Michael Holding: Absence of Bravo, Hetmyer and Paul 'unfortunate'

Michael Holding, the broadcaster and former West Indies fast bowler, has said the decisions of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul to opt out of touring England were "unfortunate", if understandable because of concerns over the Covid-19 situation in the UK.

Earlier this week, West Indies announced a 25-man party to travel for three rearranged Tests against England next month. CWI had previously given guarantees that players would not be forced to go on the tour if they were not comfortable with the safety provisions being put in place. Johnny Grave, CWI's chief executive, told ESPN that Bravo, Hetmyer and Paul all expressed fears about how going to the UK could adversely affect their families.

"If we can get scores on the board we can really challenge England because I know the bowling will be good, and the three big men (Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel) are all in the top [20] in the world and that tells you our bowling unit is really improving."