Castries, St Lucia – West Indies opening batsman Devon Smith is one of three changes made to the Windward Islands side for this weekend’s semi-final clash with Combined Campuses & Colleges in the WICB First-Class Championship.
The left-handed Smith, a member of West Indies World Cup campaign, will replace another left-handed batsman Atticus Browne but West Indies captain Darren Sammy will not be in action at the 3Ws Oval.
“We will be having Devon Smith back with us although we will not be having the West Indies captain Darren Sammy who is unavailable for this game,” Windwards manager Lockhart Sebastien told CMC Sports Tuesday.
“The batting will be strengthened although the bowling will be weakened because Kenroy Peters and Mervyn Matthew are both nursing injuries and will be returning home.”
Windwards selectors have also called up Grenadian batsman Lynden Lawrence and Dominican left-arm seamer Vincent Lewis to replace fast bowlers Peters and Matthew. Both bowlers will be missed as they have been among the leading bowlers after the preliminary matches, both having claimed 21 victims.
Despite the setbacks, Sebastien said the Windwards were positive they could come up trumps against CCC.
“We feel confident. We have been playing as a team and if we play to our potential we will do well. We had a few young guys. We struggled sometimes in our second innings. The batting has not always been consistent although our bowling has been outstanding. We have been a successful bowling team – playing as a unit has always been our strength.”
The Windwards finished with 41 points, giving them the fourth qualifying spot behind leaders CCC on 57, second placed Trinidad and Tobago on 52 and Jamaica third on 51.
