Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Apex Group have announced an extended partnership which will see Apex Group become the title sponsor of the three-match Apex Test Series between West Indies and England in March 2022.
Apex Group, a global provider of financial, sustainability and environmental services, will feature prominently on the global television broadcast, as well as prime pitch and wicket branding placements, and the Apex logo will also appear on the breast of the West Indies Test kit for the duration of the Apex Test Series. Apex will be granted access to the West Indies team for marketing activation and content and will deliver several sustainability initiatives involving the participation of West Indies players.
CWI’s and Apex Sustainability Partnership commenced in October 2021, ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with the Apex brand appearing on the West Indies’ ICC T20 World Cup shirt. Apex is providing sustainability and environmental advisory services over a three-year period as CWI’s Exclusive Sustainability Partner. By providing CWI with annual carbon footprint assessments, Apex will help lead the way in driving sustainability in cricket across the region by supporting CWI in creating an action plan to reduce and offset climate-altering outputs, including international travel.
The Apex Test Series will be played for the newly-minted Richards-Botham Trophy, named in honour of legends Sir Vivian Richards and Lord Ian Botham. The Apex Test Series opens appropriately at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from March 8-12, followed by the second Apex Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados from March 16-20. The third and final contest will be at the idyllic Grenada National Stadium from March 24-28. All three Apex Test matches are part of the ICC World Test Championship with both West Indies and England vying for points to challenge for qualification for the World Test Championship final in 2023.
“We’re delighted to build on our growing relationship with Apex for the upcoming Apex Test Series, which continues to be the most anticipated and highest-profile international sports event in the Caribbean,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.
“With the West Indies versus England Test rivalry dating back nearly one hundred years, this deeper partnership with Apex enables CWI to make cricket more sustainable as we move towards a second century of West Indies cricket and build the next generation of cricketers across the Caribbean.”
Meanwhile, Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group said this is an important partnership for his company.
“Following a challenging two years for sport, we are pleased to be a part of the return of International Test Cricket hosted in the West Indies,” he said.
“This is an important partnership for us, as we look forward to further leveraging the combined global platform Apex Group and the West Indies represent, to raise awareness for driving greater environmental sustainability in the sport; for fans, players and future generations.”
Jason Holder sensationally came up trumps at the end as he took four wickets in succession to help secure the West Indies a 17-run victory over England in the final T20I that sealed a 3-2 series win.
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard had won the toss and elected to bat, with the hosts posting 179-4, with England falling short in reply, bowled out for 162 in the 20th over with Player of the Match Holder (27-5) decisive with a double hat-trick in the final over.
After an encouraging start, West Indies did suffer a minor wobble as they lost wickets in consecutive overs, with Kyle Mayers (31) and Romario Shepherd (six) falling in the sixth and seventh, giving England a boost.
Brandon King (34) was the next to go as he was caught at the rope, and Nicholas Pooran (21) was dismissed in the 14th over, with West Indies looking solid if unspectacular ahead of the final five overs of their batting innings.
It was then that they really picked up the slack, with Pollard (41 not out) and Rovman Powell (35 not out) accumulating runs at a much greater rate, their fifth-wicket stand of 74 ultimately integral in the grand scheme of things.
The total of 180 certainly did not look unassailable for England and they reached the halfway stage at 86-2 having only lost Jason Roy (eight) and Tom Banton (16), with James Vince in fine form.
The wickets of Moeen Ali (14) and Liam Livingstone (six) followed just a few minutes apart, and while Vince (55) reached his half-century, he too departed in the 14th as a top-edged slog fell short of the boundary from Akeal Hosein (30-4).
The excellent Sam Billings (41) at least got England into a position where they were still alive in the final over, but they could not meet their target of 20 in six balls as Holder's incredible haul clinched the series.
Holder's historic heroics
Having almost looked without hope, England did make things a little tense towards the end – but what a performance from Holder.
Just when West Indies needed the ultimate display of experience, Holder took over in style. His hat-trick was the Windies' first in men's T20Is, and then he went one better. It was a truly memorable end to the series.
