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.”
Brathwaite was widely commended for his role in leading an understrength team to a 2-0 win away to Bangladesh earlier this month. Holder, on the other hand, was one of 12 players to pull out of the tour after citing health and safety concerns.
Holder had, however, also pointed to feeling some level of fatigue having had to deal with quarantine situations in both the West Indies prior tours of England and New Zealand. However, in addition, aspects of the team’s performance on those tours had also put Holder and his captaincy under the microscope.
While admitting that the team had performed exceptionally well in Bangladesh, Radford, however, sees no reason to replace Holder as the man in charge for the upcoming Sri Lanka series.
“I think they surprised everybody not least of all Bangladesh, probably their own supporters as well. They performed really well. But it’s very easy to get carried away, isn’t it? You have a couple of big wins like that and then suddenly we have done it because Kraigg Brathwaite is captain and Jason Holder wasn’t captain,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Who’s to know if Jason was captain whether you would have had the two wins anyway,” he added.
“There were a lot of very good individual performances and because individuals play well and you win two matches, to me, that isn’t down to captaincy.”
In supporting his decision to stick with Holder, Radford pointed to the example of the incident with India captain Virat Kolhi, which occurred during the Asian team's big win over Australia.
“It was raised the other day, someone mentioned Virat Kohli. They (India) lost the game in Australia, he went home for the birth of his child. They went suddenly and won a couple of games. When they started the Test series against England, in India, nobody questioned whether Kohli should captain the team. He came back in because he was captain.”
Simmons, 61, joins Oceania side as a specialist coach, and he will provide Papua New Guinea's head coach Tatenda Taibu with some added experience and knowledge of playing in Caribbean conditions during the June 1-29 showpiece, which will also see games being played in United States.
“My role here is as a consultant coach and how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups, but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at,” Simmons shared.
Having built a strong reputation working with international sides such as Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Afghanistan, Simmons, who has played the sport for 14 years and coached for a further 18 years, was pressed for time to spend in the Caribbean and, as such, welcomed the opportunity to spend some time in the twin island republic.
“It’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies you know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad. Having people come here, me getting back here, it’s always a great thing, it’s always something to look forward to," he declared.
Simmons, who recently joined the Papua New Guinea squad in their pre-World Cup training camp in St Kitts, expressed pleasure with what he has seen so far.
“Their energy is unbelievable. Their warm-ups alone, got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well. In training, we started to get out in the middle of their game, so they started on some of the things they have to do here in the Caribbean, and it’s nice to see the energy that’s among this squad," Simmons said.
“I’ve known the head coach [Taibu] for a long time, and he’s always been energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is concerned, and so I like that atmosphere in the team, I like the liveliness in the team," he added.
Papua New Guinea will contest Group C alongside West Indies, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and Uganada. They will open against the Caribbean side on June 2, at the National Cricket Stadium in Guyana.
The 26-year-old is tipped to make his debut as an opener against Sri Lanka when the series gets underway on Saturday. The position at the top of the order has been a problematic one for the Caribbean team in recent years. The struggle has been to find a consistent partner for captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
The likes of John Campbell, Kieran Powell, Devon Smith, and briefly Shai Hope have all played in the position but failed to deliver the required performances.
With neither Powell nor Campbell in the squad and Hope unlikely to be tried in the slot again it appears to be a golden opportunity for the young opener to stake his claim. For the moment, however, it isn’t a primary focus.
“I’m feeling confident. Once given the opportunity I will do my best for the West Indies,” Solozano told members of the media on Friday.
“There’s not really any pressure with the environment I’m in, it’s about going out there to enjoy the game. I believe once you enjoy your game and training and everything, everything will fall into place,” he added.
A debut against Sri Lanka could be a steep step up for Solozano who has managed just 40 first-class matches with an average of 23.41.
“Once given the opportunity I’ll contribute to the team as much as possible, doing what the team requires in the given situation.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson has said England will see a reopening of many drinking, eating and even entertainment establishments from July 4, and there may be a clamour to rekindle social lives.
