Darren Sammy named in Windies ODI squad

Darren Sammy, the West Indian allrounder, was the only uncapped player to be named in the 15-man one-day squad to play England and New Zealand later this summer.

Sammy, 20, who is the first player from St. Lucia to be named in a senior West Indies side, was selected ahead of the more experienced Ryan Hinds after a successful domestic Carib Beer series in 2004, in which he scored 261 runs at 26.1, and took 22 wickets at 22.59.

Fast bowlers Merv Dillon and Corey Collymore have not been named in the squad. Neither made any impression in the one-dayers against England in the Caribbean earlier this month. Dillon took only three wickets at an average of over 69 in the series, while Collymore failed to take a single scalp. Sylvester Joseph, who played in the one-dayers against England and Bangladesh, has also been excluded.

Fidel Edwards and Tino Best, both 22, will lead the West Indies attack in the triangular Natwest Series, which starts on June 24. Best recently battered Bangladesh into submission with his aggressive fast bowling, while Edwards has taken 12 wickets at 10.41 in the four one-dayers he has played in, though these were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Ravi Rampaul and Ian Bradshaw will play the role of back-up seamers. West Indies will arrive with a young and fairly inexperienced one-day side, 11 of whom are under the age of 25.