Cricket West Indies have named Mikyle Louis in their playing 11 for the first test game against England at Lord’s, beginning on Wednesday. A total of three tests were scheduled to be played during the West Indies tour of England 2024 between July 10 and 30.
The three-match test series will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025. The first test game of the series will be played between July 10 and 14 in Lord’s, London.
Ahead of the first test clash, West Indies played a three-day warmup game against First Class Counties XI in Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham. Though the match ended in a draw, the visitors executed an impressive performance in the rain-affected game.
Particularly, West Indies middle order batters made an impressive contribution with the bat. But implementing the same performance against England’s main team is way much tougher for Windies batters.
Mikyle Louis included in West Indies playing 11 for first test vs England
Ahead of the toss, CWI has released their playing 11 with a surprise inclusion. The 23-year-old from St Kitts Mikyle Louis has been included in the playing 11 for the 1st test vs England.
Louis outsmarted Zac McCaskie to a spot in the XI and will open the batting with skipper Kraigg Brathwaite, who leads a relatively inexperienced side.
Louis has enjoyed a prolific start to his first-class career in the Caribbean, averaging 48.71 in his 14 innings for the Leeward Islands, compiling three centuries alongside four fifties. He comes off scores of 52, 80, 100 and 33 in his last four First Class innings, as well as a half-century against a County Select XI in the build-up to the Test match.
While speaking about the team’s preparation for the first test clash against England, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite gave some crucial advice for the youngsters in the team.
It is worth mentioning, 10 of West Indies’ 15-member squad has played fewer than 10 Test games.
“My advice to all the younger boys in the group, like Mikyle making his debut, is don’t just expect to play for West Indies, expect to be the first to score 30 hundreds. You got to think big, you know. Don’t think too small. We have our plans, so believe in your plan. And enjoy it as well. Because it’s always a great series playing here in England. And we truly look forward to it.”
“It was a big positive for us to get a win because it shows that we could we could get the job done. Obviously, the key for us as a group is to do it consistently”.
“We could take a lot of stuff from that game as batsmen, because we had some important partnerships. Then the bowlers were outstanding. Shamar was the star. But pretty much all the bowlers put in a very good effort, and we caught well as well”.
“But it’s history, it’s gone. We got to look forward to this, then the other Test matches in this series, but it at least gives a start that we could get the job done. We’ve just got to believe in ourselves”, Brathwaite said.
West Indies Playing 11 for First Test vs England
Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva, Kavem Hodge, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Mikyle Louis, Kirk McKenzie, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales.
