Antigua

Powell smashed seven fours and three sixes in a mature knock that steered the Scorpions to 322-7 in pursuit of the Harpy Eagles 318-9. It was the highest successful chase of the season and the best score by any team in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition.

He shared in a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with Alwyn Williams who made 45 and then stands of 34 and 37 with Dennis Bulli (17) and Odean Smith (19), respectively before an unbroken 37-run eighth-wicket alliance with Jeavor Royal, who was on 18 at the end after hitting the match-winning six off Nail Smith.

In his post-match comments after his first List A century of the season and his fourth overall, the 29-year-old all-rounder rated his match-winning knock highly.

“I think it is one of my better 100s,” said Powell, who arrived at the crease with Jamaica 101-3 following the dismissal of Brandon King for a well-played 64.

“I got a very good start. It was a very good wicket to be honest and so once I paced the innings and stayed at the wicket we would win.”

He praised King for his half-century, his second of the season, that set up the victory for the Scorpions team that will face the star-studded defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final on Saturday.

“It was very important,” he said of King’s 64. “It was important that someone get us off to a flying start and I think Brandon did that. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t go a little longer.

“We were looking to get to 100 in 15 or so overs for the middle order to settle in and push around the ball and I think Brandon’s innings really set that up nicely.”

Wary of the quality of their opponents in Saturday’s final, Powell said it was essential for the Scorpions to improve in all three areas – batting, bowling and fielding – if they are to have any chance of dethroning the Trinidadian unit.

“Trinidad plays the best 50-over cricket in the Caribbean for a while now so it’s important for us to play very good cricket and improve batting, bowling and fielding,” he said perhaps referring to King dropping Shimron Hetmyer early in his innings. The West Indies middle order batsman went into top score for the Harpy Eagles with 86.

“Today (Thursday) we dropped a few catches. In the final, we cannot drop Trinidad’s big players like that.”

The squad will be captained by left-handed middle-order batsman Ackeem Auguste. Allrounder Giovonte Depeiza will be his deputy.

They were also the captain and vice-captain during the young Windies six-match Youth One-Day International series against England in September.

“It is a special honour to be named to captain the West Indies team. To represent the people of our region is a special privilege and it’s a really exciting time for me and my teammates as we know this is a great opportunity on the international stage,” said Auguste.

The West Indies U19s have been drawn in Group D alongside Australia, Scotland and Sri Lanka for the 16-team tournament.

“Overall, the selectors are very pleased with what we have been seeing from these players and we expect some very exciting cricket in the World Cup,” said Robert Haynes, lead selector.

Haynes alluded to the balance of the squad as one of its strong points.

“The batting is solid. The bowling is very good. This is a balanced squad and the players are very excited. It is now for these youngsters to go out and display what they learned in the camps that were organized for their benefit,” said Haynes.

Head Coach Floyd Reifer was pleased with the development the players showed in the last camp in Antigua.

“Coming out of the last camp in Antigua we have seen a lot of improvement and development in the players and we came up with a very good squad. I’m confident that we have a well-balanced team going into the World Cup and we have the team to do very well in the tournament,” said Reifer.

The young Windies play their first match of the tournament on January 14^th against Australia.

The full squad is as follows: Ackeem Auguste (Captain), Giovonte Depeiza (Vice-Captain), Onaje Amory, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Jaden Carmichael, McKenny Clarke, Rivaldo Clarke, Jordan Johnson, Johann Layne, Anderson Mahase, Matthew Nandu, Shaqkere Parris, Shiva Sankar and Isai Thorne.

Reserves

Anderson Amurdan, Nathan Edward, Andel Gordon, Vasant Singh and Kevin Wickham.

Fletcher will take over from fast bowler Shakera Selman who will miss the final two games of the series because of injury.

Fletcher has been a steady performer with the ball during the series, taking three wickets at just 4.3 runs per over. In the CG United ODI Series, Fletcher took four wickets at an economy of 4.11 and an average of 21.75 runs per wicket.

“The final two matches will prove to be very critical to the series as it is poised 2-1 at the moment. It has been an enthralling series with some matches being decided in the final few balls,” said lead selector Ann Browne-John.

