Jeremiah Louis ruled out of 3rd England-West Indies Test, Akeem Jordan comes in as replacement
West Indies pacer Jeremiah Louis has been ruled out of the upcoming third Test against England at Edgbaston due to a hamstring injury he picked up on the sidelines of the second Test at Trent Bridge. Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a like-for-like replacement in fast-bowler Akeem Jordan.
Louis didn't feature in the first two Tests but would have had a chance in the third game, with West Indies losing the Richards-Botham trophy 2-0 at the Bridge. He will stay with the squad for further treatment.
Jordan, 29, is yet to play a Test for the Windies but picked up a wicket on his ODI debut last year against the UAE. He played another game in the same series where he went wicketless and hasn't played an international since.
The Barbados-born has a good first-class record though: 67 wickets in 19 matches at an average of 24.10. He was reportedly in the UK when he got the call-up and has already joined and practiced with the team at Edgbaston.
Though West Indies have a ton of fast bowlers available, including Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, they might want to rest one of them for the dead rubber - keeping in mind they have a Test series lined up against South Africa - and take a look at what Jordan can do.
"They have to pick themselves up" - Ian Bishop's message to West Indies for 3rd Test
Earlier in the day, former cricketer Ian Bishop sent a passionate message to the Kraig Braithwaite-led team, asking them to pick themselves up and play for the people back at home. He said:
"If the guys could hear me now, they have to pick themselves up. I know it is hard and know there maybe a lot of the mental energy was drained by their application with the bat in that first innings, magnificent score and the sort of capitulation in that second innings.
"But Edgbaston is important to continue learning... you 1 to 1 know, you represent the people of the West Indies in every game. You play with pride and that should be enough. And that should be enough to energize you."
The third Test will begin at 3:30 pm IST on Friday (July 26).