St John’s (Antigua), Nov 21 (IANS) Kemar Roach has been brought back into the West Indies Test squad for their December tour of New Zealand. The veteran fast bowler features in a 15-man group for the three-match series, stepping in as Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph remain sidelined with injuries.

Roach, who last appeared in a Test in January in Multan during the Pakistan tour, adds valuable experience to a pace unit that otherwise lacks exposure. That attack includes 29-year-old Ojay Shields, who has earned his first Test call-up.

Allrounder Kavem Hodge has also returned to the squad after his most recent Test outing in Multan, while left-arm orthodox spinner Khary Pierre has been omitted.

Shields, Roach, and several other squad members recently wrapped up a two-week high-performance training camp in the Caribbean. They are scheduled to link up with the rest of the team — already in New Zealand for the ongoing ODI leg — on November 20, ahead of a two-day warm-up game against a New Zealand XI in Christchurch.

The upcoming Tests form part of the current World Test Championship cycle. West Indies sit at the bottom of the standings among teams that have played, having lost all five of their matches so far. New Zealand, meanwhile, have yet to begin their WTC campaign, making this series their first step into the new cycle.

Cricket West Indies’ Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, said, “New Zealand has traditionally been one of the toughest places for any touring side, which is why strong emphasis has been placed on targeted preparation. The recent high-performance camp here in Antigua was designed to replicate, as closely as possible, the conditions we expect to face, particularly the pace-friendly surfaces.”

“That level of intentional preparation, combined with the advantage of several squad members already in New Zealand for the white-ball portion of the tour gaining valuable time to acclimate, means this group goes into this series as well-prepared as any West Indies squad to tour there in recent years.”

West Indies squad: Roston Chase (c), Jomel Warrican (vc), Alick Athanaze, John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Shai Hope, Tevin Imlach, Brandon King, Johann Layne, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Ojay Shields.

–IANS

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