| Scores | Upcoming | Results |
Colombo: West Indies captain Darren Sammy is backing his new-look side to challenge a confident home team during its six-week tour of Sri Lanka.
Sammy vowed on Tuesday to bring in "energy, passion and performance" to the West Indies, which has never won a Test or one-day series in Sri Lanka.
The 26-year-old all-rounder took over the captaincy from veteran Chris Gayle last month despite having just eight Test matches under his belt. Gayle and vice captain Dwayne Bravo and Kieon Pollard refused to sign central contracts so they'd be available for lucrative Twenty20 games. Gayle and Bravo lost their leadership roles but were still picked for the tour. Pollard wasn't.
Ramnaresh Sarwan, who played the last of his 83 Tests in December, was overlooked again for fitness reasons. Denesh Ramdin and Jerome Taylor were also not offered retainer contracts.
That opened the way for left-hander Darren Bravo, all-rounder Andre Russell and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, the squad's only uncapped player, who turns 21 on Friday. Bravo and Russell made their ODI debuts in 2008.
Carlton Baugh, who last played a Test in 2004, will vie with Thomas for the keeper's job. Also recalled are openers Devon Smith, who played his most recent Test in May 2009, and Adrian Barath, who made a century on debut against Australia in Brisbane last year, but was sidelined by a knee injury in April.
"The selectors have come up with the best team to represent the Caribbean side and I am very confident in all the players I have here," Sammy said.
Sri Lanka is fresh from registering its first ever limited-overs series victory in Australia.
Captain Kumar Sangakkara said he expected a tough contest from the tourists.
"West Indies have always been a very competitive side ... the challenge is still the same to go out there and win Test matches," he said. "We expect nothing less but the best from them."
West Indies starts with a three-day warm-up game on Wednesday in Colombo, followed by three Tests, five one-dayers, and a Twenty20.
