Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Cricket Ireland (CI) have confirmed changes to the match schedule for the ongoing CG Insurance One-Day International Series.

The second CG Insurance ODI will now be played on Thursday, January 13 with the third and final CG Insurance ODI on Sunday 16 January at Sabina Park.

Both matches will begin 9:30 am Jamaica time.

The rescheduling occurred following five COVID-19 positive cases, as well as injuries in the Ireland camp leaving the Ireland squad depleted ahead of the 2nd CG Insurance ODI which was originally was scheduled for Tuesday, January 11.

As a consequence, the one-off CG Insurance T20 International has been cancelled to allow for this revised schedule and to avoid impact on the teams’ travel plans and subsequent fixtures.

These ODI matches form part of the ICC ODI Super League with both teams having the opportunity to win points and become one of the top seven teams, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

In the standings, last updated on September 13, 2021, Ireland sit fourth with 50 points while the West Indies are eight with 40 points.

West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 following their 24-run victory in the first CG Insurance ODI on Saturday.

Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Bronze medallist Deon Lendore died last night after reportedly succumbing to injuries he suffered in a car accident in Texas.

The 29-year-old from Arima, whose 400m personal best was 44.36, was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won bronze in the Men’s 4x400m at the 2012 London Olympics and silver at the 2015 World Championships in the same event.

Individually, Lendore won bronze medals in the 400m at the World Indoor Championships, in Oregon, in 2016, where he was also part of T&T's bronze medal-winning 4x400m team and Birmingham in 2018.

A three-time Pan Am Junior Championships silver medallist, Lendore also had a wonderful junior career, which resulted in him excelling at Texas A&M University, winning the Bowerman award in 2014.

President of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, Brian Lewis, reacted to the unfortunate news.

“Words cannot adequately express our sadness at the devastating and untimely loss. Deon has flown the Trinidad and Tobago flag with pride, honour, patriotism, and an indomitable will throughout his career while helping and inspiring many. We express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, teammates, coaches, and all who he would have touched. May Deon Rest and Sleep in Eternal Peace,” he said.

Lendore represented T&T at three Olympic Games in 2012, 2016 and 2021 and three World Championships in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Cricket Ireland (CI) issued a joint statement today announcing the postponement of the second CG Insurance One-Day International scheduled for January 11 between the two teams.

They came to the decision after two further positive COVID-19 cases were reported in the Ireland camp following recent testing, as well as two players being ruled out due to injury, resulting in Ireland having a severely depleted squad.

CWI and CI are in discussions to review the match schedule and are working to explore all possibilities for the series to be completed.

The five members of the Ireland team who have returned positive COVID-19 results remain in isolation under the care and supervision of the medical teams.

Further updates will be provided by CWI and CI as soon as possible.

West Indies are 1-0 up in the series after winning the first ODI by 24 runs on Saturday.

It has been an interesting start to the 2022 New Year for West Indies cricket.  The first days of 2022 have produced some exciting appointments to the West Indies Selections Panel, ongoing fitness concerns surrounding at least one key player, as well as a few very enlightening comments from head coach Phil Simmons.

Most West Indies cricket fans would have been excited by Cricket West Indies’ successive announcements of the appointments of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Desmond Haynes and Ramnaresh Sarwan, as the Selection Chairman and Member replacements for the recently deposed Roger Harper and Miles Bascombe.

The reputations of both Haynes and Sarwan, within both the Region and the wider cricketing world, as very well respected, knowledgeable, high calibre former West Indies players are undeniably solid.

The announcements of their respective appointments would have created a sense of optimism that some of the bizarre selection choices that were far too often characteristic of the previous panel, would now not be repeated. With the West Indies about to begin its all-important quest for qualification at two forthcoming World Cups, this year’s T20 as well as the 2023 50 overs, wisdom-guided selection of the best possible teams will be of immeasurable value.

The Haynes, Sarwan appointments also seem to be indicative of a Cricket West Indies decision to continue with the panel’s 3-person composition, with head coach Phil Simmons as the additional selector.  This despite the suggestion that had been made by several individuals including ourselves, that the process of selecting the very best West Indies teams would be much better served by a reversion to the former, far more successful, utilization of a five-member panel.

