Windies to begin weeklong camp

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):West Indies will put the finishing touches on their preparation for the Twenty20 World Cup when they launch a weeklong camp here today.

Most of the players, including captain Darren Sammy, have arrived for the camp which will be staged at the High Performance Centre at the UWI Cave Hill Campus.

Over the next week, the Windies squad will be put through rigorous fitness and net sessions, and are also scheduled to play the High Performance Centre and Combined Campuses and Colleges in warm-up matches.

Best, Thomas, Benn invited

In addition to the 15-man squad announced the earlier this month, West Indies selectors have also invited fast bowler Tino Best, wicketkeeper Devon Thomas and temperamental left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn to the camp.

Best was a member of the successful Test and one-day teams for the recent New Zealand series, while Thomas played in the last two matches of the one-day series against Kiwis.

Benn, however, has not played for West Indies in 17 months because of disciplinary issues, though he was recalled to the West Indies A team for a two-match Twenty20 series against India A last June.

The ICC World Twenty20 runs from September 18 to October 7, with West Indies set to do battle in Group B alongside Australia and minnows Ireland.

With the likes of Indian Premier League stars Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo included, the Windies have already been installed as one of the pre-tournament favourites.

SQUAD: Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.