Castries, St Lucia – Ramnaresh Sarwan is eagerly looking forward to his return to the West Indies for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia. The experienced middle-order batsman was named in the 15-man squad announced by the West Indies Cricket Board’s Selection Panel on Tuesday.
The team will be led by Darren Sammy with Dwayne Bravo as vice captain. The World T20 Champions will play five One-Day Internationals and a T20 International from February 1 to 13.
"I’m happy to be back in the team. Obviously I’ve been out for a while, but it feels really good to be back representing the West Indies. I am really looking forward to this tour and I’m confident things will go well for us in Australia," he said.
The 32-year-old Sarwan is a former West Indies captain. He last played a One-Day International in June 2011 and his ODI career statistics show 173 matches with 5,644 runs at an average of 43.41 runs per innings.
"As a team we like the ball when it comes onto the bat so we should enjoy the conditions in Australia. I have played there a few times and we have other experienced members of the team who have played there as well. The team has been playing some good cricket recently so I will just fit in. I am an experienced player at the international level and will look to play my part and make a contribution in anyway I’m called upon," added the Windies Number 53.
"I am hitting the ball pretty well. It’s a matter of me trying to get myself in and settle down and look to get big scores for the team. I want to get scores and help the team to win matches."
The squad departs from Barbados on Wednesday, January 23 and arrives in Australia on Saturday, January 26.
FULL SQUAD
Darren Sammy (Captain)
Dwayne Bravo (Vice Captain)
Tino Best
Darren Bravo
Johnson Charles
Narsingh Deonarine
Chris Gayle
Jason Holder
Sunil Narine
Kieron Pollard
Kieran Powell
Kemar Roach
Andre Russell
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Devon Thomas
TEAM MANAGEMENT
Ottis Gibson (Head Coach)
Richie Richardson (Team Manager)
Toby Radford (Assistant Coach)
C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist)
Hector Martinez Charles (Strength & Conditioning Coach)
Richard Berridge (Video & Statistical Analyst)
Philip Spooner (Media Manager)
Courtney Browne (Selector)
TOUR SCHEDULE
Tuesday, January 29: vs Prime Minister’s XI – Manuka Oval, Canberra
Friday, February 1: 1st ODI – WACA Ground, Perth
Sunday, February 3: 2nd ODI – WACA Ground, Perth
Wednesday, February 6: 3rd ODI – Manuka Oval, Canberra
Friday, February 8: 4th ODI – SCG, Sydney
Sunday, February 10: 5th ODI – MCG, Melbourne
Wednesday, February 13: T20I – Gabba, Brisbane