The key to the West Indies winning their CG Insurance One-Day International series against Ireland will be the ability to maintain wickets in hand in order to launch at the back-end of the innings, according to opening batsman and vice-captain Shai Hope.
The West Indies top-order batsmen have experienced difficulties with the moisture on the Sabina Park pitch, in the first two games of the series, after losing the toss and being asked to bat by Ireland on both occasions.
“We all know that in the morning time, there’s a lot of moisture in the pitch and it’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to win the toss in the first two games,” he said.
Still, Hope emphasized the importance of trying to battle through the conditions, regardless of the result of the toss.
“Whether we win the toss or not, we have to do whatever we do, first, to the best of our ability. The key is to make sure we do it better this game because we know it is a series decider,” Hope added.
When asked about the average batting performance in the series so far, Hope once again pointed to difficult conditions.
“I think anyone who understands cricket can see that conditions aren’t conducive to stroke-play. It’s not a free-flowing wicket, especially in the morning at Sabina Park. It’s just important for us as batters to adapt to that as fast as we can. It’s not easy but we still have to find a way,” Hope added.
Finally, he offered possible solutions for the West Indies' batting woes.
“It’s just important for us to find a way, whether it’s putting the bowlers under more pressure or trying to run more singles in the middle period. I also think it’s important for us to maintain wickets in the middle so we can launch at the back-end because, at the end of the innings, the wicket tends to get a lot better,” Hope said.
The third and final CG Insurance ODI between The West Indies and Ireland takes place on Sunday at Sabina Park at 9:15 am Jamaica Time.
The series is currently locked at 1-1.
Jamaican sprinter, Briana Williams, equalled her indoor 60m personal best of 7.18 seconds to finish third at the 2022 LSU Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday.
After running 7.20 in her heat to advance, Williams finished third in the final behind the American pair of Aleia Hobbs who ran 7.10 for the win, and Mikiah Briscoe who ran 7.17 for second.
Williams had previously run 7.18 in New York in February 2020.
A double sprint world junior champion in 2018, Williams represented Jamaica as a senior for the first time last year at the Tokyo Olympics, running the opening leg on Jamaica's gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team.
The 19-year-old currently has personal bests of 10.97 in the 100m and 22.50 in the 200m.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Friday named an 18-member squad for the One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa Women, at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, from January 25 to February 7.
The touring squad sees a return for Afy Fletcher, the experienced leg-spinner and right-handed batter, who returns from maternity leave.
The squad also includes three uncapped players: Kaysia Schultz, a left arm orthodox bowler, Mandy Mangru, a right-handed batter, and Jannillea Glasgow, a right-arm medium pacer.
The three newcomers were members of the West Indies Women’s A team, which played against Pakistan Women’s A Team last year.
“The South Africa series comes at an opportune time as the team prepares for the upcoming World Cup. The squad has been preparing and building during the past year, even with the limitations caused by the pandemic and hopefully, they can put it all together. The return of the experienced Afy Fletcher brings added variety to the bowling particularly with the absence of Qiana Joseph who has been ruled out due to injury,” said Ann Browne-John, CWI Lead Selector for Women’s cricket.
“In our drive to continue the expansion of our player pool, the panel has included three young, uncapped players. They are Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru as well as teenager Jannillea Glasgow. Exposure to international cricket at this time will most certainly give them the experience and match time needed to develop and grow their individual talents. The panel believes that this blend of youth and experience will work well as we continue our preparations for the World Cup,” Browne-John added.
The West Indies Women are due to arrive in South Africa on January 16, where they will have a training camp ahead of the warm-up and four-match ODI series against the Proteas Women.
Full squad:
Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Anisa Mohammed (Vice-Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams.
St Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) secured their spot in the semifinal of the ISSA Ben Francis Cup following after cruising to a 2-0 win over Vere Technical.
After enterprising play early on Negus Daley gave STETHS the lead when he slipped by his defender at the area and fired the ball past Vere goalkeeper Michael Panton.
With Vere finding it tough to create legitimate goal-scoring opportunities, Michael Jerman made the result safe for STETHS in the 56th minute. After rapidly closing down defender Nevaughn Myrie, the industrious player sprinter away from the rest of the backline before lofting the ball over the advancing Panton and into the net.
Elsewhere, Frome got the better of Munro on the back of a goal from Javel Clarke. The hard-sprinting Clarke finished with geometric precision after being played through on goal from a perfectly weighted pass from Fabian Forbes.
