West Indies v Bangladesh, 1st Test at Kingstown

Kingstown: WICB scrambled to get a team together for the first Test against Bangladesh after the selected players decided to boycott the match due to contract disputes.

A 15-man squad, captained by 36-year-old Floyd Reifer, whose last of four Test appearances was over 10 years ago, features 16-year-old Barbadian batsman Kraigg Brathwaite who, if he plays would become the youngest West Indian Test player.

The visitors have a new captain in Mashrafe Mortaza and it would be interesting to see if the demotion allows Mohammad Ashraful to flourish as a batsman. Ashraful has mirrored the fate of Bangladesh cricket: very talented but ultimately, disappointing.

On the other hand, West Indies have nine uncapped players led by a captain who last played for West Indies nearly ten years ago. Not many are going to criticize if this team goes on to lose the series. In that sense, the pressure is off them and it's an opportunity to the likes of Kraigg Braithwaite, a prolific 16-year old batsman, and the 32-year old opening batsman Dale Richards to showcase their talent.

Team information

West Indies: Dale Richards, the Barbados opening batsman, is the one of the most consistent openers in West Indies domestic cricket. He was slated to make his Test debut against England earlier this year but a foot injury sidelined him.

Squad (likely): Omar Phillips, Dale Richards, Floyd Reifer (capt), Travis Dowlin, Chadwick Walton (wk), Darren Sammy, Kemar Roach, Ryan Austin, Tino Best, Kevin McClean, Nelon Pascal, Andre Creary, Nikita Miller, Kraigg Brathwaite, David Bernard.

Banglandesh: Shakib Al Hasan is one of the most, if not the most valuable player in the Bangladesh team. A world-class allrounder, he will be the player that West Indies will be most wary of. Shakib's stellar performance in the Test series against South Africa drew the praise of former Australian legspinner Kerry O'Keefe, who said he was the "world's best finger spinner at the moment".

Squad (likely): Mashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasan, Enamul Haque Jnr, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mahbubul Alam, Mahmudullah, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Raqibul Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Saghir Hossain, Shahadat Hossain, Tamim Iqbal

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh's average runs-per-wicket of 29.41 in West Indies is their best while playing overseas. They drew a Test the last time they played a series in the Caribbean, their only such achievement outside their country.
• West Indies have played six Test series since the start of 2008 and have only won one, against England earlier this year, and lost three.
• The average age of the Bangladesh squad is 22.
• Shakib Al Hasan has taken more than a quarter - 27.8% - of the wickets by Bangladesh in the Tests he's played - 35 out of 126.
• Mohammad Ashraful averaged just 22.58 in his 13 Tests as captain - the lowest for a frontline batsman who has captained his side in 10 or more Tests since 2005.

Match facts
Thursday July 9 to Monday July 13, 2009
Start time 10.00am (14.00 GMT)