BIRMINGHAM: West Indies suffered a major blow ahead of the third and final Test against England as right-arm spinner Kevin Sinclair has been ruled out.
Sinclair sustained a fractured forearm when a rapid Mark Wood bumper, on the fourth evening of the second innings thudded, into the wristband of his glove and fled to the slip cordon.
His early dismissal on just one was part of West Indies’ astonishing collapse as the touring side slipped from 61/0 to 143 all out as England won by the second Test by a massive margin of 241 runs and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite while speaking at the pre-match press conference here at Edgbaston confirmed that Kevin Sinclair was unavailable for the series finale but shared that Gudakesh Motie would return to the side.
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He further shared that West Indies are yet to confirm their Playing XI as rising pacer Shamar Joseph is suffering from flu.
“[Kevin] Sinclair is out with a fracture,” said Brathwaite. “He got a blow from Mark Wood, “So, Motie’s back in. And we have called up Akeem Jordan, so we have a 12.
“We’ve named a 12 because Shamar Joseph just has a bit of flu. So, we’re waiting on tomorrow (Friday) morning to make the decision on the 11.”
Despite having lost three three-match series, Brathwaite insisted that West Indies have still a lot to play for as World Test Championship (WTC) points are at stake.
“We have five Tests remaining for the year and, you know, World Test Championship points are still at stake.
“We have a lot to play for and that’s my thing to the boys.
“You know, we are still in the running for the Test Championship and obviously we’re looking for points as well.”
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