The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Selection Panel has named both 15-man squads to play against Australia in three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from February 2-13.
The ODI squad features two debutants, Grenadian top order batsman Teddy Bishop and Guyanese wicketkeeper batsman, Tevin Imlach.
Bishop has impressed with the bat on assignments for the West Indies Academy during the recent CG United Super50 Cup and Academy series against Emerging Ireland. Imlach, who is currently in Australia with the Test team, averages 30.1, having played 26 List A matches.
Justin Greaves, who has recently returned from a hamstring injury sustained in the CG United Super50 Cup in November, gets a recall to the ODI team. He was particularly impressive at the top of the order in that tournament, amassing a total of 403 runs in his seven innings at an average of 80.59 for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
Also returning to the squad are Hayden Walsh Jr. and Kavem Hodge. Walsh Jr. last played in the ODI format in July 2022, when the West Indies played India in the Caribbean. Hodge made his debut in June 2023 when he played in all three matches against the UAE in Daren Sammy’s first series as Head Coach.
Missing from the last ODI squad that won the series against England in December, are Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford, who have both been given the opportunity to take up T20 franchise contracts during this period, along with Shimron Hetmyer and Yannic Cariah.
In the T20I format, Alzarri Joseph, who was rested for the final two T20I’s against England comes back into the team to replace Matthew Forde.
CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Desmond Haynes is anticipating another competitive series in both formats.
“On the back of a series win against England, we are expecting our ODI team to be very competitive in Australia. We have some new inclusions, who have impressed over a significant period and a couple of returning players, who we think will have an impact. For the T20I series, this forms part of our crucial preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup where we are hosts. We are hoping to build on strong overall performances against India and England and to keep improving as we approach the major tournament," Haynes said.
The white ball series will follow the upcoming Test series between Australia and West Indies, which begins on January 17 and concludes on January 29.
West Indies ODI Squad -Shai Hope (Captain), Alzarri Joseph (Vice-Captain), Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies T20I Squad -Rovman Powell (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas
Australia vs. West Indies ODI Series Schedule (Match start time in brackets)
1st ODI – 2 February – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
2nd ODI – 4 February – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
3rd ODI – 6 February – Manuka Oval, Canberra (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
Australia vs. West Indies T20I Series Schedule (Match start time in brackets)
1st T20I – 9 February – Bellerive Oval, Hobart (7:00pm local time/4:30am Eastern Caribbean/3:30am Jamaica)
2nd T20I – 11 February – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (6:30pm local time/4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica)
3rd T20I – 13 February – Perth Stadium, Perth (4pm local time/1:30am Eastern Caribbean/12:30am Jamaica)
Having moved to settle their legal dispute with former selectors Courtney Browne and Eldine Baptiste, Cricket West Indies (CWI) is yet to fulfil its payment obligation to both men and, as such could be headed back to court.
This latest development was revealed by cricket commentator and broadcaster Andrew Mason, who during his recent Mason and Guest show, disclosed that Browne, Baptiste and their lawyers are back in the industrial courts of Antigua and Barbuda, hoping to enforce an order against CWI.
The two former West Indies players received letters of termination on April 10, 2019, shortly after Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow won the Cricket West Indies presidential elections in March that year. The termination letters made reference to a task force that was being established to review the selection system. The task force that was chaired by Shallow –now the CWI president –was expected to make recommendations.
Notwithstanding that the task force had not yet met, CWI fired the selectors ahead of any recommendations that would have come from the task force. The matter has been before the courts for the past four years, with CWI now seemingly backtracking on its decision to settle and pay all legal costs and 15 months’ payment of the contract to Browne and Baptiste.
Top lawyer Anthony Astaphan, who is working on behalf of Browne and Baptiste gave the latest on the situation.
“No, the matter with Courtney Browne and Eldine Baptist has not been fully settled. There were negotiations between the parties attended by counsel, not me. Mr. West appeared on behalf of Mr. Browne and Mr. Baptiste. I couldn't make it and I think the president of Cricket West Indies was either present or participated and an agreement was arrived at to pay Eldine and Courtney a specific sum,” Astaphan, who was Mason’s guest, shared.
“That agreement on the sums was crystallized into a consent order or an order of the industrial court. Some sums were in fact paid but the full amount was not paid, as a result of which correspondence was sent over to Cricket West Indies.
