Stubborn resistance from Pathum Nissanka and persistent rain frustrated the West Indies on the third day of the second Test, as Sri Lanka closed play on 250 for 8, still some 104 runs behind the first innings target.
The Sri Lankans resumed play at 136 for 3 but the promising partnership of Dinesh Chandimal (44) and Dhanajaya De Silva (39) was halted in its tracks during the morning session. Chandimal was tempted into an attempted hook shot by Shannon Gabriel and caught at deep square leg.
De Silva was given lbw on a delivery from part-timer Jermaine Blackwood, which seemed to be turning away from the stumps. The decision was, however, not appealed.
The rain repeatedly interrupted play after lunch but there was still time for all-rounder Jason Holder to account for Niroshan Dickwella (21), who was caught behind from an inside edge. Suranga Lakmal did not stick around long as he lasted for 9 deliveries before being caught at mid-on by Kraigg Brathwaite off Alzarri Joseph. Dushmantha Chameera became the eighth wicket to fall, after tea, when he was caught by Joshua Da Silva off Holder but Nissanka dug into to reach to within one of a half-century and will resume tomorrow with Lasith Embuldeniya, who is scoreless.
The rain meant that, overall, only 42 over of play were possible at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
England international, Declan Rice, is confident the Three Lions have plenty of firepower to choose from in light of West Ham teammates Michail Antonio’s decision to represent the Jamaica national team.
The 30-year-old striker, who has Jamaican parents, announced his decision to change nationalities a few months ago and is expected to join up with the Caribbean team at the end of the EPL season.
The powerful forward was called up by England in 2016 but has never made an appearance for the country. Despite consternation raised in some quarters, regarding the prospect of England losing the forward, Rice believes the team has plenty of cover and tipped his teammate for success with the Reggae Boyz.
“He’s such a handful. I see it every day in training. He’s so strong. He holds the ball up well. He makes efficient runs in behind. He’s a defender's worst nightmare,” Rice told the UK Dailey Star.
“But look he’s chosen his allegiance with Jamaica now. I’m sure he’s going to have a great time there,” he added.
“We’ve got other strikers that pledged themselves to England that haven’t got in the squad lately who can easily fill the boots of Antonio, so, we’re well prepared with strikers.”
The Hammers star Antonio has seven goals and five assists so far this season, as West Ham are locked in battle for a top-four finish.
Jamaica Reggae Boy, Kemar Lawrence, has accused the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) of cutting the legs out from under the team’s head coach Theodore Whitmore.
Whitmore, who signed a new four-year contract with the JFF in 2018, has largely stayed on the sidelines as some members of the national squad and the JFF have wrangled over contractual negotiations for the past few months.
The coach has, however, on occasion made his frustrations know, mostly as it relates to dissatisfaction with the lack of organisation and lack of resources available for the national program.
In addressing the ongoing issue during a recent interview with YouTube channel Reggae Boyz Commentary, Lawrence highlighted a few of the issues that also impacted the coach. The defender pointed to the fact that the team has only one physiotherapist and one equipment manager as some of the issues that have impacted the unit. Whitmore has in addition requested a video analyst as part of his technical staff but, to date, no such post has been created.
“What Tappa has been doing with the limited number of resources that he has; you want to break that up? Tappa is getting it right and we have a short space of time and he is doing his best to make everything work and the Federation is cutting his legs from under him,” Lawrence said.
“We want them to understand where we are coming from and just be honest. They share things in TV interviews that are nowhere close to what is the truth. Tell the Jamaican people what is going on,” he added.
“The players reach a level where they are fed up. If the (JFF’s) approach is “hol this” then bring who wants to go to the Gold Cup (to play) without 2 or 3 medical staff, physio or a technical coach, because these are the things that will get us to win in the finals, not just being there.
It’s a difference between us and the USA because every time they do well they look at what they have done and they bring more to the table in terms of video sessions, anything to help.”
Whitmore led the team to the 2017 Gold Cup final, the second time it has done so in its history.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite completed his ninth Test century to place his team in a strong position at the close of play on the second day of the second Sandals Test match against Sri Lanka.
Brathwaite needed only two balls at the start of the day to reach triple figures – when he worked the second ball from Suranga Lakmal to fine leg for a single to reach the landmark off 241 balls with 11 fours.
