West Indies Women’s team will play four One-Day Internationals against South Africa Women in Johannesburg from January 28 to February 6 as part of their preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. 

Ahead of the first ODI West Indies will have a warm-up match against a South Africa XI on January 25.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Wednesday confirmed a revised schedule as both teams finalize preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup to be played in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.

West Indies Women were previously scheduled to play three T20 Internationals and five One Day Internationals against South African Women from January 15 to February 6. 

All matches in South Africa will be played in a bio-secure environment at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, a venue close to the teams’ hotel which has been secured for exclusive use due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“There has been a lot of hard work and collaboration with our friends at Cricket South Africa regarding this tour and we are very pleased that we have been able to confirm this rescheduled ODI Series, allowing us to play vital high-level international competition and complete preparations ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. We are extremely grateful to both CSA’s and CWI’s operational and medical teams for their efforts in confirming the schedule and we look forward to an exciting ODI series,’’ CWI CEO Johnny Grave said.

West Indies Women’s head coach Courtney Walsh says the tour is a good opportunity for the team to get valuable matches in.

“This tour will give us a chance to get some cricket in before the World Cup, especially since we have played less cricket than anticipated following the cancellation of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe. This tour will show us exactly what we need to fine-tune before departing for New Zealand so that when we get there, we can hit the ground running and give a proper showing of ourselves on the world stage,” Walsh said.

The series will feature two-day matches and two day/night matches under lights.

The day matches start at 4 am Eastern Caribbean time/3 am Jamaica time and the day/night matches at 8 am Eastern Caribbean time/7 am Jamaica time.

Jamaica Reggae Boy Junior Flemming has secured a move to French Ligue 2 club Toulouse FC.

The forward, who has spent the last year at USL Championship club Birmingham Legion where he scored six goals and notched three assists, made things official earlier this week after signing a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

At the moment, the move will be even more intriguing for the Jamaican as he faces the prospect of being able to compete in Ligue 1 by next season.

Toulouse are currently in second place in Ligue 2, having won 10, drawn seven, and lost just two of their first 19 matches this season. If the club manages to secure a top-two finish in the league this season, Flemmings and Toulouse would move up to play in Ligue 1 next season.

Legion FC general manager Jay Heaps described the transfer as an exciting one for the player and believes it illustrates the quality the club has to offer.

“We are excited for Junior to have this opportunity to join a club of Toulouse FC’s caliber,” Heaps said.

“We feel this transfer highlights the quality within Legion FC and across the USL Championship, while also setting our club up for success moving forward.”

Flemmings has played 19 games for Jamaica’s national team, managing to score 2 goals.  The player has featured regularly for the country in its ongoing World Cup qualification campaign.

Head coach of the Guyana Eagles, Esuan Crandon, has reported that the majority of the players re-taking the Yo-Yo fitness test earlier this week improved their scores but remains perplexed at the reason fitness has become such an issue for some players.

A group consisting of Shimron Hetmyer, Chandrapaul Hemraj, and Keemo Paul were reportedly among those present for the drills, which took place on Monday at the Leonora Stadium. 

Hetmyer sent tongues around the region wagging earlier this week after it was revealed that the player was left out of the West Indies squad for the upcoming series against Ireland and England, after failing another fitness test.  The situation left head coach Phil Simmons notably frustrated.

According to Crandon, some members of the team have received higher scores this time around, but it seems clear that many of the players were still not at the required fitness levels.

“I think what we have seen today is some improvement from the guys, probably not what we were looking for but at the end of the day, most of them, about 97-98 percent would have improved on their previous scores (in the yo-yo test) so that is a good sign for us, and it also tells the entire group that once you put in the work, you will improve,” Crandon told the Guyana Times.

“It is simple as that. I do not understand why it is difficult for some of these players to understand. You are professionals and they have to put in the work to get to the level of fitness we are looking at.”

The coach revealed that there could be another test in a few days for players who were still not at the required level.  The team is currently in preparation for the regional Regional 4-Day Tournament next month.

Promising young USA sprinter, Trayvon Bromell, has hailed the positive impact of Jamaican track icon Usain Bolt and compatriot Yohan Blake, particularly during the low point of his career.

The 25-year-old Bromell, who showed prodigious talent as a junior, suffered several injury setbacks early in his senior career.  The sprinter announced himself as one for the future after finishing third in the 100m at the 2015 Beijing World Championships.  Just a few years later, however, Bromell had gone through two ankle surgeries, the second putting him out of track and field for up to two years.  He then tore an adductor soon after his return in 2019.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was held in 2021, was supposed to be a comeback year for the American sprinter.  After qualifying for the Olympics, however, he subsequently failed to make the final and was left despondent.  According to the American, Blake, who himself suffered career-threatening injuries during his time, was the first to reach out.

 “It’s been humbling and an honour for them to even support me and they’ve helped me through hard times. After the Games, Yohan came and sat down with me in Tokyo and told me how proud he was of my comeback,” Bromell told Essentially Sports.

