The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today announced the squads for the West Indies “A” Team series against Bangladesh “A” Team to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia from 4 to 20 August. The two teams will play two four-day first-class matches followed by three 50-over matches.
Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper/batter, will lead the team in both formats, with Andre Coley as the Head Coach. The squads feature several players with international experience, as well as others who have graduated from the CWI Rising Stars U19 and CWI Emerging Players teams.
Speaking ahead of the series, Lead Selector the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We stated from very early that we would look to give the opportunities to players and broaden the pool. The ‘A Team’ programme is a very good thing for West Indies cricket and CWI must be complimented for ensuring that we have these matches back up and running and arranging these games in Saint Lucia.”
Haynes added: “The squad is selected for us to have a closer look at the players in the longer format and also 50-over format as we have a lot of international cricket around the corner. We want to give the players exposure and the chance to play ‘A Team’ cricket and President’s XI matches as we had earlier this year as it is vital and much needed.
“Joshua has done quite well so far in his Test career, and we believe he will be a good leader for both formats. We also have a few others in the squads who have played at the international level and performed reasonably well, so we want to see them grow even more and this series against the visitors from Bangladesh will present that golden opportunity.”
The four-day matches will start at 10am (9am Jamaica Time) and the limited-overs matches will start at 9:30am (8:30am Jamaica Time). LIVE ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre while CWI will be LIVE streaming via the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
FULL SQUADS
Four-day “Tests”
Joshua Da Silva (Captain)
Colin Archibald
Alick Athanaze
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Tagenarine Chanderpaul
Bryan Charles
Justin Greaves
Tevin Imlach
Shermon Lewis
Jeremiah Louis
Marquino Mindley
Anderson Phillip
Jeremy Solozano
One-Day 50-overs
Joshua Da Silva (Captain)
Alick Athanaze
Teddy Bishop
Yannic Cariah
Tagenarine Chanderpaul
Justin Greaves
Tevin Imlach
Shermon Lewis
Jeremiah Louis
Preston McSween
Marquino Mindley
Anderson Phillip
Kevin Sinclair
Shamar Springer
West Indies Women all-rounder Deandra Dottin has announced her shock retirement from international cricket in a post on Twitter on Sunday.
“Please accept this letter as my formal retirement from the senior Women’s West Indies team effective 1st July 2022,” she wrote in a letter to Cricket West Indies.
Dottin, one of the most destructive players in world cricket, cited mainly the environment around the team for her sudden retirement.
“This announcement has come with much contemplation as cricket has always been a passion of mine. However, when the fire burns out, one has to take time to reassess their commitment,” said the 31-year-old.
“There have been many obstacles during my cricket career that I have had to overcome, however, the current climate and team environment has been non-conducive to my ability to thrive and reignite my passion,” she added.
The Barbadian then expressed gratitude towards Cricket West Indies, saying “I am appreciative of the opportunities afforded to me and I have ruminated on my decision over a period of time. Playing for the West Indies and representing the region has been an honor.”
“During my 14 years as a player, I have trained at my best and grown as a player physically, mentally and emotionally. It is the combination of this growth that has assisted me in reflecting on what is truly important to me. With much sadness but with out regret, I realize that I am no longer able to adhere to team culture and team environment as it has undermined my ability to perform excellently.”
Dottin ends her international career having played 143 One-Day Internationals and 126 T20 Internationals since her debut in 2008.
She scored 3727 runs at an average of 30.54 with three hundreds and 22 fifties in ODIs and 2697 runs at an average 25.93 with two hundreds and 12 fifties in T20Is.
Wayne Rooney kept his belief in his DC United team as his coaching reign in MLS started in familiar fashion, with a dramatic late win over Orlando City.
Several highlights of Rooney's playing career with DC had come against Orlando.
The former England captain had five goal involvements in three meetings with Orlando, netting in both matches in 2019 – including a stunning strike from his own half.
But the most iconic moment of Rooney's MLS stint came in his first clash with the Lions in 2018.
