Having enjoyed three-consecutive series victories since taking over as West Indies Twenty20 captain, Rovman Powell credits the Caribbean’s side’s success under his leadership, to the overwhelming support of teammates and staff.
Powell, who was appointed in February following the sudden resignation of Nicholas Pooran, has so far guided West Indies to T20 International triumphs away to South Africa, as well as home wins against India and more recently England.
The accomplishment not only ensured West Indies ends the year unbeaten in a series, but more importantly, serves as a solid platform on which they can build ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup to be hosted jointly by the Caribbean and United States.
“I think I just have a good bunch of guys around me. I have a very good support staff and the guys respect me and they trust me and trust my judgement. And also, I try to lead from the front. I think as a captain once you lead from the front then naturally guys will follow,” Powell said after West Indies topped England 3-2 at the end of a five-match series in Trinidad and Tobago.
Despite being young at heart at 30 years old, Powell boast extensive captaincy experience. He led Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title last year in his third year in charge full-time, and also captained Jamaica to the Regional Super50 title in 2022. He has previously deputised for West Indies in three One-day Internationals (ODIs) and one T20I.
A month after taking the reins, Powell saw West Indies to a 2-1 series win over South Africa, and they followed that up with a 3-2 victory over India in August.
With their latest success coming against reigning World champions England, Powell said it provides a significant boost in confidence, as West Indies continued their preparation for next year’s T20 showpiece.
Powell has won eight of his 13 matches in charge while averaging 36 with the bat – well above his career average of 25.
“It also gives us confidence [and] confidence for me personally. I try to lead and lead from the front. Once I’m doing what I have to do as a batter first, then the captaincy will take care of itself,” the soft-spoken Jamaican shared.
“I realise as a captain once you’re doing your job, then your decision-making becomes sharper, you don’t second guess yourself when you come under pressure,” he added.
Meanwhile, Powell’s compatriot Andre Russell, also endorsed his leadership.
“I support him a hundred per cent. As the captain, even though he looks up to me, I’m not going to tell him ‘Ok, you need to do this, and you have to do this.’ I respect him as a leader and he’s been doing tremendously so far for the team and for himself,” Russell said.
“I think the confidence he has as a captain and as a player batting-wise, then working with his instinct, [making] bowling changes, making crucial decisions. He managed us as bowlers very well, so hats off to him for that. I don’t need to say much to him – he’s doing a good job,” the electrifying all-rounder added.
Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard will join the England coaching team for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Pollard becomes part of the England set-up specifically as an assistant coach for the June tournament.
The 36-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago will provide expertise of Caribbean conditions with the competition being co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States.
Former Somerset all-rounder Pollard helped the West Indies win the T20 World Cup in 2012 and has played a record 600-plus matches in the format.
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup will be held between June 4 and June 30 next year, with the final to be staged at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
England will defend the title they won for the second time in Australia 13 months ago in a tournament expanded from 16 to 20 teams.
England’s Tom Curran has failed in his attempt to have his four-match ban in Australia’s Big Bash League overturned after being charged with intimidating an umpire.
The bizarre incident occurred on December 11, when Curran was warming up ahead of the Sydney Sixers’ game against Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston.
Cricket Australia’s code of conduct commissioner Adrian Anderson found that the 28-year-old, who last played for England in 2021, became involved in a disagreement with an umpire while going through his run-up.
The match official instructed Curran not to run on the pitch and stood next to the stumps to block his approach after he attempted to continue.
Anderson found that Curran “attempted to perform a practice run up and run at pace straight towards the umpire, who stood in the bowling crease facing Curran. The umpire stepped to his right to avoid the risk of collision”.
Australian broadcaster Channel 7 later posted footage on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed the umpire advising Curran he could not use the match surface for warm-ups, and the player then bounding towards him before both men moved to avert impact.
Curran and the Sydney Sixers denied the offence and appealed against the suspension.
But the Big Bash League announced on Sunday that the appeal had been “dismissed, with the original sanction to stand”.
Andre Russell pledged to arrive at next year's T20 World Cup "looking like a UFC fighter" after his comeback series for West Indies culminated in a four-wicket win over England in Thursday's decider at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad.
Russell returned to international cricket having last represented West Indies at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE.
The 35-year-old was not in the regional team’s plans for last year's T20 World Cup in Australia, when selector Desmond Haynes said that West Indies had "moved on" from him, but won a recall after confirming his availability.