It will indeed be very interesting to see what the panel’s decided size will actually be. Regardless of its final membership size, one of the issues the new selection panel will have to address almost immediately is that of the continuing issues surrounding the fitness of West Indies cricketers.

Both Haynes and Sarwan would have been alarmed by the reported failure of two West Indies selection contention players, Chanderpaul Hemraj and Shimron Hetmeyer, to pass the Guyana Cricket Board’s (GCB) most recent fitness tests. The tests were administered during the first week of January 2022, as part of the Guyana National team’s preparation for its participation in the forthcoming Regional four-day competition. Kudos to Guyana’s head coach Esuan Crandon for having made those results public.

Given his encouraging performances at the recent 2021 ICC T20 World Cup, as well as his unquestionable potential to be one of the very brightest future stars of West Indies cricket, Hetmyer’s ongoing fitness challenges have long since become a matter of grave concern. Now still only a 25-year-old, Hetmeyer was West Indies' leading run-scorer in their disappointing 2021 T20 World Cup campaign. He has, however, now been left out of the West Indies ODI and T20 squads to play Ireland and England after failing the GCB fitness test.

Head Coach Phil Simmons’ reaction to Hetmeyer’s most recent fitness test failure was to describe it as a “heart-wrenching indication of his continuing inclination to be letting himself and his international team-mates down by paying insufficient attention to his physical fitness!” Hetmyer has now been omitted from several West Indies squads on fitness grounds, having also missed the recent tour of Pakistan due to personal reasons.

Prior to the Hetmyer exclusion, the former West Indies batting coach Toby Radford had, however, described the West Indies selection-related fitness testing protocols as being inconsistent. According to Radford, the existing policies are a convenient excuse for either omitting or excluding specific players.

“I do not think there is a consistency with the fitness testing and the way it has been used. It seems to me (that) if they want to pick a player, they give him a wavier! If on the other hand, they do not want to pick a certain player, they give the excuse that the guy is not fit. We have seen, with the T20 World Cup, (that) there were players who were selected that obviously did not pass any fitness test!

Radford has also advocated CWI’s adoption of an above-board, robust selection process with consistent fitness testing. 

 “Everyone has to be treated the same way and tested in an identical manner on the same day. At the moment, it is being used to select whoever they CWI want to have included in the respective teams,” Radford said.

We certainly agree wholeheartedly with Toby Radford’s comments. To those, we would now add the suggestion that the Desmond Haynes-led Panel should, as its very first order of business, announce the implementation of a new selection-related fitness policy.

Our suggested policy would require all CWI contracted players, as well as those others who are in contention for immediate selection to West Indies teams, to be tested by their respective Regional Boards, four times each year with all of the tests being conducted on the same day. Failure by any player to meet the established required, uniform standard would not only result in their exclusion from selection consideration but would also result in the immediate suspension of their contractual benefits. Such penalties would, however, only remain in effect until the affected player had improved their results to the required standard.

With the squads of the immediately forthcoming Ireland and England white-ball series having already been selected, West Indies cricket followers’ attention towards the Desmond Haynes led new selection panel should now be whether it does indeed issue any sort of definitive statement in terms of what its approach towards fitness will be. Attention should, however, also be focused on the actual performances of the selected players during the forthcoming series, and certainly in terms of their execution of the “still lacking basic skills,” according to Simmons.

Now more than halfway through his four-year contract, Simmons’ biggest current concern, as expressed during a most recent media conference, is the need for the players under his charge to do the small things better.

 “Running between the wickets is one aspect of the batting that has let us down, and it is an area that the team will be placing a lot of emphasis on going forward. Fielding is another key area in which we want to see improvement!”

More than two years into the job and our head and batting coaches are still seeking improvements in the most fundamental requirements of strike rotation and pressure fielding. Meanwhile, their associate in charge of the bowlers, Roddy Estwick, likewise speaks publicly of the need for those under his guidance to be more disciplined.

