New Zealand

The 32-year-old’s choice could be looked upon as quite a reasonable one given his recent struggles, particularly in this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL).  According to reports, however, Russell was recently drafted to take part in the Lankan Premier League, which will begin on November 21 and roughly take part at the same time as the team’s tour of New Zealand.

 When pressed on the issue, Harper insisted he could not draw any conclusions and could only rely on what he had been told.

“Andre said he needed some time to clear his head.  He wasn’t handling a situation very well, that’s what he said.  How he chooses to clear his head, I can’t determine that,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“I don’t know what decision he has made.  Where he is playing or if he is playing.  I can only look and see what he had told me and then look at what happens subsequently,” he added.

“He is free to make those decisions.  We will look to see what the situation is, how it develops, and take it from there,” Harper said.

“What I will say is that it gives a younger player an opportunity and hopefully that player can make the most of it and really do us proud.”

The teams, both beaten in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last week, were looking to start afresh at Sky Stadium on Friday.

However, persistent rain meant there was no prospect of play, with the first action in the series now set to take place on Sunday at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

The tourists have rested captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul for this series, while New Zealand have won their past four multi-game bilateral T20I series and will attempt to extend that to five for the first time.

India were the last team to beat New Zealand in such a series, achieving a 3-0 success a year ago.

Resuming the final day on 57-3, the visitors could only muster 109 in the second innings. West Indies ‘A’ actually batted two men short as Raymon Reifer, who had retired hurt early in the day was unable to complete his innings while Oshane Thomas was also unable to bat due to an injury.

Meanwhile, Nicholas Poran top-scored with 35 off 61 balls with four fours but was also a casualty in the team’s collapse. The only other batsman to come to grips with the situation was wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva who battled for 90 minutes remaining unbeaten on 15 having faced 51 balls.

Scott Kuggeleijn was the best bowler for the hosts with 3-18 as he generated pace and got the ball to move both ways.

Scores: West Indies ‘A’ 322 and 109, New Zealand ‘A’ 574. New Zealand ‘A’ wins by an innings and 143 runs.

 The West Indies then lost the wicket of John Campbell before the close of play with the West Indies still 291 runs behind.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, New Zealand crept to 43 in 16 overs before Will Young was caught down the leg side for 27 trying to pull a short one from Chemar Holder.

The dismissal brought Henry Nichols to the crease where he and Ravindra mounted a second-wicket stand of 160, putting the Caribbean bowlers to the sword.

After a slow start, Ravindra grew in confidence, scoring 112 from 187 balls in a knock that included 10 fours and two sixes. Nichols proved to be a solid partner hitting eight fours before Raymon Reifer had him caught behind by Joshua DaSilva for a well-played 76.

It was soon 227 for 3 as Ravindra was eventually caught by Kemar Roach after pulling Alzarri Joseph to deep backward square leg.

Devon Conway was on 46 and Joe Carter, 41, when Captain Cole McConchie called the declaration after 79 overs.

Reifer was the best of the West Indies bowlers with 1 for 29 from his seven overs with Holder taking 1 for 58 and Josephs 1 for 55.

Campbell was dismissed for 4 playing on trying to pull Blair Tickner, whose previous delivery he had hit to the boundary.

However, Kraigg Brathwaite remained unbeaten on two and Darren Bravo, 8, as the West Indies got to the close on 17 for 1.

Nicholas Pooran's side fell to a 2-1 series defeat on home soil with a narrow six-run loss in Sunday's decisive third meeting, as Kyle Mayer hit 105 – the second highest ODI score of his career – in vain.

West Indies will also be deducted two points from their Super League tally after being adjudged to have fallen two overs short of the target by the on-field umpires.

An ICC statement read: "West Indies have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Barbados on Sunday.

"In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time.

"In addition, as per Article 16.12.2 of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League Playing Conditions, a side is penalized one point for each over short. Consequently, West Indies will lose two points from their points tally during the Super League.

"Pooran pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing."

West Indies are currently seventh in the Super League standings, having posted just nine wins from their 24 games after New Zealand recorded successive wins over Pooran's side.

The 40-year-old Barbadian only took nine wickets in the five Tests he played for the West Indies between March and June 2006.