The forward provided two assists, including a remarkable intervention to snatch a 3-2 win in the 96th minute, with Rooney tracking down a counter-attack – as Orlando's Will Johnson raced towards an open goal – and then crossing for Luciano Acosta's decisive header.
Sunday's coaching bow was similarly sensational, as DC still trailed to Junior Urso's early strike entering second-half stoppage time.
But a pair of late goals from Chris Durkin, in the 91st minute, and Taxi Fountas, in the 95th, ensured a winning start for Rooney, who had been confident the chances would come.
"I told them they'd win the game," Rooney said of his half-time message to the MLS strugglers. "I believed we'd win the game.
"But the one thing we had to do was up the tempo. We were moving the ball across the back and with the goalkeeper side to side, and it was too slow. We were allowing Orlando to shift across and not really making them run as hard as we wanted them to.
"That was the big difference second half, the tempo with which we moved the ball and really made Orlando suffer and work and run.
"When a team's doing that, then gaps appear. We have to take advantage of those gaps, and we did."
It was just the 10th instance in MLS history of a team trailing at the start of stoppage time and still winning, with DC accounting for three of those.
Rooney acknowledged the nature of the victory could be vital for confidence moving forward.
"'Character' is a big word I've used over the last couple of weeks with the team," he said. "We need to be a team which shows a lot of character and fight and togetherness."
Rooney added: "I think [it is important] for the players, more than myself. I think the players needed that.
"This season has to start now. They've had some bad results in the first half of the season, and I think tonight the fashion we won the game – coming from a goal behind, scoring two late goals, the subs who came on were excellent...
"But we've got another tough game on Wednesday. We can't rest and think we've won a game; we have to be consistent, we have to go on a run."
Wayne Rooney began his DC United reign with a dramatic comeback victory as two stoppage-time goals from his team secured a 2-1 victory over Orlando City.
The head coach watched on in a baseball cap as Chris Durkin and Taxiarchis Fountas struck late on, stunning an Orlando side who had led since the ninth minute after Junior Urso's sublime chipped finish.
Durkin fired DC level from close to the penalty spot in the first added minute after the regulation 90 was complete, finding the top-left corner with a first-time finish after meeting Ola Kamara's clever low cutback from the left wing.
A draw would have been a decent result for DC, who sit at the foot of the Eastern Conference, but it got even better as a superb goal won it. A volleyed cross from the left by Kimarni Smith was met 12 yards out by Fountas, and he deftly diverted the ball into the bottom-right corner. It was a team-leading 11th goal of the season for Fountas.
It meant that DC United won an MLS game after trailing at half-time for the first time since March 7 2020, when they did so against Inter Miami. That dismal 25-game barren run is over, with the Rooney impact already being felt.
The record goalscorer for Manchester United and England has joined DC – a team where he also had a two-season playing stint – after recently leaving English club Derby County.
Midfielder Ravel Morrison, recruited by Rooney, attempted 96 passes in the game, and that ranks as the highest total for a DC United player in MLS this season.
Orlando had not lost an away game in MLS when leading at half-time since September 22, 2019, the date they allowed a lead to slip against Houston Dynamo.
A crazy day in MLS saw two 4-4 draws, with Phil Neville complaining Inter Miami had "defended like little boys" as they were held by FC Cincinnati.
Inter required a 97th-minute equaliser from Christopher McVey to rescue a point, despite having led 3-2 entering the final 10 minutes thanks to a first-half Gonzalo Higuain hat-trick.
Brandon Vazquez scored twice to turn the game on its head, leaving Neville furious despite McVey's last-gasp intervention.
"We defended like little boys, we defended naively, we didn't compete, we lacked discipline and concentration," the former Manchester United and Everton defender said. "And that's unacceptable, unacceptable.
"Simple balls into the box we didn't deal with. Simple concentration bits we didn't deal with.
"We are in the stage of the season where concentration is the main thing, concentration will get you to win games of football, and it's not going to be easy; you've just got to defend and do the right things all the time, and defensively we were as poor as we have been all season."