Isn’t this now the most glaringly damning evidence of their respective incompetences? If not, then surely the Pope cannot be Catholic!

A new year, fresh Selection Panel members but the same old coaching cadre! Should we now expect the results to be any better than those that were produced in 2021?

The West Indies U19s did not have the best showing ahead of the start of the ICC Under-19 50-over World Cup after suffering a heavy 108 loss to India U19s  team in their first official warm-up match on Sunday.

After being set a challenging target of 279 to win, the young Windies struggled to 170 all out in just 43 overs.  The team got off to a solid enough start when openers Matthew Nandu and Shaqkere Parris put on 30 in the opening overs.   Parris was, however, the first to go after being dismissed by fast bowler Garv Sangwan.  The other batters, unfortunately, followed in quick succession, with Teddy Bishop being dismissed ten balls later, and Sangwan going lbw with the score on 35.

Nandu managed another 30 with Jordan Johnson (10) before falling to the spin of Manav Parakh in the 18th over, with the total at 65 for three.

Windies skipper Akeem Auguste went for a duck after also being bowled by Parakh, Rivaldo Clarke (11), and vice-captain Giovonte Depeiza (10) were also gone midway through the innings.

Nandu eventually departed in the 33rd over with a top-score of 52 off 101 balls, after being a victim of left-arm spinner Aneeshwar Gautam, caught by Kaushal Tambe.  Off-spinner Tambe then wrapped up the innings with the wickets of Carlon Bowen-Tuckett (20), Anderson Mahase (1), and an attacking Johann Layne.

Earlier in the innings, the team set a furious pace after skipper Yash Dhull won the toss.  Things did not start well, however, as the team found themselves at 18 for two in the seventh after excellent work from Layne got rid of openers Harnoor Singh and Angkrish Raghuvanshi.

Dhull, however, led a strong revival with 52 off 67 balls and put on 85 for the third wicket with Shaik Rasheed.   Aradhya Yadav attacked the bowling and added 82 for the fifth wicket with top-scorer Nishant Sindhu, who lashed seven fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 78 off 76 balls, effectively putting the match out of reach.

Scores

India U-19s 278-6, 50 overs (Nishant Sindhu 78 n.o., Yash Dhull 52, Aradhya Yadav 42; Johann Layne 3/51)

 WI U-19s 170 all out, 43 overs (Matthew Nandu 52; Kaushal Tambe 3/30, Manav Parakh 3/34, Garv Sangwan 2/18, Aneeshwar Gautam 2/37). --India U-19s won by 108 runs.

Windies middle-order batsman, Shamarh Brooks, admits it was a crushing blow to narrowly miss out on a debut ODI century but insists it is just part of a learning curve.

Brooks put on a solid performance that proved the backbone of a close 24-run win in the opening match of the series on Sunday

Together with Windies skipper Kieron Pollard, Brooks put 155 runs on the board for the 5^th wicket, which proved critical in stabilisng the team’s middle-order after floundering at 4 for 62.

On 93 the player seemed destined to be only the second West Indian to make an ODI century on debut but was out lbw off the bowling of Mark Adair.

“Word can’t express (how disappointing it was) but at the end of the day it was still my first game and I’m still happy with the score that I got.  It’s just unfortunate to miss out on triple figures,” Brooks said.

“I wouldn’t say I panicked in the nervous 90s.  Some people would have been a little more cautious having been set but as we all know it’s a learning curve at this stage.  I’ll take this one on the chin and look to grow from strength to strength,” he added.

The West Indies and Ireland will face off again in the second match on Tuesday.

Jamaica track and field icon, Usain Bolt, has hailed American sprinter Justin Gatlin for keeping him sharp throughout his career.

Bolt, who remains the world record holder over both the 100 and 200 metres, retired from the sport in 2017.  His rivalry with the American, though statistically, a tad one-sided at times, was one of the most abiding and, at times, fiercest in the sport of track and field, particularly when the two-faced the starter at major games.

