THE incoming head of English cricket has handed Phil Simmons a welcome key card prior to his first series as West Indies head coach. Colin Graves, who takes over as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman on May 15, told BBC Radio that he would “certainly be disappointed if we don’t win the West Indies series because I am pretty sure the West Indies are going to have a mediocre team”.
He claimed that “a lot of their stars are going to be playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) anyway, not in the Tests, so we should win that series.” The reality is that there are six West Indian “stars” in the IPL that conflicts with the three England Tests.
Chris Gayle’s creaking back led to his withdrawal from the England series; he has already missed four of the West Indies last five Tests. Dwayne Smith has retired from red ball cricket, Andre Russell’s solitary Test was more than four years ago, Lendl Simmons’ eighth, and last, in 2011, Dwayne Bravo’s last of 40 in 2012.
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