“I don't believe there was a response, or at least a constructive response. So, Mr. West is in the process now of registering the order of the industrial court in the High Court for the purpose of having to enforce the order against Cricket West Indies by whatever means he may think the most expedient, including executing on the assets of Cricket West Indies,” he added.
Reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Mount Pleasant Academy and English Football League One representatives Charlton Athletic have engaged a partnership with the long-term aim to further improve the quantity of elite players graduating from the club’s esteemed academy.
Mount Pleasant Academy (MPA) is a charitable organization offering talented children from throughout the Caribbean fully-funded boarding school scholarships. The club has also provided two members of the current Reggae Boyz squad, as have the Addicks, in Michael Hector and Karoy Anderson.
The 'Mountain to Valley Partnership’ will provide a clear pathway for young, talented Caribbean footballers to play professionally in London, and will also allow Mount Pleasant to benefit from the knowledge, experience and expertise of Charlton's academy.
Non-Executive Director Paul Elliott CBE MBE, a Charlton academy graduate, who himself has Jamaican roots said the partnership is a strategic one that will prove beneficial to both parties.
“This long-term, strategic partnership will allow Charlton to dramatically increase the talent pool our brilliant academy is able to draw from. A lot of Charlton’s most successful homegrown players of the last 50 years have been of Jamaican origin - including many in the current team - so there is also a really good cultural fit,” Elliott said.
Mount Pleasant’s owner Peter Gould echoed similar sentiments.
“This Memorandum of Understanding is a symbol of the solid partnership and mutual commitment to the development of football talent in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. This will help move regional football forward as young athletes will get an opportunity to hone their skills and develop their talents outside of the region,” Gould noted.
As Mount Pleasant continues to showcase its unique blend of Football and Academics, Sporting Director Paul Christie pointed out that the academy is already fortunate enough to attract many of the very best young players from throughout the Caribbean.
“Our belief is that this partnership with such a renowned London club will make us even more of an attractive proposition for talent. Charlton and Mount Pleasant have long-standing connections at many levels, from our respective ownerships to directors to coaching staff, so we are going to be building on firm foundations,” Christie reasoned.
Charlton’s academy was ranked eighth in England as of 2022 and long-standing Academy Director Steve Avory pointed to quality recruitment as key to a successful academy.
“Our recruitment of talented players in the immediate Charlton catchment area has been a key factor in our success and youth development over so many years. It all starts with talent ID,” Avory said.
“The Mount Pleasant partnership is an interesting, potentially fruitful, link outside of our south and east London focus and I know Bert Dawkins [Academy Recruitment Manager], who has been over to Jamaica to visit Mount Pleasant, is very positive about the possibilities with player recruitment from an emergent CONCACAF academy programme.,” he added.
As part of the various commitments underpinning the partnership, Charlton’s young players will take part in an annual youth tournament at Mount Pleasant’s campus, while the Addicks will host Mount Pleasant’s senior side in an annual pre-season charity match at The Valley.
French star Theleme will revert to the Flat next month in preparation for a tilt at the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The seven-year-old has struck Grade One gold five times in his homeland, including victory in last year’s French Champion Hurdle and successive wins in the Grand Prix d’Automne at Auteuil.
He has enjoyed a winter break since his most recent triumph in the latter contest in November – and with alternative opportunities thin on the ground, the Arnaud Chaille-Chaille-trained gelding is set to switch codes for for his final outing before an intended trip to the Cotswolds in March.
Bertand Le Metayer, racing manager for Leeds-based owners the Gordon family, said: “Cheltenham is very much the plan. It’s probably not ideal as we’ve only got one Flat race that suits him for a prep run and that is on February 23.
“It’s not really ideal, but we can’t really prep him otherwise. I know it’s not the most usual programme, but the French system is not made at all for running on both sides of the Channel.
“The horse has just won a Grade One, we gave him a break after that and he looks fabulous for it.”
Le Metayer hopes a spin on the level next month will give Theleme a taste of the pace he is likely to encounter at Cheltenham, with hurdle races at Auteuil traditionally far more tactically-run affairs.
He added: “The Flat race he is going for is at Tarbes, which is a nice, big oval with a long straight and it will be the first (meeting) of the year, so we expect it to be nice, soft ground.
