On Wednesday, the Kiwis took an unassailable 3-1 series lead after beating the West Indies via a tense Super Over. In the regular innings, the Caribbean team successfully chased down but could not overhaul New Zealand's score of 111.
In the Super Over, Matthews and Natasha McLean put on 15 runs but New Zealand captain Sophie Devine put on a savage display of power hitting, which ended with a last-ball six off Matthew to plunder 17-runs from the over and the series win.
With the likes of Anisa Mohammed, former captain Stafanie Taylor, and the recently retired Deandra Dottin all missing from the squad the team included several developing players and a few returning ones.
“This is very good for the girls getting the opportunity to go out there and play the highest level of cricket. To play against an experienced team like New Zealand with a lot of veterans and known campaigners,” Matthews said.
“We do have a lot of injuries but it’s a great opportunity for the girls to get out there be in the deep end, have a good go at international cricket, and hopefully learn a lot,” she added.
With Matthews only recently having taken over the captaincy from Taylor she admits the situation also presents her with a personal opportunity to develop in the role.
“The team has been supporting me really well. It’s definitely thrown me in the deep end a bit with a lot of the injuries that we have had and not having as much experience on the team but at the same time, I think it’s only going to help me to learn faster and be better as well. So, I’m just embracing the challenge.”
Young was a member of the West Indies Rising Stars squad at the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup and has also played for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Carty, meanwhile, has been a consistent member of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes squad for the last five years. He was Player of the Match in the final of the 2016 ICC U19 World Cup won by the West Indies.
West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons outlined that the camp will focus on improving skill sets as the West Indies look ahead to two major global events over the next two years – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India.
“The camp will be a chance for us to do some work with players in the white-ball formats, players who might have a chance to play in the coming white-ball teams later this year,” Simmons said.
“The most important thing is that we will be doing things in the camp that we have not been doing well, such as rotating strike, sweeping, and playing spin better. It’s about working on things that we’re not 100 per cent at yet. We have several players at IPL who will be working at their games as well, so we’re working with the players here to make sure they keep up the standard and improve.”
Simmons also weighed in on the selection of Carty and Young for the camp.
Keacy Carty was a reserve for the team which toured India in February. If there was any reason why players couldn’t go, he was the next batsman in line. He is one of the players we have looked at before,” Simmons revealed.
“Nyeem Young is one of the potentially good young all-rounders we have around the Caribbean, so we just want to bring them in and get them to understand what we expect of them if they get to that level.”
In late May, the West Indies travel to The Netherlands for the first-ever three-match One Day International Series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan which was postponed in December.
These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, where teams will have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
West Indies will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand with all three series featuring white-ball matches. Details of these tours will be announced in the coming weeks.
Players for white-ball camp: Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Devon Thomas and Nyeem Young.
The 38-year-old Bravo announced his retirement from international cricket last Thursday after the West Indies lost to Sri Lanka by 20 runs effectively ending their world cup campaign.
"I think the time has come," Bravo said. "I've had a very good career. To represent the West Indies for 18 years, had some ups and downs, but as I look back at it I'm very grateful to represent the region and the Caribbean people for so long.”
Gayle, meanwhile, is holding off talk of retirement for the time being as he has hopes of donning West Indies colours at least once more before he calls time on his record-breaking career.
"It's been a phenomenal career. I didn't announce any retirement but they actually give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say 'hey guys, thank you so much. Let's see. If not, I'll announce it a long time and then I'll be joining DJ Bravo in the backend and say thanks to each and everyone but I can't say that as yet," Gayle said prior to the West Indies’ eight-wicket loss to Australia on Saturday.
Notwithstanding Gayle’s comments, there can be no doubting the fact that his days in international cricket are numbered, a reality that prompted Pooran to pay tribute to both players, who have inspired him.
“Personally, I've witnessed (ed) two gentlemen who have left it all out on the cricket field, from being super excited to reach home fast from school to see @chrisgayle333 smash it all over the park and then see @djbravo47 defend basically less to nothing in a last over and then do his dance celebrations, to then playing with them in their last world cup game, that was something special,” Pooran posted in Instagram on Saturday.
“Seeing you guys walk away today put tears to my eyes but very pleasing at the same time knowing you guys have achieved so much in your careers. So from me to you guys, thank you for my childhood and all the best in whatever you do in the future!”