“Some of the young players have started to show great development during the series and it is with anticipation that we look forward to their contributions in the final matches.

“Afy is one of the senior players who also is the captain of her regional team as well as being an outstanding international leg-spinner. She will bring the necessary support to the captain at this time.”

The upcoming matches will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 October.

The fourth match starts at 10 am local time (9 am Jamaica Time) while the fifth and final match bowls off at 1:30 pm (12:30 pm Jamaica Time).

The series has had three exciting and close-run matches already.  West Indies won the first match by one wicket off the last ball, while the visitors took the second match by six wickets with a ball to spare. The White Ferns won the third match, a low-scoring affair by five wickets with eight balls to spare.

The Windies lost the toss and batted first, posting 115-9 off their 20 overs thanks to 49 from Aaliyah Alleyne. Amelia Kerr starred with 3-16 for New Zealand.

Then, despite a fighting 27 not out from Hannah Rowe, New Zealand fell agonizingly short of their target reaching 114-9 off their 20 overs. Chinelle Henry led the way with the ball with 3-26 from her four overs.

Player of the Match Chinelle Henry said, “The coaches told us to go out there and be fearless. We wanted more than 115 but that didn’t happen, so we went out there as a bowling unit to get the job done. Going into the second game, we’re obviously looking to improve in both batting and bowling. To see Aaliyah going out at number three and almost getting her maiden T20I half-century showed that we have a lot of depth in the squad, so it’s just for us to keep up that team performance.”

Both teams meet on the weekend for the 2^nd and 3^rd T20Is, Saturday October 1 at 10:00am and Sunday October 2 at 1:00pm.

According to ESPNCricinfo, the 24-year-old Antiguan is set to travel on April 4 to the United Kingdom where he will be available for the first seven fixtures in the County Championships. Joseph is currently playing for the West Indies in the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

"I am thrilled to be joining Worcestershire for the early part of the summer," said Joseph, who has grown in stature as an effective bowling allrounder over the past year.

"When I heard the club was interested in me, I had no hesitation in saying yes. The club has a strong squad with a nice balance of youth and experience, and I'm really looking forward to working with bowling coach Alan Richardson.

"I would also like to thank Cricket West Indies for allowing me the opportunity to go and experience county cricket"

Worcerstshire Cricket Steering Group Chairman Paul Pridgeon said he was happy to have the young fast bowler on board.

"He is a quality performer, and we are delighted to have signed him for the best part of two months. Alzarri is going to be available for seven matches and is an exciting prospect."

He also believes the performance of the players on the sub-continent will also be a welcome headache for selectors for future series but the arising dilemma will ultimately benefit West Indies cricket.

Several senior team members including Captain Jason Holder, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell and Nicholas Pooran among others declined invitations from Cricket West Indies to join the three T20, two-Test tour citing Covid-19 or personal concerns.

Their withdrawal forced the selectors to assemble a squad of players who have been on the fringes of the senior team for years but who have been unable to break into the side.

It was no surprise then when Bangladesh swept the T20 series 3-0. However, things have changed for the better once the Test series began. The visitors stunned their hosts pulling off a remarkable three-wicket victory at Chattogram and are in a commanding position in the second Test that began in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Test debutants Kyle Mayers, whose double century won the first Test for the West Indies and Nkrumah Bonner, who has produced scores of 86 and 90, has performed well beyond expectations.

Meanwhile, Joshua Da Silva, who had played just one Test match prior to the tour, has seemingly cemented his place in the side, playing critical roles in the victory in the first Test and helping put the West Indies’ in its current commanding position in the second Test.

Ambrose, who is member of the commentary team in Antigua for the CG Insurance Super50 tournament, believes that performances like these have put pressure on the players who opted out of the tour and the selectors who will have to choose a team for the series going forward.

“Most of these guys are still young and they got an opportunity to impress and they certainly did that,” said Ambrose, who took more than 400-wickets in his stellar career that spanned more than a decade.

“Now, it’s going to make selection extremely difficult come the next series because, in my opinion, some of these guys must play. The guys that didn’t go to Bangladesh, some of them will miss out and the great thing about it is that West Indies cricket looks good for the future because most of these guys are still early 20’s.”