Billings deserving of praise
Although he was not England's highest scorer, Billings did play a vital role in keeping them in contention.
His 41 off 28 balls meant England were still in the hunt in the final over. A poorer showing could have seen them fold much earlier – he can leave with his head held high.
In her first race since her incredible 2021 season, five-time Olympic gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah said she felt really good after winning the 60-metre dash at the Queens/Grace Jackson meet at the Stadium East in Kingston on Saturday.
Running into a stiff headwind of – 1.9m/s, the fastest woman alive clocked 7.19 to win ahead of Remona Burchell, who ran 7.29 and Sprintec teammate Shashalee Forbes 7.37.
“The run felt good. It was my first time in spikes since the start of this season,” Thompson-Herah told Sportsmax.TV.
"Obviously, the -1.9 wind would be a factor in the time (but) the run wasn’t about time. It was just to get a race at the end of a very heavy week, to see how I would feel and I felt great.”
No longer with MVP Track Club and under the guidance of its globally respected head coach Stephen Francis, Thompson-Herah now trains under the watchful eye of her husband Derron Herah and has reportedly set several targets for this season when she will go for her first world title in Eugene, Oregon in July.
On the basis of what she accomplished on Saturday, she is off to a good start
Obviously pleased with the performance of the team in the Betway T20I Series against England in Barbados, West Indies selectors have opted not to make any changes for the upcoming three T20I series against India next month.
West Indies captain, Kieron Pollard, did not put too much blame on the shoulders of all-rounder Jason Holder after an expensive 18th over led to the ballooning of England’s first innings total.
On Saturday, England leveled the series on the back of a stroke-filled 64 from the team’s captain Moeen Ali, which bankrolled the team’s first innings score of 193 for 6.
Things had looked far more controlled at the start of the 18th over, with England on 134 for 3. Holder, who had put together a tidy spell to that point, was the target of a savage attack from Ali who launched four consecutive sixes and eventually milk 28 off it. The following over for Romario Shepherd also proved costly as it ended up adding another 18 to England’s tally. Pollard admitted the expensive final overs were likely where the game turned.
“That’s the nature of T20 cricket all it takes is six balls or a couple hits to get you away from where you want to be,” Pollard said following the match.
“We were looking at around at around 160, 170, a total that would have been chasable but them getting to 190 put that extra 20 runs out of our reach,” he added.
“I thought right until then, and even when we started to bat, we had a very good chance. We slowed up in the middle not losing wickets but we were a little slow.”
England secured a 34-run win over the West Indies in the fourth Betway T20 International at the Kensington Oval today to tie the five-match series 2-2.
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and chose to field, and the home side had early success when Jason Holder removed the man who got 73 for England in the last match, Tom Banton, for just four to leave the visitors 8-1.
Jason Roy and James Vince then put on 85 for the second wicket before Roy was dismissed in the 12th over for 52 off 42 balls.
Vince was next to go for 34 in the 13th over to leave the tourists 97-3.
A 65-run fourth-wicket partnership between stand-in captain Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone then carried the English to 162-4 before Livingstone was dismissed in the 19th over for 16.
Ali produced some brilliant late innings hitting before he was eventually dismissed for 63 off just 28 balls in the last over.
England’s innings eventually ended on 193-6 after their 20 overs.
Jason Holder finished with 3-44 from his four overs for the Windies.
In the chase, openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers got off to a fast start reaching 64 before Mayers was dismissed in the eighth over for a well-played 40 off 23 balls.
King then fell in the 10th over for 26 to leave the West Indies 69-2.
After 10 overs, the West Indies were 76-2 needing 118 more to win from 60 balls with Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell at the crease on four and five, respectively.
Powell was unable to replicate his heroics from the third T20I after being dismissed for five by Adil Rashid in the 11th over.
After two massive sixes, Pooran was the next to go for 22 in the 14th over to leave the West Indies 97-4, needing 97 more runs to win off 39 balls.