He was West Indies' leading wicket-taker in the series, largely bowling at the death, and scored at a strike rate of 169.35 with the bat.
"It means a lot, to be honest, getting the call-up to come back and to join the West Indies team," he told TNT Sports.
"I've been working for the last two years, waiting on a call-up. I'm just excited to be back and have a win," Russell said, highlighting the role that Daren Sammy has played in his return.
"The coach has been backing me a lot. I'm so happy. I feel like I've won a big, big championship with just a series win, that's how much it means to me."
Russell arrived in the Caribbean immediately after playing in the Abu Dhabi T10, and said that the long-haul flight across the world had affected his performance after impressing in the series opener.
"I was coming from Abu Dhabi where it's a big time difference," he said.
"Flying back into Barbados I tried to stay up as late as possible to make sure that I get enough sleep so that I can [be] fresh for the game.
“When I got to Grenada, I just couldn't sleep. I start feeling sleepy at 6am in the morning, which would be the time that I would sleep in Abu Dhabi. Fans won't know that, but I still get the pressure and the backlash and all of that. It just makes me stronger. I love my Caribbean fans and I know they are passionate about the game, and when we're messing up, they will be on our backs.
I want to make sure that I do the necessary recoveries, drink a lot of coconut water and get my body right - massages, and all of that. That's what I did to really be able to come in the last game, bowl three overs for 30-odd runs [37] - and then today was exceptional from all the bowlers."
Russell hopes to be part of West Indies' squad for the T20 World Cup in June, when they will attempt to become the first men's team to win the trophy for a third time.
"I'll be in better shape, to be honest: I'll be looking like a UFC fighter," he said. "This series win means so much. It [makes me] want to push myself to the limit."
He is due to play in the ILT20 and the IPL early next year, and said: "I have a lot of cricket to play and that's good. When you're playing cricket and in competition, your body is active and you're not just sat at home waiting for the World Cup. We are definitely going to give some teams a good, good run for their money in the World Cup."
Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard is set to start a new chapter in his decorated cricketing career, as he is expected to join reigning Twenty20 World champions England as a batting consultant ahead of their title defence in the Caribbean and the United States, next year.
According to media reports, Pollard, 36, is expected to impart knowledge of Caribbean conditions and pitches to the England, for the showpiece tournament scheduled for June 4-30.
With the region notorious in recent years for its low, slow pitches, conditions are expected to play a key role in the tournament, and, as such, Pollard's experience of same, will be an asset for England.
The Trinidadian's appointment is expected to flawless, as he is already acquainted with current England captain Jos Buttler with whom he played during a couple of stints with county Somerset, and others, who he would have rubbed shoulders with, in franchise tournaments.
Pollard, who retired from international cricket last year, after a T20 series away to India two months prior. Still, the powerfully built player continues to feature in the global short-format franchise leagues, recently leading New York Strikers to victory in the Abu Dhabi T10.
His vast experience in the T20 format, will also be of value to England, as Pollard has 123 One-Day International and 101 T20 International appearances under his built. Overall, he has featured in 537 T20s, scoring over 12,000 runs, with 300 wickets from his part-time bowling.
Pollard was at the helm when West Indies copped the T20 World Cup title in 2021, to go along with the 2016 title won by a Darren Sammy-led team which he was a part of.
Jamaica Tallawahs, the 2013, 2016 and 2022 Caribbean Premier League champions, will not feature in the tournament's 2024 season and will be replaced by a new franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda.
Kris Persaud, a Guyanese businessman based in Florida, owned the Tallawahs franchise but has sold it back to the CPL.
"The owners were left with no option but to sell the Tallawahs back to CPL as they could not find a way to operate the team sustainably," a CPL spokesperson told ESPNCricinfo.
The three-time CPL champions will be replaced by a not yet named Antigua-based franchise in 2024.
The island hosted a franchise named Antigua Hawksbills in the first two CPL seasons, but they won only three matches and were replaced by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2015.
Daryll Matthew, the minister of sports in the Antigua and Barbuda Senate, revealed plans to host a franchise in 2024 earlier this week. "We can expect very easily and conservatively to generate approximately US$6 million per year by simply having a CPL franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda," Matthew said, as reported by the Antigua Observer.
The CPL intends to relaunch a Jamaica-based franchise in years to come.
"The CPL remains committed to having a team based in Jamaica, but this will be in 2025 at the earliest," a spokesperson said.