Meanwhile, Ambrose rates the victory in the first Test “right up there” with the very best West Indies Test victories.

“We’ve got to admit that,” Ambrose said. “Some people may say it’s only Bangladesh. I’m not for that. Bangladesh is a quality team, especially in their own backyard, and to chase 395 on the last day; and Kyle Mayers, what a brilliant innings, 200-plus not out. It was an exceptional performance by him and the whole team.”

Ambrose believes the team should push for victory in the second Test given the position it finds itself in.

“We’ve scored more than 400, Bangladesh are just 100-and-something for 4, we should push for a win. Bowl them out cheaply and enforce a follow-on or bat and get some quick runs, bat them out of the game and look for a win.”

He said he was happy that the team won the first Test because not many people gave them a chance of winning.

“To have won that game in that fashion was so refreshing. I am so excited for the guys. Most people talk about “second-string team”. I don’t like those words because these guys are the next in line of what we had, so therefore I am so happy that they have done well and showed all the negative ones who think they can’t do it that they can do it at this level.”

The 29-year-old Jamaican, who acquitted himself well during the #Raisethebat tour of England in July, was the second highest scorer on the tour; his 216 runs only bettered by Kane Williamson’s 251 in the first Test that the West Indies lost by an innings and 134 runs.

However, Blackwood’s 216 runs were made in four innings and included his second Test century in the second innings of the first Test. He added a score of 69 in the first innings of the second Test that was more than half of the West Indies total 131 all out.

He averaged 54 for the series, well above his career average of 31.10.

For the rest of the batsman, the tour was a train wreck even though one of the West Indies bowlers might be moving towards a new designation; that of allrounder.

Opener John Campbell was the next best West Indies batsman having scored 110 runs in four innings. He achieved his highest Test score of 68 in the second innings of the second Test which helped prop his average up to 27.5, the same as fast bowler Alzarri Joseph.

The 24-year-old Antiguan also scored 110 runs during the series with a career best 86 made in the first Test. He showed glimpses of his batting potential when he scored 24 from 12 balls as the second Test drew to a close. That cameo included two majestic sixes square of the wicket and a sublime straight drive to the boundary, one of three he struck during his brief stay at the crease.

Captain Jason Holder averaged 34.33 which flattered him as he only scored 103 runs during the series, 61 of which came in his final innings when he and Joshua Da Silva fought in vain to avoid another embarrassing defeat.

Da Silva didn’t do his cause any harm scoring 60 runs in two innings including a well-played 57 in the final Test match. He averaged 30.

By contrast, this was a series that Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase, will quickly want to forget. The former only managed 55 runs at an average of 13.75. It was even worse for Chase who could only muster 17 runs at 4.25.

Shamarh Brooks, who faced 92 balls for just 14 runs in the first innings of the second Test, compiled 53 runs during the series averaging 13.25 per inning. Of note, is that Brooks scored 36 runs in the second innings of the final Test, meaning he scored 50 of his 53 runs in the second Test match at Wellington.

Phillip was among the leading bowlers in the recent CG Insurance Super50 Cup, taking 11 wickets at 25.6 each for champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. This is his first call-up to the ODI squad.

West Indies lead the three-match CG Insurance ODI Series series 2-0 following victory by eight wickets in the first match and by five wickets in the second match.

Full Squad: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd and Kevin Sinclair.

Following a meeting of the Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) Board of Directors on Monday, December 19, CWI announced that Coley will oversee the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from January 28 to February 16, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from February 21 to arch 28.

Coley said he was honoured to be considered for the task.

“To be asked to oversee the West Indies team on the upcoming tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa is a special honour,” he said. “West Indies cricket holds a special place in my heart. The upcoming assignment will be challenging as we will come up against two teams in their home conditions. We will need to ensure that our planning and preparation are appropriate, and demonstrate consistency in the execution of these plans, to give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve positive results.”

Coley said he is confident the players are eager to achieve success on tour.

“The players, I’m sure, are enthusiastic about the opportunities that both series should offer and are eager to contribute to our team’s success,” he said.