Remarkably, it was not Saturday's first eight-goal draw, as Minnesota United and the Portland Timbers had earlier played out a thriller.
Sebastian Blanco got the scoring started in the first minute, but there was no late drama in this one, with all eight goals netted before the 70-minute mark.
This was the first time in MLS history two matches on the same day have seen both teams score at least four goals, but there was a chasm between the Philadelphia Union and the Houston Dynamo in Saturday's third high-scoring game.
The Union ran out 6-0 winners as Mikael Uhre continued his stunning run of form at Subaru Park, netting either side of half-time for his fifth and sixth goals in his past four home games.
Uhre had also scored twice in a 7-0 defeat of DC United earlier in July, making Philly the first team to win multiple games by a six-goal margin in a single MLS season.
Elsewhere, New York City FC lost ground on the Union in the East as they drew with CF Montreal, while Sebastian Druissi continued his MVP bid by inspiring Austin FC to a 2-0 win at Sporting Kansas City.
"He continues to demonstrate why he deserves that [award]," said Austin coach Josh Wolff.
Bahamian 400m world champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo is looking forward to the challenge of competing regularly in the 200m after officially hanging up her spikes for the 400m event.
Having added the World Championship title to two Olympic gold medals, at the Oregon World Champions last week, the 28-year-old sprinter has expressed a desire to break new ground. As such, Miller-Uibo has targeted trying her luck full-time over half the distance.
These days, however, the half-lap event is not for the faint of heart. Three of the fastest times in the event’s history have been recorded in the last year. Two Jamaicans, Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, and world champion Shericka Jackson have the world record in their sights. It's a competitive field.
Despite the fierce competition, however, the Bahamian is confident about making her mark.
“The plans for me are the 200 which has always been my first love and get back into that,” Miller-Uibo said.
“I have run 21.7 without proper training. Once we go at it, I think we can do better,” she added.
“They’re setting the stage pretty high. I’m so proud of the girls and I think that they’re really showing out right now and showing the world exactly what we can do. I can’t wait.”
The athlete will have her first test next Saturday when she faces Jackson in Poland.
Jamaican World 200m Champion Shericka Jackson got back to winning ways in the shorter sprint with victory at the Meeting Internazionale di Atletica Leggera in Italy on Saturday.
Jackson, who also took silver in the 100m at the recently concluded World Athletics Championships in Eugene, ran a modest, by her standards, 11.13 into a -0.2 m/s headwind to take the win ahead of fellow Jamaicans Natasha Morrison (11.31) and Shokoria Wallace (11.36).
In the 400m, Junelle Bromfield produced 52.35 for a comfortable victory ahead of Ukraine’s Kateryna Karpyuk (53.10) and Slovakia’s Alexandra Bezekova (54.27).
Former national record holder Rusheen McDonald ran 46.56 for second in the men’s equivalent behind Canada’s Cole Austin (45.51). Italy’s Giuseppe Leonardi was third in 47.43.
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran believes the team must be better at managing the game’s big moments following a 68-run loss to India in the first of five T20 internationals on Friday.
Despite switching formats, the Caribbean team failed to snap its losing streak against India after skipper Rohit Sharma's quickfire 64, from 44 deliveries, laid the platform for India to post a challenging 190. The team was also boosted by an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls from Dinesh Karthik.
In pursuit of the target, the Windies failed to put any significant partnerships together and the highest individual total of 20 came from Shamarh Brooks.
Their struggles were in large part due to the efforts of India’s spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi who combined to stifle the Windies at the crease. In total, the trio picked up five wickets.
“We are going to have games like this where we are going to just get shut out. The batsmen did get starts but we didn’t capitalize on those starts. We didn’t win the big moments today and it’s as simple as that,” Pooran said following the game.
The team also made changes to its typical batting order, with all-rounder Jason Holder promoted to three. He was, however, dismissed without scoring by Ravindra Jadeja.