He made his debut against New Zealand in Auckland in March 2006 and played his final Test against India at Gros Islet in June that year but during his short time with the team, his passion and commitment to the team was never in question.

He is best remembered for scoring an unbeaten 34 in fading light at the Oval as he and wicketkeeper Courtney Browne mounted an unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership of 71 that lifted the West Indies from certain defeat to an unlikely victory in the 2004 Champions Cup.

Speaking on the Mason and Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday, Bradshaw expressed his frustration at the West Indies performance in New Zealand where they lost both Test matches by an innings and were swept by the hosts.

“Like every cricket fan I am really disappointed with the performance. We have not stood up and gave a good account of ourselves and I think that that is the most critical thing and it’s worrying the manner in which we lost the series,” he said.

“We would have seen in recent times there have been some positive steps taken in terms of our attitude and in terms of doing some of the small things better.

“I mean, you take a team like New Zealand, if we had to look at their team, maybe (they’re) not a bunch of world beaters, not the Kohli’s and the Steve Smiths that you would see dominate the headlines on other teams, but what this team has done and what we can learn so much from is that they’re doing the little things well, often and that is what we have to improve on, doing the little things well often.”

It bears noting that the West Indies only bowled New Zealand out once during the two Tests and took 17 wickets overall. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s bowlers took 38 wickets. Tim Southee was the best of the hosts’ bowlers with 12 wickets twice as many as the West Indies’ leading bowler Shannon Gabriel.

“It is not good enough that after 50 Tests or so our bowlers are not consistent enough on the first morning of a Test to be consistently putting the ball in front of the batsman,” he said.

He was equally critical of the batsmen, who failed to make any impact on the tour save for a few notable exceptions. In the second Test they also dropped seven catches, three of them off Henry Nicholls whose 174 took the match away from the visitors.

“It is not good enough that you go to New Zealand and the excuse for the batsman is that the ball is swinging. It is difficult conditions but we have been going to New Zealand for over 50 years and the conditions have not changed.

“And I appreciate the fact that New Zealand played well but I am more concerned that our performances as a professional unit was not consistent enough to merit the representation of West Indies cricket which we must hold dear.”

India won the toss and decided to bat first, getting to 258 all out from their 50 overs with Smriti Madhana top-scoring, with 66 off 67 balls, and Deepti Sharma getting 51 from 64 deliveries.

Cherry Ann-Fraser (2-24 off 5 overs), Karishma Ramharack (2-50 off 10 overs), and Hayley Matthews (2-47 off 8 overs) were the best bowlers for the Windies.

Despite a top score of 63 from Shemaine Campbelle and 44 from Hayley Matthews, the West Indies chase never got out of first gear and they were eventually restricted to 177-9 off their 50 overs.

Pooja Vastrakar was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3-21 off seven overs while Meghna Smith, Deepti Sharma, and Rajeshwari Gayakwad all took two wickets each.

The West Indies will kick off their World Cup campaign on Thursday against hosts New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.

The three matches are West Indies’ last remaining three fixtures in the ICC ODI Super League as West Indies aim to automatically qualify for the 2023 ICC World Cup in India. West Indies will be seeking to win the CG United ODI Series to secure one of the automatic qualification places reserved for the top 7 teams in the ODI Super League table, excluding hosts India.

CWI’s Selection Panel named one newcomer to the squad in off-spinner Kevin Sinclair. He made his international debut in T20I cricket last year against Sri Lanka and has so far played six T20Is. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie has been named in the 14-member squad and will have to undergo a fitness assessment on the finger injury sustained against India in the CG United ODI Series in Trinidad last month.

Allrounder Roston Chase is unavailable for selection due to injury while fellow allrounder Fabien Allen is also unavailable for personal reasons.

Lead Selector, The Most Hon Dr Desmond Haynes said: “As we stated before, we are looking to broaden the pool of players and we have decided to give Sinclair an opportunity in the CG United ODI Series against New Zealand. He has been in the system for a while and was also in the ‘A Team’ to play against Bangladesh ‘A’ in the upcoming series. We believe with his calm approach and skills he will do well in the matches against New Zealand.”