“I look forward to the tours ahead and the opportunity to make a tangible and meaningful contribution to the growth of West Indies cricket.”

Meanwhile, Jimmy Adams, CWI Director of Cricket Coley’s experience should serve him well on this assignment that CWI has entrusted him with.

“We welcome Andre back to the West Indies dressing room and with his wealth of knowledge of the game, player-management skills, dedication and hard work, as well as attention to detail, we know he is well equipped,” Adams said.

“He is a highly experienced coach who has functioned at every level within the CWI High-Performance Pathway. This has prepared him for the job at hand and we expect he will again approach this new role with the same vigor and zeal which have characterized his time in the CWI coaching system and has earned the respect of players and everyone who he has interacted with.”

Coley, a former Jamaica wicket-keeper/batter, is currently Head Coach of the CWI Academy programme.

While Andre Coley fulfils the interim role, CWI’s High-Performance Manager Graeme West will oversee the West Indies Academy programme and who will be supported by  Adams to ensure there are no disruptions to the Academy programme during the period.

Coley previously served as the Assistant Academy Head Coach and Interim Academy Head Coach when the Sagicor Academy was launched in 2010. He was also Head Coach of the West Indies U19 Team; Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s and Women’s Teams, as well as Head Coach of Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes, who were the 2018 Super50 Cup Champions.

 In 2016, he was Assistant Coach of the West Indies Men’s Team which won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and earlier this year he was Assistant Coach of Jamaica Tallawahs when they captured the Caribbean Premier League title.

CWI also confirmed that the contracts of Assistant Coaches Roddy Estwick and Monty Desai had ended.

“I’d like to thank Roddy and Monty for their hard work and dedication in supporting the team over the last few years and wish them the very best in the future,” Adams said.

TOUR SCHEDULES

 West Indies in Zimbabwe

 28 to 31 January: four-day warm-up at Bulawayo Athletic Sports Club

 4 to 8 February: 1st Test at Queens Sports Club

 12 to 16 February: 2nd Test at Queens Sports Club

 West Indies in South Africa

 21 to 24 February: vs South Africa Invitational XI at Willowmoore Park, Benoni

 28 February to 4 March: 1st Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 8-12 March: 2nd Test at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom

 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion

 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)

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.”

During the series that the West Indies won 3-2 over Pakistan, the Caribbean women benefitted from players like Kyshona Knight and Britney Cooper stepped up with the bat to support Captain Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews, especially in light of Deandra Dottin’s poor form.

On the eve of the series against South Africa, Walsh says he expects even better performances from his players against a tough South African contingent.

“We are looking to execute a lot better than we did against Pakistan. Obviously, South Africa being ranked above us we have to be a lot more consistent than we were against Pakistan, so we will be looking to execute a lot better and improve. We know that they are a decent team and we have to be ready for that,” said Walsh.

He said it was a good sign to see players other than the ‘big three’ step up and wants to see more of that against South Africa.

“That’s the only way we are going to get the team where I think we can compete against the top teams and give ourselves a chance of winning major competitions.

“We have to move away from one or two players consistently getting us out of trouble so it was very good to see all the other players who performed well in the last series and we want that to continue and to try to extend that consistency from them, and once we can complement it with both departments, batting and bowling it will be good for us.

“And then, if we can complete the whole thing when we are in the field it would be excellent. So we just need to keep improving, raising the bar in those areas that we have to. It’s good to see other players putting their hands up and we want to see more of that.”

Athanaze scored 140 and shared in a second-wicket partnership of 208 with Kavem Hodge(106 not out)  after the Windward Islands Volcanoes had lost the wicket of Johnson Charles for nine with 26 runs on the board.

Athanaze was eventually dismissed in the 42^nd following a stay of 129 deliveries during which he hit 16 fours and three sixes.

Three wickets fell for 18 runs as the Windwards lost Shadrack Descarte for one and Sunil Ambris for five to slip to 252-4 in the 46^th over.

However, Hodge, whose runs came from 131 balls and included four fours and two sixes, and Andre Fletcher who smashed two sixes in a 19-ball 30, plundered the bowling for 48 from 29 balls as the Windwards raced to 300-4 from their 50 overs.