The young runner has also received encouragement from Bolt and spoke glowingly of his strong connection to the duo.

“I’ve got a real strong connection with both Usain and Yohan,” said the US Sprinter. “I’ve talked to both of them during this process when I’ve been coming back.”

Former Liverpool and England international, John Barnes, would be open to a second stint coaching the Jamaica national team should the right conditions present themselves.

Barnes coached the Jamaica Reggae Boyz between 2008-2009.  During the period, Barnes coach the team for nine matches, posting 6 wins and 3 draws and going on to win the Caribbean Cup.  The result saw the team secure qualification to the Concacaf Gold Cup but Barnes and the JFF unexpectedly parted ways before the team took part in the tournament.

Looking back, the Jamaica-born Barnes admits he would have loved to have coached the team at a major tournament.

“We won the Caribbean Cup and it’s a fantastic trophy to win, it’s a trophy. The Gold Cup was the big one, that is one of my biggest regrets that I wasn’t given that opportunity,” Barnes told Tallawah TV.

Barnes was later replaced by Theodore Whitmore.  But after a poor start to the World Cup qualifiers last year, however, the JFF has now sacked Whitmore and appointed his assistant Paul Hall to the interim post.  The position could, as a result, become open in the near future.

"I don’t know if it’s unfinished business but that’s one regret that I wasn’t able to go to a big tournament with Jamaica,” Barnes added.

“It’s not about tournaments it’s about every football game you play, going out there and showing what you can do, be it a friendly against Cayman or be it a Gold Cup or a World Cup qualifier and having that same attitude in every single game, every single training session, that is what I love to do, so who knows what the future holds.”

Everton forward Demarai Gray is reportedly close to finalising a move to represent Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz pending the approval of official documents.

The 25-year-old player, who qualifies to represent the country by virtue of having Jamaican parents, is one of a number of footballers with Jamaican heritage approached by the JFF in recent times, as the team looks to bolster its chances of qualifying for the World Cup.  Gray has earned 21 caps for the England U21 team but has never played for the senior team.  He is expected to secure his passport in a few weeks.

So far, the likes of West Ham’s Michail Antonio, Reading’s Liam Moore, and Fulham’s Bobby Reid to name a few have all already shown up to represent the Reggae Boyz in the World Cup qualifiers.  The team did not get off to a great start.  With eight matches played Jamaica are currently sixth in the eight-team table and seven points off the final qualifying spot.

The Jamaicans are looking to get back to the World Cup for the first time since their historic qualification in 1998.  After a slow start, the team parted ways with longtime coach Theodore Whitmore and handed the job to assistant coach Paul Hall in December.  Both men were part of the team’s historic World Cup qualification campaign.  The Reggae Boyz will be back in action on the 27^th of January with a crucial home fixture against Mexico.

West Indies legend, Viv Richards, has called for there to be more accountability across the board when it comes to the affairs of the regional team, including the performances of coaches.

The West Indies men’s team, which is coached by former player Phil Simmons, has been plagued by poor performances in recent months.  At the T20 World Cup the team, who entered the tournament as defending champions, were less than inspiring and crashed out after finishing 5^th in Group 1 after winning just one match and losing four.

The performance was followed by lopsided defeats in Sri Lanka for the Test team and Pakistan.  The Women’s team, who appointed former fast bowler Courtney Walsh two years ago after a string of poor results, have in the meantime won two of their last three series.

  “We’ve got to start calling on the coaches a bit more in my opinion for performances, and to have a level at some point regarding performances, where you’d say that last year we were here at that level and where we want to be next year, so I am looking for stuff like that sort of improvement,” Richards recently told the Good Morning Jojo radio program.

 “I think I am looking for that sort of improvement, which I am not seeing at the moment,” he said.

At the same time, the former player, known as the Master Blaster in his prime, also believes that there was also the need for more transparency and equality as it relates to players' selection based on fitness standards.

“There are times we play to people’s affairs and not overall in terms of the team in itself because no one or two or three individuals make up a team in itself. It’s about the solidness, and everyone being on board, and just how you dish out the treatment, I think it needs to be a little fairer in my opinion. It gives everyone an opportunity and where the fitness is concerned, that seems to be lacking for years now,” he said.

Reggae Boyz striker Shamar Nicholson and central defender Allyson Swaby were named by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) as their 2021 Male and Female Player of the year, respectively, on Monday.

Nicholson, who recently completed a move from Belgian Pro League team Charleroi to Russian Premier League outfit Spartak Moscow, scored three goals in 11 appearances for the Reggae Boyz in 2021.

The former Boy’s Town attacker has been in sensational form this season scoring 13 goals in 18 games for Charleroi before making the move to Spartak.

Swaby, who captained the Reggae Girlz for the first time this year, was part of a Roma team that won their first major Women’s trophy in May by defeating AC Milan on penalties in the Copa Italia final after keeping a clean sheet.

On December 21, it was announced that Swaby would be joining National Women’s Soccer League expansion team Angel City FC following the completion of the Supercoppa Italiana this January.

