Big gun returns for West Indies' home Tests against South Africa

Kemar Roach is set to make a comeback to the West Indies' Test squad for their upcoming home series against South Africa, marking a significant boost for the team.

Roach, who had been sidelined due to a knee injury sustained during the County Championship, missed the West Indies' recent tour of England.

In a strategic move, fellow fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has been rested for the series, with Joshua Da Silva stepping up as the vice-captain. Head coach Andre Coley addressed this decision in a CWI press release.

"We have decided to rest our vice-captain Alzarri Joseph for this series", head coach Andre Coley said in a CWI press release. "Alzarri has had a considerable workload recently, and this break will allow him to recuperate and return to peak performance."

Coley elaborated on Joseph’s workload management in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, highlighting the importance of rest and skill development.

"As far as Alzarri is concerned, it always helps to have a period of time away from the game to work on your individual skills, because you could get drawn into moving from one tournament to the next and might actually lose some of your skills.

"So it's building in the right amount of rest time where he does nothing, but then also have little periods where he is not in competition. That way he will be able to create more control around his bowling."

Offspin-bowling allrounder Kevin Sinclair will not be part of the squad due to a fractured left forearm sustained from a delivery by Mark Wood during the England tour. However, uncapped offspinner Bryan Charles, pace-bowling allrounder Justin Greaves, and left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican have been included in the 15-member squad.

Jeremiah Louis, who withdrew before the final Test in England due to a hamstring injury, and his replacement Akeem Jordan have both been omitted from the squad. Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, and Akeem Jordan have also been left out, with McKenzie scoring just 33 runs in six innings during the England tour and McCaskie yet to make his Test debut.

"The selection process for this squad was led by our Head Coach, Andre Coley," Miles Bascombe, CWI's director of cricket, said, "pending the implementation of our new selection process, which will be rolled out in the coming days and articulated publicly shortly."

The West Indies are looking to bounce back from a 3-0 whitewash in England and currently sit at the bottom of the World Test Championship table with just one win in seven matches. The two-Test series against South Africa will take place in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, from August 7 to 11, and in Providence, Guyana, from August 15 to 19.

West Indies squad
Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Joshua Da Silva (vice-capt), Alick Athanaze, Keacy Carty, Bryan Charles, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Gudakesh Motie, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.