Brathwaite ended on 126 off 311 balls with 13 fours in seven hours and shared a crucial 103-run eighth-wicket partnership with Rahkeem Cornwall, which helped West Indies to 354. Cornwall reached a new highest score of 73 off just 92 balls with 10 fours and a six, to follow up his 61 in the first match last week.
Sri Lanka replied with 136-3 at the close of the day.
Lahiru Thirimanne followed his scores of 70 and 76 in the first Test with 55, which provided solidity at the top of the Sri Lanka order. Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya De Silva then batted through 25 overs in an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership which was worth 59 runs at stumps. Chandimal was 34 not out and De Silva 23.
Jamaica Reggae Boy, Kemar Lawrence. has insisted the current dispute with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is about more than money but also respect and equality for all members of the national team.
For the past couple of months, several members of the national team and the JFF have been locked in bitter contractual negotiations ahead of what will be a crucial year for the national team, which will see it participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and later the World Cup qualifiers.
Initial reports revealed that the parties were far apart on negotiations with the federation balking at, among other things, the player’s initial proposal of US$7,000 per game for the World Cup qualifiers. In response, the JFF insisted it was unable to go above US$2,000 and the parties have been unable to bridge that gap since.
In recent weeks, however, the parties reportedly moved closer to an agreement in key several areas. However, several regular team players remained absent for the recent friendly against the United States, which the team lost 4-1, meaning some issues were yet to be resolved. With the issue sharply diving opinion, some have accused the players of being mercenaries. Insisting nothing could be further from the truth, however, Lawrence pointed to issues of inequality and unfairness in terms of how certain players were treated as another crucial sticking point.
“The negotiations are about more than one thing, it’s not about the money. People are getting injured flying economy across the world and when they reach, they only have two days to train and then play,” Lawrence told YouTube channel Reggae Boyz Commentary.
“The other day when we were going to Saudi Arabia, upon boarding my flight in London, I met with four English-based players who went into business class and they put me in economy. On the way back, the same thing. I play for an elite club in the topflight in Belgium. I have more caps than all four put together and these are the things that cause segregation. Enough seats were on the flight, so what do they leave me as a senior player to think? Where is the level of respect and professionalism? At the end of the day, I have a job to do and I try to do it to the best of my ability. It has happened to me, Lowe, Blake, Flemmings, all of us, and this is not the second or third time that this has happened,” he added.
“Put players on direct flights, business class flights. We need medical staff. How can you have one physio for 24 players? You have one equipment manager, one man, and he is over 50. The JFF doesn’t think he needs some help? Then you have 12 members of their delegation. Why can’t we get additional medical staff and a physical coach on the technical team to aid our coach?” Lawrence asked.
The 28-year-old defender has made some 60 appearances for the Jamaica national team and was a part of the units that carried Jamaica to successive CONCACAF Gold Cup finals.
The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and president Wilford Heaven have re-ignited calls for structural reform, following the postponement of Cricket West Indies (CWI) elections at the weekend.
The election would have pitted incumbent president Ricky Skerritt and his vice-president Kishore Shallow, against challengers Anand Sanasie of Guyana and Calvin Hope of Barbados. The event was, however, called off after a quorum could not be reached, following the absence of representatives from Barbados and Guyana.
The reason presented by both the Guyana Cricket Board and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) is that Cricket West Indies (CWI) had failed to observe protocol by submitting an audited financial statement 14 days before the AGM.
The JCA, through a release issued on Monday, claims the decision to postpone the election, once again spoke to the need for government reform.
“This occurrence which is potentially damaging to the reputation of the people in the Caribbean as well as those in the diaspora highlights the urgent need for change to the structure of CWI,” the release read.
JCA president Wilford Heaven, a part of the CWI finance committee, responsible for distributing the financial report called the inability to reach a quorum regrettable. He claimed that five regional boards had already agreed to waive the 14-day requirement for the consolidated report. The fault, Heaven explained, was that of the auditors and as such there was little the CWI could do.
“We have to ensure that this does not happen again in West Indies cricket. I believe it is an embarrassment to everyone concerned and its obvious that we need for better governance to ensure better leadership,” Heaven said.