“Hopefully the race will just give him some rhythm. We have a short amount of time to get him ready and we don’t want to squeeze the lemon too much.
“He’s only been back in training three weeks and we’ve got five weeks until the Flat race, so we’ll give him a nice blow there, jump him over some English hurdles and then take him to Cheltenham.”
Theleme will be bidding to become the first French-trained winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle since the mighty Baracouda claimed back-to-back victories in 2002 and 2003, although Le Metayer feels it is difficult to compare the two with Baracouda having excelled on British soil, as evidenced by four wins in the Long Walk Hurdle, two Ascot Hurdles and two Long Distance Hurdles.
“I actually spoke at length with Francois Doumen, but his ways of doing it were different because Baracouda was not as good a horse in France and he was trained for Cheltenham to the millimetre as that was his objective,” he said.
“The reason we are going to the Stayers’ Hurdle is because we don’t like the prep races (for the French Champion Hurdle) in France as they make you carry top-weight. We have to run in prep races with 72 kilos, which is not something we like doing, so we thought the best way would be to take him to Cheltenham off level weights and also give the Gordon family a taste of Cheltenham.
“The horse has a brilliant mind and he’s obviously a super horse, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just more complicated to prep him for Cheltenham this year than it would be next year because firstly it is unknown and secondly, by next year he will have had a third run on the Flat, so he will have a handicap mark which opens up other options.”
Theleme is a 4-1 joint-favourite for Cheltenham with sponsors Paddy Power alongside the Gordon Elliott-trained Teahupoo, with the latter’s stablemate Irish Point only a point bigger at 5-1.
Prince Zaltar will miss the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday after suffering a minor setback.
Philip Rothwell’s charge has run two fine races in Britain already this season, finishing sixth at Cheltenham in November before filling the runner-up spot behind Sonigino at Aintree last month.
Rothwell had been eyeing a third successive trip across the Irish Sea for this weekend’s feature handicap, but said on Wednesday: “I’m not running. He’s had a little setback, so he won’t go.
“He worked well yesterday, but we just weren’t happy afterwards. I haven’t a clue how long it will hold us up for, it won’t be long I’d say, but we’re not going to make Kempton anyway.
“The horses are flying, thank God, but their welfare is the most important thing and we’ve got to make sure they’re 100 per cent right. If it was an Irish race I might still plan on going, but when you’re going across to Kempton and things aren’t 100 per cent right I’m definitely not going to go.”
Prince Zaltar’s non-participation is a rare blip in an otherwise excellent campaign for Rothwell.
Numerically the Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer is enjoying his best ever season, with a tally of 33 winners and prize-money totalling over €390,000 putting him fifth in the trainers’ table behind the powerhouse quartet of Gordon Elliott, Willie Mullins, Henry de Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell.
He added: “We’re doing really well and getting huge support for a small yard. We’re just trying to turn them over and thrash the winners out as best we can and we’re really happy with how it’s going.
“The last three or four seasons have been very strong and we have a very strong team of staff and people working here in a very small environment.
“We’re very specific about what we’re doing, the whole thing is a team job and I’m just very lucky that the players on my team at the moment are very good.
“We’ve been building this for the last few years and hopefully we can keep at the kind of level we’re at now as we’re not going to get further. I’m fifth in the trainers’ table, we’re not going to hassle the top four and I’m sure some of the lads behind us can pass us at some stage.
“We have 55 or 60 boxes, whereas the lads in front and some behind have 200 boxes. Their average spend is in excess of £80,000 and my average spend is about £5,000, so we’re boxing way above our weight and we’re very happy to be doing that.”
Paisley Park is on course to attempt a fourth win in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on January 27.
Big Buck’s won the race twice while Lady Rebecca won three in a row from 1999-2001, but a victory for Emma Lavelle’s stalwart would see him stand alone as a four-time winner.
In two outings this year the 12-year-old has been beaten a head by Dashel Drasher at Newbury and a short head by the young pretender Crambo in the Long Walk Hurdle – a race which Paisley Park has also won three times in his stellar career.
“He’s great. He’s come out of the race (Long Walk) so well, he cantering away and I just can’t believe he’s run two such fantastic races and just got beaten in both of them,” Lavelle told Sky Sports Racing.
