The home side made 208-3 from 18.5 overs to win by seven wickets.
The Pakistan opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Captain Babar Azam were comfortable throughout the first powerplay, taking 60 from the six overs with Rizwan on 32 and Babar on 27.
The pair raced to 98-0 after 10 overs with Rizwan bringing up a half century, his second of the series, on the last ball of the 10th over, and Babar on 46.
A boundary off the first ball of the 11th over bowled by Oshane Thomas made Mohammad Rizwan the first batsman ever to score 2000 T20 runs in a calendar year.
Babar achieved his 50 off 40 balls in the 12th over.
Rizwan and Babar brought up their 150-run partnership in the 15th over, which ended with Pakistan 158-0, still needing a further 50 from 30 balls to secure the sweep.
Babar was finally dismissed for 79 on the first ball of the 16th over bowled by Odean Smith.
Rizwan’s brilliant innings of 87 from 45 balls was finally ended in the 18th over when he was caught off the bowling of Dominic Drakes leaving Pakistan on 184-2 needing 24 off 16 balls to win.
Fakhar Zaman was the next Pakistan batsman to go, caught in the 19th over off the bowling Romario Shepherd for 12 to leave them 195-3.
Pakistan got to their target off 18.5 overs thanks to a late cameo of 21 from seven balls from Asif Ali.
Earlier, The West Indies won the toss and elected to bat, posting an excellent 207-3 thanks to 64 from captain Nicholas Pooran.
He was well supported by Shamarh Brooks who got 49 and Brandon King who scored 43.
Shahnawaz Dahani was Pakistan's best bowler on the day with 1-23 from his four overs.
Mohammad Rizwan was named Man of the Match and, after his brilliant 203 runs in three matches, was also named Man of the Series.
A quick glance at the record books will tell you that the hastily selected second-string unit is expected to have a difficult trip to Asia. The West Indies has won just one of the last seven ODIs against Bangladesh. The most recent loss saw Bangladesh stroll to a comfortable 7-wicket win at the 2019 World Cup. With several first-team players, including West Indies captain Jason Holder, in-form batsman Shai Hope, in the 50-over version anyway, and the explosive Shimron Hetmeyer are just a few of the players missing from the squad. Their replacements will be short on experience.
While admitting that results will not be easy to come by for the series, Mohammed hopes to at least lead the team to consistent and calm performances.
“What I can bring to the table is being calm. That’s one of the things that get us in trouble. Speaking for myself, as an experienced player, sometimes when we overthink the situation, we just don’t stay calm in certain situations like bowling in the right areas, shot selections,” Mohammed told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“A lot has been said about the team going but I don’t think there will be a lot of pressure on us as players because at the end of the day we are going to represent the West Indies. We still have a job to do.”
West Indies ODI Squad
Jason Mohammed (captain)
Sunil Ambris (vice-captain)
Nkrumah Bonner
Joshua Da Silva
Jahmar Hamilton
Chemar Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Kyle Mayers
Andre McCarthy
Kjorn Ottley
Rovman Powell
Raymon Reifer
Romario Shepherd
Hayden Walsh jr
Blackwood scored 104, his first century in five years as he an Alzarri Joseph, who produced a career-best 86, put on an outstanding 155-run seventh-wicket partnership that was more than half the West Indies total of 247.
Despite the heavy loss of an innings and 134 runs, the 29-year-old middle order batsman said he was happy to have been able to score a century for his team. In 32 Tests, Blackwood has been dismissed in the 90s on three separate occasions. In October 2015, he was out for 92 against Sri Lanka. Against Pakistan he was dismissed for 95 in October 2016 and this past summer, in July he was out for 95 against England.
On Saturday, he said, he was ready to go all the way.
“This time it was less pressure. I felt less pressure this time around when I was in the 90s. I was more confident in myself that I could get the job done, and to be able to score a hundred for myself and my team, it’s a very good feeling,” Blackwood said after the match, adding that he put the necessary work it to be able to achieve this milestone.