“New Zealand is a very good cricketing nation, and this will be a very competitive series. We have the confidence in the players selected that they will do very well. This is the last series of the international season at home, and it would be good to end with some solid performances as we continue to build towards the ICC World Cup in India next year,” he added.

FULL SQUAD

Nicholas Pooran (Captain)

Shai Hope (Vice Captain)

Shamarh Brooks

Keacy Carty

Shimron Hetmyer

Jason Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Brandon King

Kyle Mayers

Gudakesh Motie (subject to fitness)

Keemo Paul

Jayden Seales

Kevin Sinclair

He was commentating post match Sunday after the West Indies fell to defeat by an innings and 12 runs to New Zealand, who swept the series 2-0 after winning the first Test by an innings and 134 runs.

On Sunday, Holder made 61, John Campbell 68 and debutant Joshua da Silva 57 as the West Indies posted 317, their best score of the series, but they were unable to overcome the damage done over the first two days of the match.

After inserting New Zealand on a green pitch, the West Indies dropped seven catches, three of them off Henry Nicholls who went on to make 174 of his team’s 460 runs. In reply, the West Indies got off to a solid start at 49 without loss before capitulating to 131 all out.

The improved performance in the second innings provided little comfort for the exasperated captain.

"Disappointing, but the fight in the second innings was what we were looking for, should've done in the first game. We created opportunities but let some of them off,” said a frustrated Holder, who found some positives amidst the ashes of defeat.

“Chemar and da Silva were good. We've showed time and time again we can do it, but we are inconsistent. Seems like I repeat this in every post-match.”

He said there was a lot of work to be done to address the deficiencies hurting the team.

“We need to see to our technical and mental side of things. Impossible to make inroads when you give them seven chances. No excuses, just need to find a way."

That said, she opined that she doesn’t mind if the 2016 champions are considered underdogs this time around, saying that the team is a good space and is focused on the task at hand and that they won’t be letting anything distract them from taking the tournament one game at a time.

“I think we're in a really good space at the moment. The two practice games are for us to focus on ourselves and work on ourselves before the first official game against New Zealand,” Taylor said.

“We don't mind being underdogs. It’s good that we don’t get too ahead of ourselves, and some people don't look at us being a 50-over team, but I’ve seen us getting better and better so that's a plus for us.”

The West Indies Women will take on India in the second of their two warm-up games at the Rangiora Oval in Christchurch on Tuesday.

Batting first, the West Indies had a difficult time scoring going as New Zealand bowlers were much more consistent in their line and length.

Skipper Hayley Matthews struck one boundary on her way to eight off 13 balls before she had a big nick behind to keeper Izzy Gaze of Hayley Jensen. Also, Aaliyah Alleyne, who punished the White Ferns bowlers in the first match, struggled to get going.

Eden Carson who replaced Lea Tahuhu in the White Ferns team, had Alleyne caught for 13 which came off 19 balls.

Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry struck up a 31-run partnership when the home side needed it the most. Knight fell eight runs short of a half-century, making 42, which included five fours.

Henry, meanwhile, made 24 off 22 balls with two fours and a six and included 18 runs from the last over which helped West Indies Women to 107-5.

Jensen was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, finishing with figures of 4-0-24-3, followed by Eden Carson with 4-0-12-2.

In reply, Suzie Bates smacked six fours on her way to 54 off 61 balls and was well supported by Amelia Kerr with 21 from 25 balls. The visitors looked set for victory before two wickets from Cherry-Ann Fraser in the 18th over, swung the match back in favour of the West Indies.

However, the 19th over went for 10 runs which meant New Zealand needed seven runs in the last over, which they achieved with one ball to spare.

Fraser had the best bowling figures, finishing with 2.5-0-13-1. Off-spinner Karishma Ramharack 4-0-23-1.

“I got a promotion to bat at (number) three, so my role was to bat as deep as possible,” Knight explained afterwards.

“My plan was to back myself and to rotate the strike for the hitters and help get the team to a decent total. It was extremely hot there today, probably one of the hottest we’ve experienced so far, and the ball was holding on the pitch more than usual, so that made batting a bit tricky. We’re looking forward to regrouping and coming back for the third match.”

The two teams will return to the same venue on Sunday for the third T20I in the five-match series. The first ball is at 1:30 pm Eastern Caribbean/12:30 pm Jamaica time.