“It was good for us to come out here and experiment a bit. The guys did show up but we need to hold our nerve in big moments, especially when the pressure is on, we need to embrace it,” he added.
The Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) Board of Directors has accepted the recommendations of their disciplinary committee to issue sanctions to the persons involved in the matter of failing to test all four members of Jamaica’s Women’s U-20 4x100 World Record team at the CARIFTA Games in Kingston in April.
Jamaica’s team of Briana Lyston, Tina Clayton, Tia Clayton and Serena Cole sped to a time of 42.58 to break the under-20 world record, however, the time wasn’t ratified due to JADCO personnel failing to test all four members of the team.
In a press release on Friday, the commission announced the sanctions facing the personnel involved.
“All JADCO personnel who had responsibility and oversight for the testing and acted in accordance with internal practice rather than explicit instructions are to participate in a continuous education programme on in-competition testing through a WADA-approved facility as recommended by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sports,” JADCO said in the statement.
The statement continued: “Failure to comply with this directive will result in further disciplinary action in accord with the Labour Relations Code. The current discontinuance of the internal practice which barred repeat testing of an athlete within 24 hours during competition, be made permanent. Each JADCO personnel is to be issued a written warning.”
The Board also explained that they took into account the fact that this was a first infraction for the persons involved.
Hydel High School has received a timely gift of sports gear that includes football boots and goalkeeper gloves courtesy of Champions Football Academy, a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, that has been operating outreach programmes to Jamaican schools and communities for more than 14 years.
Ryan Foster, Chairman Hydel Group of Schools, received the donation on behalf of the school. The donation is a timely fillip for the Hydel Group of Schools that is about to embark on an ambitious football programme aimed at making the school among the best in Jamaica.
The school recently hired veteran coach Devon Anderson, who will lead the initiative.
"Hydel Group of Schools is extremely elated by the support given by Champions Football Academy. Both institutions have partnered through sport as a social tool used for nation building,” said Damion Howell, the Director of Sports at Hydel and a member of the new board of directors.
“These gears will go a far way in restarting the sport at the school since the pandemic and we see this as a good way to encourage the next generation of footballers by providing much needed resources."
Hydel Group of Schools is not only entity to benefit from the largesse of Champion Football Academy, whose mission it is to enhance the lives of children in safe and supportive environments by providing innovative training programs and plant-based nutrition that prepare and inspire them to succeed.
Champion Football Academy also dedicate their resources to ensuring that youth in under-served communities have greater access to quality programs and services that help promote healthy lifestyles, academic success, and strong leadership skills.
Driven by that mandate Champion Football Academy has provided year-round support in Payneland Jamaica. They also host annual football camps and make sizeable donations of gear and equipment donations tor primary and secondary schools, sports programs, and inner-city communities.
Gareth Bale is yet to start for Los Angeles FC, but already "life seems a little bit better" in MLS for the much-maligned former Real Madrid forward.
Bale has joined LAFC after leaving Madrid, where he won five Champions League titles but was criticised for appearing to prioritise his international career with Wales.
The 33-year-old will lead his country into the Qatar World Cup last this year, yet he is first having an impact at LAFC.
Bale has made three appearances from the bench for a total of 71 minutes, scoring against Sporting Kansas City last week.
The former Tottenham man's latest 28-minute shift against the Seattle Sounders on Friday was his longest yet, helping LAFC to see out a 2-1 win courtesy of Carlos Vela's goal shortly before half-time.
After the game, in which Kwadwo Opoku cancelled out an early Jesus Murillo own goal, Bale told FOX Sports: "I think any player will tell you if they have a smile on their face, they enjoy football more, you play better, a bit more enthusiastically, and life seems a little bit better.
"I want to get back to enjoying my football, and I feel like I am on the road to do that, and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead."
LAFC have won all three games in which Bale has featured, but he is no stranger to success. The warm welcome he has received in the United States is slightly less familiar.
