Nicholas Pooran has guided West Indies to a series-levelling One Day International victory despite a scare in the run chase against Australia in Bridgetown on Saturday.
Akeal Hosein (30-3) and Alzarri Joseph (39-3) were exceptional in reducing Australia to 45-6 before the tourists rallied to 187.
But the West Indies stumbled in their chase, slumping to 72-5 before Pooran (59* from 75) combined with Jason Holder (52) for a decisive 93-run sixth-wicket stand.
Player of the Match Pooran was crucially dropped by Moises Henriques off Adam Zampa on 26, before making his eighth ODI half-century.
Mitchell Starc, who finished with 26-3 from 10 overs, had dismissed Evin Lewis (1) and Darren Bravo (duck), before trapping Holder LBW but Pooran guided the hosts home.
Earlier, Australia struggled with the bat, with Hosein dismissing Henriques, stand-in captain Alex Carey and Ashton Turner in an excellent spell.
Matthew Wade (36) and Adam Zampa (36) rallied for Australia, before an excellent late cameo from second-gamer Wes Agar (41 from 36).
POLLARD HAILS 'SCRATCHY' POORAN
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said allowing Australia to reach 187 was disappointing but hailed Pooran's determination after a "scratchy" knock.
"What was good this time around was the fight by the guys, Nicholas Pooran getting that half-century and Jason Holder as well," Pollard said.
"Pooran has been looking like his old self again. He was a bit scratchy tonight but sometimes that's what you need in a game like this. You want someone to scrap and I think they both scrapped well for us to come through for a victory."
The West Indies avoided suffering back-to-back home defeats for the first time since August 2019.
Pooran's innings also took him past 1,000 ODI runs, becoming the 39th West Indian player to achieve the feat and the joint-third fastest for the side (Viv Richards – 21, Gordon Greenidge – 23, Ramnaresh Sarwan – 27).
AUSSIES STILL BULLISH AHEAD OF DECIDER
Australia are unbeaten in their past six ODI bilateral series (W4, D2) against West Indies and missed out on the opportunity to seal another victory but Carey remained bullish ahead of Monday's decider.
"Bring on game three," Carey said. "The batting group has a bit to prove to get a good score on the board for our quicks but our quicks and spinners are doing a great job."
The stand-in skipper bemoaned Australia's top-order batting, with none of the top six scoring more than 16.
"Obviously it doesn't help when you're five for not-a-lot," he said. "Wade and the bowlers did a great job to get us to a total and we were back in the game.
"We took some early wickets again and the belief was there. We created opportunities and we were in the game in the back end. Unfortunately we couldn't quite close it out and it proved we were 20 or 30 short."
Nani came up with a crucial assist as Orlando City leapfrogged Philadelphia Union into second spot in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win in MLS on Thursday.
Orlando had taken the lead in the 10th minute from Benji Michel's cool finish and Andrea Perea doubled their advantage in the 58th minute when he met ex-Manchester United winger Nani's right-flank cross.
Philadelphia found a route back into the game when Kacper Przybylko netted with a first-time 68th-minute strike but they could not find an equaliser.
Union came close when City keeper Pedro Gallese made a fine stop to deny Jack Elliott with Jack McGlynn's effort from the rebound hitting the post.
Orlando, who were winless in their past three games, move up to second in the east on 25 points from 14 games.
Union have now only won one of their past five games and are third in the east with 23 points from five games.
Raul Ruidiaz scored a spectacular long-range goal to lift Seattle Sounders back into top spot overall with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Austin.
Ruidiaz moved into the outright lead for most goals this season with his 11th strike, which came in stunning style.
The Peruvian swooped a loose ball, spotting Austin keeper Brad Stuver off his line and expertly firing in from range for the 67th-minute winner.
Austin thought they had a 77th-minute equaliser which was disallowed by the VAR, while Ruidiaz also had a potential second ruled out for offside.
Seattle, whose 13-game unbeaten run ended on Sunday, are up to 32 points from 15 games atop the Western Conference.
