Shimron Hetmyer

The Guyanese batsman made a 19-ball 35 that included a four and four sixes as he tried to get Royals back into the game after crashing to 31-6 after seven overs, chasing RCB’s 171-5. Former England captain Joe Root, who made 10 was the only other batter in double figures for Royals, who were skittled out for 59 in 10.3 overs.

Wayne Parnell was responsible for much of the destruction taking 3-10 from three overs. Michael Bracewell, 2-16, Karn Sharma 2-19 and Glen Maxwell 1-3 provided useful support in the rout.

Earlier, Maxwell scored 54 and Faf du Plessis 55 and Anuj Rawat provided the bulk of the scoring for RCB, who were recording their second win in their last five matches to be fifth in the league table.

Adam Zampa 2-25 and KM Asif 2-42 were the primary wicket-takers for Royals, who were losing their fourth in their last five matches.

Hetmyer, 23, seen as one of the rising stars in West Indies cricket, was among three players who opted out of the tour #RaisetheBat series, largely due to safety concerns. His Guyanese compatriot Keemo Paul and Trinidadian middle-order batsman Darren Bravo, also decided to stay home despite assurances given by both CWI and the ECB that they would be kept safe in a bio-secure environment.

Roberts, who was a member of a fearsome, four-pronged West Indies pace attack from the 1970s into the 1980s, believes the decision not to go was foolhardy.

“They would have played an integral part of the batting,” he said during a recent conversation with Michael Holding on Holding’s YouTube channel. He suggested that the tour to England was an opportunity to improve his batting.

“As much as we don’t like the way Hetmyer has been playing, he is one of the batsmen of the future. But somebody has to get into his head and let him realize that you cannot score runs sitting in the pavilion.”

Matthew Forde is selected for the T20I squad for the first time, having impressed with the new ball throughout the past two CPL seasons and this follows his recent selection for the West Indies ODI squad. Sherfane Rutherford is also selected and returns to the squad after last representing the regional side in January of 2020. Gudakesh Motie returns to the T20I squad after recovering from injury which caused him to miss selection for the India Series. 

The T20I squad also sees the return of all-rounder, Andre Russell, who last played for the Men in Maroon at the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.  Johnson Charles, Obed McCoy, Odean Smith and Oshane Thomas miss out on selection after featuring in the previous T20I squad.

Shai Hope becomes the vice-captain of the T20I team, to add to his role as captain of the West Indies ODI team. The Selection Panel has the opportunity for squad adjustments ahead of the final two matches of the Series to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on from 19 to 21 December.

Speaking about the composition of the squad, CWI lead selector, the Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes said: “This will be the final home T20I series for the West Indies in 2023, as they prepare to be one of the two host teams for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA in June 2024. We have selected a squad that we think gives us the best chance of success in that tournament.  We will continue to assess in the lead up to the competition." 

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FULL SQUAD

1. Rovman Powell (Captain)
2. Shai Hope (Vice-Captain)
3. Roston Chase
4. Matthew Forde
5. Shimron Hetmyer
6. Jason Holder
7. Akeal Hosein
8. Alzarri Joseph
9. Brandon King
10. Kyle Mayers
11. Gudakesh Motie
12. Nicholas Pooran
13. Andre Russell
14. Sherfane Rutherford
15. Romario Shepherd

West Indies v England T20I Series Schedule (Match start time in brackets) 

1^st T20I – 12 December – Kensington Oval, Barbados (6.00pm local time/5.00pm Jamaica time)
2^nd T20I – 14 December – National Stadium, Grenada (1:30pm local time/12.30pm Jamaica time)
3^rd T20I – 16 December – National Stadium, Grenada (1:30pm local time/12.30pm Jamaica time)
4^th T20I – 19 December – Brian Lara Academy, Trinidad (4:00pm local time/3.00pm Jamaica time)
5^th T20I – 21 December – Brian Lara Academy, Trinidad (4:00pm local time/12.30pm Jamaica time)

Stadium gates open two hours before first ball is bowled. 

The Patriots started shakily, with Evin Lewis dropped off captain Chris Green by the usually safe Ross Taylor at slip and Chris Lynn dragging a Naveen-ul-Haq slower ball just past his stumps. Imran Tahir’s early introduction paid off first ball, the skipper holding a skier to dismiss Lynn. Tahir again acknowledged Black Lives Matter, dropping the knee and raising the fist.

