l BRIDGETOWN

Injury has forced fast bowler Kemar Roach to miss the Test series of the West Indies tour of Bangladesh, the WICB announced yesterday.

Roach is suffering from a knee injury and could be sidelined for about a month, but may heal in time to play the One Day International series.

West Indies team physiotherapist C.J. Clark described the injury as "a right medial hamstring tendon tear", which Roach sustained in a club match three weeks ago in his native Barbados.

"Kemar has not recovered adequately from the injury to join the squad for the tour," said Clark.

"He has commenced rehabilitation and will undergo further assessment. He is expected to return to action in three to four weeks time."

Roach has been West Indies' most successful bowler in Tests this year, snaring 39 wickets at 22.25 runs apiece in seven Tests.

He is tied with three other players as the second-most successful bowler in Tests this year, along with South African fast-medium bowler Vernon Philander, as well as off-spinners Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan and Graeme Swann of England.

Roach is being replaced by Fidel Edwards, who has taken 158 wickets at 38.37 runs apiece in 54 Tests since his debut nine years ago.

Edwards is scheduled to leave the Caribbean with the remainder of the 15-member squad on Saturday.

 "The news is not all bad. It's not a major, major injury. It just means that he cannot travel with us. He has started his rehab already, so hopefully, he can recover within the next three weeks and, perhaps, make the One-day series, which means he will get some cricket before the end of the year" said West Indies coach Ottis Gibson.

"It's a difficult situation. He reckons he feels OK sometimes, and other times, if he gets his knee in the wrong position, he feels it, and the pain is so severe, he can't do anything for a while. These things happen in sport."

West Indies face Bangladesh in two Tests from November 13 to 17 at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in that country's capital of Dhaka, and from November 21 to 25 at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in the south-western city of Khulna.

The Tests will be followed by five One Day Internationals and a Twenty20 International.

–CMC