Red ball conservation

West Indies senior men’s team leads selector Desmond Haynes has been having conversations with current white-ball players Brandon King, Shai Hope and Akeal Hosein as it relates to their red-ball ambitions.

Haynes confirmed that he has spoken to a few players about playing the longer version of the game and maybe going on a few ‘A’ team tours but he noted that players’ schedules and prior commitments continue to be a challenge.

“We’ve got a lot of players who we would like to include in the set-up and we would like to see them playing some four-day cricket for the franchises. I think the “A” team can have a mixture of who we want to be involved in the long version of the game and it would be good to give them some exposure as well, but it is quite difficult sometimes with players’ schedules,” Haynes told the media during a virtual press conference recently.

West Indies batting legend Desmond Haynes. Associated Press / Andres Leighton, File

“But yes, we would really like to see the likes of Brandon, Shai Hope and I had a chat with Akeal Hosein as well, and I was saying to him what I would like to see these guys playing so that we can have a core of players that we can look at and say these guys can compete with any team in the world,” he added.

The 28-year-old King has played 20 ODIs and 32 T20Is for the Windies and has also featured in 32 first-class matches.

Hope, 29, has been named West Indies ODI captain and has played 104 ODIs, 19T20Is and 38 Tests.