The individual who returned a positive COVID-19 test result ahead of the West Indies second ODI against Australia has been confirmed to be a non-playing member of the West Indies staff.
The match between the teams, which was scheduled for the Kensington Oval today, was postponed shortly after the toss as news of the positive test reached the units.
According to the existing COVID-19 protocols all players, management teams, and match officials will return to their hotel rooms where they will isolate before undergoing a round of PCR testing.
According to Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave, a decision will be taken on when or if the match can resume once the testing is completed.
“Everyone will be retested later today. In the meantime, everyone will have to stay in isolation until the results of those PCR tests are confirmed,” Grave said.
“We’ll make a further decision when the match can be replayed at a later date, once all the test results are back in, which will hopefully be by tomorrow morning.”
Australia currently leads the three-match series 1-0, after securing a 133 runs win via the DLS method in the first match on Tuesday.
The second ODI between the West Indies and Australia was suspended due to a positive COVID-19 case. The match was set to get underway at Kensington Oval in Barbados this afternoon.
Australia won the toss and chose to bat first but there was a delay at the start of play. Shortly after, it was reported by ESPN Cricinfo that play was suspended and all persons in the bubble will go into isolation. The identity of the person who tested positive has not been revealed.
West Indies legend and commentator, Ian Bishop tweeted, “Unfortunate. It’s the risk taken in these testing times. Hope the person is not to. (sic) Adversely affected”.
Australia currently leads the three-match series 1-0 and were hoping to close out with a win today.
In game one, Australia posted a score of 252 for 9 in a game reduced to 49 overs. Captain Alex Carey top-scored with 67 while Ashton Turner added 49.
Leg spinner Hayden Walsh Jr. was the pick of the bowlers with 5 for 39 from his ten overs. In reply, the Windies were skittled out for just 123 in 26.2 overs. Kieron Pollard was the top scorer with 56 while fast bowler Mitchell Starc picked up his 8th five-wicket haul, finishing with 5 for 48 in 8 overs.
Phil Neville accepts he is under increasing pressure amid a terrible run of form for Inter Miami but insists he feels the full support of the MLS club's owners.
Inter were thrashed 5-0 by New England Revolution on Wednesday to make it six defeats in a row, scoring just one goal and conceding 13 during that run of losses.
The Herons finished 10th in the Eastern Conference in their maiden campaign under Diego Alonso last time, but they have the worst record of all 27 MLS teams in 2021.
Former Manchester United defender Neville was named as Alonso's successor in January and has won two, drawn two and lost eight of his first 12 league games in charge.
On the back of his side's latest loss, Neville says he does not need the club's owners – who include former United team-mate David Beckham – to tell him an improvement is needed.
"I feel their full support – I always have done," he said of Miami's financial backers. "They don't need to tell me about their concerns because I have the same concerns.
"I've been in football long enough and I know the consequences – that's no problem to me. We're doing everything in our power, we just need better performances on the field.
"I've got great responsibility and I'm accountable for everything that I do. We're on a run at the moment that puts me under pressure."
Miami have the likes of former Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain and World Cup-winning midfielder Blaise Matuidi in their ranks, but they were 4-0 down before half-time against the Revs.
That performance and scoreline against the conference leaders left Neville questioning whether his players had done enough for the team.
"I wasn't expecting it. The players need to take a long, hard look at themselves, and so do I. We win and we lose together," he said.
"Ultimately it's my job to make this team better, and in this moment in time they are not. That's on my shoulders.
"When we suffer a disappointment, we need to make sure that we can recover. That's what football's all about – having courage, bravery, not letting your team-mates down.
"We're not doing that and it's something we've not done for the last six games. It's something we have to rectify ASAP.
"Did they have better players than us? On paper, no, but they're a team and that's what we must become.
"That's all I'm asking for – a team that will fight for each other and look around the dressing room and trust each other.