"In 2024, there will be six teams taking part in the CPL with franchises based in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago," they added.
West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell praised his team’s ability to perform under pressure to secure a 3-2 series victory over England on Thursday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.
The West Indies won the first two games of the series relatively comfortably before England produced a pair of magnificent batting performances to tie the series heading into the Thursday’s decider.
The West Indians first restricted the English to 132 all out in 19.3 overs, their lowest score of the series.
The hosts then held their nerve to reach 133-6 with four balls to spare, securing another series win under Powell’s leadership in international cricket’s shortest format.
“I think we played very well today. After England came back in the series and put us under pressure, I think the guys responded like champions,” Powell said in a post-match interview.
He especially credited his bowlers for keeping player of the series, Phil Salt, in check. Salt hit hundreds in both the third and fourth T20Is. He made 38 on Thursday to finish the series with 331 runs.
"It was very important for us to control him. Yesterday we sat in our team room and tried to have some one on one discussions with the guys to try our best to come up with collective plans to control him. For the last two games they scored 70 in the powerplay to totally write us off," Powell said.
Powell added that he feels like his side are well prepared for next year’s T20 World Cup but mentioned that there’s still work to be done, particularly in the bowling department.
“I think we are prepared but we still have areas we need to sharpen up, especially our bowling. Two games back to back where England beat us badly as a bowling unit. Hopefully, over the next few months we can sharpen up and get those areas sorted,” Powell said.
Powell also heaped praise on opponents England, noting that the reigning World T20 Champions have an excellent chance of defending their title next year.
“England is a world class team and they have world class players to come into their squad so that is always going to boost them. All they need to do is get familiar with the conditions. Because they are such a quality team, if they get familiar with conditions they will be difficult to beat,” he said.
“We realized something with the English batters. Once you put them on the good wickets, they’re very good but when the pitch starts assisting the bowlers, it becomes a little bit tricky for everyone. For us Caribbean players, we’ve been playing on bad wickets for such a long time so we know how to play on it,” he added.
The West Indies’ next T20I assignment will be a three-match away series against Australia from February 9-13.
Reece Topley admitted he felt deflated at England losing their T20 series decider against the West Indies.
Two days after compiling their highest T20 total of 267 for three, England subsided to 132 all out in 19.3 overs on the same pitch at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, which was much trickier to bat on.
Despite the best efforts of their bowlers England tumbled to a four-wicket defeat as the Windies were grateful for Shai Hope’s efficient run-a-ball 43 not out to get them home with four balls to spare.
On a trip that doubled as a reconnaissance mission for the 2024 T20 World Cup, England can take some positives away, not least from battling back from 2-0 down to set up a winner-takes-all showdown.
But a World Cup group stage exit has now been followed by ODI and T20 series defeats against the Windies and Topley acknowledged there can be no excuses at leaving the Caribbean empty-handed.
“I was so excited to turn up here because it was basically like a final and those are the games you want to play in and be on the right side of,” he said.
“It is gutting. There’s a lot of talk about Test cricket being the priority and there’s some faces missing here but when we come up against the guys, they’ve got a lot of their main players here.
“The bottom line is you want to win this series, especially as a player where white-ball cricket is my Test cricket so I want to win every series I can for England.”
This was the Windies’ fourth successive series win over England in all formats, built on Gudakesh Motie’s three for 24 with fellow slow left-armer Akeal Hosein taking two for 20.
Phil Salt followed up his back-to-back hundreds by top-scoring with 38 off 22 balls, only prised from the crease by a peach from Motie, who produced drift then sharp turn to uproot middle stump.
England struggled from then on and lost their last five wickets in 19 balls for 11 runs although Topley’s two for 17 and Adil Rashid’s two for 21 made sure the chase was anything but a cakewalk.
“The other day there was another wicket made up next to our strip but it was their decision to play on the same wicket again, probably knowing it brings spin into the game a little bit more,” Topley said.
“It’s been an amazing series, both teams have played some unbelievable cricket.
“We’ve taken a lot from this series, there’s the World Cup here next year but there’s also some fresh faces that have been exposed to top-level international cricket and some have taken to it really well.”
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While his efforts were in vain, Topley has enhanced his case for the T20 World Cup next June after being overlooked for the first two matches following the broken finger which ended his World Cup early.
“Obviously no one likes to be left out and I was thinking about why I was left out for the first two,” Topley said.