“We’re so proud of him. He’s just turned 12 and we’ll head to the Cleeve, all things being equal.
“It would be nice if he could just get his head in front there, to win the Cleeve four times would be extraordinary.
“I’ve always said he’ll tell us when he’s had enough and clearly his first two runs this year have shown us he hasn’t had enough.
“If he keeps running the way he is then I don’t see why we would necessarily retire him at the end of the season.
“We’ll keep going with him as long as he is happy to keep going and quite clearly at the moment he is very happy.”
Stable stalwart Thomas Darby spearheads Olly Murphy’s bumper squad of horses on Saturday afternoon, with the trainer poised to saddle key runners across the country.
The 11-year-old is part of the furniture at Murphy’s Warren Chase base and was one of the horses who helped put the trainer on the map when finishing second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2019.
Since then the seven-time winner has been a regular on the big days and counts victory in Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle as one of his greatest accolades.
He will now seek another major prize in the rearranged Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Warwick, returning to the scene of his comfortable course-and-distance success in November.
“He’s in good form and obviously he’s off a lofty mark now but he has course-and-distance form round Warwick and seems in good order,” said Murphy.
“He was second in a Supreme behind Klassical Dream and has had success at a high level throughout his career.
“He has been a very good horse, just probably 7lb short of being a proper Grade One horse. But we’ve had some very good days. He’s won a Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury and he’s run well on many occasions at the highest level so to win a nice handicap like this would be great.
“Harry Skelton rides him and if he gets into a good rhythm I don’t see why he wouldn’t have a good each-way chance in a valuable race.”
Sporting the same silks of owner Diana Whateley is Chasing Fire who has always threatened to be a quality operator and is upped in class at Wetherby for a shot at the Grade Two William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase.
“He definitely runs at Wetherby and is in good form,” continued Murphy.
“He’s a horse that hasn’t achieved what I think he should have achieved yet, but it is still really early days for him.
“It will be a competitive race, but we’re looking forward to it and Brian Hughes rides him.”
Meanwhile, Thunder Rock could be tasked with a stiff-looking recovery mission if taking his chance in Kempton’s Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase.
The eight-year-old fluffed his lines when sent off favourite for Cheltenham’s December Gold Cup prior to Christmas and with Murphy toying with the idea of reverting to hurdles, is keen to give his charge another chance to prove himself over fences back in a small-field contest.
“We’re short of options and running him back in a handicap is probably not the right thing to do with him at the moment,” explained Murphy.
“We would rather run in a smaller-field Graded race if possible, but options are far and few between.
“He’s in good form, he just got a terrible fright at Cheltenham last time. If he runs it will be very much a confidence boosting run.
“Unfortunately I think he’s rather well-handicapped but we’re not able to put that to good use just yet. He’ll have a run back over fences whether that is Saturday or not and see how we go, and if it doesn’t work out we’ll go back over hurdles.”
Fontwell’s meeting on Thursday has been abandoned with parts of the course frozen and another cold night forecast.
Temperatures dipped to a low of minus 3.5C on Tuesday evening and were only due to rise to a high of 2C on Wednesday.
To make matters worse there was a windchill of minus 4C preventing conditions from improving.
Given it could get even colder on Wednesday evening all hope was lost that the track would thaw and having originally called an inspection for 8am on raceday, that was brought forward to 1pm on Wednesday and an early decision was made.
Wincanton on Friday is also under threat due to frost.
Having performed a minor miracle to get the course raceable on Saturday, clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team now face a different problem.
The course is currently frozen in places and temperatures overnight could reach minus 3C before racing but a daytime high of 5C offers hope.
The meetings at Doncaster and Leicester on Wednesday both passed inspections before racing.
There were no issues at all at Doncaster but Leicester did need three inspections before getting the go-ahead, the latter at 12 noon.
Fastorslow will have two options at next month’s Dublin Racing Festival, as Martin Brassil looks to put the finishing touches to his Cheltenham Gold Cup contender.
Having inflicted a shock defeat on Galopin Des Champs in the Punchestown Gold Cup in April, Fastorslow proved there was no fluke about that when again getting the better of last season’s Cheltenham hero in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on his seasonal debut.
The trilogy was expected to take place in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase over the festive period, but Fastorslow was withdrawn on the morning of the race due to the deteriorating ground conditions.
