England v West Indies: Chris Gayle among big names left out of Test squad

16 July, 2017, Cricket, http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/40621542

West Indies are without a host of big names for their upcoming Test series in England.

The likes of Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo, Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels have all been left out of their 15-man squad.

Jason Holder will captain the side, with uncapped players Kyle Hope and Raymon Reifer both selected.

The three-match series starts with the first day-night Test in England on 17 August at Edgbaston.

There have been a number of disputes in the Caribbean between the board and its players and while the most recent of the disputes appears to have reached a truce, it is yet to be ratified by the board.

That could mean the likes of Sammy, Samuels and Bravo returning for the limited-overs leg of the tour.

West Indies have lost their past six Test series and have not won a series since beating Bangladesh in 2014.

They are eighth in the ICC Test rankings, above only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Squad in full

Jason Holder (captain), Kraigg Brathwaite, Devendra Bishoo, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach

Analysis

BBC Sport cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt:

It is a real shame that West Indies still do not field their strongest team in Test cricket and their series against England could be one-sided.

It comes from a selection policy that requires players to take part in their domestic competition [many are instead playing in T20 leagues around the world], but is indicative of a wider problem facing the Test game.

For a different reason, AB de Villiers is missing for South Africa in their current series against England.

Test cricket has enough problems without being unable to get the best players on the park.