Lewis started to find his range, sending Tahir over the cover boundary, and taking Naveen’s second over for 18. But smart bowling from Green and even better keeping from Nicholas Pooran saw Lewis stumped for 30 as his back foot lifted for just a moment. The Patriots ended the powerplay at 54/2.

Joshua Da Silva’s exclusion was an eye-opener pre-game, and his replacement Nick Kelly fell early, carving Keemo Paul to point where Shimron Hetmyer held a sharp chance. Paul’s celebration was neatly topical, involving a face mask and strictly enforced social distancing.

Ben Dunk picked up Shepherd over midwicket to break an 18-ball spell without a boundary, but Green put the squeeze right back on. The pressure told, as first Ramdin was strangled down the leg-side off Paul and then Jahmar Hamilton fell to the googly as he did yesterday, Tahir his tormentor tonight.

With his team stuttering at 83/5, Patriots captain Rayad Emrit broke another lengthy boundaryless period, 26 balls this time. But Green finished his spell well, Naveen was equally accurate, and Tahir was unlucky not to finish with Emrit’s wicket.

Emrit broke a third long boundary drought, of 22 balls, off Paul, but the latter had his revenge immediately as a hurried pull looped to Taylor at mid-on.

The Amazon Warriors kept Dunk quiet, and when he tried to run a desperate two, Paul and Pooran combined to run him out by a yard. Paul picked up another in the last over with Dominic Drakes, in for the injured Sohail Tanvir, holing out to square leg. Only four boundaries after the Powerplay told the story of the Patriots’ innings.

Early in the chase, Brandon King broke his Hero CPL 2020 duck with a crisp straight drive and rasping square cut. Jon-Russ Jaggesar, in for Alzarri Joseph, asked questions with his left-arm spin but it was Sheldon Cottrell who made the breakthrough - King drilled a cut to cover, and out came the familiar salute. A wicket-maiden was a consolation birthday present for the former Jamaica Defence Force man.

Hetmyer showed his class with a flurry of early boundaries, including a Hero Maximum that nearly took out the scoreboard. Chandrapaul Hemraj hit one of his own off Jaggesar, his first boundary of the tournament, and the Amazon Warriors cruised to 54/1 at the end of the Powerplay.

Hemraj failed to realise the danger of a powerful throw from Drakes and was sloppily run out, but by now the chase was well under control. An opportunity to dismiss Hetmyer went begging when sub fielder Kieran Powell failed to hold a powerful drive at cover, and the straight hit for four next ball rubbed salt into the wound.

A Hero Maximum walloped over Ish Sodhi’s head brought up Hetmyer’s second fifty in two games, this one, off just 31 balls. A mix-up saw Taylor run out by most of the 22 yards, and Pooran fell to Emrit first ball, but by then the required run rate was well under five an over.

Meanwhile, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis have declined invitations to the T20 squad that has been selected for the tour.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced a short while ago, the two squads for the proposed tour of New Zealand which will feature three T20 Internationals and two Test matches from November 27 to December 15.

Details of the tour were ratified by CWI’s Board of Directors during a teleconference on Thursday. The Board agreed to the tour in principle, subject to final details on medical and logistical protocols of CWI, New Zealand Cricket and Government of New Zealand.

Left-handed batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer have been recalled to the Test team, as well as all-rounder Keemo Paul. Bravo’s highest Test score of 218 came at the University Oval in Dunedin in 2013.

“The return of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul will bolster the team, I expect that Darren will solidify the top-order, hopefully making it more productive, while Shimron gives the squad more options in the middle-order and it is another opportunity for him to show how good a player he is.  Keemo provides another wicket taking seam option,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.

“The Test team has an opportunity to put into practice the learnings from the tour of England earlier this year.  The team has good all-round depth and I expect them be very competitive. New Zealand is a very good team especially in New Zealand, so we need to be on the top of our game.”

A group of reserves will also travel to help prepare the Test squad during the quarantine period and training camp as well as cover for injuries.

