Mindley overjoyed at Windies selection

Jamaican fast bowler Marquino Mindley will be getting his first taste of senior Windies tour life as he was among 11 players selected as reserves for the upcoming three-Test tour of England.

Mindley, who finished the truncated 2020 Cricket West Indies Regional Four-day Championship with 24 wickets in six matches for Jamaica, is overjoyed at the opportunity of touring with the senior Windies team, and he is hoping that the experience garnered on tour will lift his game to a new level.

"This call means a lot to me," he said. "Last year, I did well and this year I topped the wickets for Jamaica, so I am really looking forward to going out there and doing my best."

The 29-year-old pacer is no stranger to international action as he represented the Windies 'A' team in Antigua against Australia in 2015, after which he played for the President's XI against India back in the 2016/2017 series, and again for the 'A' team against India last year.

Improved his craft

With each year, the St Elizabeth Cricket Club player has improved his craft by developing more armoury in his bowling which has brought him success.

"Most people might know me as an outswing bowler," he said. "Eventually, I had to try something different, so I developed my skills to move the ball both ways comfortably. So now I get batsmen out LBW (leg before wicket) or bowled when I bowl the inswinger just outside off-stump."

Mindley and the rest of the Windies squad are expected to leave the Caribbean for the United Kingdom on Monday and the pacer is anticipating returning to England having played division one cricket in Kent and Sussex in 2014 and 2018.

"I just want to really see how the senior set-up and system at the international level works," he said. "I want to be around the senior players and learn from them. If the opportunity comes for me to get a game, I will relish the English conditions and the grassy pitches."