In other matches, a Shaquille Campbell double led Manchester High to a 3-0 win over Christiana and Edwin Allen also moved into the semifinals after a 2-1 win over Cornwall College.
Ireland secured a five-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to tie their 3-match One-Day International series with the West Indies 1-1 at Sabina Park on Thursday.
Ireland’s opening pair of William Porterfield and Paul Stirling got off to a strong start reaching 37 off 4.5 overs before Stirling was dismissed for 21 by Akeal Hosein.
Ireland brought up their 50 in the eighth over with Porterfield on 22 and Andy McBrine yet to score.
Roston Chase removed Porterfield with the final ball of the 10th over for 26 to leave the Irish on 60-2.
McBrine and Harry Tector formed a decent partnership and brought Ireland’s score past 100 before McBrine was dismissed by Romario Shepherd to become the third wicket to fall for a well-played 35, in the 20th over, to leave Ireland at 104-3.
Tector (46) and Curtis Campher (11) were the batsmen at the crease when Ireland brought up their 150 in the 29th over.
Tector brought up his sixth ODI 50 and second in the series off 69 balls in the 31st over but in the same over was bowled by Hosein. Curtis Campher was dismissed for 12 to leave the score on 157-4 with Ireland needing 73 more runs to win from 115 balls.
A long rain delay during the 32nd over meant that upon the resumption of the game, Ireland only needed 11 more runs to win off 28 balls after the overs were reduced from 50 to 36 by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Kieron Pollard removed George Dockrell in the 33rd over for five, with the Irish needing just three more runs to win before Gareth Delaney hit the winning runs off Pollard to close the innings at 168-5.
Harry Tector finished 54 not out for the Irish against Akeal Hosein’s 2-51 off eight overs.
Earlier, the West Indies recovered from being 111-7 to be bowled out for 229 in 48 overs thanks to a well-made 50 from Romario Shepherd and an aggressive 46 off 19 balls from Odean Smith against a four-wicket haul from Andy McBrine, who was voted man of the match, and a three-wicket haul from Craig Young.
The third and final ODI will take place on Sunday at 9:15 AM Jamaica time at the same venue.
West Indies Under-19 captain Ackeem Auguste says the team is confident ahead of the start of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Friday.
West Indies U-19s will open their bid to capture their first title since the 2016 edition when they face Australia Under-19s at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
“I think we’re fairly confident. We’ve prepared very well as a unit and did our own personal training so I think going into the game, it’s important that we stick to the basics for as long as possible and just enjoy it,” Auguste said, speaking to the media on Thursday.
The captain also expressed the sentiment that the unity of the squad is good heading into the tournament.
“I think the camaraderie amongst the boys is very good. We’re gelling well as a unit,” he said.
When asked about the plans for the game against Australia on Friday, Auguste again emphasized sticking to the basics as much as possible.
“The plan is to just stick to the basics for as long as possible, encourage each other, pull each other along, and just play the game hard,” he added.
Out-of-favour Windies batsman Shimron Hetmyer has targeted putting together longer spells at the crease, as opposed to a typically stroke-filled but risky approach that has long been his trademark.
The 25-year-old was left out of the ongoing West Indies series against Ireland, after failing a fitness test a few weeks ago. Since then, the player has been working on the issue in his home country Guyana. In the meantime, the batsman has been preparing for the upcoming season of the Regional 4-day competition with the Guyana Harpy Eagles.
Recently, the player spent 300-minutes plus at the crease during the team’s Best of Best 4-Day trial match at Albion last week. According to reports, in addition to the typical stroke play and skill, the player did plenty of running between the wickets for his knock of 149. He is hoping to put together similar performances at the highest level.
“I just got out there and tried to bat as long as I possibly could, and try to help my team to win in whatever way possible. I try to accumulate, and just to be there as long as possible. It is really something I am trying to bring into my game, instead of playing that flashy innings and just batting a couple of balls,” Hetmyer told the Guyana Times.
“I just try to be there as long as possible, and just help my team. Even if we cannot win it, I can try to draw it. That is basically along the lines I am thinking right now,” he added.
Over the last few years, Hetmyer has been known for his exploits in the shorter formats. The batsman has not played Test cricket since 2019 and last appeared in the regional four-day tournament in 2020.
The West Indies have set Ireland 230 to win the second ODI at Sabina Park thanks to crucial late knocks from Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith.
West Indies played the same eleven as the first ODI for the second match, while Ireland made two changes with Paul Stirling and Neil Rock coming in for regular captain Andrew Balbirnie and wicketkeeper/batsman Lorcan Tucker who both returned positive COVID-19 tests on Tuesday.