Meanwhile, Andre Fletcher, the experienced wicket-keeper/batsman has been named in the T20I squad for the first time since 2018. There is also a maiden call-up in this format for Kyle Mayers, the all-rounder, who performed well in last month’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

“Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell are two very experienced T20 players who performed very well on the last tour of Sri Lanka and their absence will surely be noted.  However, Andre Fletcher has another opportunity to show us what he can do and what he brings to the table,” Harper said.

“The T20I Team is now getting back into the groove after a nine-month absence from international competition. Fortunately, a number of players have been involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and before that the CPL, so they have had some competitive cricket leading up to this tour. The structure of the tour with the COVID-19 quarantine period, does not give the team any real opportunity for match practice as a team but there are a number of experienced players in the team so, hopefully, they can adapt quickly. 

“In the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup, every T20I series is an important opportunity to fine tune the team, to get our personnel, our compositions and combinations right. For our players to become more attuned to their roles and the team to have a greater understanding of what works best in each situation. So, this is a very important series for us from that perspective and also in an effort to improve our rankings.”

The T20Is will be the start of an 11-month schedule of matches building up to the ICC T20 World Cup, rescheduled for October 2021 in India. The proposed schedule for this tour of New Zealand has the defending T20 World Cup champions starting at Eden Park in Auckland under lights.

The CWI Selection Panel indicated that this upcoming series will form part of the overall planning towards defending the ICC World T20 title. The panel outlined that they will continue to monitor closely the progress of spin bowler Sunil Narine and all other players in the lead-up to the global event.

 Test Squad:

Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul and Kemar Roach.

 Test Reserves:

Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, and Jayden Seales.

 T20 International Squad:

Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, and Kesrick Williams.

The flight was rescheduled at the request of the player, who cited family reasons.

According to CWI, with flight availability a real challenge, a seat was found for him to leave Guyana today, Monday, October 3, meaning he would miss the first T20 International (T20I) against Australia on Wednesday, October 5 at the Metricon Stadium.

“This morning, Mr Hetmyer, informed the Director of Cricket that he would not be able to get to the airport in time for his flight this afternoon to New York,” CWI said.

“This afternoon we informed the CWI Board of Directors that the Selection Panel had unanimously decided to replace Shimron Hetmyer with Shamarh Brooks in our T20 World Cup squad,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“​ Whilst we changed Shimron’s flight from Saturday to Monday due to family reasons, it was made clear to him that if there were any further delays and issues with his travel to Australia then we would have no choice but to replace him in the squad, as we are not prepared to compromise the team’s ability to prepare for this extremely important global event.

“Shamarh has been a part of our recent T20 International squads and delivered strong performances in the latter stages of the recently concluded CPL. ​ He will fly out as soon as possible this week to Australia and I wish him and all the squad all the very best for the tournament.”

Brooks has been in good form scoring an unbeaten 109 from 52 balls against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the semi-final of the 2022 Hero CPL. He scored 47 from 33 in the finals to help the Jamaica Tallawahs win their third title and their first since 2016 on Friday, September 30.

The squad will now be: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith

In 16 Tests, the soon-to-be 24-year-old Guyanese batsman, has only managed to score 838 runs at an anemic average of 27.93. His highest Test score is 93 that came against Bangladesh in November 2018. Since then, his highest Test score was 81 against England in Bridgetown in January 2019.

In the shorter forms of the game, Hetmyer has been marginally better. In One Day Internationals he has scored 1430 runs, averaging 36.66 and in T20s 1476 runs at an average of 25.44.

Notwithstanding, CWI Chief Selector Roger Harper believes Hetmyer possesses the potential to be so much more starting with the upcoming series against New Zealand next month.

“I would like to think that having missed the tour [of England], he’s hungry to get back and anxious to show what a quality player he is in all formats of the game, especially in Test cricket,” Harper said of Hetmyer, who declined an invitation to be a member of the West Indies team during their three-Test #raisethebat tour in July.

“I personally think Hetmyer has the ability to be one of the best batsmen in the world, in Test cricket as well.

“As he gets to understand the rhythm of Test cricket and the approach needed, I think he’ll show that; so this is an opportunity for him to showcase his skill and talent, and help the team to build big totals.”

The West Indies will play three T20 Internationals and two Tests in New Zealand from November 27 to November 15.

"My stuff is still left in the room," the 25-year-old said in an interview, indicating that he will be returning to India to see out the rest of the IPL.

