Williams Dumped; Wavell Hinds Recalled

Stuart Williams has been discarded from the West Indies team for the fourth Test in Antigua and replaced by Jamaican middle-order batsman Wavell Hinds.

Williams, who was picked for the current series against India based on swashbuckling Busta Cup form, never got on track in the first three Tests and was discarded Monday in favour of Wavell Hind, who is coming off a superb ton in the recent Busta XI game.

It appears to be the end of the line for the Nevisian opener, who made his debut for the West Indies against India in the 1993/94 home series. In 31 Tests, he has been a major disappointment, scoring 1183 runs at an average of 24.14 with one century.

Wavell Hinds, a left-hander who has appeared in 20 Tests, will most likely be asked to open the batting with countryman Chris Gayle. Hinds, who started his international career as an opener for the Jamaican national team, has spent the majority of his first class career batting in the middle order and this is certainly a risky move to ask him to open.

Another option, though unlikely, would be to promote Ramnaresh Sarwan to open the innings and fit Hinds into the first-down slot.

West Indies squad for Antigua:


Carl Hooper

Brian Lara

Chris Gayle

Wavell Hinds

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Ridley Jacobs

Ryan Hinds

Mervyn Dillon

Pedro Collins

Cameron Cuffy

Dinanath Ramnarine

Adam Sanford