Ireland won the toss and chose to field and the West Indies opening pair of Shai Hope and Justin Greaves battled difficult conditions on the Sabina Park pitch to still be at the crease in the 10th over before Hope was dismissed by Craig Young for 17 to leave the Windies at 38-1.
After the first powerplay, the West Indies were 39-1 with Greaves not out on eight and Nicholas Pooran yet to score.
Young got his second wicket in the 12th over with a beauty to remove Justin Greaves for 10 to leave the score on 42-2 off 11.2 overs.
The West Indies troubles escalated when Pooran became Young’s third victim in the 14th over, for one, to leave the home team on 43-3 off 13.5 overs.
After 20 overs, the West Indies were 58-3 with Roston Chase (6) and Shamarh Brooks (10) attempting to rebuild the innings.
Chase was next to go for 13 after a brilliant catch by acting captain Paul Stirling off the bowling of Andy McBrine to leave the West Indies on 91-4 after 26 overs.
The West Indies lost their fifth wicket soon after as captain Kieron Pollard was dismissed for one by McBrine to leave the score at 93-5 after 27.1 overs.
Shamarh Brooks (36) and Jason Holder (2) were the batsmen at the crease when the West Indies brought up their hundred in the 30th over, ending that over on 103-5.
Jason Holder became the sixth wicket to fall for three off the bowling of Josh Little in the 31st over to leave the score 104-6.
Brooks followed up his 93 from the first ODI with a well-played 43 before he was dismissed in the 34th over by George Dockrell, to leave the West Indies struggling at 111-7.
Akeal Hosein was the eighth wicket to fall, going caught on the boundary off the bowling of McBrine for 11 to leave the West Indies on 143-8 after 39.4 overs.
Smith came to the crease and hit back-to-back sixes off McBrine to help the West Indies get to 155-8 after 40 overs with Smith on 12 and Shepherd on 22.
A brilliant partnership from Smith (46) and Shepherd (28) allowed West Indies to bring up their 200 in the 44th over.
Smith’s innings came to an end at the start of the 45th over when he was dismissed by Josh Little for 46 off just 19 balls to leave the West Indies 201-9.
Shepherd brought up a wonderful 50 off 40 balls in the 48th over before he was dismissed off the very next ball to end the innings with the West Indies being bowled out for 229 in 48 overs.
Andy McBrine was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-36 off his 10 overs and he was well supported by Craig Young who took 3-42 off eight overs.
West Indies Under-19s suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of South Africa Under-19s in their final ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup Warm-up fixture in Guyana on Wednesday.
South Africa Under-19s won the toss and elected to field first, which proved to be a good move as they were able to restrict West Indies Under-19s to 189 all out in 43.2 overs.
Captain Ackeem Auguste with 52 and wicketkeeper/batsman Carlon Bowen-Tuckett with 45 were the chief scorers for the Windies against 3-36 off four overs from Matthew Boast and 2-14 off five overs from Michael Copeland.
The South Africans then only needed 35.3 overs to reach their target, finishing 191-7 thanks to half-centuries from captain George Van Heerden (61) and Dewald Brevis (50) as well as 36 from Ethan-John Cunningham.
McKenny Clarke took 3-34 off five overs and Anderson Mahase took 2-31 off eight overs for the Windies.
West Indies will open their World Cup campaign against Australia Under-19s at Providence Stadium on Friday, January 14, while South Africa Under-19s will play their opener against India Under-19s at the same venue one day later.
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Michael Ricketts, has been ordered to pay $9m in a default judgment handed down by the Supreme Court.
The ruling, issued on Wednesday, found Ricketts to have acted with malice when he made comments, which amounted to a homophobic slur, against Sporting Central CEO Ainsley Lowe on local radio in 2016.
The JFF president did not contest the charging when the case was brought against him in May 2017 and has now found out the price tag on the judgment. Ricketts has been ordered to pay general damages in the amount of $8m and aggregated damages of $1m. In addition, Ricketts will have to issue a public apology via the same radio station the offense was made and issue an apology, approved by the claimant's attorneys, in a Jamaica Gleaner publication before January 22.
Ricketts' derogatory comment came after Lowe challenged him for the post of Clarendon FA president in 2016. Lowe claimed the election was run unconstitutionally and should have been declared null and void.
Garvey Maceo and Mannings will contest the final of the 2022 ISSA daCosta Cup after dramatic semifinal wins at the STETHS Sports Complex.
