Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Thursday named Nicholas Pooran as the T20I vice-captain while Roston Chase has been named as the Test vice-captain for the upcoming series against New Zealand.
All-rounder Chase has so far played 35 Test matches, scoring five centuries and collecting three five-wicket hauls with his off-spin bowling. Wicket-keeper batsman Pooran is among the leading white-ball players with two half-centuries in 19 T20I innings and he averages close to 50 in ODIs.
"I have been making strides in Test cricket since my debut back in 2016 and I see this new role as vice-captain as an honour. It is just for me to try and carry on and try to achieve great things for West Indies. It is all about offering support to the captain, coach, and other players as we try to plan strategy and put more wins on the board," Roston Chase said in an official CWI release.
Pooran was last seen in action for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the IPL, scoring 353 runs from 14 matches.
"I see this as another opportunity to learn and grow in the game. I was vice-captain for the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year, so this is a continuation of that work. It's always good to share your knowledge as we look to continue the winning mentality. We were successful in Sri Lanka and this is series we believe we can get more success against New Zealand," said Pooran.
West Indies is slated to play three T20Is and two Tests against New Zealand. The first T20I will be played on November 27 at Eden Park in Auckland.
The Test series will be a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) and it will commence from December 3.
Windies T20I squad for series against New Zealand: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Roston Chase (vice-captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.
Test Reserves: Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales.
Windies cleared to leave isolation in New Zealand after COVID-19 testing
The West Indies cricket team have been cleared to leave their biosecure facility in Christchurch on Friday after their third round of novel coronavirus tests were negative, New Zealand Cricket said on Thursday.
The squad, who were banned by New Zealand's Ministry of Health from training after they breached biosecurity rules, travel to Queenstown on Friday for two warmup games ahead of the first Twenty20 international on November 27.
NZC added that all of the New Zealand and West Indies players who arrived in Auckland on Thursday following the end of the Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates, had passed initial health screening checks.
They are to spend the next two weeks in isolation in Christchurch.
West Indies coach Phil Simmons had earlier apologised for his players breaching biosecurity protocols that led to their exemption to conduct training sessions being withdrawn.
The team had been allowed to train in small groups while undergoing the mandatory 14-day isolation, but the Ministry revoked those privileges after they discovered players had shared food and socialised together.
"I have to apologise to the New Zealand public and the government who have allowed us to come here," Simmons told Newshub.
"It's embarrassing from our point of view."
The Windies lost a total of four days training because of the breaches and Simmons said they might be a little slow to get their conditioning and match fitness back.
"We were just getting to the levels that we would normally start at, but coming from no cricket, we had to start slower," he said.
The Caribbean team's first outing on November 20 will be against a New Zealand 'A' side containing three local batsmen in contention for the test series starting on Dec. 3.
The uncapped Will Young and Devon Conway join middle-order stalwart Henry Nicholls, who is working his way back from a calf injury, in the squad for the three-day match.
South African-born Conway only qualified to play for New Zealand in August, while Young has battled back from shoulder surgery.
Pakistan confirm Younis as batting coach for two years
Former captain Younis Khan will continue as the men's batting coach of Pakistan until the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022, the country's cricket board (PCB) said on Thursday.
Younis is the only Pakistan batsman in test cricket's 10,000-run club and accompanied the side on their tour of England this summer.
"The PCB will also be utilising Younis Khan's expertise and skills when he's not on national duty as he will help local batsmen hone their skills," PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said in a statement.
"This is part of the PCB's strategy to appoint highly-qualified and respected coaches across all major centres of the country so that we can start producing cricketers who can represent Pakistan with distinction."
The board said the appointment of Younis will be "until, at least" the 2022 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.
Younis scored 10,099 runs and 34 hundreds in 118 tests, and also played 265 one-dayers and 25 T20 internationals for Pakistan.
The 42-year-old said he was pleased to take up the job on a long-term basis.
"I am particularly happy that my scope of work has been extended beyond the national duties," he added.
"I am equally interested and keen at working at the domestic level by identifying potential batsmen and then helping them improve their skills."