“I worked hard and I trusted my preparation because I think my preparation was good leading into the series.”
He thanked the West Indies coaching staff whom he said helped him prepare for the conditions that confronted him when the West Indies went into bat after New Zealand had made 519 for 7 on a green pitch at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
“(They) kept feeding me a lot of short balls, good length deliveries. You can see out in the middle I am more comfortable to the short stuff as well so it’s a good sign going forward,” he said.
He said he was not intimidated by the nature of the pitch as he was used to similar type of pitches back home in Jamaica.
“I play on a lot of bouncy tracks at Sabina Park, so to come and see this green track it didn’t faze me too much,” he said.
“I just think to stay positive, the right frame of mind, try to play the ball as late as possible, watch the ball and play each ball on its merit.”
The 29-year-old Trinidadian, an instinctively attacking batsman, has been more pragmatic in his approach during the ongoing three-match series against Sri Lanka which has resulted in scores of 65, 103 and 13 at an average of 60.3. However, notwithstanding batting into the 38th over on Friday, Lewis revealed after the West Indies won by five-wickets, that he plans to bat even deeper into each innings.
Against that background, he was asked whether this more mature approach to opening the batting, means he would consider opening for the West Indies in Test cricket, especially in light of the fact that neither of the current openers – John Campbell or newly appointed Captain Kraigg Brathwaite – have been particularly convincing.
“I’ve gotten that question from many people. It’s actually something that I have thought about. The only problem is I haven’t played four-day cricket in a while now and I am not sure four-day cricket is going to be played this year,” he said revealing that even members of his family have been encouraging him to give it a go.
“It’s something that I have given good thought. At the end of the day Test cricket is the ultimate, everyone wants to play Test cricket. Hopefully, when the next four-day season arrives I can play and try and execute and try and get some good scores and hopefully be included. We will see what goes.”
The ‘new’ approach to his batting Lewis said began against Ireland in January 2020 when he had scores of 99 not out, 7 and 102 and planned to continue with this approach in the Sri Lanka series.
“I said this series I am going to give myself a fair chance. At the same time, you want to get off to a good start in the Power Play. I think I played that same way against Ireland last year. It’s something I have been working on in 50-over cricket. I want to try and pace my innings knowing I can otherwise make up in the middle overs and at the end, so it’s a work in progress.”
Lewis has scored 1778 runs in ODI cricket. He has four centuries and nine 50s and averages 37.82
CWI will deliver a series of free events — featuring several former players and administrators — which include an Online Women’s Foundation Coaching Course for over 80 present and past players, an interview series with special guests that explores the past, present and future of West Indies women’s cricket, as well as several Cricket Development Workshops held in Antigua. The aim of these initiatives is to engage, inspire and recruit more female players, coaches and course facilitators.
CWI President, Ricky Skerritt, will address the participants at the start of the virtual training session on Tuesday evening. In response to a question following his speech at the recent UWI Frank Worrell Lecture series, Skerritt promised that West Indies Women’s Cricket would soon see an increased attention and focus which he said should help vitalize Women’s cricket and strengthen the female cricketer’s pathway from grassroots to the international stage. The President highlighted the recent appointment of Courtney Walsh, as one of the key steps already taken.
Chris Brabazon, the CWI’s Coaching Development Manager, will be part of the CWI team who will be delivering these events in collaboration with Territorial Boards, Ministries of Sport and a host of past greats and contributors to West Indies cricket.
“In what is a hugely exciting time for women’s cricket with the inaugural ICC Women’s Under-19s and Cricket World Cups on the horizon, we want to ensure that women and girls from across the Caribbean feel that they can be part of the game in a playing, coaching or administrative capacity at any level as their involvement is crucial to a thriving and sustainable cricket pathway,” Brabazon said.
“The response to this week’s Online Foundation Course has been overwhelming with over 80 women signed up to take part in the event which is a clear reflection of the passion that exists for the game. The course will be held online, via Zoom, over two evenings due to the present COVID-19 restrictions.