Some brilliant hitting from Jason Holder meant that after 16 overs, the West Indies were 133-4, needing 61 off 24 balls to win with Holder on 29 and captain Kieron Pollard on 3.
Holder then went for 36 in the 18th over to leave the Windies 144-5 needing 50 from 16 balls to win.
The target eventually proved to be too much for the West Indies who ended on 159-5 off their 20 overs.
Ali followed up his 63 with 2-28 off four overs to cap off an excellent all-round performance, while Reece Topley continued his good form with the ball in the series with 1-21 off his four overs.
The series decider will take place tomorrow.
Kingston College secured their second trophy of this schoolboy football season by defeating Garvey Maceo 2-0 to secure the Olivier Shield at STETHS today.
One week after beating Jamaica College on penalties to lift the Manning Cup, the North Street-based school stood opposite daCosta Cup champions Garvey Maceo, who dominated Manning’s 5-0 to lift the title last week.
KC’s first goal came from a set-piece after Louis Watson headed home a corner from captain Jemone Barclay in the 44th minute.
The Manning Cup champions then doubled their lead in the 54th minute when Barclay slotted home a close-range left-footed finish.
This is KC’s first Olivier Shield since 1986 and their seventh overall.
Reigning World and Olympic champion, Steve Gardiner, registered the fastest time ever recorded indoors over 300m, after clocking a blistering 31.56 at the South Carolina Invitational, in Colombia, on Friday.
The Bahamian looked in splendid form in just his second race of the season, having set a national record of 32.06 over the distance three weeks ago. The new time obliterated the previous best of 31.87 set by the USA’s Noah Lyles in 2017.
Jamaica’s Nathon Allen finished behind Gardiner in 32.54. The result was a personal best for Allen who left the Jamaica-based MVP track club late last year to join Gardiner at Empire Athletics in Florida.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Asa Guevara won heat two in 33.49, ahead of another Bahamian Kinard Rolle who was second in 34.49. Another Jamaica, Ronald Sayles, was second in heat 3 with a time of 34.31. The event was won by Chance Arinze (33.42).
Puerto Rican Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won the women’s event, in the process clocking 36.52 and breaking her own national record set two weeks ago.
In other events, Guyana’s Aliyah Abraham also recorded a new personal best in the women’s 400m after clocking 52.05 to win the event ahead of Diamond League champion Quanera Hayes who was second in 52.31.
Former Windies skipper, Darren Sammy, believes the team has the potential to do well on the upcoming tour of India, particularly with some of the talents on display during the England series.
The Caribbean team will head to South Asia immediately following the conclusion of the ongoing series against England, where they are currently leading 2-1. The series has featured a number of standout performances so far, with the likes of Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, and some of the more commonly known names like Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran all putting together noteworthy performances during the series so far.
“They have got some really good one-day players, but we have unearthed some new talents in the ongoing series against England,” Sammy said of the team’s chances for the upcoming series.
“I think the West Indies would do well, but you would need the guys to take the wickets with the new ball.”
The former captain also believes the team’s cause could be helped by the knowledge of current captain Kieron Pollard.
“He has been playing in India for so long (at the IPL) and knows the conditions very well,” Sammy said. “Hopefully that experience and knowledge he could bring on to the field.”
West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is pleased to see vice-captain Nicholas Pooran slotting comfortably into the number three role in the team’s recent T20 win against England.
Partnered with man-of-the-match Rovman Powell, Pooran put on a near-perfect display, a combination of power-hitting, game management, and finesse. The batsman put together a crucial 70 from 43 deliveries, which formed part of a match-winning 122 partnership for the third wicket.
Simmons admits the knock was a good illustration of the type of role the team envisions the batsman is capable of playing.
“It’s been a plan since World Cup. As we saw, he is understanding his role better and better and yesterday (Wednesday) just showed exactly how we see him controlling the innings,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.
“His communication and control with Rovman was a big plus yesterday,” he added.
Pooran came to the crease following the departure of Brandon King and was part of a 37-run partnership with Shai Hope before joining forces with Powell.