Meanwhile, Lewis, who opened with Gayle for the West Indies on several occasions, wished the two departing well.
“Words can’t describe. I’m a person of few words but it’s been an honour watching you guys on TV then sharing the same dressing room. Go well champs @djbravo47 @chrisgayle333,” said the power-hitting Trinidadian.
Pooran, perhaps the man to lead the West Indies into a new era, apologized for the team’s poor performances in the world cup and promised that even as two of the game’s greats ride into the sunset of their careers, the West Indies has the talent bounce back stronger than before.
“To our fans all over the world and back home, we know we have disappointed you guys, but let's not forget what we have accomplished in the last nine years winning two titles. It has been a wonderful era, but we will rise again,” he said.
Pooran will take over the captaincy for the West Indies ODI and T20I teams after being Pollard’s deputy over the last year. The appointment will include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October 2023. Shai Hope has been recommended to stand as vice-captain of the ODI team.
CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said: “We believe Nicholas is ready for the challenge of leading our white ball teams given his experience, performances, and the respect he has within the playing group. The Selection Panel believes that Nicholas has matured as a player and were impressed with his leadership of both teams when Kieron Pollard had been absent. The experience he has gathered playing in various franchise leagues around the world was also a factor in the decision to recommend him for the T20 captaincy.”
Pooran has already captained the West Indies Men in Pollard’s absence, leading them to a CG Insurance T20I Series win at home against Australia in 2021.
The left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman has eight half-centuries and an ODI century to his name. He has also scored eight T20I half-centuries for the West Indies Senior Men’s team. He first burst onto the cricket scene representing the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2014 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, smashing 303 runs from six matches.
CWI President Ricky Skerritt congratulated Pooran on his appointment saying, “Nicholas Pooran is a specially gifted cricketer, and the right person to take over the white ball captaincy. We are confident that he will continue to climb the leadership learning curve speedily, and successfully. I appeal to all West Indies cricket stakeholders to give Nicholas the support and encouragement that he deserves.”
Pooran expressed his delight in his appointment saying, “I am truly honored to be appointed captain of the West Indies team. I am following the footsteps of several giants of the game who have created an amazing legacy for West Indies cricket. This is indeed a prestigious role, a pivotal position in the West Indian society, as cricket is the force that brings us all West Indians together. To be named captain is indeed the highlight of my career so far and I want to drive the team forward to accomplish great things on the field for our fans and loyal supporters.”
His first outing as captain will be the three away ODIs against The Netherlands in Amstelveen starting May 31 which form part of the ICC World Cup Super League.
Holding a 2-0 lead in this five-match series, the Windies were full of confidence and cleared the rope on 16 occasions in Grenada, taking their tally across the three matches to 43 sixes.
Captain Rovman Powell belted 39 off 21 deliveries while Sherfane Rutherford marked his first appearance of the series with 29 off 17 as the Windies pressed the accelerator to add 79 in the last four overs.
Not even Adil Rashid was exempt from the carnage as he leaked 15 in his final offering, albeit having Pooran caught in the deep to finish with two for 32.
Reece Topley was magnificent up top in his first match back since a broken finger ended his World Cup early, taking one for 14 in three overs in the powerplay but he conceded 18 after being given the 20th.
Topley and Gus Atkinson were given their first outings as England shuffled their bowlers, with Chris Woakes and Rehan Ahmed left out, but it was a mixed bag from the tourists after winning the toss.
Rashid, Topley and Moeen Ali escaped most of the damage but Tymal Mills went for 25 in the 17th over and Sam Curran 21 in the 19th – although he did claim a couple of wickets two days on from being belted for 30 in five legal deliveries.
Pooran steadied the Windies after they lost both openers by the second over then upped the ante after reaching a 37-ball fifty, taking 29 off his next eight deliveries before holing out off Rashid.
Wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran moved three spots to break into the top 10 after scores of 65 not out, 19 and 35 across the three games. The aggressive left-hander is now the Caribbean side’s highest-ranked batsman in the format, overtaking the injured Brandon King, who slipped one place down to 10 after he sat out the series.
Johnson Charles, who also didn’t feature in the series, also slipped one place down to 11th, while West Indies captain Rovman Powell stood still at number 34.