On the biggest stage, it was Gatlin who triumphed in the first two encounters.  Bolt failed to advance past the first round at the 2004 Olympics and it was Gatlin who went on to claim the 200m title, adding to 100m crown, which was won prior.

One year later, Gatlin left the Jamaican far behind in the 200m final to take the sprint double at the 2005 World Championship in Helsinki.  The two did not face off at the 2007 World Championship as Gatlin was banned from the sport for four years after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006.  On that occasion, Bolt finished second to another American Tyson Gay.

From 2008, however, it was Bolt who became the premier force in world sprinting and outside of the rare blip in Osaka 2011, where he false-started in the 100m, when undefeated at major games for almost 9 years.  Gatlin returned to the sport in 2010 but found it impossible to get the better of the Jamaican.  He was eliminated at the semi-final stage of the 2011 World Championships, placed third at 2012 Olympics, was second at the 2013 World Championships.  Gatlin again finished runner-up to Bolt in both the 100m and 200m at the 2015 World Championships and again took silver at Rio Olympics in 2016. 

The American did, however, manage to turn the tables on Bolt at the 2017 World Championships where he claimed gold, with the Jamaican finishing in third place in the final race before he retired. 

  “Justin Gatlin played a very important role in keeping me motivated because he kept me on my toes, he kept me working out,” Bolt explained during Puma's Only See Great campaign.

“He kept me knowing that every season he’s going to be there, if I want to be the best I have to be ready and be prepared to beat him," he added.

Overall, the Jamaican leads the head-to-head match-up between the athletes with a 9-2 advantage, but he admits with Gatlin and others around he always had to look over his shoulder.

"The rivalries were strong and for me Tyson and Justin and Asafa and Blake, they really pushed me through my career to stay on top of my game at all times to be the best me."

The West Indies secured a 24-run win over Ireland in the first of their three ODIs at Sabina Park today.

In pursuit of 270 for victory, captain Andrew Balbirnie and William Porterfield strode to the crease to begin Ireland’s reply.

Their chase got off to the worst possible start as experienced opener Porterfield was dismissed for a duck by Akeal Hosein in the second over to leave them at 1-1.

Andrew McBrine joined Balbirnie at the crease and the pair carefully carried the score to 30-1 after 10 overs.

McBrine, unfortunately, had to leave the field at the end of the 17^th over, on 34 from 50 balls, after being struck on the helmet by Odean Smith with the score on 62-1.

Harry Tector came to the crease to join Balbirnie and the two brought the score to 74-1 at the end of 20 overs with Balbirnie on 31 and Tector on three.

Ireland brought up their hundred with only one wicket down in the 25^th over with Balbirnie and Tector on 46 and 12, respectively.

Balbirnie brought up his 13^th ODI 50 off 74 balls in the 27^th over.

After 30 overs, Ireland was cruising at 134-1 with Balbirnie on 60 and Tector on 32.

Balbirnie (66) and Tector (42) continued scoring freely to bring up Ireland’s 150 in the 33^rd over.

Tector brought up his fifth ODI 50 off 62 balls in the 35^th over.

At the start of the 36^th over, Balbirnie and Tector brought up their 100-partnership.

The West Indies finally got the breakthrough they were looking for when Romario Shepherd removed Balbirnie for 71 off 94 balls in the 37^th over to leave Ireland 165-2.

Odean Smith got his first ODI wicket in the 38^th over by removing Harry Tector for 53 to leave the tourists 173-3 needing 97 more to win from 75 balls.

Curtis Campher then became Shepherd’s second wicket when he was dismissed for six in the 39^th over to leave Ireland 173-4.

After 40 overs, Ireland was 178-4 needing 92 from 60 balls to win with Lorcan Tucker on 3 and George Dockrell on 2.

Tucker was next to go, bowled by Alzarri Joseph for 9 in the 42^nd over, to leave the score at 186-5.

Joseph then bowled a perfect yorker to dismiss Gareth Delaney in the 44^th over for his second wicket to leave Ireland on 194-6 needing 76 from 37 balls to win.

Neil Rock came in as a concussion substitute for McBrine and helped Ireland bring up their 200 in the 45^th over with four wickets in hand.