“But then I had a point to prove, almost, coming back in and I’d like to think that maybe I’d have justified being selected after the third game.”
Windies captain Rovman Powell was satisfied his team held their nerve after back-to-back defeats but admitted they are not the finished article for the T20 World Cup they are co-hosting.
“I think we are prepared for the World Cup but there are still areas where we need to sharpen up, especially our bowling,” Powell said. “Two games back-to-back England beat us badly as a bowling group.
“There is a lot of work for us to do, so hopefully over the next few months we can sharpen up and get those areas sorted.”
England’s miserable white-ball winter ended on an appropriately low note after they lost their T20 series decider against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
Two days on from compiling their highest T20 total of 267 for three, England subsided to 132 all out in 19.3 overs on the same pitch, with only the in-form Phil Salt able to get to grips with a tricky pitch.
He followed up his back-to-back hundreds by top-scoring with 38 off 22 balls but was bowled by a peach from Gudakesh Motie, who took three for 24 and was the architect of the Windies four-wicket victory.
Motie shared five of England’s top-six wickets with fellow slow left-armer Akeal Hosein to leave the hosts with a paltry chase although Reece Topley took two for 17 and Adil Rashid two for 21 in reply.
It was far from a cakewalk but Johnson Charles (27) and Sherfane Rutherford (30) cameos were followed by Shai Hope taking on the baton with an efficient run-a-ball 43 not out, sealing a 3-2 series win in style with a six.
England battled back from 2-0 down to force a winner-takes-all showdown, so there are some positives they can take ahead of their return to the Caribbean and United States for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
But they have followed up a World Cup group-stage exit with ODI and T20 series defeats to the Windies, who put in a much more disciplined performance with the ball after being flayed to all parts last time.
Jos Buttler lapped a delivery that was too full to short fine-leg while Hosein had his revenge after being dispatched for six by Will Jacks, who was castled next ball with a quicker one that skidded on.
Motie did the same with Salt, who was still hungry for runs and looked a cut above with five off-side fours and a brutal six high over long-off off the slow left-armer. But the following ball drifted to leg then spun sharply and uprooted middle stump, beating Salt’s prod and leaving him incredulous.
Harry Brook’s attempted lap sweep off Motie took a top edge, leaving Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali to rebuild in a stodgy 40-run stand in 38 deliveries. The pair both cleared the rope but could not quite click.
Moeen holed out for 21 and Livingstone offering a tame return catch on 28 to give Motie his third was the start of an England collapse which saw them lose their last five wickets in 19 balls for 11 runs.
Adding just 62 in the last 11.3 overs left England struggling but Topley drew a false shot out of Brandon King, while Nicholas Pooran was unable to ride the bounce of Chris Woakes and chopped on.
Charles had marked his introduction into the series with a couple of meaty sixes but he miscued a Rashid full toss to leave the Windies on 62 for three at halfway and the game in the balance.
Rutherford clobbered Rashid over long-off and whipped Sam Curran for another six before slapping to extra cover but Hope was anchoring the pursuit, eschewing risk but whittling down the target.
Curran delivered a superb penultimate over, conceding just two and getting Andre Russell to hole out to leave 10 needed off the last six balls, with Woakes entrusted at the death.
Jason Holder saw a cruel inside edge squirt through the in-field as he collected three before Hope delivered the coup de grace by carving a fuller and wider ball over the deep point boundary to get the Windies over the line with four deliveries to spare.
England were left in a spin as their hopes of recording a T20 series victory over the West Indies were undermined by slow left-armers Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein.
Two days on from recording their highest ever T20 score, England came up against a more disciplined bowling performance by their opponents on the same pitch at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
Motie was the pick of the attack with three for 24, which included a peach of a delivery to bowl England dangerman Phil Salt, who followed up his back-to-back hundreds with 38 off 22 balls.
Salt was undone by drift then sharp turn as he lost his middle stump, although he was still England’s top-scorer for a third game in a row as they were all out for 132 in 19.3 overs in this series decider.
Five of England’s top-six departed to spin, with Hosein claiming two for 20, on a pitch that provided some help. Liam Livingstone (28) and Moeen Ali (23) put on a stodgy 40 for the tourists in the middle.
Where they had clubbed 20 sixes in their 267 for three on Tuesday, England amassed just five this time.
It was a particularly shabby end to their innings as they lost their last five wickets in 19 balls for the addition of just 11 runs, with all-rounder Andre Russell taking two dismissals in two balls.
