West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder and seamer Kemar Roach will bolster Barbados Pride for the upcoming rounds of the West Indies Championship.
Both have been included in the squad for Wednesday’s fourth-round clash with Guyana Harpy Eagles at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Holder, a former West Indies Test and One-Day captain, said that it would be his first regional first-class match in four years.
The 32-year-old, a former Barbados captain, will be joined by fellow international stars Roach and Raymon Reifer in the Vasbert Drakes-coached 12-man squad led by current Test skipper Kraigg Brathwaite.
Holder’s red-ball career has come under the spotlight in recent times after he turned down a central retainer from Cricket West Indies and also opted out of the two-test tour of Australia to focus on franchise Twenty20 cricket.
However, he did declare that he intended to quit the longest format, which should be included in this summer’s visit to England for the three-Test series.
Holder’s last regional First-Class game was against the Harpy Eagles at Providence during the 2020 season, which was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roach, too, will be playing in his first regional First-Class game in four years, having last featured in the 2020 season.
The 35-year-old is the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests for West Indies with 270 scalps and has also taken 523 First-Class wickets from 162 matches.
Holder and Roach will undoubtedly add impetus to the Pride’s bowling attack, which comprises Chemar Holder, Jair McAllister, and Shaquille Cumberbatch.
Barbados is currently third in the championship standings with 43.8 points, almost two points behind second-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes (45.6). Unbeaten Windward Islands Volcanoes are top with 62.2 points.
Barbados Pride squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Shaquille Cumberbatch, Shane Dowrich, Chaim Holder, Chemar Holder, Jason Holder, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican, Jonathan Drakes, Shian Brathwaite
Guyana Harpy Eagles squad: Tevin Imlach (Captain), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Matthew Nandu, Kevlon Anderson (Vice-Captain), Raymond Perez, Kemol Savory, Kevin Sinclair, Ronaldo Alimohamed, Gudakesh Motie, Veerasammy Permaul, Isai Thorne, Nial Smith and Akshaya Persaud.