After a promising partnership with Dockrell, Rock was dismissed by Jason Holder in the 47^th over for five to leave Ireland 222-7 needing 48 from 20 balls to win.

Dockrell gave the West Indies something to think about late on with some big shots but was eventually dismissed by Joseph in the 48^th over for 30 from 25 balls to leave Ireland on 237-8, needing 33 from 14 to win.

Shepherd then got his third wicket of the innings, removing Craig Young for a duck in the 49^th over to leave the score at 239-9.

The win was secured when Nicholas Pooran took a brilliant diving catch on the boundary off Odean Smith to dismiss Josh Little and secure a 24-run victory.

Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd took three wickets each for the West Indies and they were supported by debutant Odean Smith who got two.

Earlier, Ireland won the toss and put the West Indies in to bat.

Shamarh Brooks (93) and captain Kieron Pollard (69) were the chief destroyers as the West Indies finished 269 all out off 48.5 overs, against three-wicket hauls from Mark Adair and Craig Young.

Brooks was voted Player of the Match.

Well-compiled half-centuries from captain Kieron Pollard and debutant Shamarh Brooks propelled the West Indies to 269 all out from 48.5 overs in the first ODI at Sabina Park today.

After Ireland won the toss and chose to field, vice-captain Shai Hope and debutant Justin Greaves were tasked to open the innings for the home side.

The pair battled to 18-0 from 5.4 overs before Greaves was removed caught off the bowling of pacer Mark Adair for 7.

Nicholas Pooran joined Hope and the pair brought the score to 36-1 after 10 overs with Hope on 17 and Pooran on five.

They reached 59-1 in the 17^th over before Pooran was dismissed, caught on the boundary off the bowling of off-spinner Andrew McBrine for 13.

Shai Hope was the next batsman to go, caught by wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker off the bowling of medium-pacer Curtis Campher for 29 to leave the West Indies 59-3 early in the 18^th over.

Roston Chase replaced Hope at the crease and didn’t last long, becoming McBrine’s second victim, for one, leaving the West Indies 62-4 after 19 overs with captain Pollard joining Brooks at the crease.

After 20 overs, the Caribbean side were 66-4 with Brooks on five and Pollard on one.

The same pair were at the crease when the West Indies brought up their 100 in the 27^th over with Pollard on 20 and Brooks on 17.

After 30 overs, West Indies were 121-4 with Pollard on 26 and Brooks on 27.

Brooks brought up a debut ODI 50 off 61 balls in the 36^th over to move the score along to 159-4.

Pollard followed suit in the 37^th over, hitting consecutive sixes off McBrine to bring up his 13^th ODI 50 off 51 balls.

With 10 overs remaining, the West Indies were 204-4 with Brooks and Pollard looking comfortable on 70 and 66, respectively.

Pollard finally went for 69 off 66 balls in the 42^nd over to leave the Windies 217-5.

Brooks was dismissed narrowly short of a debut hundred in the 45^th over, going off the bowling of Mark Adair for 93 from 89 balls to leave the West Indies 238-6 with five overs remaining.

Romario Shepherd was the seventh wicket to fall, caught off the bowling of Craig Young in the 47^th over for two to leave the score at 246-7.

More misery followed as Jason Holder went off the very next ball for 13 to leave the Windies 246-8 off 46.5 overs.

Alzarri Joseph was next to go in the 48^th over for a duck to leave the score 253-9.

Mark Adair was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 3-38 from his 8.5 overs and he was supported by Craig Young who recovered from an expensive start to his spell to finish with 3-56 from nine overs.

Cricket West Indies (CWI), during a meeting of their Board of Directors on Thursday, announced the appointment of former Windies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan as a Selector to the West Indies Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels.

The panels are led by the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Robert Haynes respectively.  Sarwan will be stepping down from his current role as Chairman of the Guyana Cricket Board’s Senior Selection Panel to focus on this role and avoid any conflict of interest.