But with the coronavirus threat still present, there is no certainty such venues will be safe environments, even with social distancing measures in place.
England are hosting West Indies and Pakistan in Test action in the coming months, they also play the latter in T20 cricket as well, plus have ODIs against Ireland and potentially limited-overs games against Australia to come.
Former spin bowler Giles, now director of men's cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, said it was important to be aware of the possible perils of mixing socially.
"We haven't talked about banning them, but what we'd ask them to be is sensible," Giles said. "They have been throughout the whole process.
"They need to continue that, because if you come back into an environment and you haven't been adhering to the guidelines then you put everyone else and the series at risk."
England will be living in bio-secure environments for large parts of their summer, but squads for each series could differ, and there may be factors that mean players have to temporarily leave camp.
The opening matches see England face West Indies in three Tests, with the first played in Southampton before back-to-back fixtures at Old Trafford.
"It'll be quite strange," Giles said. "We could be in a situation where we have a very secure bubble for the second and third Test matches of the series and the rest of the world is operating at a new normal, with restaurants and pubs open again.
"Our main responsibility is to get this series on the road and keep everyone safe, especially including the West Indies team who've done so much to come here."
With 10 Pakistan players having tested positive for coronavirus, it remains to be seen whether they and England can go ahead with their planned series, although both sides are intending to do so at present.
A backstop option could see England invite Ireland to step into the breach.
Giles says that is not currently being discussed, adding: "As with this situation throughout, we've had to be agile and adapt very quickly to different situations, all of us."
When England are locked together in camp, Giles says it will be the responsibility of everyone to guard against missteps, and he is braced for mistakes to be made.
"I think it would be down to all of us to police it. The players are aware of the seriousness of the situation," he told a news conference.
"People are going to make mistakes. We all are. We're all going to get it wrong.
"It will be weird. Anyone who thinks this is going to be a holiday camp is going to be seriously mistaken.
"There could be an opportunity for some guys to play golf on a course next door. But apart from that there's two sessions of cricket a day; there's going to be a lot of work.
"But inside, social distancing still, wearing of masks, probably spending a lot of time on your own isn't a lot of fun and I think it's a bit of a culture shock."
Giles said he was "quietly confident" about Australia visiting later this year, albeit there was "some nervousness" on the part of their Ashes rivals.
Chasing a modest 137 for victory, West Indies overcame a shaky start to secure a nervy five-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea on Sunday. It took Roston Chase with an unbeaten 42 and Andre Russell with a nine-ball 15 to get West Indies across the line.
The sub-par performance left Sammy peeved, as he rued the fact that they not only got to the target with one over to spare, but also lost five wickets in the process. As such, he insists that the Caribbean side tightens up, as he warned against complacency, which was at the root of past World Cup failures.
The Rovman Powell-led West Indies outfit will next face newcomers Uganda on Saturday at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
“These (games against perceived lesser opponents) are the games that cost us in previous tournaments,” Sammy declared.
“Winning with just an over to spare is a bit too close for comfort, but I won’t let this overshadow the positive strides we’ve made throughout the year,” he added.
Sammy’s concern is very much understandable, as after Uganda, West Indies will have more formidable foes Afghanistan and New Zealand to contend with. Hence, Sammy knows there’s no room for slip-ups.
“Every game is crucial,” he stressed.
“We need to focus on the present, one match at a time, and avoid complacency. We didn’t exhibit our usual aggressive batting style; the brand we’ve established over the past year. We allowed them [Papua New Guinea] to stay in the contest for too long,” Sammy argued.
Should West Indies produce a more dominant performance against Uganda, it would put them in good stead heading to Trinidad and Tobago, where they will lock horns with New Zealand on June 13, and Afghanistan on June 18.
Afghanistan heads Group C on two points, same as West Indies and Uganda, but with a superior net run-rate. Only the top two teams from the group will progress to the Super Eight.