Amari Goodridge was the best of the Combined Colleges and Campuses bowlers with 2-56 from seven overs. Michail Powell took 1-45.

With the weather intervening, CCC were required to score 160 for victory but it proved a tall ask.

Demario Richards (24), Kirsten Kallicharan (23) both got starts but failed to capitalize as the CCC slipped to 39-2 in the seventh over.

Kallicharan and Johnathan Drakes put on a painstaking 41 in 53 balls falling further behind the required run rate with each passing over.

Denesh Ramdin was unbeaten on 21 at the end as the CCC ran out of balls and out of time.

There was a wicket each for Preston McSween, Hodge, Justin Greaves, who was the pick of the bowlers with 1-21 and Larry Edward who took 1-22.

Afghanistan won the toss, chose to bat first and posted a relatively modest 201 all out off 49.2 overs.

Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai was the chief run-getter for Afghanistan with 81 off 79 balls including five fours and five sixes.

He was supported by captain Suliman Safi (37) and Mohammad Ishaq (34).

Nivethan Radhakrishnan was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-31 from 10 overs while William Salzmann supported well with 3-43 from his 10 overs.

Radhakrishnan completed a fine all-round performance with a top score of 66 off 96 balls including seven fours to lead Australia in their chase.

Campbell Kellaway also got a half-century (51) in the Australian reply.

After seeming to have it all under control at 118-3 in the 29^th over, timely wickets made the journey a lot harder than the Aussies would have liked.

Some tight bowling and unsure batting led to Afghanistan being on the cusp of an unlikely comeback victory with Australia reeling at 196-8 with two overs remaining before Joshua Garner and Jack Sinfield held their nerves to get Australia over the line, reaching 202-8 off 49.1 overs to secure the win.

Nangeyalia Kharote took 3-35 off 9.1 overs while Shahidullah Hasani and Noor Ahmad took two wickets each for Afghanistan.

The Scorpions started the day 6-0 after four overs, trailing the Pride by 69 runs.

The day started terribly for the Jamaicans as the second ball of the day saw Akeem Jordan bowl Leroy Lugg for two.

Debutant Tevin Gilzene was next to go for nine, caught by Shayne Moseley off the bowling of Jordan in the seventh over.

Captain Paul Palmer Jr then joined Kirk McKenzie at the crease but didn’t last long, becoming Jordan’s third victim of the day for one to leave the Scorpions in a spot of bother at 21-3 after 11 overs.

Two and a half overs later, Jamaica lost their fourth wicket when Aldane Thomas was dismissed by Shamar Springer for three.

Not long after, Abhijai Mansingh became wicket number four for Jordan on the day after nicking off for a duck to leave the Scorpions 25-5 in the 15^th over.

Jamie Merchant was next in and added 12 for the seventh wicket with McKenzie before he fell for 10 in the 19^th over with the score on just 36.

It was then Marquino Mindley’s turn to face the music alongside McKenzie. The pacer reached one off seven balls before he became Springer’s second wicket to leave Jamaica reeling at 56-7 off in the 22^nd over, with debutant Ojay Shields joining McKenzie in the middle.

In the midst of the carnage at the other end, McKenzie brought up his maiden First-class fifty off 67 balls in the 28^th over.

McKenzie (54) and Ojay Shields (17) were the not out batsmen as the Scorpions entered the lunch break 101-7 from 29 overs, holding a slim 26-run lead over the Bajans.

After bringing up their 50 partnership shortly after lunch, McKenzie finally fell for a top score of 56 off 78 balls to leave the Scorpions 106-8.

Gordon Bryan joined Shields at the wicket and the pair put on 17 before Shields was next to go for 22 in the 37^th over with the score on 123.

Bryan, playing only his second First-class game, then provided some handy runs at the end, putting on 28 for the final wicket with Patrick Harty before being the last man dismissed for 42 off 64 balls.

In the end, the Scorpions limped to 151 all out in 45.5 overs, leaving the Pride needing just 77 to win.