“I am delighted to confirm that Ramnaresh Sarwan has agreed to accept the post of selector on CWI’s Men’s Senior and Youth Panels. He is a student of the game and knows what is required of our young cricketers in order to achieve international success. The Board of Directors are confident that Mr. Sarwan will add enormous value to the cricket system,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt, reacting to the appointment.

Sarwan, a former West Indies captain who had an international career spanning over a decade, also reacted to his appointment to the panels.

“I want to thank CWI and everyone involved for giving me this opportunity to again serve West Indies cricket, as a member of the selection panels. I’m passionate about the game of cricket and especially West Indies cricket and once asked to contribute, I didn’t hesitate. I look forward to working with my colleagues, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes and Mr Robert Haynes, and the two Head Coaches, as well as everyone else involved in the development of this sport we love and respect so much,” he said.

Sarwan will be a member of the Men’s Senior and Youth Selection Panels until 30 June 2024, a period that includes four ICC Global Events, two T20 World Cups (2022 & 2024), the Cricket World Cup (2023), and the World Test Championship Final (2023).

He played 81 Test matches, 181 One-Day Internationals, and 18 T20 Internationals for the West Indies between 2000 and 2013.

He scored 5842 runs in Tests, including 15 centuries, and 5804 runs in ODIs, including five centuries, and was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in 2004.

West Indies One Day International and T20 captain, Kieron Pollard, implored his team to aim to put together a string of consistent performances on the eve of their first ODI against Ireland at Sabina Park in Jamaica.

Pollard spoke in a pre-match press conference on Friday and acknowledged the criticism the team has received for its frequent inconsistent play.

“A lot has been said over the last couple months in terms of performances by the West Indies team; us not doing well and losing games and it is something that we accept. We want to be able to string good performances together on a consistent basis and that is the nature of some of the conversations we’re having as a team,” Pollard said.

The Trinidadian also explained that finding the right combination can take time so fans should be patient.

“Hopefully the fans can bear with us until we find that right combination and guys in the frame of mind to actually perform on a consistent basis,” he added.

Finding that right combination is also made more difficult by the fact that some of the most talented players in the region have persistent fitness issues that prevents them from being selected to represent the Caribbean side, a notion which Pollard also echoed during his press conference.

“It has been a topical issue that has been plaguing us for the last couple years or so. I think it’s an individual choice. The selection policy is there, the fitness policies are there. Guys know exactly what is needed for you as an individual to represent the West Indies and sometimes as individuals, we tend to take things for granted. Yes, it has hindered the process of selecting the best team at any given time,” he said.

In terms of preparation, the captain says training has been going well and the team is relishing the opportunity to produce.

“We have an opportunity to try and put things right, so for the last couple days guys have been training hard. This is a different format to the ones that we have played recently and we’re looking forward to the challenges for the season ahead, not only this series,” Pollard said.

The first ODI between the West Indies and Ireland bowls off at Sabina Park on Saturday, January 8 at 9:30 am Jamaica time.

West Indies rookie wicketkeeper/batsman, Joshua Da Silva, is eyeing a fruitful regional first-class season in the coming months to secure his place in the West Indies Test side.

The Trinidadian has described his first year as a West Indies cricketer as “up and down” after so far scoring 445 runs in 11 Tests, at an average of 24.72, with three fifties to his name.

The West Indian first-class season is expected to get underway in February and Da Silva, speaking to the Trinidad and Tobago Express newspaper on Thursday, expressed his desire for a big season in 2022.

“The first-class season is coming up and I’m going to work very hard and try to score as many runs as I can so it is not a question of whether or not I will be in the starting eleven,” DaSilva said.

Da Silva has so far made 1317 runs in 28 first-class games with eight fifties and one hundred and wants to build on these numbers this season.

“I will just bat and make runs and let the selectors do their job and given the opportunity, I will just put my best foot forward for the region,” said Da Silva.

He'll be looking to follow up on a fantastic 2019/20 West Indies Championship campaign, which saw him vault into the Test setup after scoring 507 runs from eight matches, at an average of 50.70, with one hundred and three fifties.

Those 507 runs placed Da Silva fifth on the most runs list for that season.