Garrick May Tour South Africa With West Indies A (23 Feb 1997)

23 February 1997

Garrick may tour S/Africa with WI `A`

ST. JOHN`S - The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced plans for a West Indies "A" team tour of South Africa later this year.

The Windies "A" are scheduled to be in South Africa for almost two months, from mid-November to mid-January for the tour which will include three four-day "Test" matches and three One-day Internationals against South Africa "A".

The tour starts with a four-day game against Transvaal in Johannesburg, November 21-24, followed by a one-day match against an Invitation XI in Soweto on November 26.

There are also two more four-day games against Northern Transvaal, November 28 to December 1 and versus Western Province, December 5-8 before the first "Test" against South Africa "A" in Bloemfontein, December 11-14.

The other two "Tests" are slated for December 26-29 in East London and in Cape Town, January 1-4.

After the "Tests", the one-dayers will be played in Durban (January 9), Port Elizabeth (January 11) and Johannesburg (January 14).

Between October and December last year, a West Indies "A" team, captained by experienced all-rounder Roger Harper, toured Sri Lanka and won a three-match "Test" series 2-0 but lost the oneday series 1-2.

Harper has since accepted a coaching job with the United States cricket team and is almost certain to be replaced as captain since he has not made himself available for the 1997 Red Stripe Cup which is now in progress.

The Windies "A" team is expected to be a mixed bag, once again including players on the fringe of Test selection, promising young cricketers from the Caribbean as well as an old hand or two who will be able to share their experience with the greenhorns.

It would be no surprise if Joel Garner and Gus Logie, who were manager and coach respectively of last year`s team, were retained.

Exciting young Jamaican opening batsman Leon Garrick, the current leading run-scorer in the Red Stripe Cup competition, will be among the leading contenders for a place on the team.

Source :: The Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express)