England could not even bat out their overs as Sam Curran, one of only five batters to pass double figures, clothed Jason Holder to long-off to depart for 12.
Pacer Shamar Joseph says he is not surprised by his selection for the West Indies tour to Australia which starts in mid-January, which is part of the ICC Test Championships.
Joseph, who is among five Guyanese in the 15-man squad named by Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Wednesday, attributed his selection to hard work since making his first-class debut earlier this year.
The 24-year-old Joseph worked at a security firm before he launched his cricketing career, and his decision has been justified, as he has so far taken two five-wicket hauls and 21 wickets in five first-class matches.
“Since making my first-class [debut] for Guyana in February, I have been doing well and my five-wicket [haul] against South Africa ‘A,’ I knew I was not far away from playing at the highest level, which has always been my passion and dream,” said Joseph, who came to prominence during the Berbice Cricket Board’s fast-bowling camp with Sir Curtly Ambrose at Albion last year.
“I hope to play in Australia and if I do, I will grab it with both hands since I worked very hard for this, and I will continue to train hard since that is something I enjoy doing,” the confident player added.
Lancashire have thrown their support behind plans to bring external investment into The Hundred but chair Andy Anson says extending the length of the tournament would be a red line for the Red Rose.
Consultations over changes to the ownership model are ongoing between the England and Wales Cricket Board, the 18 first-class counties and MCC, with a vote due in the new year.
The ECB currently owns all eight teams outright and rents the venues but is ready to transfer a controlling stake to the host counties, allowing them to sell shares to new investors and create a fresh income stream for both the competition and the wider domestic game.
Discussions have also taken place over the structure of the competition, with options including growing to 10 or 12 teams or involving all 18 teams by creating a second division.
Lancashire are keen to take control of Manchester Originals – who play at Emirates Old Trafford – but are against the two-division plan and have made it clear that The Hundred must not be given any more time in the calendar than the three weeks it currently has in August.
“I can confirm discussions have taken place between all first-class counties and the ECB regarding transfer of controlling interest in The Hundred teams to the host venues. As a board we are supportive of this,” Anson said in a statement on the club’s YouTube channel.
“It is in Lancashire Cricket’s best interests to have greater control of Manchester Originals.
“This would mean we can drive the team as a commercial entity. I was also very concerned about the level of central costs of the ECB associated with The Hundred: they were too high and we believe the operating model was sub-optimal.
“As a board we have clear preference for a way forward. We do support transfer of a controlling equity stake of Manchester Originals to Lancashire Cricket.
“We see Manchester Originals as separate to Lancashire and in no way as a replacement for Lancashire in the different formats.
“We would be very concerned that a two-tier Hundred would prevent Lancashire playing as the Red Rose during the month of August and this would not be acceptable.
“We would not accept any expansion to the window in the schedule allocated to the Hundred, even if the number of teams expanded.
“We therefore support a single division solution, with expansion only if it can fit into the existing time window.”
Durham chief executive Tim Bostock this week told the PA news agency that he was “100 per cent committed” to bringing a ninth Hundred team to the north east and would be ready to proceed in time for the 2025 season.
England’s Tom Curran has been banned for four games in Australia’s Big Bash League after being charged with intimidating an umpire.
Curran and his club, the Sydney Sixers, denied the offence and plan to appeal against the suspension.
The incident occurred on December 11, when Curran was warming up ahead of a game against Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston.
Cricket Australia’s code of conduct commissioner Adrian Anderson found that the 28-year-old, who last played for England in 2021, became involved in a disagreement with an umpire while going through his run-up.
The match official instructed Curran not to run on the pitch and stood next to the stumps to block his approach after he attempted to continue.
Anderson found that Curran “attempted to perform a practice run up and run at pace straight towards the umpire, who stood in the bowling crease facing Curran. The umpire stepped to his right to avoid the risk of collision”.
That was deemed a level three offence under clause 2.17 of the CA code – which covers “intimidation or attempted intimidation of an umpire or match referee” – leading to four penalty points and a four-game ban.
Rachael Haynes, the former Australia Women’s captain and head of the Sixers, said the franchise would contest the ruling.
“Tom and the club maintain that Tom did not knowingly or intentionally intimidate a match official and, on legal advice, we will exercise our right to appeal the decision,” she said in a statement.
“We will support Tom during this period and look forward to him returning to the field.”
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