does
seem like the Bangladeshi batting is fortified. The bowling isn't too far either,
especially if the curator decides to have a wicket which is slow and low; Shakib
and Mahmudullah did their bit to prove that Bangladesh would rule the roost.
With the inclusion of left-arm spinner Abdur Razzaq as well, it could
boost Bangladesh's chances in the game.
There is still some confusion about whether the cricket board will allow the
main players to feature in the starting line-up of the side. If Chris Gayle
is to be believed, they has not yet been approached by the cricket board, and
that means that even if they were asked to represent the side, they would have
barely got any time for practice. The main West Indies team last played in an
ODI about a month back, and that may hamper their performance against the Bangladeshi
side.
If the second string team continues to play, the Floyd Reifer will remain the
captain, but there are wholesale changes in the named squad. Ryan Austin,
Tino Best, Ryan Hinds, Kevin McClean, and Omar Phillips, along with Chadwick
Walton have been dropped from the side and replaced by some of the others like
Devon Smith, Andre Fletcher and the uncapped Kieran Powell, legspinner Rawl
Lewis and the rookie fast bowler Gavin Tonge.
Which of them actually play on Sunday is anyone's guess!
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