In the doubleheader, Garvey Maceo stunned a more heavily favoured Clarendon College 3-2, while Mannings battled to a hard-fought penalty shootout win against highflying Dinthill.
In the opening match, Mannings seemed well on the way to a win in regular time after Jahmaleek Porter's 55th-minute header remained buttressed by a stubborn defense line with less than 10 minutes remaining.
In the 83rd minute, however, Shamair Hutchinson pulled the teams level after firing wide of Mannings goalkeeper Ashwani Campbell, who had a stubborn display between the sticks all game.
Mikhail Romans who replaced Campbell heading into the penalty shootout came up with heroics of his own in a 4-2 shootout win, after stopping the shot of Hutchinson, to push Mannings to their first-ever final.
In the second match, Clarendon College proved to be their own worst enemy early on, after a defensive mix-up gifted Gregory Cousins with an open net one minute into first-half stoppage time. The underdogs doubled their lead soon after the resumption after Cleo Clarke slammed a low fierce shot into the net in the 46th minute.
Jaheim Rose gave Clarendon College a lifeline in the 51st minute with a goal from the penalty spot, but Clarke scored again in the 80th to put the game out of reach. Damion Abrahams corner went straight into the with five minutes left to give the defending champions faint hope but the goal proved to be a mere consolation.
Legendary West Indies captain Clive Lloyd was knighted by the British Royal Federation, on Wednesday, after the ceremony was previously postponed due to Covid-19.
Lloyd the former two-time World Cup-winning captain was honoured with a CBEs (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to the sport of cricket.
The Guyana-born batsman played for the English County cricket club of Lancashire between 1968 until 1986. During that time the team won two One-Day League titles in 1969 and 1970 and four Friends Provident Trophy titles between 1970 and 1975.
Lloyd captained the West Indies between 1974 and 1985 and is one of the most successful Test captains in the sport’s history. During his captaincy, the team had a run of 27 matches without defeat, which included 11 wins in a row. Lloyd was also named Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1979.
After retiring from the sport, Lloyd went on to manage the West Indies in the late 1990s and also served as a member of the team's panel of selectors. For his exploits, Lloyd was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul has his heart set on a return to international cricket after closing in on peak physical condition.
Despite being one of the region’s top prospects, the 23-year-old has not played for the West Indies since 2020. Paul opted out of the team’s tour of England in 2020 but appeared against New Zealand in T20 internationals at the end of that same year. He has not been seen on the international stage since.
The player has, however, in the meantime taken part in a few T20 leagues and with the regional 4-day tournament looming on the horizon, Paul will be looking to make a statement. According to reports, the player recently turned in excellent scores in a fitness test conducted in Guyana recently.
“I am feeling excellent, I think I needed this to get back out there and bowl a few overs to get the feel of four-day cricket. My body is responding really well and for me personally, I am feeling really happy with where I am right now. I bowled a few overs on the trot, I was not feeling tired, I just wanted to put a few balls in the right area and it’s coming out really nice and I am happy with that,” Paul recently told the Guyana Times.
“I was in the Sri Lankan Premier League, it was not the best of tournaments for me, but it is always a learning experience for me; you go to these different leagues in the different continents and you play on different pitches, you gain a lot of experience so that was a major learning curve for me,” he added.
“My body is starting to feel like where it was when I first started playing. I am in the gym and I am trying not to worry about injuries. I just want to try and enjoy my cricket as best as I can. I want to represent my country and hopefully, back to the West Indies team sometime soon.”
In the 2018-2019 season, his last full season in the four-day competition Paul claimed 42 wickets in 10 matches, while scoring 260 runs.
Jamaican central defender Damion Lowe and Egyptian club Al-Ittihad Alexandria have officially parted ways after both parties agreed to terminate his contract.
The 28-year-old Lowe joined the club on a free transfer on a two-year deal in November 2020 after a short stint with Phoenix Rising in the United Soccer League (USL) came to an end.
Since joining the club, Lowe has made 32 appearances over one-and-a-half seasons, scoring two goals while helping the team to nine clean sheets.
Lowe started his professional career with Reading United in USL League Two in 2013 before getting drafted by MLS outfit Seattle Sounders a year later.
During his time with the Sounders, he was loaned out to Seattle Sounders FC 2 and Minnesota United before moving on to Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2017.
He then got his first taste of European club football with Norwegian club IK Start from 2017-2020.
After terminating his contract with Start, he returned to Phoenix Rising in September 2020 then moved to Al-Ittihad of Alexandria in November that same year.
MLS team Inter Miami CF is likely Lowe’s next destination based on reports that he has undergone a medical with them.
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