Shai Hope continues to prove his worth in the games shortest format, as his scores of 51, 41, and an unbeaten 42 saw him jump 32 places up to 40th, overtaking out-of-favour Kyle Mayers, who slipped three spots down to 42nd as the next West Indies players in the top 50.
Despite the loss, South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks also made gains, as he moved up to 13th position.
In the bowling rankings, West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein of moved up four places to second position after taking four wickets in three matches. He was joined by fellow left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who moved 10 slots up to third, while Romario Shepherd moved 13 spots up to 31st position.
Alzarri Joseph, who slipped four spots to 15th, Jason Holder (44th) and left-arm seamer Obed McCoy (50th) are the other West Indies bowlers in the top 50.
Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook moved up to fourth position, while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Rizwan have reached career-best positions in the ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings after their fine performances over the past week.
Brook’s scores of 56 and 32 in the first match of their ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka in Manchester lifted him three places to fourth position, just one adrift of his career-best third position attained following his second-innings century against the West Indies at Trent Bridge last month.
Bangladesh batter Mushfiq’s match-winning 191 in the first Test of the WTC series against Pakistan in Rawalpindi has helped him advance seven places to a career-best-equalling 17th position, while Pakistan’s Rizwan is in the top 10 for the first time after scores of 171 not out and 51.
Others to move up the Test rankings include Sri Lanka batters Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 23rd) and Kamindu Mendis (up eight places to 36th), Bangladesh’s Liton Das (up two places to 27th) and England’s Jamie Smith (up 22 places to 42nd).
In the Test bowling rankings, England’s Chris Woakes is up four places to 16th after taking three wickets each in both innings against Sri Lanka while Asitha Fernando is up 10 places to 17th after also finishing with six wickets in the match.
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah (up four places to 33rd), England’s new-ball bowler Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) and Matthew Potts (up five places to 57th) are the prominent movers in the bowling rankings.
“I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup," said Pooran. "I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.
“The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.”
The Trinidadian middle-order batsman said relinquishing the captaincy is not an indicator that he was throwing in the towel.
“This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role," he said.
"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.
“I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud.”
CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams thanked Pooran for his time leading the two teams.
“On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future,” Adams said.
Last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies in the absence of Kieron Pollard, enjoying a T20 International (T20I) Series win against Australia at home (4-1). He was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Pollard stepped down. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording Series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).
The West Indies Men’s next white ball series is against South Africa in March 2023 (directly after the two Test Match Series) and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.
The West Indies, the only team to win the T20 title twice – in 2012 and 2016 – has seen their vice-captain struggle for form in the Indian Premier League where he batted in the middle order for the Punjab Kings with little success.
Coming off a fair campaign for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2021 Hero CPL where in 10 innings he scored 263 runs at an average of 32.88 and strike rate of 163.35, Pooran who turned 26 on October 2, has experienced a precipitous dip in form in the IPL.
In 11 innings for the Punjab Kings, Pooran has only managed to score 85 runs at an anaemic average and strike rate of 7.72 and 111.84, respectively, numbers that have even him concerned.
“Definitely not the IPL season I wanted but the opportunity to be tested both mentally and physically was a great experience, one to learn from very fast,” the Trinidadian posted on Instagram this past weekend.
However, Simmons expressed faith in the player’s ability to return to form in time for the world cup in the United Arab Emirates where the West Indies will open their campaign against England on October 23.
“I am not too worried about Nicholas. I think Nicholas has been batting well,” said the head coach during a media session from the UAE on Monday. “In the CPL, he played well, there was a lot of pressure on him there and there is going to be more pressure here but I think he has been working hard enough. He is doing all that he has to do and sometimes it doesn’t come off, but it will come off so I am not worried about him.”
Since the start of the CPL in August, Pooran has had one score of over 50 runs in T20 matches, and that was an unbeaten 75 against the Jamaica Tallawahs on September 10.
Gabriel, who took the wickets of Tom Blundell, Will Young and Ross Taylor, ended the day with figures of 3 for 57. Holder, who was arguably the best bowler on the day, had 2 for 65. Either bowler should have had Nicholls out before he got to 50. In fact, three of the West Indies front line bowlers could have snared his wicket but Nicholls rode his luck to what is his sixth Test century that put New Zealand in a command at 294 for 6 on a tricky pitch.