“We will also be releasing a series of interviews and presentations that highlight the rich heritage of women’s cricket, the current landscape and the future direction which will bring together some of the ‘best of the best’ to share their views including newly appointed West Indies Women’s Coach, Courtney Walsh, Jimmy Adams, Merissa Aguilleira and Anne Browne-John.”
In fact, Lara who has never been shy about expressing his views, pointed out that the onus is on Cricket West Indies (CWI) to take the necessary steps to resolve the slippage, as the Caribbean side –ranked eighth in the ICC Test rankings –suffered a crushing innings and 114-run defeat to England inside three days in the first of their three-match series, at Lord’s.
“If you put 100 million, 200 million dollars into the West Indies’ bank account, is it going to change the way we play the game? I’m not sure. We are not harnessing the talent that we have,” Lara told BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast.
Though the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope possess enough ability to play crucial roles in Test, both have opted to play just white-ball cricket internationally, which enables them to play in franchise leagues across the world.
That along with the fact that other sports, such as athletics, are vying for the sponsorship dollars across the Caribbean, Lara believes has pushed cricket on the outside.
“Obviously, cricket has been diluted by the number of different sports and different opportunities for kids, but I still believe that corporate West Indies have got to get involved,” Lara said.
“The West Indies Cricket Board hasn’t done the right job in attracting these sponsors to ensure that at least grassroots, but also the academy, all the different things, the facilities, are up to standard. I think these things are very, very important,” he added.
On that note, Lara also stressed the need for more to be done to revive public interest in the longer format.
“We don’t have anybody coming through the gate. I walked in Lord’s about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and outside there were people waiting. That was something I was accustomed to as a kid, getting to the Queens Park Oval at 5:30 and waiting for the gate to be open.
“That’s not happening. You get there at 11 o’clock and there is an empty stadium. You could pick a seat wherever you want. We have to try to get the crowd back,” Lara shared.
“That will breathe the life back into the people of the Caribbean and let them understand what Test cricket is all about and you can get the world of money. You still need to sort of get the crowd more passionate about it and we haven’t been able to do that,” he noted.
Morris, along with Queensland fast bowler Michael Neser, have been drafted into the 15-man Australia squad with doubts lingering over skipper Pat Cummins' availability due to a quad injury.
Cummins did not bowl in the second innings of Australia's 164-run win over the West Indies, which concluded on Sunday in Perth, but did spend time in the field and indicated he was hopeful of playing in Adelaide.
Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland, who was in Australia's initial 13-man squad, is Cummins' likely replacement should he not prove his fitness, with Morris and Neser coming in as cover.
Morris, 24, is a Test bolter, having enjoyed an excellent 2022-23 Sheffield Shield season for WA, taking a competition-high 27 wickets in five matches.
Neser, who made his Test debut against England in Adelaide last year, has taken 24 wickets in five Shield matches for Queensland.
"Michael has been with the squad on a regular basis in past seasons and was simply outstanding in Adelaide last summer," Australia selection chair George Bailey said. "He has continued to perform incredibly consistently since and will be warmly welcomed back.
"Lance is another of the outstanding young fast bowlers coming through the ranks. He has genuine pace and his ability to create opportunities for wickets is a real drawcard. It will be great experience for him to come into the environment."
Moseley scored a 142-ball 83 as Holder’s XI chasing 313, closed on 149 for 3. His innings included nine fours and a six.
Nkrumah Bonner was unbeaten on 24 at the end.
Bowling for Brathwaite’s XI Raymon Reifer, who had 5 for 60 in the first innings, Oshane Thomas and Keon Harding each had one wicket.
Earlier, Shane Dowrich and Shamarh Brooks scored unbeaten half-centuries as Brathwaite’s XI got to lunch on 231 for 4 on the final morning of the warm-up match against Holder’s XI at Emirates Old Trafford.
The pair posted an unbroken stand of 131 as Brathwaite's XI stretched their overnight lead of 181 to 313 before declaring at lunch.