Nicholson will miss the Reggae Boyz January 20, friendly with Peru in Lima but could next be in action for the Boyz on January 27 when they play Mexico in a World Cup Qualifying fixture, while Swaby's Reggae Girlz will next see action in the CONCACAF Women's Championship beginning on February 17.

The Youth One-Day-International series between West Indies Under-19s and South Africa Under-19s ended in a 2-2 draw after the Caribbean outfit secured a 19-run win in the fourth and final match at Arnos Vale on Monday.

For the fourth game in a row, West Indies U19 captain Ackeem Auguste won the toss, this time choosing to bat first.

In another disappointing batting display, West Indies U19s could only manage 126 all out in 35 overs.

Teddy Bishop top scored with 43 and Rivaldo Clarke added 30, against 4-11 from leg-spinner Dewald Brevis and two wickets each from pacers Matthew Boast and Aphiwe Mnyanda.

South Africa U19s were then skittled out for 107 in 23.5 overs to go down by 19 runs.

Mnyanda top-scored with 20 while Boast (11) and Valentine Kitime (13) were the only other batsmen to get double figures against 3-34 off eight overs from pacer Johann Layne, 3-23 off six overs from medium-pacer McKenny Clarke, and 3-14 off 2.5 overs from left-arm spinner Jaden Carmichael.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the start of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup on January 14^th in the Caribbean.

West Indies U19s will play Australia U19s in their first game at Providence in Guyana on January 14^th while South Africa U19s will square off against India U19s at the same venue a day later.

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is expecting more energy and enthusiasm from a new-look squad as the team bowls off the year with series against Ireland and England.

The Caribbean team has endured a disappointing few months on the back of a disastrous showing at the T20 World Cup, followed by defeats in Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

 A few of the team’s most experienced players have retired following a lackluster showing at the World Cup and the team did not select a few other regulars for the tour of Pakistan.  Despite a 3-0 T20 series loss in Pakistan, Simmons was encouraged by the team’s fervor.

“The way we started in Pakistan is the way we want to play now, have a lot more energy, more enthusiasm,” Simmons told members of the media earlier this week.

“It's a young group of guys and we are trying to mould them and get them into a winning frame of mind.  We want to win, and we want to do everything that it takes to win,” he added.

The team will see the likes of Brandon King and Odean Smith returning a potential debut for Justin Greaves and spinner Gudakesh Motie set to earn a second cap.

Six England players currently taking part in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) have been asked to return home by the England Cricket Board (ECB).

The decision has been taken with the team’s upcoming tour of the West Indies in mind, and with consideration to rising coronavirus cases.  With the series scheduled to get underway in Barbados on January 22, all the players are expected to be back in England on January 7.

In a statement, released on Sunday, the ECB confirmed that the players were expected to be released by their clubs.  The list includes George Garton, Reece Topley, Sam Billings, James Vince, and Tymal Mills.  Chris Jordan had already left the country.

"The six English players currently playing in the KFC BBL who have been selected for England’s T20 International series against the West Indies will be returning to the UK by January 7,” the release read.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) president, Ricky Skerritt, insists the organisation will find some appropriate way to honour legendary batsman Chris Gayle after the player was left out of the team's T20 squad for Ireland and England.

Shortly after the team’s unceremonious exit from the World Cup, the hard-hitting left-hander had let on that the reason that he had not announced his retirement at the World Cup was that plans were already underway for a final farewell match.

Two weeks ago CWI Chief Executive Officer Johnny Grave stated on radio that the one-off match against Ireland would represent the perfect opportunity to honour the batsman.  Gayle was, however, later left out of the squad by the newly appointed selectors.  Skerritt insists the plan was never for the player to be picked for the match and that the CWI had not yet finalised plans for a farewell event.

"We're not defining what such a game (farewell) will look like. The planning has not yet commenced," Skerritt told Cricbuzz.

He insists, however, that the idea remained on the cards to honour the record T20 runs scorer.

"Gayle has been a phenomenal performer for Jamaica and the West Indies since he was a teenager. He deserves to be thanked and honored by fans. CWI will find the right way to make that happen in a manner that Chris can enjoy."

Former West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman, Denesh Ramdin, is now under new management after signing with Sophie Claire Management.

Ramdin was a member of the West Indies T20 World Cup sides in 2012 and 2016.  Claire reacted to the signing on her Instagram page.

“Two-time World Cup T20 winning wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin. It is a privilege to work with people you admire for all their accomplishments,” she said.

The Trinidadian is a former West Indies captain at both the Under-19 and senior levels and holds the West Indies wicketkeeping record for most T20 dismissals.

The 36-year-old scored 2898 runs in 74 Test matches at an average of 25.87 for the West Indies with four centuries and 15 fifties with his highest score of 166 coming against England in 2009.

In 139 ODIs, Ramdin scored 2200 runs at an average of 25.00 with two centuries and eight fifties with a highest score of 169 against Bangladesh in 2014.

He also represented the West Indies in 71 T20 Internationals scoring 636 runs at an average of 18.70 with one half-century