"That's what I've asked them to do – look in the mirror and ask, 'What are you doing for the team?' Nothing will deter me from trying to be a success at this football club."
Neville guided England Women to their first SheBelieves Cup triumph in 2019 and to fourth place in that year's World Cup, but results between then and his departure had been poor.
Reflecting on a club-record defeat for Inter, who are also on a club-record run of losses, Neville added: "It's the lowest in terms of my feelings after a defeat that I've had since I came to this football club – and we've had some disappointments.
"You can lose games in football, but the manner in which we lost [against the Revs] was… we've said the word unacceptable in the past – it feels worse than that.
"It's a case of playing for your pride, for the badge, for your supporters – I can only apologise to them for what they saw. It's them that I feel for, more than myself or the players, because they deserve better."
Inter Miami return to action on Sunday with a home match against Philadelphia Union, before rounding off July with the visit of Montreal.
Arnor Traustason netted a brace as New England Revolution piled on four first-half goals in a 5-0 thrashing of struggling Inter Miami in the MLS on Wednesday.
The Revolution improved their record, with back-to-back wins, to the best in the MLS with 30 points from 15 games, sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
Inter are bottom of the east, with only eight points from 14 games, having lost their past six.
Carles Gil provided the assist, his 11th of the season, for Traustason's 15th-minute header, before Teal Bunbury fired in a 27th minute goal from Inter goalkeeper Nick Marsman's parry.
Icelandic midfielder Traustason grabbed his second in the 36th minute, whipping in a shot after a goalmouth scramble from a corner.
Gil was crafty on the right side of the box before setting up another goal with Adam Buksa lashing home a fine volley on the stroke of half-time.
Buksa grabbed a double in the 83rd minute as Gustavo Bou put him into space with the Polish striker finishing with class.
Without Javier Hernandez, LA Galaxy came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw away to Real Salt Lake.
Albert Rusnak and Maikel Chang had scored inside the opening 25 minutes to give RSL a 2-0 lead.
Victor Vazquez pulled one back with a top-corner strike in the 33rd minute, before RSL keeper David Ochoa had spectacularly saved a second-half Rayan Raveloson header.
But Madagascar talent Raveloson headed in a 77th-minute equaliser to earn a share of the spoils.
DC United scored twice in the final 10 minutes to rescue a 2-2 draw at struggling Chicago Fire.
Gaston Gimenez's 32nd-minute strike, on his return from the Copa America, and Andy Najar's 61st-minute own goal had Chicago on track but United hit back late.
In the 82nd minute, Yordy Reyna laid off for Kevin Paredes who fired in off the post, before Ola Kamara converted an 87th-minute penalty.
Hungarian forward Daniel Salloi netted a 94th minute equalizer for high-flying Sporting KC to claim a 1-1 home draw with 10-man San Jose Earthquakes who are winless in 10.
Salloi forced home a rebound after Johnny Russell's free-kick hit the woodwork after Nathan had headed the Earthquakes ahead from a corner against the run of play early in the second half.
Felipe Mora glanced on a late winner for Portland Timbers to edge Los Angeles FC 2-1 after Carlos Vela had earlier squared up following Diego Valeri's 100th goal for the club.
Colorado Rapids eased past Dallas 2-0 to extend their unbeaten run, Cincinnati drew 1-1 with Atlanta United and Columbus Crew and Nashville played out a goalless draw.
Toronto drew 1-1 with New York Red Bulls, while New York City edged Montreal 1-0.
West Indies captain, Kieron Pollard, has urged the team to show more fight on the back of a disappointing loss to Australia to open the ODI series between the teams on Tuesday.
Despite the high of coming off a dominant T20I series, the Windies were crushed by 133 runs, via the DLS method. Batting first, Australia made 259 for 9 but in response, the West Indies could only muster 123 all out and were at one stage, 27 for 6.
For his part, Pollard, who only just returned to the team, made a battling 56. In an innings where four batsmen were dismissed without scoring, the captain could have used more of that grit from the rest of the team.
