Holder named captain of WC Qualifiers squad

HARARE, Zimbabwe, Mar 26, CMC – West Indies captain Jason Holder has been selected as captain of the team of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, which wrapped up here Sunday.

The 12-man side, selected by a panel which included former Windies Test star Ian Bishop, also includes opener Evin Lewis and veteran midldle order batsman Marlon Samuels.

West Indies were one of two teams to qualify for next year’s World Cup in England but lost to Afghanistan in the final at Harare Sports Club, to miss out on winning the tournament.

Holder was one of the leading players in the campaign, scoring 219 runs including an unbeaten 99 against Papua New Guinea, while also taking 15 wickets with his pace bowling.

The 26-year-old, who oversaw the Windies campaign at the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, also copped praise throughout the tournament for his overall leadership.

Lewis, meanwhile, also impressed at the top of the order for West Indies with 231 runs, with two of his three half-centuries coming in the Super Six second stage.

Samuels, who had a slow start to the campaign, picked up well to finish with 304 runs along with three half-centuries.

Champions Afghanistan secured four places on the squad, with exciting 16year-old off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman included as the specialist spinner and legspinner Rashid Khan as 12th man.

Off-spinning all-rounder Sikandar Raza, adjudged Man-of-the-Series, has predictably made the squad which has the impressive Safyaan Sharif of Scotland and Boyd Rankin of Ireland as the two specialist seamers.

SQUAD – Jason Holder (West Indies – captain), Evin Lewis (West Indies), Kyle Coetzer (Scotland), Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe – wicketkeeper), Marlon Samuels (West Indies), Mohammad Nabi (Afghanistan), Sikandar Raza

(Zimbabwe), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Safyaan Sharif (Scotland), Boyd Rankin (Ireland), Mujeeb Rahman (Afghanistan), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan).