KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC:
WEST INDIES Under-19 captain Dinesh Ramdin leads a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) XI in a one-day game against Bangladesh at Arnos Vale Ground today.
The solid regional line-up includes four Test players - Wavell Hinds, Carlton Baugh, Pedro Collins and Jermaine Lawson so there is no gentle introduction to the Caribbean for Bangladesh as their inaugural Caribbean tour begins.
Left-arm pacer Pedro Collins was brought in as a late replacement for Jason Bennett.
Lawson, who took a memorable six for three at Dhaka in December 2002 when visiting West Indies crushed Bangla-desh, is also back to open old scars.
Bangladesh have never before sent a full Test team to the Caribbean, although their A squad did tour in 2002.
The first of three one-day games begins on Saturday, with two Tests to follow in St Lucia and Jamaica.
NET SESSION
The WICB XI assembled in St. Vincent on Monday night and had a net session yesterday afternoon.
Alfred Bynoe, the team coach and manager, anticipates a strong showing by the regional squad.
"I think with the experience we have here, we surely should give a good account of ourselves," he told CMC Sport.
Bynoe said the 19-year-old Ramdin, who guided West Indies to the runner-up position at the Youth World Cup in Bangladesh in March, seems "quite confident about taking on the responsibility" as team leader.
Bynoe told the players to grab the opportunity to do well in this fixture.
"I said to the players this morning, especially the young ones, that they can use this as a springboard for their future development in West Indies cricket.
"We also discussed the importance of winning this game in St. Vincent for West Indies cricket," Bynoe said.
