Blow to Windies: Star pacer ruled out of ENG ODIs

Senior Windies pacer Kemar Roach has been ruled out of the ODI series against England due to a stress reaction in the back. The Cricket West Indies (CWI) hasn’t named any replacement for the pace bowler yet and are hopeful that Roach will be fully fit for the upcoming World Cup tournament.

Roach suffers stress reaction in back

Kemar Roach was one of the architect’s of Windies’ recent historic Test series win against England and he was infact the man of the series.

The pacer bowled 96.5 overs during the three Tests which was the most by any bowler and had to put in extra effort in the last Test as his team-mate Keemo Paul was unavailable for the last Test.

Roach had reported about back pain after the Test series and he was sent for scan which revealed a stress reaction in his back.

ROACH: LEADER OF WINDIES PACE ATTACK

The absence of Roach is a major setback for Windies for the ODI series against England as he is been the spearhead of their pace bowling department.

The right-arm pacer has featured in 80 ODIs and has bagged 114 wickets at an average of 29.05. And he was in good form in the recent times. He claimed 18 wickets in the three Tests against England and his five-wicket haul in the first innings of the first Test triggered a collapse from which England team never recovered in the series.

Also read: Blow to IND: Star player Harmanpreet Kaur ruled out of ENG series

Windies ODI squad for ENG series

The hosts lost the first ODI against England played on February 20th. The second ODI of the series will be played on 22nd February at Bridgetown.

Windies squad:  Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas