West Indies have named seven uncapped players in their 15-man squad for their upcoming two-match Test series in Australia.

The West Indies will tour Australia for the Frank Worrell Trophy, which will be contested over two Test matches in January 2024. Kraigg Brathwaite, their captain, will have a new deputy in Alzarri Joseph.

They will be without the injured Jayden Seales as well as Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers, who will be busy in Twenty20 leagues. The squad also includes seven uncapped players, which means there will be at least three debutants in the first Test match alone.

Since Kingstown 2009, when they were forced to field a second-string side after their frontline cricketers had a disagreement with the board, only once – Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner, and Shayne Moseley at Chattogram in 2020/21 – have three West Indians debuted in the same Test match.

Who are the seven uncapped West Indies players for their Test tour to Australia?

Zachary McCaskie (batter, Barbados)

A right-hand opening bat, 27-year-old McCaskie does not have a hundred from 11 first-class matches, and averages only 30.52 in the format. However, he did make 62 and 50 last month against a South Africa A attack consisting of Dane Paterson and Dane Piedt, which undoubtedly played a role in his selection.

Tevin Imlach (wicketkeeper, Guyana)

Imlach will be Joshua Da Silva’s understudy for the tour. He was part of the West Indies team in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, but took nearly three more years to play first-class cricket. He averages 28.28 with the bat, but much of that is from the Jamaica match from earlier this year, where he made 46 and 136 not out, and took six wickets.

Justin Greaves (all-rounder, Barbados, Windward Islands)

A member of the 2012 Under-19 World Cup batch, Greaves played three ODIs on the 2022 tour of Ireland, but without success. His batting average of 26.97 is not impressive, but his seam bowling has fetched him 76 wickets from 37 first-class matches at 22.76. Earlier this year, he had 131 runs and 15 wickets across two consecutive matches in the 4-Day Championship.

Kavem Hodge (all-rounder, Windward Islands)

Greaves’ teammate at the 2012 World Cup, Hodge supports his middle-order batting (average 29.07) with left-arm spin (37.70). In June 2023 against the UAE, he became the second Dominican to play ODIs, after Alick Athanaze.

Kevin Sinclair (all-rounder, Guyana)

Sinclair has played both ODIs and T20Is, and was part of the Test squad when the West Indies hosted India earlier this year. With 220 runs at 44 and 12 wickets at 25.91 with his off-breaks, he was West Indies A’s finest player in the recent unofficial ‘Test’ series against South Africa A. The numbers sit well with his career averages of 31.48 and 24.33.

Akeem Jordan (fast bowler, Barbados)

Jordan he played ODIs alongside Hodge against the UAE this year. However, he is 29, and did not make his first-class debut until 2022. When he did, he claimed 12 wickets in his first two matches. In May 2023, he wrecked a Bangladesh A side at Sylhet with 5-45, and has 59 first-class wickets at 22.08 to date. If he plays, he will become the oldest specialist pacer to debut for the West Indies in Test cricket since Kenroy Peters in 2014/15.

Shamar Joseph (fast bowler, Guyana)

Joseph was a father of a one-year-old when he quit his job at a security firm and took up full-time cricket earlier this year, and has played only nine professional matches since then. He was fast-tracked to the West Indies A side after only three first-class matches. He got 3-57 and 1-57, then 3-65 and 5-76 against South Africa A. The last spell deserves particular mention, for he claimed all five wickets to fall in the innings.

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