In his absence, Galopin Des Champs got back on the winning trail with a brilliant victory, cementing his status in the eyes of the bookmakers as the one to beat in the blue riband at Prestbury Park in March, while trainer Willie Mullins is considering taking in the Irish Gold Cup before the defence of his Cheltenham crown.
Fastorslow is also in Irish Gold Cup contention, but Brassil will also consider the two-mile-one-furlong Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at the same fixture should testing conditions again prevail.
“The entries closed today for the Dublin Racing Festival, so we’ve entered him up for there,” Brassil told the PA news agency on Wednesday.
“He’s in the Irish Gold Cup and we’ve put him in the shorter race as well, just in case the ground came up heavy, then we might run in the shorter race with it being close to the (Cheltenham) Gold Cup.”
Brassil has no regrets about sidestepping the Savills Chase, adding: “It was a horrible evening there, I’d had a couple of runners in the Paddy Power Chase the day before and the ground had well opened up.
“We’ve never ran him on it (testing ground) before, we said we had another option (Dublin Racing Festival) and we said we’d take it.”
While admitting to being impressed by the 23-length success of Galopin Des Champs, he is not shying away from taking him on again.
He said: “He was great wasn’t he? He really was. It’s two-nil at the moment anyway.”
Fontwell’s meeting on Thursday must pass a precautionary inspection at 8am due to the threat of frost.
Temperatures dipped to a low of minus 3.5C on Tuesday evening and are only due to rise to a high of 2C on Wednesday.
It could get even colder on Wednesday evening but there is hope that a daytime high of 4C may help thaw the track in time.
Wincanton on Friday is also under threat due to frost.
Having performed a minor miracle to get the course raceable on Saturday, clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team now face a different problem.
The course is currently frozen in places and temperatures overnight could reach minus 3C before racing but a daytime high of 5C offers hope.
The meetings at Doncaster and Leicester on Wednesday both passed inspections before racing.
There were no issues at all at Doncaster but Leicester did need three inspections before getting the go-ahead, the latter at 12 noon.
This afternoon’s meeting at Doncaster will go ahead as planned but the card at Leicester must pass a third inspection at 12 noon.
Shortly after 7am Doncaster’s clerk of the course Paul Barker was confident temperatures had not dropped sufficiently to cause a problem but it was a different story for Jimmy Stevenson at Leicester.
By 8am the temperature on course had dropped to a chilly -4C but it is forecast to rise to 4C or 5C later on.
The track failed a second inspection at 10.30am but with temperatures slowly rising and a 1.05pm first race, officials are keen to give it every chance.
There are also issues at Wincanton on Friday where clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team have called an 8.30am check for raceday.
The course is currently frozen in places with temperatures potentially going as low as -3C before racing.
An 8am precautionary inspection has also been called at Fontwell ahead of the meeting there on Thursday, also due to frost.
The Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate could be doubly represented in next month’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, with both Hansard and Kamsinas in line for the lucrative handicap.
Gary Moore’s Hansard showed his liking for the Berkshire track when landing the Gerry Feilden in November, since when he has finished a creditable fifth under a big weight in the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Ascot.
Kamsinas looked a potential star novice for Fergal O’Brien after landing a Grade Two prize at Haydock on his penultimate start, but having since come up short in the inaugural running of the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day, he is set for a switch to handicap company.
“The plan at the moment remains for them both to run at Newbury, as long as everything stays okay between now and then,” Fehily confirmed.
“Hansard won the Gerry Feilden on his second to last start and I think the track suits him, so the Betfair Hurdle is very much the aim for him.
“Kamsinas won a Grade Two at Haydock, he was beaten in a Grade One last time out, but I think this race could just suit the likes of him as well. He is a novice and is hopefully still improving.”
Neil King is also considering another crack at handicap riches with his stable star Lookaway.
The seven-year-old completed a hat-trick of novice wins when beating Kamsinas in Grade Two company at Cheltenham towards the end of October.
He then performed with credit against seasoned campaigners when second in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle back at Prestbury Park, only being headed on the run-in by Iberico Lord.
Lookaway filled the same position behind Captain Teague in the Grade One Challow at Newbury over the festive period and Britain’s most valuable handicap hurdle is now one of his upcoming options.