Resuming on their overnight score 99 for three, Brathwaite’s XI had an early setback when Shannon Gabriel trapped Roston Chase lbw for his overnight score of four. He then sent down a torrent of bouncers to Dowrich as things got tense between the two sides.
Brooks, meanwhile, got off to a slow start but gradually scored at better than a run a ball to go to the break unbeaten on 66 from 99 balls. Dowrich was not out 56 (83 balls) having taken a liking to the spin bowling of Rahkeem Cornwall and Jomel Warrican.
The 28-year-old took figures of 7-37 from 14.5 overs in the first innings and 6-62 from 17.3 overs in the second innings to set up an innings and four-run victory for the Windies.
Motie also took six wickets in the first match of the two-match series to finish with 19 in total, being named Player of the Series in the process.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had the second-best match figures of 2023 with his 12-131 against the West Indies in Dominica in July while Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon was third with his 11-99 against India in Indore in March.
Day three started with the West Indies 290-8 off 90.4 overs with Motie (11) and Holder (3) the not out batsmen.
The pair were able to add only two runs as the tourists were bowled out for 292 in 92.3 overs, leaving Zimbabwe needing 177 runs to make the West Indians have to bat again.
Victor Nyauchi took a career-best 5-56 off 17.3 overs while Brandon Mavuta took 3-73 from 24 overs for Zimbabwe.
In their second innings, only captain Craig Ervine and opener Innocent Kaia were able to provide any resistance as Motie ripped through the Zimbabwean batting line-up, just as he did in the first innings.
Ervine made 72 off 105 balls including four fours while Kaia had earlier made a 57-ball 43 including seven boundaries.
Motie, who was later named man of the match and man of the series, bowled 17.3 overs for his 6-62. He picked up 19 wickets in the series.
The regional side will now turn their attention to two Tests against South Africa from February 28-March 4 and March 8-12.
Scores: Zimbabwe 115 off 40.5 overs (Innocent Kaia 38, Gudakesh Motie 7-37, Jason Holder 2-18) and 173 off 47.3 overs (Craig Ervine 72, Innocent Kaia 43, Gudakesh Motie 6-62)
West Indies 292 off 92.3 overs (Roston Chase 70, Raymon Reifer 53, Joshua Da Silva 44, Victor Nyauchi 5-56, Brandon Mavuta 3-73)
The curtains came down on the highly entertaining series at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago last Thursday, where West Indies clinched a 3-2 victory.
This achievement was attributed to the prowess of Motie and Hosein, whose spin and accuracy restricted England to 132, before the batsmen completed the four-wicket win in the final over.
Hosein's two for 20 from his four overs in the match, resulted in his move two spots up to an all-time high of fourth on the list. He surpassed the Sri Lankan pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.
Meanwhile, Motie, with his three for 24, jumped 75 spots and entered the top 100 for the first time at 91st. Pacer Alzarri Joseph, who did not play in the last two matches of the series, is ranked at 19th, and fellow pacer Jason Holder is ranked at 26th, but no other West Indies bowler that featured in the series appeared in the top 100, as out-of-favour seamers Obed McCoy, Sheldon Cottrell, and Odean Smith are ranked 51st, 77th, and 85th respectively.
On the batting side, former West Indies white ball captain Nicholas Pooran and opener Brandon King, who achieved an all-time high placing of sixth during the series, are the highest ranked batsmen at 12th and 13th respectively.
Captain Rovman Powell, who achieved a career-best 23rd ranking during the series, is ranked 30th, while left-handed opener Kyle Mayers is 36th and fellow opener Johnson Charles is 51st. Sherfane Rutherford (71st), Shai Hope (89th), and Shimron Hetmyer (98th), are also in the top 100.
Chasing Zimbabwe’s modest first-innings total of 115, the West Indies were 133-4, a lead of 18 heading into day two. Kyle Mayers and Roston Chase are at the crease on eight and five, respectively.
