Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr has been included in a West Indies 14-man squad named to face Australia in the first of five day/night matches in CG Insurance T20 International series that begins tonight at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia.

The match bowls off at 6:30 pm Jamaica time.

Fabian Allen has also been included in the West Indies side that will be looking to rebound from their 3-2 loss to South Africa.

Allen suffered a shoulder injury during the final match of the South Africa series. His inclusion along with Walsh Jr will add variety to the bowling attack, said CWI Chief Selector Roger Harper.

“Hayden Walsh Jr adds variety and is another wicket-taking option, while Fabian Allen, who was unavailable for the last game because of injury, returns. Considering the opposition, it is important that the team plays well in all departments, especially the batting, which needs to deliver more consistently,” Harper said.

Meanwhile, Jason Holder has been rested for this series as part of his workload management. He is expected to feature in upcoming One-Day Internationals and Test matches. The former captain has posted pictures of himself and girlfriend on vacation in Costa Rica on social media.

The full squad includes Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Hayden Walsh Jr.

Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair and Oshane Thomas are the travelling reserves.

Australia will be without a number of their regular starters, who have opted not to travel to the Caribbean, but will be strong nonetheless.

 They will select a team from Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Wes Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Dan Christian, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. Travelling reserves: Nathan Ellils and Tanveer Sangha.

This CG Insurance T20I Series forms part of the West Indies’ World Cup preparation with a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup to be played from October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

According to Cricket West Indies, fully vaccinated patrons will be able to buy tickets for the series from the stadium ticket office at the East Gate on presentation of their vaccination documentation and their national ID, with tickets available at EC$50 per match.

A three-match ticket promotion is available for just EC$120, with a special Series five-match season ticket special at EC$200.