"It's hard to pinpoint [why he is enjoying his football], but a happy environment, the fans are so welcoming," he explained. "Even in the away stadiums, they are not so bad, I guess.
"It's just a family, friendly environment, and it's what football should be, the place where you bring your kids. It's not hostile, and it just seems like a great environment in MLS."
LAFC can afford to ease Bale in, as they lead the Supporters' Shield race by six points following this latest victory.
Coach Steve Cherundolo described Bale as "in week three of pre-season" and "probably around a 45-minute range".
The final 18-member squad to represent Jamaica at the Concacaf U15 Girls’ Championship, a developmental tournament, has been selected by coach Tashana Vincent and her staff.
The Championship starts on Sunday and ends on August 7 in Tampa, Florida.
There will be 19 Concacaf Member Associations and one invited nation, Wales, at the Hillsborough County Tournament Sportsplex in Tampa, Florida, playing a total of 44 matches among teams split into two leagues.
Two groups will make up League A, with Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Wales slotted in Group A, while the United States, Canada, Jamaica and Puerto Rico will feature in Group B.
Jamaica will play Canada on Monday at 9:00am and then tackle the USA on Tuesday at the same time. They have a day’s rest on Wednesday and then return to face Puerto Rico at 11:00am on Thursday.
The remaining 12 teams will occupy League B, beginning with Bermuda, Belize, Anguilla and Martinique in Group C.
Honduras, Bahamas, US Virgin Islands and Aruba will form Group D, while Nicaragua, Guyana, Turks and Caicos Islands and Cayman Islands will compete in Group E.
A round robin group stage will take place July 31-August 3, followed by a single elimination knockout round. In League A, the group winners and second-place finishers will advance to the semi-finals, while in League B will see the three group winners and the best second place finisher advancing to a semi-final stage.
The teams that do not advance to the knockout round will be slotted into an additional match to determine final placement. The tournament’s format ensures that every team will have a minimum of four matches played.
The reigning champions of the Concacaf U15 Girls’ Championship is the United States, who claimed their second crown in the 2018 Final with a 3-0 win over Mexico.
Full Squad
West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran insists the team will relish the challenge against India and is determined to be more successful as the tour shifts to the T20 format.
The regional team is coming off a difficult run of matches in the ODI format where it lost its last nine in a row. Recent history suggests the Windies will, however, be far more competitive in the T20 format. The team is in fact coming off a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in 20 overs, before experiencing a reversal of fortunes in the ODIs.
The team has also typically competed well against India in the format, but it is the Indians who have ended up with the lion's share of the victories in recent years. Pooran is hoping that particular statistic will be changed.
“The guys are always up for the challenge against India, they want to show the world what they are made of as well,” Pooran told members of the media on Thursday.
“For some reason, we just turn up and perform well, unfortunately, we haven’t been getting the series wins and that is something that we need to happen. We don’t want to perform as players and the team is still losing. So, the only thing on our mind is to find a way to be successful.”
The West Indies and India will square off for five matches beginning on Friday.
West Indies coach Phil Simmons has backed the One Day International (ODI) team to eventually pull things together after a number of discouraging recent results.
The ODI format has been the team’s least productive over the last few years, having won just 9 of 51 series played in the last 10 years, which amounts to a 17 percent win rate. In the last three consecutive series, the regional team has failed to win a game after being swept aside 3-0 by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
In three of the last four matches against Bangladesh and then India, however, the team at least managed to put in strong batting performances despite losing the match.
“The first two games we batted the 50 overs and looked like we understood what batting 50 overs was about. I think that’s a step forward and we will just have to keep trying to move forward with that,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.
“The bowlers have been doing it in a few games and not the batsmen. Now it’s turned around. So, we’ve got to get everything together. The one plus is that the fielding keeps getting better and better, so we have to put everything together,” he added.
“Everything takes time, the guys have been playing together more and more and we are having a squad play together more and more. That’s what happened with the Test team, the guys played together for a while and now we are seeing the fruits of that. Let’s see what happens with the ODI team.”
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