Johnson looking to impress against Aussies
NORTH SOUND, Antigua (CMC): UYANESE OPENING batsman Leon Johnson says he intends to use the three-day warm-up match against Australia, which starts today, to force his way back into the regional side.
Johnson, who is leading the President’s XI against the Aussies, was left out of the West Indies squad for the recent three-match Test series against England, which end 1-1.
He is among several fringe players looking to catch the eye of the selection panel in the firstclass tour match against Australia at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground here.
“I was left out of the team for the England series, and coming up now against Australia, two good performances will give me a chance to get back into the international side,” said Johnson, who has four Test matches and 275 Test runs at an average of 39.28 .
“Australia is definitely a difficult team to play against. I have never played against them, but from hearing and looking at them, they are very competitive. Even in this three-day game, they will be very competitive and looking at the make-up of the team, they have seven, eight world-class players.”
Johnson is in fact one of two players in the
GPresident’s XI squad with international matches under his belt for West Indies, but is the only member of the squad who has played Tests. The match will be Australia’s only warm-up ahead of their two-Test series against West Indies, beginning on June 3.
GIVE A GOOD SHOW
“Looking at the squad assembled by the selectors, obviously the players selected are players who have done well during the regional tournament, probably not just this year, but over a period of time,” said Johnson.
“So we are just looking to come out and give a good show of ourselves against the number two Test team in the world and the number one oneday team. So a good performance here and a good performance there might give the selectors something to think about.”
WICB President’s XI squad: Leon Johnson (capt), Carlos Brathwaite (vice-capt), Sharmarh Brooks, Rajindra Chandrika, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Jason Dawes, Shane Dowrich, Imran Khan, Marquino Mindley, Jason Mohammed, Tyrone Theophile, Jomel Warrican.