Gibson backs Shillingford, Samuels to come back strong

HAMILTON, New Zealand – West Indies head coach Ottis Gibson said Shane Shillingford and Marlon Samuels will receive the full support of the West Indies Team Management Unit Cricket and the West Indies Cricket Board following the publication of the findings on tests conducted on their bowling actions.

The International Cricket Council, the sport's World governing body, announced on Monday that Shillingford had been suspended from bowling in international matches, after an independent biomechanical analysis conducted in Australia found his bowling action illegal.

The ICC also said that Samuels' bowling action for his standard off-break delivery was bowled with a legal action, but that his quicker deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees' level of tolerance and thus, were considered to be illegal. While Samuels is allowed to continue to bowl his standard off-break delivery in international cricket, he is not permitted to bowl his quicker deliveries.

"Though I felt confident about the way the two players performed at the testing, the report did not come back in our favour," said Gibson.

"Shane is obviously gutted, but Marlon's role in the team, as I have said previously, is primarily as a batsman, so the impact on him is a little bit less."

Gibson added: "We will formulate a suitable plan of action and work to rehabilitate their bowling actions in the New Year, so Shane can continue his international career in the shortest possible time and Marlon can continue to contribute with the ball when he's required.

"They are both tough characters and have had their share of ups and downs in the game over the years. We have no doubt that they will emerge from this latest setback with the utmost confidence."

The ICC decision has ruled Shillingford out of the imminent third Test against New Zealand, starting on Thursday at Seddon Park here, and he will return to the Caribbean as scheduled following the match.

Samuels will however, feature in the deliberations for the Test and has also been chosen as part of the 15-member Windies squad for the subsequent five One-day Internationals that follow the Test series.

Squad

Darren Sammy (Captain)

Denesh Ramdin (Vice Captain)

Tino Best

Kraigg Brathwaite

Darren Bravo

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Sheldon Cottrell

Narsingh Deonarine

Kirk Edwards

Shannon Gabriel

Sunil Narine

Veersammy Permaul

Kieron Powell

Marlon Samuels

Shane Shillingford

Chadwick Walton

Team management unit

Ottis Gibson (Head Coach)

Richie Richardson (Team Operations Manager)

Andre Coley (Assistant Coach)

Stuart Williams (Assistant Coach)

C.J. Clark (Physiotherapist)

Hector Martinez Charles (Strength & Conditioning Coordinator)

Richard Berridge (Video & Statistical Analyst)

Virgil Browne (Massage Therapist)

Adriel "Woody" Richard (Media Relations Manager Results of matches

November

Wed 27 to Fri 29 New Zealand XI drew with West Indians – Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln

Tue 3 to Sat 7 1st Test – Match drawn – University Oval, Dunedin

Wed 11 to Sun 15 2nd Test – New Zealand won by an innings and 73 runs – Basin Reserve, Wellington

Schedule of remaining matches

December

Thu 19 to Mon 23 3rd Test – Seddon Park, Hamilton (10:30 a.m. daily)

Thu 26 1st One-day International – Eden Park, Auckland (2 p.m.)

Sun 29 2nd One-day International – McLean Park, Napier (2 p.m.)

January

Wed 1 3rd One-day International – Queenstown Events Centre (11 a.m.)

Sat 4 4th One-day International – Saxton Oval, Nelson (11 a.m.)

Wed 8 5th One-day International – Seddon Park (2 p.m.)

Sat 11 1st Twenty20 International – Eden Park (7 p.m.)

Wed 15 2nd Twenty20 International – Westpac Stadium, Wellington (7 p.m.)