Chasing 123-5 made by the Kiwis, the West Indies limped to 91-7 in their 20 overs.

Maddy Green top scored for New Zealand with 47 from 37 balls after her team had slipped to 32-3 in the seventh over. Suzie Bates and Green added 26 for the fourth wicket before the former was dismissed for 30.

Green and Brooke Halliday then added 56 for the fifth that took the score to 114 when Halliday was run out for 24 in the 20^th over.

Green added the remaining runs before the innings closed.

Captain Hayley Matthews was the best of the West Indies bowlers with 1-6 from her two overs. There was also a wicket each for Chinelle Henry, Karishman Ramharack and Shakera Selman.

As has become the norm in recent matches, the West Indies lost wickets early and were 25-3 in the eighth over.

Matthews had scored 15 of the West Indies’ 20 runs before she was dismissed.

Shemaine Campbelle top scored with 26 and Chinelle Henry with 23 were the only batters into double figures as they put on 51 for the fourth wicket.

Amelia Kerr who accounted for Henry’s wicket finished with figures of 3-20 from her four overs as the Caribbean women slumped to defeat.

This was the West Indies Women’s 13^th loss in 14 matches since their last win which came against New Zealand in September 2022.

Recently, several players, including team captains Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Roston Chase have pulled out of the upcoming tour of Bangladesh after citing health and safety concerns. With the team about to embark on its third tour in a few months, concerns have been raised regarding the mental effect of having to quarantine for weeks at a time, in order to take part in these competitions.  The West Indies were one of the first teams to resume playing international cricket when they toured England in July, under heavy quarantine restrictions.  The Windies then managed to keep busy with a tour of New Zealand earlier this month and are lined up to tour Bangladesh next month.  

While admitting that it was a concern that CWI took seriously and one that was still being assessed, Harper insists things have to be looked at in a positive manner in light of the uncertainty the pandemic has unfurled.

“If you look at things from the other perspective there are a lot of people looking for the opportunity to work and continuing to do.  I still think cricket is providing that opportunity for several people,” Harper told members of the media following the naming of an adjusted West Indies squad on Tuesday.

“I know there is a vaccine on the horizon and in some places, it's being doled out.  We don’t know how long before it gets to this region but if cricket is going to survive, we have to seek every opportunity to play the sport at the international level and continue to perform.  Life in the general sense is being affected because several people are out of work and would love the opportunity to work.”

As part of attempts to mitigate the situation, the CWI has included a psychologist as part of the touring management team.  

Chief among that group is Sunil Narine, who was once ranked as the world’s number one spinner and a regular feature in T20 leagues around the world.  Narine has not appeared in a match for the team since 2019.  Also missing are the likes of big-hitter Andre Russell and Evin Lewis who have not featured for the team since last year’s T20 World Cup.  Russell has been unavailable while Lewis has not taken the required fitness tests to be included in the team selections.

All three players have, however, continued to take part in the lucrative T20 leagues around the world, despite not playing for the regional team since last year's World cup debacle.  Simmons admits that not having all the players the team would love to have available is not the ideal scenario but expects the cricketers to be motivated to play for the West Indies.

“I’ve made it a point of duty, anywhere that I’ve gone, I don’t think you should be begging people to play for their country,” Simmons told members of the media on Tuesday.

“I think if you want to represent the West Indies, you make yourself available for West Indies cricket,” he added.

“Life has changed in that people have the opportunity to go to different places, if they pick that over the West Indies then that’s how it is, but it doesn’t make sense me going out there and begging you to play for the West Indies because I don’t know if you will come with as strong a heart as I want you to have.”

The West Indies are currently trailing New Zealand 1-0 in the ongoing T20 series.

Some of the team’s biggest hitters the likes of Andre Russell, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, and crafty death bowler Dwayne Bravo will all be missing when they take on New Zealand later this month.

The tour will already be a difficult one, with New Zealand proving to traditionally be a difficult place for not just the West Indies, but any team to play.  Powell, however, not only sees the team as having plenty of talent to cover the missing players but also believes it provides an opportunity for younger players looking to establish themselves.

