West Indies name a full strength squad for England T20, recall Ashley Nurse

Ashley Nurse was recalled in the West Indies T20 squad which will play against England in the solitary game at Chester-le-Street on September 16. The off-spinner replaces Samuel Badree in the 15-man squad as the leg-spinner is unavailable due to prior commitments. Nurse will be playing his first T20 for West Indies after January 2015.

Nurse is a very effective bowler in the 50-over format and finished the season as the highest wicket taker at the Regional Super50. The 28-year old, though, has failed to get a single wicket in the ongoing CPL. The off-spinner is still waiting to pick his maiden T20I wicket as he has gone wicketless in four appearances for his country.

Gayle selected to play against England

The rest of the squad is exactly the same which beat the touring Indians by 9-wickets in July. Chris Gayle made a comeback in West Indian colors in that game after spending two years out of the national reckoning. The only cricketer to make 10,000 T20 runs, Gayle finds himself in the squad again. The 37-year old is also the highest run-getter for West Indies scoring 1537 runs at 34.93 at a strike rate of 144.45.

Courtney Browne, the West Indies selectors, was pleased with the squad and remarked that the 15-member team has a good mix of youth and experience. “We have a good mix of experience and youth that should adapt to English conditions quickly,” chairman of selectors, Courtney Browne said. “Coming off the series win against India in the Caribbean in July our expectations is to see the team play a highly competitive game and bring that T20 Caribbean atmosphere to England.”

West Indies grabbed headlines for their historic win against England in the 2nd Test. The confidence of the squad must be sky-high which will be carried on to the final Test at Lord’s and subsequently into the limited overs series. The presence of superstars like Gayle, Pollard, Narine, Brathwaite, Samuels and Evin Lewis will add to the charm of the series.

West Indies T20 Squad for England

Carlos Brathwaite (c), Ronsford Beaton, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kesrick Williams.