A preview of the sixth round of Carib Beer Series matches

Cricinfo staff13-Mar-2008
Darren Bravo has been drafted into T&T’s squad in place of his older brother, Dwayne © ICC
Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo, two West Indies Under-19 players, have been drafted into Trinidad and Tobago’s squad for their Carib Beer Series sixth-round match against the Combined Campuses and Colleges in Barbados this weekend.The young pair replace another Bravo, senior international Dwayne, who is ruled out with a back injury, and the out-of-form Jason Mohammed. Both Barath and Bravo were part of the West Indies U-19 side that placed ninth in the recently-concluded junior World Cup.Kelvin Williams, the former T&T allrounder, has been appointed coach in place of David Williams. David, the former T&T and West Indies wicketkeeper, has been requested by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to join the West Indies team’s coaching staff. Williams was recently named as an assistant coach to John Dyson, the former Australian player who took over as West Indies coach last year.T&T beat Windward Islands by three wickets to stat alive in the tournament and are third in the standings with 31 points, behind Jamaica on 46 and Barbados 42.Leewards Islands have made three changes to their squad to face Guyana in St Thomas. Adam Sanford, the former West Indies fast bowler, opener Javier Liburd and teenage wicketkeeper Jamal Hamilton make way for uncapped fast bowler Brent Defreitas, experienced left-hander Shane Jeffers, back from injury, and West Indies U-19 wicketkeeper Devon Thomas.Sanford has been struggling to take wickets consistently and Liburd has been favoured for a batsman who would have been a certainty had he been fit.In other news, young lespinner Davendra Bishoo has been ruled out of Guyana’s game this weekend because of visa trouble. After taking seven wickets on debut for Guyana against CCC last weekend, Bishoo was expected to play a crucial role against the Leeward Islands; however, he was denied a United States visa which is required to enter St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) and his place in the team has been taken by 20-year-old Gajanand Singh.Bishoo, 22, was the only member of the touring squad denied a visa by the USEmbassy in Guyana. Chetram Singh, president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), said that Bishoo was denied a visa because of discrepancies on visa application form. “I believe the letter from the St Thomas government went a long way in enabling the players to get their visa. Bishoo’s Visa was not granted due to discrepancies on his application form,” Singh said, adding that he intends to pursue this concern at the WICB level.