“I was disappointed with our overall batting performance, not being able to chase down 250 from the position that we were in,” Pollard told members of the media.
“I didn’t think we showed enough fight or enough courage. They are going to come hard at us, it’s an experienced bowling attack that they have so we need to fight as a team and as individuals when we go out there.”
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the dangerman for the tourists after ending with figures of 5 for 48.
Costa Rica and Jamaica delivered an exciting, tight game, but in the end, it was Costa Rica who took the 1-0 win and top spot in Group C on Tuesday night at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The game was delayed a little over two hours due to inclement weather, but it had no effect on the explosiveness and pressure both Costa Rica and Jamaica showed within the first few seconds of the match. Neither side wasted any time in starting to look for a goal.
For the first 15 minutes, it was an intense back and forth with some dangerous shots close to the goal that had the fans on edge, but no goals were scored.
The Costa Rica goal was under attack from the Jamaicans during the final minutes of the opening half, but Costa Rica GK Leonel Moreira denied Jamaica from opening the scoring.
It was the same story into the second half, with Jamaica probing for a goal, and in the 51’, Jamaica forward Andre Gray blasted a shot straight onto the post.
Costa Rica answered almost immediately with a play that started with a slide tackle win for the Ticos and a flawless pass from Ariel Lassiter into the box that found Costa Rican captain Bryan Ruiz heading into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to Costa Rica in the 53rd.
Things got complicated for the Ticos in the 72nd when Moreira got a straight red card for a handball outside the box, leaving Costa Rica with 10 men with at least 20 minutes left in the match.
The Reggae Boyz continued to attack and pressure in Costa Rica’s half looking to score again and again, but with no luck, leaving Costa Rica as the group winner.
Western Conference strugglers Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo have played out a goalless draw in the MLS on Tuesday.
Vancouver, who snapped an eight-game winless run with a 2-1 win over LA Galaxy last time out, drew a blank with eight shots but none on target.
Cristian Dajome came close in the 20th minute for the Whitecaps from Deiber Caicedo's ball.
Dynamo forward Maximiliano Urruti had a free-kick hit the post, before Vancouver's Cristian Gutierrez curled wide in the second half.
The result extends Houston's winless run to seven games, having drawn five of their past six.
Vancouver moves up to 11th in the Western Conference with 13 points from 14 games, while Houston are ninth with 16 points.
Pace pair Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood have fired Australia to a 133-run Duckworth-Lewis victory in the opening One Day International (ODI) of the three-game series against the West Indies in Barbados on Tuesday.
Player of the Match Starc claimed 48-5 from eight overs while the economical Hazlewood finished with 11-3 from six overs as the tourists responded after their 4-1 T20I series defeat.
Missing captain Aaron Finch, the Australians had managed 252-9 from 49 overs with the bat, led by stand-in skipper Alex Carey's 67 and Ashton Turner's 49 from 45 balls.
Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh continued his good form with the ball, taking 39-5 for his maiden ODI five-wicket haul.
Australia turned the game with the ball, with Starc dismissing opener Evin Lewis caught and bowled first ball, while Jason Mohammed (two), Darren Bravo (two) and Nicholas Pooran (duck) did not last long either.
Starc and Hazlewood took three wickets each as the West Indies slumped to 27-6 inside eight overs, before captain Kieron Pollard's lone rearguard.
Left-arm quick Starc had Pollard caught by Turner for 56 from 57 balls, effectively ending the resistance with Walsh last to fall to Adam Zampa with the West Indies 123 all out.
POSITIVE DAY FOR AUSSIE DEBUTANTS
Australia got the response they wanted after a disappointing T20I series, even with three ODI debutants in the side; Wes Agar, Josh Philippe and Ben McDermott.
The Aussies were also missing captain Finch, but first-time captain Carey showed his composure and quality with his steady knock after Australia had been in some trouble at 114-4 at the halfway mark.
Starc said about Carey: "He's pretty calm and collected today. He did fantastic with the bat.