“If you should look at the depth of the team, I think it’s a very good and strong team when it comes to power hitting, even with those guys missing,” Powell told members of the media from the team’s training base in New Zealand.

“What those guys being missing does is provide an opportunity for us as younger players just before the World Cup, the start of cricket 2021, to put our best foot forward and put good performances in place and hopefully that will carry us in good stead,” he added.

The West Indies will be looking to improve on a record that has seen the hosts win the last four T20 internationals that have been played in New Zealand.

The team’s tour of New Zealand began with a T20 series last week but they did not experience a lot of joy after being easily swept aside 2-0 by the Kiwis in a three-match series.  Simmons, however, does not expect any follow-on negative effect for the four-day team and admits he has been encouraged by their performance in the warm-up games.  The performances with the bat in the warm-up matches will have been particularly encouraging for the team, which saw the batting line-up post scores of 366 and 571.

“The T20 and the Tests are different.  The Test team has done well in Queenstown and enjoyed a tough four-day game.  Now, they are coming into the Test series with some confidence, especially with the batsmen and we haven’t had that in a while,” Simmons told windiescricket.

“I think the Test team is in a good place, I’m disappointed with the T20 team but looking forward to the Test series…I don’t think the results of the T20 will affect how they think,” he added.

The Test series is also expected to be a tough challenge for the regional team who has not won a series in New Zealand since 1995.

For his part, Pollard crafted a masterful unbeaten 75 as the team posted 180 for 7, but in the rain-affected fixture the hosts chased down the total with a 179 for five response from 15.2 overs to win via the Duckworth/Lewis method.

Despite setting a reasonable total there will be plenty for the West Indies to ponder in the loss.  They got off to a fast start after racing to 58 without loss in 19 balls courtesy of Andre Fletcher’s 14-ball 34, following his dismissal the team lost five wickets in 11 balls.

In chasing down the target, Jimmy Neesham and Devon Conway led a New Zealand recovery, pulling the team back from 63 for 4 mid-way the seventh over to get a comfortable victory in the end.  They were aided by plenty of wayward bowling.  Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams being were particularly culpable. Paul bowled five no-balls while giving up 39 runs from his three overs while Williams’ half volleys saw him being taken for 33 runs from two overs.

“We will continue to fight, hopefully, we will get over the line and set up an exciting third match for the final game,” Pollard told members of the media following the match.

“We definitely have to look at our plans and come back, in terms of the bowling aspect of it and try not to lose wickets in clusters, these are conversations that we continue to have but as cricket goes sometimes these things play a part.”

Heading into the series against New Zealand, which bowls off on Friday, the Windies will stand a full three places below their hosts on the global charts.  In terms of world titles in the format, however, it is the West Indies who lead having claimed two, with New Zealand yet to win one.  Fletcher does not believe the rankings will influence the team; in terms of the way it operates playing cricket internationally.

“Sometimes it’s tough winning two World Cups and ranking at 9^th in the world.  It’s kind of unbalanced but we will get back up there with the ranking as long as we continue to play our brand of cricket,” Fletcher told members of the media.

“I don’t think anything will change, we’ll continue playing our brand of cricket,” he added.

Of course, one disparity that could account for the difference between the titles and world ranking is the fact that the West Indies often has key players missing for T20 internationals, due to other T20 league commitments or injury.  They remain the only team to have claimed the title on two occasions.

The West Indies Women, on seven points from their seven games, following no-result against South Africa on Wednesday, March 23, needed either Bangladesh to defeat England or South Africa to defeat India for them to advance.

England crushed Bangladesh by 100 runs earlier Saturday, which meant that the West Indies Women were dependent on a positive result from the South Africa versus India encounter.

The situation looked grim when India posted 274-7 in their 50 overs thanks to half centuries of 71 from Smriti Mandhana, 53 from Shafali Verma, 68 from Captain Mithali Raj as well as Harmanpreet Kaur's 48.

However, Laura Woolvardt smashed 80, Laura Goodall scored 49 and Mignon du Preez an unbeaten 52 as South Africa scored 275-7, the winning run coming off the last ball of the match.

The South African victory set off wild celebrations among the West Indies Women, whose members had gathered to watch the match.

They will now face unbeaten Australia in the semi-final on Tuesday.