Royals are in third place and are looking like one of the better placed teams to make the playoffs which are set to begin on May 24.

However, the player has not made himself available for the West Indies white-ball tours of the Netherlands and Pakistan starting later this month.

Hetmyer left Mumbai on Sunday morning on the back of another high-impact cameo - 31 not out off 16 balls against Punjab Kings that helped seal a chase of 190.

“I think the message is for us to play a complete game and not just bowl well, or bat well, or field well and finish the series 3-0, because 3-0 is always better than 2-1.

The West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series on Thursday when they inched over the line in a one-wicket victory at Kensington Oval. At the same venue, the West Indies had shown chinks in their armour in a more dominant display, running out five-wicket winners on that occasion.

Alzarri Joseph had earned man-of-the-match honours in both games, bagging 4-37 and 4-32 to keep the West Indies’ targets relatively low.

“I’m happy with Alzarri, not just on the pitch but the way he prepares, the way he talks about cricket and about bowling. He seems to be maturing very quickly and it showed in the two games and the way he bowled,” said Simmons regarding those two performances.

Despite the good bowling of the West Indies, the batting has left much to be desired with only Evin Lewis, 99 not out, and Nicholas Pooran, 52, showing a real willingness to bat deep into an innings.

“That’s the crux of the matter here. We need to finish well and play a properly constructed, complete, 100 overs,” said Simmons.

Pollard had been a little more caustic, saying the West Indies top order needed to stop wasting good form with poor approaches to batting.

“We can’t continue to just give away our hand just like that when you have form and confidence because it will come back to bite you,” said Pollard, who seemed to be wagging his finger at the talented Shimron Hetmyer.

Hetmyer had lost his wicket for six, having faced just six deliveries before firing an injudicious pull shot that landed safely in the gloves of Irish wicketkeeper, Lorcan Tucker.

“The batsmen need to go back to what we were doing in India and how we were putting scores together, creating a platform for the big hitters down the bottom. We need to make sure that we do that in this coming game,” said Simmons.

Leus du Plooy, with an unbeaten 40-ball 63, Tom Banton (38) and Tom Abell, unbeaten on 20, saw Dubai Capitals to victory at 139-1 with 25 balls to spare, after Gulf Giants, the team of West Indians Shimron Hetmyer and Carlos Brathwaite, were restricted to 138-6 from their allotment. Captain James Vince led the Giants from the front with a 53-ball 58, including four fours and two sixes, but lacked the necessary support, as Usman Khan (21) and Chris Jordan (30), were the next best scorers.

Holder, who was among five Capitals bowlers with a wicket apiece, ended with one for seven in two overs. By virtue of their win, Dubai Capitals booked a date with Nicholas Pooran's MI Emirates to decide the champions of this second edition of the tournament.

Scores: Gulf Giants 138-6 (20 overs); Dubai Capitals 139-1 (15.5 overs)

After suffering a 45-run defeat to MI Emirates in Qualifier 1, Gulf Giants would have hoped for better fortunes on this occasion, but those hopes were dashed as they lost Khan, Chris Lynn (zero), Jordan Cox (two) and Jamie Smith (zero), with just 40 runs on the board.

Hetmyer (eight), also had a brief stay in the middle, but despite the setback, Vince pushed on with some expansive shots that added some respectability to the innings before he eventually holed out to Powell off Olly Stone with the score at 117-6.

Jordan then smashed two sixes and a solitary four in his 29-ball knock, while Jamie Overton added 12 runs to the total in a six-ball cameo.

With just 139 to get, Plooy and Banton went on the charge in a 98-run opening stand, which all but signalled the writing on the wall for Gulf Giants. Banton had four boundaries in his run-a-ball 38, before he fell to Liam Dawson.

Abell joined Plooy, and the two posted an unbeaten 41-run stand for the second wicket to push the Capitals across the line. Plooy had five fours and three sixes in his knock, while Abell had two boundaries and a solitary six.

Powell and Holder will rub shoulders with fellow West Indians, Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Akeal Hosein, in the showpiece contest on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Jason Holder is being rested for this tour due to workload management and Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy are unavailable due to injury and rehabilitation. Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons are all unavailable due to personal reasons, CWI said.

Greaves, Motie and Smith have been called up for the ODIs along with middle-order batsman Shamarh Brooks.