The hosts, who won the toss and chose to bat, were quickly in trouble when Alzarri Joseph got opener Tanunurwa Makoni out for a 24-ball duck with only 16 runs on the board.
Innocent Kaia and Chamu Chibhabha put on 32 for the second wicket before the latter was caught by Tagenarine Chanderpaul at backward point off a Jason Holder delivery for 10.
One run later, Holder picked up his second wicket when he Kaia caught by Mayers at first slip as Zimbabwe slipped to 49-3.
That’s when Gudakesh Motie took over dismissing Milton Shumba for three and wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga for a duck at 64 and 68, respectively to leave Zimbabwe tottering at 70-5 at lunch.
It only took the West Indies 15.5 overs after lunch to wrap up the innings, despite a stubborn unbeaten 23 from Donald Tiripano, who hit the only six of the innings.
Craig Irvine made 22.
Motie took all five wickets to end with career-best figures of 7-37. Holder finished with 2-18 while Joseph took 1-29.
In reply, West Indies lost Captain Kraigg Brathwaite for seven to Wellington Masakadza but Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer repaired the early damage with a second-wicket partnership of 71 before Chanderpaul fell to Brandon Mavuta for 36.
Reifer went on to score 53 before was run out with the score at 117. Shortly after Jermaine Blackwood lost hi wicket for 22 giving Mavuta his second wicket of the innings leaving Mayers and Chase to see out the remaining overs.
Mavuta has so far taken 2-24 while Masakadza has figures of 1-32.
Overall, the spinner ended the opening Test with no wicket from 16 overs and conceded 43 runs. The debut stood a far way from his performances in the West Indies Championship this season where he claimed 17 wickets in five matches, earning the attention of the West Indies selectors.
The 27-year-old did, however, make some sort of contribution with the bat after making 23 unbeaten from 21 deliveries, in the first innings.
“He scored a 100 in the Championship, so he can hold the bat and he can score like we saw but his bowling is going to improve,” Simmons said, following the first Test.
“I think when you play in your first Test match there’s always nerves, there’s a lot of things, but his bowling is going to improve,” he added.
While, for the most part, it was the pace bowlers who dominated affairs, Bangladesh spinner Mehidy Hasan claimed 4 for 59 in the first innings to put some pressure on the West Indies batting line-up. West Indies and Bangladesh will face off in the second and final Test on Friday.
The 27-year-old Guyanese slow left-arm bowler took 7-37 to see Zimbabwe fold in just 40-5 overs.
Opener Innocent Kaia offered the greatest resistance to the West Indies bowling attack, making 38 in his 52-ball stay at the crease before he was dismissed by Jason Holder, who took 2-18.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Zimbabwe lost five wickets for 70 runs from the 25 overs bowled in the pre-lunch session, the wickets shared between Alzarri Joseph, Holder and Motie.
In just over an hour and 15.5 overs the West Indies post lunch, Motie wreaked havoc starting with the dismissal of Craig Irvine for 22.
He was the only other batter to make double figures before Donald Tiripano pushed back briefly with an unbeaten 23 before Motie bowled Tanaka Chivanga for six to end Zimbabwe’s suffering.
Alzarri Joseph who started the ball rolling when he bowled opener Tanunurwa Makoni for a 24-ball duck with only 16 runs on the board, finished with figures of 1-29.
The 32-year-old top-order batsman has been one of the outstanding players in the West Indies Championship so far. After two rounds, the player’s 242 runs scored at an average of 80.66 puts him second behind West Indies red ball captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who has scored 341 so far.
The Leeward Hurricanes have won one match and lost one match so far, his highest score of 112 critical in a fightback against Barbados. Despite his exploits, he was not named to the West Indies squad to face England in the first Test but did find his name among those taking part in a 12-man President’s XI squad.
“I’m just looking at it as getting the opportunity to play some cricket, so I give thanks for that. I was motivated since last year during the 2020/21 season and I just (took) it over into 2022 and try to do a lot better and be a bit more consistent. I am trying to stay in the moment and trying to be more consistent,” Thomas told the Antigua Observer.
