West Indies bowler Jerome Taylor bowls during a practice session in St. Lucia yesterday. - Dellmar CASTRIES, St. Lucia (Agencies):
JAMAICAN FAST bowler Jerome Taylor, 18, will make his debut for the West Indies in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Beausejour Stadium today, the selectors announced yesterday.
West Indies captain Brian Lara said it was time for his young team to show how much it had progressed by winning the first Test against Sri Lanka this weekend and the emphasis on "young" was highlighted by the teenager's selection.
"Taylor made an impressive international debut eight days ago in the final one-dayer against Sri Lanka.
"He is very special," Lara said of Taylor. "His quick understanding of what's going on in the middle is great to see."
"Taylor's presence could help make up for the loss of fellow Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, whose back injury forced him out of the series.
"Everybody gained a lot over the past two months, and they want to end on a high," Lara said. "We are still looking for our first successful series ... everyone is looking forward to it."
"The West Indies went down 3-1 in their last Test rubber, against Australia in April and May, and followed that with successive one-day series defeats last month, first 4-3 to Australia and then 2-1 to Sri Lanka.
"We have to be really hungry over the next 10 days to ensure that we get some victories," the 34-year-old Lara added.
"Sri Lanka skipper Hashan Tillakaratne said his team was motivated by the prospect of a first victory in the Caribbean.
"We haven't won a Test match in the Caribbean, and we are looking forward to doing that here," the 35-year-old said.
"Sri Lanka lost their only previous series in the West Indies, going down 1-0 in the two Tests in 1997.
"We have a lot of respect for West Indies cricket and their players," said Tillakaratne, who was not part of the successful one-day squad.
"We won 2-1 in the one-dayers and our morale is high," he said. "It's a different ball game altogether, but everyone is confident."
"As usual, Tillakaratne will rely heavily on his country's two most successful bowlers of all time -- off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and left-arm pacer Chaminda Vaas.
"Lara dominated the pair in scoring 688 runs in three Tests in Sri Lanka in 2001, but his side was still swept 3-0 in the series. He said his team realised the threat posed by the two Sri Lankan bowlers.
"These two individuals have posed a threat for many batsmen around the world, so we just have to take it in stride," Lara said.
TEAMS
West Indies team: Brian Lara (captain), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Omari Banks, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ridley Jacobs, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor.
Sri Lanka squad: Hashan Tillakaratne (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Marvan Atapattu, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Thilan Thushara, Dharshana Gamage, Dinusha Fernando, Kumar Dharmasena.
