England vs West Indies: Visitors recall Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels for 5-match ODI series

Cricket West Indies, on Monday, included Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels in a 15-member squad for the upcoming five-match ODI series against England in England. Pacer Jerome Taylor, who last played an ODI in June 2016, too made a comeback. Gayle’s inclusion has come after a 'temporary amnesty' between the West Indies Players’ Association and the West Indian board. [caption id=“attachment_3824743” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chris Gayle. AFP[/caption] The Board also named Sunil Ambris, an uncapped player from Guyana in the squad. Ambris has played 20 List A games and averages 51.71. “With regards to the selection of the ODI squad, the panel welcomes back Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels, who will both add value to our batting and help with the nurturing of the young batsmen in the team,” chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said. Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite were some of the absentees from the squad. Dwayne, apparently, informed the board about his lack of fitness, which made him ineligible for this series. However, he is aiming to return to the national side in 2018. Narine and Darren, on the other hand, made themselves unavailable for the England ODIs. “Both Sunil Narine and Darren Bravo have declined to be considered for ODIs in England. Narine has however confirmed his desire to play 50-over cricket again but has asked to play in our Regional Super50 before he is considered and Darren said he was not available for selection. Dwayne Bravo said he is still not 100% fit, but is looking at a possible return to international cricket next year,” Browne informed. Roston Chase has been snubbed from the squad after being given a chance against India in June-July. Windies will have to win all their upcoming ODIs against England and and one-off match against Ireland if they are to qualify for the 2019 World Cup directly. However, if Sri Lanka win at least two matches in the ongoing ODI series against India, then Jason Holder’s men will be forced to play the qualification tournament. The ODI series will begin on 19 September at Old Trafford and will end on 29 September. England thrashed the visitors in the day/night Test by an innings and 209 runs and lead the 3-Test series 1-0. Squad: Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Miguel Cummins, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor and Kesrick Williams.