“We have the three options for him now following his huge run in the Challow Hurdle; we either go to Cheltenham Trials Day, back to Newbury for the Betfair Hurdle or the Sidney Banks Hurdle at Huntingdon,” said King.
“I thought Trials Day would come too soon after the Challow but he has come out of the race so well, I don’t think he had as hard a race as we anticipated, he is in great form.
“We will review entries and ground conditions and make a decision as to where we go next, but the Betfair Hurdle is very much an option.”
With a total prize fund of £155,000 up for grabs on February 10, the Betfair Hurdle has predictably attracted a strong book of entries.
Nicky Henderson has six of the 40 possible contenders, with the aforementioned Iberico Lord joined by Betfair Exchange Trophy one-two Luccia and Impose Toi, plus Under Control, First Street and Doddiethegreat.
Paul Nicholls has Elite Hurdle hero Rubaud and Long Walk Hurdle fifth Blueking d’Oroux, while Willie Mullins has three of the four potential Irish raiders in Alvaniy, French recruit Ocastle Des Mottes and Onlyamatteroftime.
Olly Murphy’s Go Dante is one of four early co-favourites with the sponsors and Betfair spokesman Barry Orr commented: “It’s a cracking list of entries and that’s reflected in the market at 8-1 the field.
“Last month’s Betfair Exchange Trophy, which was won by Luccia, could hold the key to this race, with eight of the nine runners entered here.
“The winner looked a different proposition at Ascot and she would be considerably shorter if taking up this engagement, while Onlyamatteroftime, Impose Toi and Altobelli will all be in the mix.
“Rubaud would also be an interesting contender having disappointed in this race last season as a novice but rated 19lb more in this renewal.”
This afternoon’s meeting at Doncaster will go ahead as planned but the card at Leicester must pass a second inspection at 10.30am.
Shortly after 7am Doncaster’s clerk of the course Paul Barker was confident temperatures had not dropped sufficiently to cause a problem but it was a different story for Jimmy Stevenson at Leicester.
By 8am the temperature on course had dropped to a chilly -4C but it is forecast to rise to 4C or 5C later on. Whether it rises in time remains to be seen.
There are also issues at Wincanton on Friday where clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team have called an 8.30am check for raceday.
The course is currently frozen in places with temperatures potentially going as low as -3C before racing.
Following his break over Christmas, Darren Bravo is back with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force unit.
The Red Force players will get the first of just two opportunities to play competitively before the start of the West Indies Four-Day Championship when they play a three-day practice match in Preysal. Bravo is expected to be part of the action.
This was confirmed by Red Force coach and selection chairman David Furlonge on January 2.
He also told the Trinidad Express that Bravo would also play in next week’s North/South Classic, as well as the Four-Day Championship.
The confirmation comes after Bravo announced in November that he planned to “step away just for a bit” following being overlooked by the West Indies selectors for last month’s One-Day International series against England.
In an emotional post on social media platform Instagram, he said he had “taken some time to ponder and wonder” about his future in West Indies cricket, and while he was not “giving up”, believed a break would be the best move for his career.
He gave no clear indication of the length of the break, but said it was proving difficult to continue finding motivation amid the ongoing selection disappointments.
“At this point in my career it’s not easy or should I say it takes a lot to continue to find the energy, the passion, commitment and discipline to be able to perform to the best of my ability and put myself in a position to make my return to international cricket.”
Bravo, who last played for the West Indies in January 2022 in a T20 International against England, led the Red Force to victory in last November’s Super50 Cup, in which he was the leading run-scorer. Earlier in the year, Bravo also had the second-highest aggregate in the four-day competition.
Subsequent to his snub for the England ODI series, Bravo was contacted by director of cricket for Cricket West Indies (CWI) Miles Bascombe about going on the Test tour of Australia, but according to CWI, he declined the offer.
Speaking on the Mason and Guest cricket radio show in Barbados last Tuesday, Furlonge admitted he was “surprised” that Bravo had turned down the chance to tour, but added that, “I know he’s disappointed at not being selected in the 50 overs against England but we have to move on. Hopefully he gets back himself. He has made himself available for Trinidad. We’ll see how that goes from there.”
Furlonge also said: “I respect his decision, I know what he is going through...I believe he will have to start over and have another good year before he’s considered for (West Indies) selection again.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