“The Wehby report is an outstanding agenda item that we now need to pay serious attention to. It is now even more important given what happened to the AGM.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) vice president, Dr Kishore Shallow, does not expect the recent Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) elections to affect the candidacy of former GCB secretary Anand Sanasie as independent candidates are allowed to run for the post of the presidency.
On Monday, the GCB elected Guyana businessman Bissoondyal Singh to the post of president of the association, with Rabindranauth Saywack and Hilbert Foster set to serve as vice-presidents and Ronald Williams named secretary.
Sanasie is part of a two-man slate set to challenge incumbent vice CWI president Ricky Skerritt, with Barbados’ Calvin Hope set to challenge Shallow for the vice-presidency. Following the election, however, Sanasie would no longer be a member of the board, and as such speculation arose regarding the future of the challenge. Shallow, however, expects Sanasie to be on the slate when the election takes place on April 11.
“Independent persons can be nominated for the post of president and vice-president, so he is not automatically disqualified,” Shallow explained.
“You don’t have to be a voting member or a shareholder to be eligible to be a candidate and that means both his and the nomination of his running mate would stand at this point,” he added.
The CWI elections were scheduled to be held last weekend but was postponed after a quorum could not be reached, following the absence of representatives from Guyana and Barbados.
West Indies captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, batted through the day for an invaluable 99 not out as the team reached 287-7 at the close of play, on the opening day of the second and final Sandals Test against Sri Lanka, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, in Antigua on Monday.
Brathwaite demonstrated patience and tenacity on a pitch which offered some assistance to the seam bowlers in the first session. Brathwaite’s innings has spanned six-and-a-half hours in which he faced 239 balls and struck 11 fours. He is on the verge of a ninth Test century, which would also be his second at the venue, the other was 121 against Bangladesh in 2018.
When he reached 98, Brathwaite also became the 16th West Indian batsman to surpass 4,000 Test runs – to join an elite list. The others are Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Sir Garry Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Sir Gordon Greenidge, Alvin Kallicharan, Sir Richie Richardson, Sir Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Desmond Haynes and Carl Hooper.
He held the innings together and shared the day’s honours with Saranga Lakmal who had claimed two early wickets – John Campbell and Nkrumah Bonner and added Jermaine Blackwood to end the day with 3-71.
Brathwaite and Kyle Mayers had a third-wicket partnership of 71 as the left-handed made 49. West Indies slipped to 222-7 in the final session of the day, but Brathwaite found another resolute partner in Rahkeem Cornwall, who closed unbeaten on 43, in a partnership that has been worth 65 runs so far for the eighth wicket.
English Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday have decided against signing Jamaica international Ravel Morrison after a brief trial period at the club.
The former Manchester United youth standout was invited to train with the club earlier this month after leaving Eredivisie minnows ADO Den Haag in January. The Owls were weighing up the decision to give the midfielder a contract until the end of the season but decided against doing so.
The club would have needed to register the 28-year-old last week, in order to add him to the first-team squad for the rest of the season. The team currently finds itself mired in the relegation zone, in 23rd position, with only a handful of games to save themselves.
For his part, Morrison will be looking for his 12th club in what has been a nomadic career to date. Some of the player’s former clubs have included West Ham United, Lazio, Queens Park Rangers, and Middlesbrough.
Interestingly Wednesday is coached by another Jamaica international Darren Moore. Moore's men entered the international break in good heart following a positive win over Barnsley.
Wednesday return to action on Friday when they travel to automatic promotion contenders Watford.
Discarded West Indies players Shai Hope and Roston Chase will have to fight their way back into the Test team, after not being selected for the matches against Sri Lanka.
Hope, widely agreed to be one of the region’s most talented batsmen, was dropped from the team after a poor run of form in November of last year. Chase, the consistent all-rounder, at the same time replaced Kraigg Brathwaite as vice-captain ahead of the New Zealand series.
Both players were called to the team ahead of the Bangladesh series but were among 12 players to decline due to health and safety concerns.
Hope has since returned to the ODI squad, where he looked to be in strong form. Chase, who initially missed out on the minimum fitness requirement ahead of the series, put on a strong display in the warm-up tour matches. Both players remain on the sideline, so far. For now, according to Simmons, however, the current players are doing well enough to keep their places.
“The guys who played in the Test matches have done well, so we need to continue to back the guys who have done well in the last three Test matches,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.