Pace did the job for Barbados as Akeem Jordan continued his excellent form with the ball with 4-65 off 17 overs while Jair McAllister finished with 3-35 from 11 overs and Shamar Springer picked up two wickets.

The defending champions then needed just 29.2 overs to get to their target, reaching 78-4 to complete a six-wicket win.

Zachary McCaskie scored 26 against Patrick Harty’s 3-26 from 9.2 overs.

Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 140 off 54.5 overs (Jamie Merchant 35, Tevin Gilzene 32, Abhijai Mansingh 27, Shamar Springer 3-11, Camarie Boyce 3-26, Akeem Jordan 3-48) and 151 off 45.5 overs.(Kirk McKenzie 56, Gordon Bryan 42, Akeem Jordan 4-65, Jair McAllister 3-35, Shamar Springer 2-38)

Barbados Pride 215 off 69.5 overs (Shayne Moseley 82, Shane Dowrich 64*, Patrick Harty 4-23, Marquino Mindley 2-25, Abhijai Mansingh 2-30) and 78-4 off 29.2 overs (Zachary McCaskie 26, Jonathan Drakes 19, Shemar Springer 11*, Shane Dowrich 5*, Patrick Harty 3-26)

Batting first, West Indies Women posted 157 all out in 48.4 overs. South Africa Women reached 158-2 in 36.4 overs to achieve victory.

West Indies owed their total to a patient 71 from Deandra Dottin and 37 from Rashada Williams. However, the batters were unable to rotate the strike with any regularity barely getting to three runs an over by the side was bowled out eight balls short of their 50-over allotment.

Shabnim Ismail took 3-31 and Ayabonga Khaka 2-22 to stifle the West Indies batters.

In reply, Lizelle Lee scored an unbeaten 78 and Laura Wolvaardt, a solid 53 as the visitors cruised to victory with 13.2 overs to spare.

Qiana Joseph took the only wickets to fall and finished with figures of creditable figures of 2-24.

Interim Captain Anisa Mohamed pulled no punches in her assessment of the team’s performance in yet another lopsided loss.

"I think the batters need to step up and make some runs for us. 157 runs in a 50-over game... you're only going at three runs per over which is easy pickings for a team like South Africa,” she said.

“I thought Williams and Dottin played really well today but again, they need that support. A couple of others need to step up and stay there with them."

Mohammed added: "A lot of people have been saying that South Africa have gone past us but I keep saying to the team I don't believe that. I believe that we're just not playing our best cricket. Look back at the third T20I and South Africa weren't able to beat us, so if we come out here on a game day and play our best cricket, South Africa is not going to beat us."

The two teams will switch venues to the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground for the remaining two matches on Thursday, September 16 and Sunday, September 19.

 The first ball is at 10 am local time (9 am Jamaica Time).

Lara’s new role will be to support the various head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense, as well as working closely with the director of cricket on ICC World Cup Tournament strategic planning.

“I am really looking forward to Brian making a significant contribution to our cricket system by providing invaluable guidance and advice to our players and coaches,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.  “We are confident that Brian will help to improve our high-performance mindset and strategic culture that will bring us more success on the field across all formats.  Everyone is excited to have Brian involved in supporting our players.”

Meanwhile, Lara believes he can make a difference in his new role as performance mentor.

“Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI, I really believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and with their tactics to be more successful,” he said.

“I'm looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year."

Lara’s first assignment will be with the West Indies Test squad.  He has joined the Test squad in Zimbabwe where he will assist in the team’s preparations ahead of the first Test Match in Bulawayo on 4 February 2023.

The players returned home to their respective islands last weekend.

“That’s going to be a big challenge,” Walsh told the Antigua Observer.

“We had a break and didn’t get to play as much cricket as we wanted to play for them to get that exposure, so I don’t want to use the words ‘starting over again’, but it is going to be something similar where we are going to have to restart or reset and see how best we can get things going to have everybody clicking again.”

Following the cancellation of the qualifiers that were to be held between November 21 and December 5, the West Indies Women were forced to spend 11 days in quarantine in Oman.

West Indies Women had won their first match against Ireland Women by six wickets.