Smith and Motie are also selected in the T20I squad for the first time, along with left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Dominic Drakes. Motie was a travelling reserve for the recent ICC T20 World Cup, while Drakes and Smith were net bowlers before the start of the tournament

“There are a number of talented newcomers in each format that will have the opportunity to show what they are capable of at the international level,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.

“Justin Greaves is a very talented player, had a good CG Insurance Super50 tournament and performed well in the President’s XI match against Ireland in 2020. Odean Smith really grabbed our attention in the last CPL. His pace was never in question, however, he has added greater control and has displayed the ability to be a wicket-taker.”

Brooks gets called after his performances in the last Super 50 Cup.

“Shamarh Brooks batted well in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and followed that up with good performances in the CPL,” Harper explained.

“He will lend greater depth to the batting line-up. Gudakesh Motie has been rewarded for his outstanding performance in the CG Insurance Super50, followed up by his showing in the CPL. Dominic Drakes has the potential to be an outstanding all-rounder as he displayed during the last CPL.

 “The ODIs in Pakistan are part of the ICC ODI Super League where points gained work towards qualification for the ICC World Cup 2023. So these ODI’s are very important to us and are being treated as such.”

The ODI Series will be West Indies fourth series of 12 in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. West Indies currently lie in eighth position out of 13 teams and have the opportunity to move above Pakistan into seventh position.

The full squads are as follows:

One-Day Internationals: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Hayden Walsh Jr.

 T20 Internationals: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.

TOUR SCHEDULE
December 13 – 1st T20I, Karachi
December 14 – 2nd T20I, Karachi
December 16 – 3rd T20I, Karachi
December 18 – 1st ODI, Karachi
December 20 – 2nd ODI, Karachi
December 22 – 3rd ODI, Karachi

A brutal final over assault from Dwaine Pretorius handed the Patriots a thrilling 4-wicket win, despite an innings leading 46 off 21 from skipper Shimon Hetmyer that put the Warriors in a strong position.

In fact, the Guyana franchise seemed well set for a win after needing 22 runs heading into the final over.  After scoring three off the first two balls, however, Pretorius tore into Romario Shepherd the rest of the way clubbing two 6s and 7, in effect, off the last ball after Shepherd was also called for a no-ball.

Many believe Hetmyer should have gone for Odean Smith to bowl the final over after the batsman put up an economic 2 for 10 runs off two overs.  Hetmyer insists that it was important to back players.

“I think as players and individuals we back ourselves to get it nine times out 10.  I guess sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t it’s just for us to do better in the next game.

“He had a good day today but, in the end, I went for Shepherd and as it was things just didn’t go our way,” he added.

The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to bat first and it was a decision that was to backfire as the innings never really got going until the final five overs. Despite some late power hitting the Amazon Warriors could only post 167-5 which appeared subpar at first glance.

That proved to be correct as the Saint Lucia Kings confirmed that by chasing down the 168 to win with 15 balls remaining.

Earlier the Amazon Warriors suffered a slow start as Matthew Nandu was run out for three inside the PowerPlay and that setback contributed to the Warriors only reaching 35-1 at the end of the initial six overs.

That sedate start was difficult for the home side to overcome as the CPL’s top run scorer, Saim Ayub, fell for 16 in the ninth over with the score on 50-2.

However, Shai Hope and Azam Khan then Khan and Shimron Hetmyer helped rebuild the innings before late fireworks from Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd ensured 72 runs were added in the final five overs to set the Kings 168 to win.

That 168 proved to be well under par as the Kings made easy work of the chase.

Although Johnson Charles fell for one in the second over that was to be as good as it got for the Amazon Warriors as Colin Munro and Bhanuka Rajapaksa put on a devastating partnership of 132 runs from 82 balls.

Rajapaksa holed out for 86 to deep mid-wicket and Munro followed shortly after for 55, but the job was done. It allowed Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza to see the chase home with three overs remaining.

The win ensures the Kings qualify for the playoffs with one game to spare.

Scores: Saint Lucia Kings 170-3 (Rajapaksa 86, Munro 55; Shepherd 1-15, Tahir 1-34) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 167-5 (Khan 40, Hope 38; Joseph 2-31, Raza 1-14) by seven wickets.