“I had a goal before the match where I was looking for 150 runs, but I got a bit close to that. It could have been more, but I was pleased at the end of the day. I think we had good performances in both games but we were short of a player in the first game when Jerimiah Louis came down with a sickness and we played with 10 men throughout the whole game.”
The CWI President’s XI squad will play England in a four-day warm-up match at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) starting March 1.
The 32-year-old Narine is widely regarded as one of the best spinners in the world but has not appeared for the West Indies since 2019. In total, Narine has played 6 Test matches, where he claimed 21 wickets, 65 One Day Internationals, where he has claimed 92 wickets, and 51 T20 Internationals where he has taken 52.
The player has, however, throughout his career been plagued by questions surrounding his bowling action. In 2015, Narine was suspended from bowling in international cricket, after his action was deemed to be illegal. He was reported during the ODI series against Sri Lanka. He was cleared a year later after doing remedial work on his action. Narine was reported again during the 2018 Pakistan Super League but was cleared soon after. Again, in October 2020, the spinner was reported by on-field umpires for his bowling action in the 2020 Indian Premier League, which was cleared by IPL Suspect Bowling Action Committee in September.
According to Harper, at this point, the bowler does not seem comfortable enough with his technique to return to international cricket.
“Sunil Narine has indicated to us that he is not yet ready for the international scene,”
Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“He was still in the process of fine-tuning his action. He had some issues with that so he is in the process of fine-tuning it,” he added.
“So, when he makes himself available and thinks that he is ready for international cricket, we will then have to make a determination at that point.”
A franchise system was introduced to the regional cricket set-up approximately six years ago. It has led to teams taking part in the regional One Day and Four Day tournaments as clubs, as opposed to just countries.
For the most part, however, with a few exceptions, the franchises have remained mostly composed of players from the countries in which they are based. Benjamin believes some of that is due to a bit of nationalism, which he has pointed out is harmful to the professional set-up and the development of the game overall.
“One of the things in the Caribbean is that I think, patriotism is killing us. Sir Viv would know that when we go to England to play and when he played for Somerset and Glamorgan that’s where you play for and that’s where you represent because that’s where you are at that time. But I think in the Caribbean everybody wants to play for their country rather than play cricket and that is one of the problems we are facing,” Benjamin said in a recent interview with the Good Morning Jojo Sports Show.
“We need to be exposing our best players, it doesn’t matter where they come from and it would only make other players raise their standard. If we are playing mediocre players just because of where they come from then the standard isn’t going to rise,” he added.
In previous seasons, players like Guyana’s Assad Fudadin, Keron Cottoy and several others have represented teams outside of their country of birth, but they remain in the minority. Benjamin pointed to the case of Nicholas Pooran and Joshua Silver who both play for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel.
“You have Pooran and you have Da Silva but when you look at Da Silva and the type of cricketer he is, he is not a bad wicketkeeper either, so he could be pushing for one of the wicketkeeper spots as well. But what if you have the number one and number two wicketkeepers in Trinidad.”
Leonardo Julien also contributed 40 to the winning total.
The young West Indians who beat Australia in their opening match scored 267 for 7 from their 50 overs. Had they been successful, it would have been England U19’s highest-ever successful chase, but it was not to be.
Tight bowling by the West Indies held England in check early and it eventually paid dividends as they collapsed from 120-2 to 184-9, with Young putting in another solid allround performance, taking 5-45.
Spinner Hamidullah Qadri, who took 2-46 and Lewis Goldsworthy 2-28, were the best bowlers for England, who were losing their first match of the tournament.
England openers Ben Charlesworth and Jordan Cox shared an opening stand of 50 from the first 12 overs. However, after both batsmen were dismissed – Cox for 20 and Charlesworth for 39, England struggled.
From there they lost wickets at regular intervals, which limited their ability to accelerate and match an ever-rising required run rate.
England eventually got to 184 for 9 in the 44th over before rain mercifully brought an end to their struggles.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the topics up for debate ahead of the series opener in Antigua on Sunday.