Shamarh Brooks dropped a difficult chance off the fifth ball of the 28th over when Nicolls, then on 22, flicked Alzarri Joseph to short leg. However, the fielder was unable to hold on.
Then in the 36th over, when on 30, Nicholls hooked Joseph over the long leg boundary, a shot that should have resulted in a catch had Jermaine Blackwood held his ground on the boundary ropes and not run into 10 yards only to see the ball land just beyond where he had been standing. Joseph sank to his knees in anguish.
The easiest chances were to come later.
Facing Gabriel in the 41st over Nicholls edged to Darren Bravo who floored a regulation catch at second slip. The frustrations of the West Indies players were further deepened in the 44th over when Chemar Holder found Nicholls’ edge only for Bravo to floor another catch at slip.
Riding his wave of good fortune, Nicholls mounted partnerships of 70 with Young, who became Gabriel’s 150 Test victim when Jason Holder pulled off a stunning catch diving low to his right at second slip. Young made 43 helping New Zealand recover from 78 for 3.
A 55-run fifth-wicket stand with BJ Watling followed. The partnership was broken when Watling chopped a back-of-a-length delivery from Alzarri Joseph onto his stumps at 203 for 5.
And, just when it seemed as if the West Indies were about to make further inroads into the New Zealand line up, Nicholls and Daryl Mitchell put on 83 before Mitchell, who was dropped by Holder off Roston Chase when on 41, became Chemar Holder’s second Test wicket, trapped lbw for 42.
The 22-year-old Barbadian had earlier got Tom Latham caught behind by Joshua Da Silva for 27 to have New Zealand at 63 for 2.
Kyle Jamieson, who scored an unbeaten half century in the first Test is not out on one at the other end.
Alzarri Joseph has taken 1 for 65 from 17 overs.
Former Jamaica and West Indies spinner Nikita Miller is embracing a significant milestone in his coaching career, having been appointed assistant coach for the regional side’s two-match Test tour of Pakistan.
The series, scheduled for January 17–29, at the Multan Cricket Stadium, marks the West Indies’ first Test tour in Pakistan in 18 years and the final chapter of the two-year World Test Championship cycle.
The pair added a record 179 for the sixth wicket and Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to make a century away from home in his first match. He eventually fell to a catch by Kemar Roach from the bowling of off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall, who ended with 3-137 off a marathon 42.5 overs.
Roach had the best figures of 3-74 off 27 overs to end the match with six wickets – following up his 3-47 off 16 overs in the first innings.
This left the West Indies with a victory target of 375. They reached 34-1 at the close and will require another 341 to win on the final day with nine wickets in hand. Nkrumah Bonner will resume Thursday on 15 not out and with him captain Kraigg Brathwaite on eight not out.
The match resumes on Thursday at 10 am (9 am Jamaica Time).
Bonner scored an unbeaten 113 and featured in partnerships of 66 with Captain Kraigg Braithwaite, who made 23 and 105 with Kyle Mayers, who scored 52.
The 32-year-old Bonner was also involved with an unbroken stand of 32 with Jason Holder (18) when play was called off in the final hour of play with the West Indies 236 for 4 pursuing 375 for victory.
Bonner, who was 15 overnight, faced 274 balls in his knock that lasted 423 minutes in which time he hit 13 fours and a six.
It was a performance that earned him the Man of the Match Award.
"It's truly special for me. This is my childhood dream and I'm really happy I got this monkey off my back,” said Bonner, who came close to a Test century on two previous occasions when he scored 86 and 90 in two Tests against Bangladesh in January.
Bonner who was dismissed for 31 in the first innings, revealed, however, that scoring his first Test century did not come without challenges.
“The first innings my foot wasn't moving as much as I wanted it too,” he said.
“Sri Lankan bowlers are very disciplined so it was very important to me to stay disciplined and play in the V as much as possible. I think Lakmal was really challenging. All of them are challenging but he was a cut above the rest."
Lakmal who took five wickets in the West Indies first innings of 271, ended without a wicket in the second innings but the pressure he created yielded wickets for his teammates. Vishwa Fernando took 2-73 while Lasith Embuldeniya had 2-62.
Scores in the match: Sri Lanka 169 and 476. West Indies 271 and 236-4.
Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding was recently critical of both teams, as he pointed out that they had ditched the symbolic taking a knee gesture during the ongoing series. England and the West Indies showed support for the movement before all three Tests at the start of the season, and the practice continued for the one-day series against Ireland. It has not been seen for the visits of Pakistan and Australia.
While insisting that the team had not forgotten the issue, Langer pointed out that Australia had simply been focused on the series and unusual circumstances, but that in retrospect there could have been more discussions surrounding the issue.
“When Mikey says what he says, it’s certainly worth listening to. In terms of taking a knee, to be completely honest, we could have talked more about it perhaps leading up to the first game,” Langer said.
“There was so much going on leading up to us getting here, maybe we should have talked more about it,” he added.
“What we do talk about within the team was that we want to have a response that is sustained and powerful and that it can go not just in one action but a sustained period. Not just throughout this series and the summer but throughout time.
“I just hope if it looked like there was a lack of respect, it wasn’t the intention of our team. We were very aware of it.”
England pace bowler Jofra Archer had issued a much sharper response, insisting that England had not forgotten the issue and that Holding should have “done his research”.
The 24-year-old Paul has been included in a 15-man Test squad to face New Zealand this month. The player was previously invited for the team’s tour of England but along with Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer, declined to participate for health reasons.
His selection has not been entirely without controversy, with some believing the player to be too inconsistent to play Test cricket, particularly with the way he bowls. Estwick believes, however, that a few of those inefficiencies come down to not playing the format enough.
“Keemo is very talented player, obviously he hasn’t played first-class cricket for a while because he has been with the West Indies and on the T20 circuit. It’s good to have him back to see where he is at. We have two first class games coming up to see where he is at,” Estwick told members of the media.
“We know the talent of Keemo Paul there is no doubt about that, a wonderful talent player. He reminds me of someone like the late Keith Boyce from Barbados who represented the West Indies. Very athletic fielder, good mover, excellent timer of the ball,” he added.
“Remember Keemo is only 24 so it’s about how hard you work and how much preparation you put in. Once Keemo can do that and he can get first class cricket under his belt, there is no doubt about his talent. The last time he played a full first-class season he got 40-odd first-class wickets.”
South Africa won the third encounter between the teams by a single run to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series. At 96 for 3, at the halfway mark, chasing 168, the West Indies seemed well on the way to the target but were often stifled by Tabraiz Shamsi who turned in the most economical effort of his career (2 for 13 in four overs).
Even so, needing 44 runs off the last four overs, Andre Russell seemed set to deliver a win for the team when he smashed back-to-back sixes off Anrich Nortje but was dismissed later in the over after also being dropped.
Pooran, who made a pedestrian 26 for 28, and is really yet to fire for the series, smashed Lungi Ngidi over midwicket for six off the second ball of the 18th over but could not maintain that momentum and was dismissed by Nortje in a penultimate over that only cost 4 runs.
“I felt like South Africa bowled well, they bowled well in the middle and they bowled well in the last two overs of the game and I think that’s where they won the game,” Pooran said following the match.
“As a team, we are still building, we are still trying to bind as a team. I didn’t think it was too bad, in T20 games partnerships form, you lose wickets, but I felt like today was our game to win in all honesty,” he added.
“We had that partnership, I was there until the second to last over with Fabian and we should have found a way to win that game. No excuses.”
With the recent surge in coronavirus infections, and particularly with the threat posed by the new omicron strain, the government under the Disaster Risk Management act, has continued to restrict gatherings.
Gayle, the leading runs scorer in the history of T20 cricket and widely regarded as one of the format’s greatest players was widely expected to retire following the team’s disappointing showing at this year’s T20 World Cup. However, following the conclusion of the tournament, the player announced that it was possible that he would feature in one more match, which would serve as a farewell event.
A few weeks ago, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that the player would be a part of the T20 squad for the upcoming match against Ireland at Sabina Park. As such, CWI and the JCA were hoping to have fans present for the event. Gayle has been part of two World Cup-winning teams for the West Indies.
The trio was invited to the tour but declined to participate due to concerns surrounding the spread of the coronavirus. Despite not being in rich veins of form, Hetmyer and Bravo are considered to be two of the team’s most talented and dangerous batsmen and Paul a promising all-rounder.