West Indies will be eager to avoid a repeat of the last T20 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the first round.
Heading into the tournament, the swashbuckling left-hander is 97 runs away from scoring the most runs in T20 World Cup history. Based on the player's most recent run of form, however, there is no guarantee of him getting there. In the 16 games, the player has only managed 227 runs at an average of 17.46.
In addition, the 42-year-old has faced criticism from a vocal section of the West Indian cricket fanbase who are adamant that he should have stepped aside for younger talent. Gayle was recently involved in a war of words with bowling legend Sir Curtly Ambrose, who suggested that while the player was still capable of lighting up bowling attacks on his day, he was not at the same level as he was a few years ago. For Pollard, however, the batsman has been and continues to be a very valuable asset to the team.
“Again, no words to describe what he has done for us in World Cups, in the T20 World Cups, and T20 cricket around the world as an individual," Pollard said during an interview with team captains' on Saturday in Dubai.
"For him, 97 runs away, but I don't think he will be looking at that. I think the main goal for us and him, is trying to win a World Cup and defend the title. He is looking forward to that. Hopefully, he can come and deliver for us. We back him to do well," he added.
According to Simmons, half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite, 75, Shamarh Brooks, 68 and 62, Roston Chase 51, and Jermaine Blackwood, 55, were missed opportunities.
The five half-centuries were scored in totals of 287 and 198 as the West Indies lost by 113 to hosts England, 469-9 declared and 129-3 declared, with an hour left to play on the fifth day and despite a rained-out third day.
“We had five or six half-centuries and no conversions. It is something that we have been talking about a lot and nobody has taken up that opportunity in this game yet again, so it is disappointing,” said Simmons.
The England victory tied the #raisethebat Series for the Wisden trophy at 1-1 leaving Friday’s game at Old Trafford as the decider.
“I think we have to do something different, we just lost a Test match. We have to add to things done in the first Test match and subtract from some of the things we have done in this Test match. I think it is critical that our batsmen carry on and make big hundreds,” said Simmons.
On Friday’s final day of the match, the visitors closed on 193 for 2 still almost 200 runs shorts of the target, and ensured that honours were shared not just for the match but for the series.
In both matches, Sri Lanka in the first and West Indies in the second, the teams headed into the final day with big enough leads but found wickets hard to come by as they looked to force a result. The hosts may not have come out on top in the final assessment, but the newly minted captain found plenty to be encouraged by moving forward.
“Obviously it was a good pitch. In both Test matches the bowlers really worked hard and what I was pleased with is that none of the guys ever gave up,” Brathwaite said.
“Even down to Alzarri’s last spell he was still giving an effort to get some short balls in so I’m very happy with the effort of the team.”
The captain was also pleased with the fact that the team knuckled down to bat a fair number of overs.
“… batting-wise, we continued to bat a number of overs – 90-plus overs which is a positive for us. And yes, we would’ve liked to have won but I was very happy with the attitude and discipline that we had. The pitch was a good one throughout; it didn’t spin at all, but I was very happy with the fast bowlers’ effort.”
On the back of a historic shock loss to Ireland in their most recent international One Day International (ODI) series, the team’s performances have come under the microscope even more than usual, particularly as it relates to the patchy performance of the batting line-up.
Against Ireland, the batsmen seemed technically incapable of dealing with either the moist conditions on the pitch or the craft of the Irish bowlers. The team’s struggles have led some to question the work of head coach Phil Simmons and the team’s batting coaches, but while admitting that more needed to be done by the coach, Roberts insists the team’s troubles run a lot deeper.
“For what it is now, I don’t think I would blame the coach alone because of the (low) quality of our players coming out of the region,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“We have to put some emphasis on the coaches from our lower levels coming up because that is where you learn the skills of batting because most focus today is on batting. I read where the captain said that the West Indies has a batting problem but we’ve been having a batting problem for years… we want to blame others at the top when this is a problem that comes from the lower level.”