The West Indies will be without head coach Daren Sammy for the opening match of their five-game T20 International series against Australia at Sabina Park on Sunday. The former captain and St. Lucian native has departed the team camp to attend to a family bereavement.

In Sammy’s absence, assistant coach Floyd Reifer will take over head coaching duties for the first fixture of the series.

Adding to the team’s early challenges, the West Indies’ preparations have been affected by the delayed arrival of six key players. Evin Lewis, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Gudakesh Motie, and Akeal Hosein were all unavailable for camp, having recently represented the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Global Super League final. The Warriors defeated the Rangpur Riders by 32 runs in the title match held yesterday (Friday) at the National Stadium in Providence.

Efforts are reportedly underway to fly the group directly to Kingston on a private charter in time for Sunday’s clash.

Despite the disruptions, the remainder of the Windies squad is already in Jamaica and gearing up for the series. The group is led by captain Shai Hope and includes two fresh faces in Jewel Andrew and Jediah Blades, both earning their first senior team call-ups.

Rounding out the squad are seasoned campaigners Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Rovman Powell, and the soon-to-be-retired Andre Russell, who will play in the opening two matches at Sabina Park.