The 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup gets underway on March 4, 2022, with West Indies Women facing hosts New Zealand at the Bay Oval in Tauranga.

Volcanoes made 260-8 off their 50 overs as left-hander Keron Cottoy top-scored with a 64 off 47 balls with four fours and five sixes.

In reply, Jamaica had a bad start were 61-5 in the 15th over before being bowled out for 168 in the 37th over. Left-arm spinner Larry Edward celebrated his 26th birthday in style with a match-winning spell of 3-36 off 10 overs.

When Windwards batted, Andre Fletcher made 60 from 51 balls at the top of the order with four fours and three sixes.

Cottoy was named the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match, as he continued his good form to follow up his career-best 72 in the previous match against Trinidad & Tobago Red Force. Volcanoes were 171-5 after 40 overs but Cottoy raised the tempo with a number of breathtaking shots as and the last 10 overs yielded 89 runs.

Andre McCarthy top-scored for Jamaica with a run-a-ball 55 which included six fours and a six as he maintained good form - his previous knocks were 48 against Guyana Jaguars and 40 against Trinidad & Tobago Red Force.

Fabian Allen played a number of brave shots in 39 from 43 balls. At the end, Fletcher showed his new skill set as a leg-spinner and captured the last two wickets.

“It’s always good to perform for your team especially in victories. I’m just glad I’ve been able to put up my hand and bat deep into the innings and it paid dividends,” said Cottoy. “We have to take it one game at a time although it feels good to win two out of three.”

Today:  Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at Coolidge Cricket Ground. First ball is 1:30pm (12:30pm Jamaica Time)

Sri Lanka chasing 377 for victory ended on 193 for 2 after both captains decided a result was not possible an hour before the end of today's final day of play. 

Dimuth Karunaratne scored 75 and Oshada Fernando an unbeaten 66 against disciplined bowling from the home side that restricted the visitors to 164 runs for the loss of two wickets from the 70 overs bowled today.

However, Brathwaite was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his knocks of 126 and 85 that helped bat the visitors out of contention.

"Pleasing winning the award - as captain want to lead from the front,” Brathwaite said afterwards.

“(The) main thing for me was to keep it simple. Bat most balls. Made sure I had a solid plan. I could change my batting style at times, but I am confident I can score at whatever rate I choose to.”

He praised his teammates for the resilience especially in light of the nature of the pitch that was kinder to the batsmen.

“Both pitches were good pitches. But happy guys didn't give up, up to the last spell. Batting 90-plus overs is great. Happy with the attitude and discipline. Happy with the attitude of the bowlers."

Resuming from their overnight total of 29-0 from the nine overs they faced on Thursday evening, Lahiru Thirimanne and Karunaratne took the score to 101 when Thirimane edged Alzarri Joseph to Rahkeem Cornwall at slip. He made 39.

As evidence of how tight the West Indies bowling was Sri Lanka scored 45 runs in the following 17 overs before Kyle Mayers trapped Karunaratne lbw for 75.

However, that was the last wicket to fall on the day as Fernando and Dinesh Chandimal took the score to 193 before play was called off.

Joseph finished with figures of 1-33 while Mayers had 1-5 from the six overs he bowled.

Suranga Lakmal was named player of the series for his 11 wickets.

Happy. I really want to win games, and bowl accordingly - that's what I like to do,” he said. (The) wicket was helping a bit, but I know how to bowl on such wickets. Bowl in right areas and challenging the bowlers is my style."

The two-Test series ended 0-0 as the first Test also ended in a draw.

The hosts carried on from their overnight 95-2 to be bowled out for 265 after 112.5 overs.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite carried on from his 42 on day one to eventually be dismissed for a marathon 94 off 268 balls including nine fours.

Vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood also showed good form with a 139-ball 63, also including nine boundaries.

Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz led the way with the ball, with 4-59 off 22.5 overs, while pacers Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed ended with figures of 2-65 off 28 overs and 2-59 off 22 overs, respectively.

Bangladesh then struggled to 50-2 off 20 overs, trailing the Windies by 112 runs at the close, with Mahmudul Hasan Joy (18) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (8) at the crease. Alzarri Joseph took both wickets for the West Indies.