Keep calm and carry on
No longer the standard-bearers in ODIs after their crown dramatically slipped in India, the talk from outside the England camp is of a reset. Those inside the dressing room, however, argue that one bad campaign should not be followed by radical transformation. It is sound logic given how successful the blueprint created by Eoin Morgan then taken on by Jos Buttler was, enabling England to become the first nation to hold both limited-overs World Cups simultaneously.
Out with the old, in with the new
So a change in approach seems unlikely but only half a dozen of the World Cup squad have travelled out to the Caribbean, which might have been the case regardless of how well they fared. Many of England’s established stars are the wrong side of 30 and unlikely to be involved in the 2027 World Cup – some such as Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes might not play another ODI. Will Jacks and Phil Salt are set to form an explosive opening combination while teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and pacemen Gus Atkinson and the uncapped John Turner may be at the forefront of a new era.
Pressure on Buttler and Mott
As England’s World Cup title defence unravelled, scrutiny inevitably fell on the decision-making of captain Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott. They have been backed fully by director of men’s cricket Rob Key, who shouldered some of the blame for prioritising the Test team above all else. While Key expects the experience to strengthen Buttler-Mott as a partnership, he added the caveat: “If it isn’t, it isn’t and you move on.” Victory in this series and in the three T20s that follow – six months before returning here for the T20 World Cup – would go a long way to easing some concerns.
Cricket’s unrelenting schedule
Barely three weeks on from the final match of the World Cup, six travellers from a gruelling trip to India are in another continent preparing for a different series. Buttler, Atkinson, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Brydon Carse hardly had any time back in the UK before having to pack their suitcases again. A congested programme is frequently lamented and shows no sign of slowing down – although these are England’s last ODIs until September.
Rally round the West Indies
While England’s campaign in India went badly awry and they finished seventh out of 10 teams, the Windies were absent from the extravaganza, losing four of five matches and finishing below Scotland and Zimbabwe in the qualifiers. Shai Hope remains captain but the hosts will be without Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran because of their involvement in the Abu Dhabi T10, a reminder of the Windies’ talent drain to franchise competitions. Shane Dowrich was then named in the squad before immediately retiring from international cricket this week. Little-known players such as Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty and Gudakesh Motie therefore get a chance to show what they can do as the Windies look to rebuild.
The 34,000-seat stadium, a first of its kind for cricket, is expected to be completed within a mere three months, and is scheduled to host eight matches, including the high-profile fixture between India and Pakistan on June 9.
The stadium will feature an array of seating options including premium and general admission, VIP and hospitality suites, as well as a unique party deck and cabanas.
Sustainability is at the forefront of this project. The grandstands, previously used for the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, are being repurposed for the T20 World Cup venue.
The design team behind this ambitious project is Populous, renowned for creating some of the most iconic stadia worldwide, including the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
In New York, they are the architect of record for both the New York Yankees and New York Mets.
“We are excited to be unveiling the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024," ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.
It is an incredibly important milestone in the lead up to the biggest ICC event ever, with work commencing on the stadium which will be able to accommodate 34,000 cricket fans."
“We are partnering with world-class suppliers to deliver the modular stadium to ensure that players and fans can enjoy an unforgettable experience across the eight matches in New York in June this year.”
The stadium will not only cater to cricket enthusiasts but also promises a world-class experience for all guests. It will feature a dedicated fan zone, a variety of food and beverage outlets, and state-of-the-art media and broadcast areas.
The wicket, a drop-in square similar to those used at Adelaide Oval and Eden Park, is currently being curated in Florida. It will be transported to New York in early May.
The venue, 30 miles east of Manhattan, will have good transport and parking facilities, with three train stations also available in the vicinity.
Fans will have their opportunity to be a part of history by attending a festival of cricket and seeing the world’s best players in action, with eight T20 World Cup matches hosted at the venue, beginning with the clash between Sri Lanka and South Africa on June 3.
