ODI Selectees Happy To Be In The Mix - West Indies new comers

DERBYSHIRE, United Kingdom - Newly selected West Indies opening batsman Austin Richards Jr said that he was enjoying being in the mix of the senior team.
 
 "The guys have made me feel welcomed and it is a real pleasure to be a part of the West Indies team," the 23 year old left hander from Antigua said after his first practice session at the Derbyshire Cricket Club ground on Saturday morning.
 
 "I enjoyed the practice, in terms of the batting it is what I am accustomed to but for the physical part of it some things are a bit different and I will get used to it," said Richards, who is unrelated to legendary West Indian batsman Sir Viv Richards but whose father is a regional first class umpire.
 
 Fellow opener, Lendl Simmons who also came into the squad for the 20/20 and One Day Internationals against England also said he is happy to be back.
 
 "I feel good about being back in the team after missing the Test series but that is how things go sometimes," said the 22 year old right hander with a highest ODI score of 70 (v Pakistan in 2006).
 
 "I can see that the team spirit is there, the guys are in a good mood and I can't wait to play the first game and see how things go from there," said Simmons who has three first class hundreds and ten half centuries under his belt.
 
 "After the World Cup I was playing club cricket at home in Trinidad but the season finished two weeks ago and there was a lot of rain so I have not been able to practice a lot but I have been playing some football to help keep my fitness level up," said Simmons, nephew of former West Indies opener Phil Simmons who is now the coach of Ireland.
  
 All rounder Dwayne Smith said he too has been playing club cricket in Barbados.
 
 "I have been playing for my club, YMPC, doing gym work and practicing," said Smith who has already racked up 65 ODIs.
 
 "I'm feeling confident, it's now for me to get acclimatized and get out there and get the scores, I want to be as consistent as I can be," said Smith who has 1086 international runs and exactly 50 international wickets (43 ODIs, 7 Tests).
 
 "I'm looking forward to the 20/20, it's exciting and a lot of fun," said the power hitting Smith, whose natural inclination to attack makes him ideally suited to the shortest form of the game.
 
 The trio arrived in England on Thursday morning and joined the team in Derbyshire on Friday before practicing on Saturday morning.
 
 Full 14 man squad (with shirt numbers in brackets): Captain – Chris Gayle (45), Shiv Chanderpaul (6), Devon Smith (28), Lendl Simmons (54), Austin Richards Jr (10), Runako Morton (37), Marlon Samuels (52), Dwayne Bravo (47), Dwayne Smith (50), Darren Sammy (88), Denesh Ramdin (80), Ravi Rampaul (14), Daren Powell (39), Fidel Edwards (20)