The omission of the likes of Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamarh Brooks, Shane Dowrich, Sheldon Cottrell, Rovman Powell, and Oshane Thomas from the international retainer contracts lists, for the upcoming year, has rubbed a few supporters the wrong way.  Particularly, based on the fact that fewer contracts were handed out this year.

However, according to Harper, some players did not meet the minimum criteria for selection or simply did not display the quality need.

“We have to accept that these are performance-based contracts.  So, the contracts are awarded based on performance during the evaluation period, as well as the selection panel must feel that the players must play a major role or form the nucleus of the team going forward,” Harper told members of the media on Thursday.

“The players who were not awarded contracts their performances over the period did not meet the necessary criteria as well as you had new players who came to fore and performed, so they were offered contracts,” he added.

“Going forward as a culture, if we want to see our team progress, if we want to see our team compete with the best in the world.  We have to be more conscious of the fact that we have to earn our stripes and we have to perform consistently.  I think our retainer contracts are given on that basis.”

In addition to playing at least 50 percent of the games during the evaluation period, to be considered, batsmen must average at least 30 in Test and ODI cricket.  For T20Is players the player’s batting average and strike rate combined must be a minimum 150.

The West Indies are playing in the first bio-secure Test series since the COVID-19 pandemic impacted sports worldwide and Hetmyer, Bravo and Keemo Paul decided against touring England on the back of health concerns.

The absence of the trio means there are questions about how the team will line up but head coach Phil Simmons, speaking during a press conference this morning, believes the answers are to be found in the next few practice games.

According to the coach, who was responding to questions about the batting positions of skipper Jason Holder and wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich when the three-Test series begins at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, the options are numerous.

“We have thought about quite a few things. The three-day game which starts tomorrow and then the four-day game will help us to decide how we structure the batting,” said Simmons.

“So there are possibilities in different directions. Jason could bat six, Dowrich could bat six, so we look at the three-day game and the four-day game and then make a decision from there,” he said.

There are also places to be considered with the returning Jermaine Blackwood to the batting line-up along with the likes Shamarh Brooks and Nkrumah Bonner and where they bat, if at all, in the new-look line-up.

The West Indies will play a three-day match game at their Emirates Old Trafford base beginning tomorrow, June 23, before a four-day encounter beginning on June 29.

Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach

Reserve Players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua DaSilva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas, Jomel Warrican

 The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and they produced a disciplined performance with the ball that kept the Knight Riders in check throughout. 

Led by Tabraiz Shamsi’s 4-36, wickets were taken at regular intervals to ensure that no batter ever felt comfortable at the crease as the Knight Riders reached 150-8.

 Needing 151 to win the Amazon Warriors got off to the worst possible start losing Paul Sterling for a duck and three wickets in total in the power play.

Shimron Hetmyer and Colin Ingram briefly threatened to take the game away from the Knight Riders but when Andre Russell removed Hetmyer the collapse began and the remaining Amazon Warriors batters fell for just 26 runs.

Earlier on the Knight Riders had constructed their best total of the Hero CPL campaign courtesy of a well-compiled 42 from Colin Munro. Overcoming the early loss of Tion Webster and Nicholas Pooran, Munro combined with Tim Siefert to compile a 51-run partnership that set a foundation for some late order risk taking.

 Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Ravi Rampaul hit a combined five sixes to help the Knight Riders set a total of 150 runs that always appeared as if it would be tricky to chase.

 This proved to be the case in the Amazon Warrior reply. No batter was able to face more than 20 deliveries despite reaching 81-4 in the 10^th over. The Amazon Warriors lost their remaining six wickets for 43 runs to succumb to a heavy defeat.

 The returning Akeal Hosein proved to be crucial in the Knight Riders' bowling attack taking 3-36 and he was ably supported by the parsimonious Andre Russell (3-16) and Sunil Narine (2-9).

 Scores: Trinbago Knight Riders 150-8 (Munro 42, Seifert 27; Shamsi 4-36, Shepherd 3-22) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 124 all out (Hemraj 28, Hetmyer 20; Russell 3-16, Hosein 3-36) by 26 runs 

They join the likes of Andre Fletcher, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Ravi Rampaul, Kennar Lewis and Dominic Drakes as West Indians participating in the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Other big names participating include England's Moeen Ali and Alex Hales as well as Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.