Despite an average performance from the bowling line-up, the team on occasion found themselves well short of batting, particularly in the final Test where they could only manage 326 in both innings. England, by comparison, made 369 in the first innings. Based on the conditions Holder, however, does believe the batsmen’s inclusion would necessarily have helped the situation.
“I’m very happy with the team we brought up here. The team we brought up here is a part of our Test team. There is no guarantee that Bravo, Hetmyer or Paul would play,” Holder told members of the media via a Zoom press conference interview.
“The way we’ve gone as a batting unit, we haven’t had the consistency we have been looking for. If you look at two of the three players they are batsmen so there is no guarantee and Paul was a back-up to what we had here so far,” Holder said.
“The squad we had here was the squad to do it. I’m happy with the guys who came and the work we put in. It’s unfortunate the way it turned out but there are still lots of positives,” he added.
During the series, Root was picked up on the stump mics responding to an unheard comment from Gabriel. "Don't use it as an insult," he said. "There's nothing wrong with being gay."
Gabriel was charged the next day for an alleged homophobic remark and did not contest the charges. The footage received widespread attention. The player was charged with a Level Two offence under article 2.13 of the ICC's Code of Conduct, covering "personal abuse".
Having recently recovered from injury, Gabriel could be in line to face up with Root again when the teams compete in a three-Test series next month. The bowler has downplayed the incident and has insisted he has long moved past it.
"To be honest that was in the past," Gabriel said. "I don't really think about it too much. Whatever happened or whatever was said, I don't really want to harp on about that, I'm just looking to the future now. I've just come here to play good cricket if selected, and do my best for West Indies cricket,” he added.
"I just think the way they dealt with it was blown way out of proportion," he added. "The story that was told was not entirely true, but I just want to move on and forget that."
The Caribbean team will take on Bangladesh with somewhat of an unfamiliar line-up, having seen several players pull out of the tour due to concerns regarding the coronavirus. Among the replacements will be four Test players who are still looking for their first cap and 7 One Day International (ODI) players who could be playing for the first time.
An unexpected and surprise selection for the West Indies squad could, however, gift some players with a platform to make their case for regular inclusion in the first team squad. Mohammed, however, does not expect that fact to put added pressure on himself or the other batsmen to perform well during the series.
“I wouldn’t say it more pressure there are young guys who are obviously looking to play international cricket. I don’t think it’s more pressure, I think it’s an ideal opportunity for all of us,” Mohammed told members of the media on Thursday.
“We can put our hands up and say we are ready for international cricket. I do not think it is more pressure for us, I would say we are just looking forward to the opportunity.”
Thursday featured a century partnership between England vice-captain Ben Stokes, 59 not out, and opener Dom Sibley, 86 no out, which helped the hosts recover from 81-3 to end day one on 207-3.
Earlier Roston Chase had breached the top-order defiance of Sibley and Rory Burns, removing the latter just before lunch for 15. Chase was back at it straight after lunch, getting rid of Zak Crawley, who had scored 76 in the second innings of the first Test, this time for a duck.
England captain, Joe Root, who looked in good shape, was setting up an England fightback when Alzarri Joseph, 1-41, had him driving to a delivery that swung away from him and left his shot in the big hands of Jason Holder at second slip.
There were to be no further reasons to smile for the West Indies who bowled 50.4 wicketless overs at Stokes and Sibley.
There was a chance after Shannon Gabriel’s half volley outside Sibley's off stump was edged to Holder, who was making his first mistake of the series, beaten for pace to see the chance floored.
“It was a typical Test day. I thought England batted well. They were very patient,” said a calm-sounding Brathwaite of the day’s events.
According to Brathwaite, while the West Indies did not grab many wickets, the team bowled well enough to still be in the game.
“I know we just got three wickets but I still think we were in the game. We didn’t give away any quick runs,” said Brathwaite.
The West Indies vice-captain expects more runs to be scored on the Manchester wicket than was the case in the first Test at the Ageas Bowl.
“It’s a decent pitch, so you know when we get a chance to bat you know, we just have to be patient and believe in ourselves,” he said.
“We would have loved more wickets but we kept in touch. It was good from us. We kept pressure on, it was just unfortunate that we didn’t take some of the chances.”