“The way I look at it is the guys did well. The guys went to Bangladesh, each one of the batsmen did well. They earned their places. So, it is a case where they continue to play and play well,” he added.
“Roston, Shai, those other players will have to fight their way back in, and that just how cricket goes.”
Guyanese businessman, Bissoondyal Singh, has been elected as president of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB), following an election in Georgetown on Monday.
After being postponed last month, due to a number of contentious issues raised by the Essequibo Cricket Board (ECB), the process, conducted by recently appointed cricket ombudsman Kamal Ramkarran, reportedly went off without a hitch.
Other appointments will see Rabindranauth Saywack and Hilbert Foster serve as vice-presidents with Ronald Williams named secretary. Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been named as the Chairman of the Senior Selectors, with current Cricket West Indies chief of selectors Roger Harper, also offered a position as a technocrat member with voting rights at executive meetings.
On Sunday, the CWI elections, which were slated to have Guyana’s Anand Sanasie and Barbados’ Calvin Hope challenge the incumbents Ricky Skerrit and Kishore Shallow, was postponed after a quorum could not be reached due to the absence of representatives from the Guyana and Barbados.
The elections have been re-set for April 11 but could now take on an entirely context following the GCB elections. Sanasie previously held the post of general secretary but has through his attorney’s questioned both the legality of appointing the Ombudsman and elections themselves.
GCB full slate
President– Bissoondyal Singh
Vice-President– Hilbert Foster
Vice-President– Rabindranauth Saywack
Secretary– Ronald Williams
Assistant Secretary– Davteerth Anandjit
Treasurer– Pretipaul Jaigobin
Assistant Treasurer– Dr. Cecil Beharry
Public Relations Officer– Claude Raphael
Marketing Manager– Mohamed Baksh
Chairman of Competitions Committee– Shaun Massiah
Chairman of Senior Selectors– Ramnaresh Sarwan
Chairman of Junior Selectors– Andre Percival
Technocrat members with voting rights at executive meetings– Roger Harper and Anil Beharry.
Newly promoted West Indies skipper, Kraigg Brathwaite, insists there is no worry about the added responsibility of captaincy affecting his batting form after somewhat of a slow start to officially taking the reins.
Brathwaite, who officially took over from Jason Holder at the start of the Sri Lanka series, made a total of 26 at the top of the order for the first Test, for an average of just 13. The batsman did, however, manage to occupy the crease, his score of 23 in the second innings coming from 124 balls. While not showing up on the scoreboard, the player believes it was a vital contribution.
“I’m not concerned. In the second innings I managed to spend over two hours at the crease, which was important for us as a batting unit,” Brathwaite told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.
“As I said before, I always enjoy leading and I know what I have to do, I know my role as a batsman and also as the captain. So, I’m not concerned.”
In the previous series against Bangladesh, as the stand-in captain for Holder, Brathwaite scored 149 runs over the two matches, for an average of 37.25. The West Indies unexpectedly won the series 2-0, which played a crucial role in Brathwaite securing the leadership post.
West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, has backed the team's strike bowler Shannon Gabriel to bounce back following a poor showing against Sri Lanka in the first Test.
The 32-year-old pace bowler had a first Test to forget, failing to claim a wicket for the entire match. Overall, he ended with figures of 0 for 89 in 27 overs. The bowler last went wicketless in a match last year, in the second Test against England where he ended 0 for 122.
In assessing the player’s most recent performances, however, Simmons dismissed Gabriel’s first-match struggles as just a blip and looked forward to a much better showing in the second Test.
“I thought in Bangladesh, he bowled exceptionally well in both Test matches and he was the main one, on the occasion in the first Test, who turned things around with his spell in the evening,” Simmons said in an assessment of the player’s recent form.
“He had a bad game and bowlers have that. Two of the main bowlers did not have a good game but that’s one game,” he added.
“I think he has been unsung, in New Zealand he was unsung, in Bangladesh he was unsung, so, one bad game does not change him being the strike bowler.”
In New Zealand, despite a tough series for the regional team, Gabriel, who was the pick of the bowlers, extracted plenty of pace and bounce from the surface to claim six wickets in two matches, where New Zealand only batted once.
Oregon’s Kemba Nelson continued to demonstrate how rapid progress at Oregon on Saturday when she ran a windy 22.79 over 200m to win at the 42nd Annual Aztec Invitational in San Diego, California.
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