Toss West Indies opt to bowl vs Scotland
Group B action at the T20 World Cup started off with West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran choosing to bowl first against Richie Berrington’s Scotland in Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
Both captains were of the opinion that bowling first was advantageous at the venue with a fresh pitch on offer and some moisture to be exploited by the fast bowlers. The pitch has a layer of grass, however, batters are expected to dominate.
West Indies went with the lone spin option in Akeal Hosein, which means legspinner Yannic Cariah did not find a place. Also not making it to West Indies’ XI were Raymon Reifer, Sheldon Cottrell and Johnson Charles. The two-time T20 World Cup champions are packed with allrounders, namely Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Rovman Powell and Odean Smith.
As for Scotland, Chris Sole, Craig Wallace, Hamza Tahir and Brandon McMullen were left on the bench from their 15-man squad. They made it directly to the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup on the back of their qualification into the Super 12 stage in the 2021 T20 World Cup, which they did after winning all three first round matches.
West Indies: Kyle Mayers, Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran (wk, capt), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.
Scotland: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Matthew Cross (wk), Richie Berrington (capt), Calum MacLeod, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Mark Watt, Josh Davey, Safyaan Sharif, Brad Wheal.