"If he had any nerves, that probably helped him settle down. It's nice to get him a win in his first game as captain and three young fellas on debut."
Australia have long struggled in the shortest format but are much more adept in 50-over cricket as five-time World Cup winners.
POLLARD DEMANDS FOR 'FIGHT'
Australia's quicks dominated the early overs with the ball, decimating the West Indies' top order leaving captain Pollard scratching his head.
The West Indies' top five combined for a total of 15 runs, as Starc and Hazlewood bowled brilliantly, while normally reliable all-rounder Jason Holder also fell for a duck.
"The biggest thing is I want our guys to fight," Pollard said. "The ball was swinging but we can't just give it away. The most disappointing factor for me is we didn’t show that fight.
"We have to find a way to get through that first six to 10 overs when the ball is actually moving a lot and see where that takes us."
When asked about Starc and Hazlewood's spell, Carey simply said "wow". He added: "I probably haven’t seen a powerplay like that before."
Portmore United F.C. emerged as 3-1 winners against Tivoli Gardens in the final fixture of match-week four of the Jamaica Premier League at the UWI/JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at the UWI, Mona campus today.
West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard sees more specialist players coming in as replacements for some of the all-rounders, who played in the just-concluded T20 series when the team takes on Australia in the first of three ODIs starting tomorrow at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Australia are hoping captain Aaron Finch can overcome injury to lead the side in the ODI series against West Indies in Barbados, which starts on Tuesday.
Finch twisted his knee while fielding in the closing T20I in St Lucia before going on to score 34 – despite his movements being visibly compromised – as Australia lost by 16 runs and slumped to a 4-1 series defeat.
Matthew Wade is the most likely candidate to take the captaincy if Finch is absent, having done so in the T20I series against India last year.
The 34-year-old opener would be a big miss to an Australia side already without Steve Smith and David Warner, who are injured and rested respectively. Ashton Agar (hamstring) and Ben McDermott (quadriceps) are progressing well.
Australia named an expanded squad for their limited-overs trip to the West Indies to mitigate against the possibility of any coronavirus absentees, although reserves Nathan Ellis and Tanveer Sangha are both bowlers.
Handily illustrating the contrasting state in which both teams approach this three-match rubber, while the tourists are trying to scrabble together a serviceable top order, West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is asking his batsmen to kick on from recent success and post consistently imposing totals.
Shai Hope, Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo each hit centuries in the 3-0 win over Sri Lanka earlier in the year, although each of those successes came when batting second – meaning there was no need for the Windies to extend themselves to 300 and beyond.
"We are looking for the way we batted to continue and improvements have to be made in the middle overs from 20-39 in order for us to get from 280-290 to the 320-330 we'll need against Australia," Simmons said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "We've been discussing that since the Sri Lanka series so now it's time to put it into action."
Finch's opposite number Kieron Pollard is closing in on a return having sat out the T20I series due to a hamstring complaint while fellow all-rounder Jason Holder is set to return after being rested.
Australia need more Mitch-hitting
In the absence of Smith, Warner and possibly Finch, there will be even more onus on Mitchell Marsh. The powerful batting all-rounder enjoyed a superb series batting at number three during the T20Is and his 219 runs were the most by any player on either side. Marsh's ODI batting average of 34.36 is his best across the three international formats.
Windies opener Evin the time of his life
Fresh from plundering an explosive 79 to be named player of the match in St Lucia, thumping nine sixes from 34 deliveries, opener Lewis will be relishing taking his sparkling form onto the 50-over stage. The destructive left-hander followed 65 in the first match against Sri Lanka at North Sound with 103 – his fourth ODI century to stand alongside nine fifties.
Key Opta facts
- Australia have won 10 of their past 11 ODIs against West Indies but this will be just their second 50-over meeting in five years.
- West Indies' last ODI series win against Australia came in 1995; they have lost four of six since.
- Hope has posted a score in excess of 50 in each of his previous six ODI innings, including two centuries. Only Pakistan great Javed Miandad has bettered this streak in history, when he passed 50 nine consecutive times between March and October in 1987.