In total, Pooran has played 14 matches batting at the number three position, scoring a total of 356 runs, and has averaged 32.36 so far.
The First Women’s ODI between the West Indies and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg ended in a no result today.
South Africa won the toss and put the West Indies in to bat and at the time of the first rain delay, West Indies women were 234-3 from 45.3 overs.
Deandra Dottin was not out on a mammoth 150 off 158 balls, with 18 fours and four sixes, and Shemaine Campbelle was the other not-out batter with 7.
Earlier, Hayley Matthews made 51 from 63 balls.
Dottin’s 150 is her third ODI hundred and the second-highest individual score by a West Indian, in Women’s ODIs, after Stafanie Taylor’s 171 off 137 balls against Sri Lanka Women in Mumbai in 2013.
Due to lack of time, the West Indies innings was declared at the same score meaning South Africa had a target of 204 off 29 overs based on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
The South Africans got to 87-5 off 17.4 overs before the skies opened up once again and caused the match to be abandoned before 20 overs could be completed.
Tazmin Brits got 32 off 37 balls to top score for the South Africans.
The second ODI takes place on Monday.
West Indies women’s captain Stafanie Taylor will take no further part in the first ODI between the West Indies Women and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg after sustaining a sharp blow to the arm at the non-striker’s end.
Taylor was forced to retire hurt after scoring 12 off 17 balls.
According to the management, "Out of an abundance of caution, she will be rested for the remainder of the match unless needed in the field."
Hayley Matthews replaced Taylor and made 51, featuring in a partnership of 153 runs with Deandra Dottin who is 150 not out as the West Indies reached 234-3 off 45.3 overs when rain interrupted play.
The meeting between representatives of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and Cricket West Indies over claims that players in the senior squad are being victimized has been postponed until the end of the ongoing Betway T20 Series against England.
The West Indies lead the series 2-1 with the final two matches scheduled to be played on Saturday and Sunday.
Wayne Lewis, Honorary Secretary at WIPA confirmed to Sportsmax.TV today that WIPA received an email from CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams Thursday afternoon informing of the delay to the discussions surrounding the issue that, according to sources, has caused discord within the senior team. He expects the meeting to be held sometime next week.
The matter surfaced earlier this week when allegations were being made that Jamaican all-rounder was being victimized by the team leadership and was eventually dropped for the third match played on Wednesday that the West Indies won by 20 runs. Smith’s replacement Rovman Powell scored his maiden T20 hundred for the West Indies.
Afterwards, Coach Phil Simmons pushed back on assertions that Smith was being victimized. The burly allrounder conceded four runs in the one over he bowled in the second T20 and dropped for the next match. He has also scored useful runs batting at number 10 but according to Phil Simmons, players are selected in the best interest of the team.
“We need to stop this foolishness that we are going on with. We sit here and look at the best team for the day and if Odean was not in the best team for the day it was because we thought Rovman Powell was better suited,” Simmons said afterwards while speaking with the media.
Meanwhile, Cricket West Indies has described the claims as being unsubstantiated and mischievous as it moved to head off any fallout.
In a statement released late Thursday, CWI said it was aware that “voice notes were circulated on social media, and in sections of the regional broadcast media, suggesting that there is a rift within the West Indies Senior Men’s team.
“Contrary to the unsubstantiated statements, containing unfounded and mischievous allegations, CWI is satisfied that there is no discord between the team captain and any member of the West Indies team.”
CWI President Ricky Skerritt indicated that the rumours represent an unwarranted attack on Captain Kieron Pollard.
“I view this as a malicious attack on the credibility of the West Indies captain, designed to sow division within our team that has just recorded three very impressive T20I performances against very strong opponents, including two outstanding wins and one heroic comeback to get within one run of victory,” Skerritt said.
“This clear attempt by well-known mischief makers to discredit the captain and to derail the team’s momentum in the ongoing Betway T20I Series should not be tolerated or encouraged.”
Leon Johnson will lead a 15-man squad that the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) has named for the first and second rounds of the West Indies Championship 2022.
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