The ILT20 is set to begin in January next year in the UAE and is competing with South Africa's T20 League for players. There will be six franchises consisting of 18 players each.

The 2023 edition of the ILT20 will have 34 matches. All the teams will play each other twice, before four playoffs, including the final, spread across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The 24-year-old explosive batsman has been previously heralded as one of West Indies cricket’s brightest prospects but has not been at his best in recent seasons.

Hetmyer has not played a Test for the regional team since 2019, against Afghanistan, and has not played in a One Day International since January of last year, against Ireland.  In addition to that, the player has twice failed fitness tests during the period.

The batsman missed out on the team’s tour of Sri Lanka in February of last year and then missed out on early selection for the squad this year, after failing another following the arrival of the Sri Lankans to tour the Caribbean.  Hetmyer subsequently passed a follow-up test.

“I still think Shimron is the type of player that has the ability to be a world-class player in every format going forward,” Harper told members of the media via an online video chat on Thursday.

“Naturally, when you have that sort of potential, we want to see it reach the kind of level that he is capable of reaching.  So, yes, we are concerned.  Yes, we will continue to work with Shimron and yes we will try to give the short of focus that we think is required for him to maximise his potential.”

Despite losing out on his regional contract, Hetmyer, however, retains a franchise contract.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first and that initially appeared to be an inspired decision when the Warriors were restricted to 55-4 inside the first seven overs. But excellent batting at the backend by Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd, in particular, powered the Warriors to an imposing 186-6

In reply, the Patriots wobbled from the start and were never able to recover, much less to get close to the victorious total, as they were bowled out for a paltry 88.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 186-6 (20 overs); St Kitts and Nevis Patriots 88 all out (17.1 overs)

The Amazon Warriors initially had a good start to the Powerplay, racing to 32 inside the first three overs, before Oshane Thomas struck twice in the fourth over to restore some semblance of parity to the game. brought the Patriots into the game.

He had Saim Ayub (21) caught on the boundary and Hazratullah Zazai (seven) caught by wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher.

Two wickets became four when George Linde dismissed Azam Khan (six) and Thomas returned to pick up Shai Hope's scalp for 13, to leave the Amazon Warriors in trouble at 55-4.

However, the Guyanese pair of Shimron Hetmyer and Paul put on a 57-run partnership to rebuild the innings, before Dominic Drakes dismissed Hetmyer for a well-played 22-ball 36, which included three sixes and one four.

Dwaine Pretorius and Paul combined to put together another 48 from 31 balls to ensure the Warriors entered the backend of the innings with significant momentum. The former eventually fell for 27, but Shepherd came and slammed three sixes and a four in a seven-ball cameo of 27 to leave the Patriots an imposing 187 for victory. 

Paul ended unbeaten on 41 off 31 balls, his innings also had three sixes and a four.

Thomas was the pick of the Patriots bowlers with three for 26 from three overs.

The Patriots would have backed themselves to get to their target, but some poor shot selection made the task even more difficult than it was before. They lost Andre Fletcher (11), Evin Lewis (seven), Will Smeed (two) and Sherfane Rutherford (two), inside the PowerPlay and continued to lose wickets at regular intervals.

Chris Bosch with a run-a-ball 27 was the only batsman to offer any real resistance, against Pretorius's three for 17 and Gudakesh Motie's two for 15, as the Warriors romped to a third-straight win and remain the only unbeaten team in the league.

Hetmyer blasted an enterprising 56 from 35 balls in a low-scoring encounter as the Warriors eased past the St Lucia Zouks book their place in the competition’s semi-finals.  The win was the fifth but third in a row for the Guyana based franchise.

The team won two of its first three matches but then struggled to keep momentum after losing the next three games in a row.  Hetmyer, however, believes the team’s latest win shows full confidence is growing within the squad following its latest win.

“The guys are starting to work much harder than before and starting to believe in ourselves a little more each and every day.  From here on out its just us taking it one game at a time,” Hetmyer said.

Personally, his individual performance would also have been pleasing for Hetmyer who failed to get into double digits in the last three games with scores of 9 and 1.

“It’s coming back I thought I lost it a few years ago, but I’m working on it and trying to stay a little bit more focused on my game and how to start, build and finish and innings.”