- Four of Shimron Hetmyer's past seven dismissals in ODIs cricket for West Indies have been against spin, more times than in his 14 prior (three).
- Finch is 69 runs shy of becoming the sixth player to score 2,000 runs for Australia as captain in ODIs. His batting average of 49.5 as skipper is the highest of any player to have captained Australia at least five times.
It almost went unnoticed among Jamaican track and field fans when Jazeel Murphy ran 10.17 in the preliminary round of the 100m at the American Track League meeting in California on Sunday. He would run a wind-aided 10.15 in the final while finishing sixth.
The performance prompted TITANS International Coach Michael Frater to express his pride in the achievement. “Proudest moment as a coach, so far. @JazeelMurphy finally lowering his PB after almost 10 years,” Frater posted on Instagram.
It was some achievement indeed and a long road back for one of the more promising talents from just over a decade ago.
Murphy was once a standout high school sprinter at Bridgeport High School. Blessed with raw speed and electric acceleration, he was among a talented group of young sprinters like Odean Skeen and Kemar Bailey-Cole from the era of the early 2000s, who seemed destined for greater things.
“Jazeel, as a youngster was on several junior teams and ran sub 21 at Carifta,” recalled David Riley, one of the top coaches in the country. “He was one of more the more promising athletes from that era but he had some lingering issues due to differences in his leg length (but) definitely the ability was always there.”
Murphy won the U17 sprint double at the Carifta Games in St Lucia in 2009 in 10.41 and 20.97, respectively, the latter a championship record. He won the U20 100m title in Jamaica in 2011 in 10.27.
Building on his momentum and rising status as perhaps the next great sprinter from Jamaica, the former Bridgeport High School athlete, won another Carifta U20 title in Bermuda in 2012 in a very windy 10.31 (5.7m/s). He later ran 10.29s for fifth place at the World U20 Championships in Barcelona, Spain, that same year.
The future loomed bright for Murphy, who would later join the Racer’s Track Club where it was hoped he would follow in the footsteps of Usain Bolt, who by then had won his sixth Olympic gold medal. However, in the years that followed, through injury and other related issues, Murphy failed to live up to expectations and began a steady decline.
After 2012, when he ran his personal best 10.25 into a headwind of -1.2m/s in Barcelona, Murphy seemed to get slower over time. Between 2013 and 2020, Murphy ran season-best time of 10.25 in 2013, 10.65 in 2014, 10.39 in 2015, 10.50 in 2016, 10.61 in 2017, 10.51 in 2018 and 10.85 in 2020. After almost a decade, no one remembered Murphy or even cared. He had become a statistic. Another of Jamaica's talented athletes who had fallen through the cracks.
Last summer, all that began to change.
Murphy, now 27, joined TITANS International in June 2020, weighing in at a whopping 260 pounds, Coach Gregory Little revealed to Sportsmax. TV. The first order of business, Little said, was to get his weight down under a two-year plan that will see him running even faster in 2022.
“This year was about conditioning and we want to get him up and running next year, getting him back to the feeling of running fast,” said Little, who believes Murphy, now down to about 185 pounds, should be running 9.9s by 2022.
“Hopefully, he can. He is just starting to learn everything about track and field.”
The first signs of Murphy’s revival came at the Olympic Destiny meet on May 22 when he ran 10.35. The following week he ran 10.28 just off his personal best at the time. Another 10.28 followed on June 5.
At the national championships, he ran 10.34 in the preliminary round but only after coming to an almost complete stop after emerging from the blocks thinking there was a false start. Realizing his mistake, he sped down the track but ran out of room and placed fifth.
His next stop was Mission Viejo in California on Sunday where he made the breakthrough, clocking a lifetime best of 10.17.
Little is hopeful that this is just the beginning of a revival for the ages, one that could see Jazeel Murphy take a major step forward in fulfilling his true potential.
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
