Windies battle injuries ahead of Test series decider
ADELAIDE, Australia, (CMC) – Embattled West Indies are facing several injury worries as they prepare to face Australia in the decisive second and final Test at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Veteran seamer, Kemar Roach, the most experienced of the West Indies attack, is struggling with a hamstring niggle, while Jayden Seales, the most junior of the bowling attack, is suffering from a painful knee.
All-rounder Kyle Mayers has been ruled out of the attack with a bad shoulder, but can still play as a batsman, while Nkrumah Bonner, who suffered a concussion in the opening Test and had to be replaced by Shamarh Brooks, is still in doubt to play.
“We haven’t settled on an XI yet. We still have a few little concerns,” head coach Phil Simmons confirmed.
“We have concerns, Roach, Seales, we don’t know where Bonner is yet. We just have to give them a little more time.”
He added: “Kyle is definitely not going to be able to bowl so we just have to work out how we adjust the balance of the team.”
Roach, sixth on the Windies all-time list with 253 wickets from 74 Tests, has led the side’s attack in recent years and his absence will be a massive blow.
Seales has also been a key figure since making his debut as a teenager last year, while Mayers has developed quite a reputation for having ‘a golden arm’ as a fifth seamer in the line-up.
Even with a fully functioning attack, West Indies struggled to limit Australia in the opening Test at Perth and Simmons said bringing in experienced bowlers for the match, such as the uncapped
Marquino Mindley, who only arrived recently as injury cover, could prove a tough challenge.
“It’s going to be very difficult, especially for him (Mindley),” explained Simmons.
“If it was, let’s say a Roach, who had played 50 Test matches he would know how to adjust but someone who maybe making their debut, then that’s going to be difficult but at the same time, that’s what he has been brought for.
“As a person who has played Test cricket, I know I would be jumping at the opportunity to get my first Test cap and to do well, especially at a ground as lovely as this,” he added.
West Indies will be playing only their fourth day-night Test while searching for their first-ever win, having lost their previous three encounters to Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka.
