West Indies

Rain briefly threatened to scupper the third and final match just as it had the second and Ireland will have wished for a greater downpour after being comprehensively outplayed at Warner Park in Basseterre.

The tourists collapsed from 50-1 to 138 all out following a 45-minute delay as Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo snared three wickets apiece.

Simmons ensured the Windies made light work of the chase, hitting five fours and 10 sixes in a blistering 40-ball innings that surpassed his previous best T20I score of 82.

Evin Lewis added 46 from 25 deliveries in an opening stand worth 133 to help dash Ireland's chances of escaping with a series victory.

Simi Singh claimed Lewis courtesy of a top edge before Simmons ended the contest two balls later, the 34-year-old launching another six at the end of the 11th over to force a drawn series.

In the first innings, Brathwaite made 94 off 268 balls, batting for 400 minutes in the process.

“There’s not much to tell as a batsman because I think everybody’s seen his determination and unique style,” Simmons said in an interview after the match.

“He doesn’t have a problem being there for five days and doing his job which is unique because a lot of batsmen nowadays want to play shots and be done with it but, from his point of view, he wants to be there all the time for his team and that rolls into the captaincy,” he added.

Since being named permanent Captain in March 2021, Brathwaite has led the team to a series win against England and drawn series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“He seems to be growing into the role as we go along,” Simmons said.

“He’s not loud but the players know what he wants in his unique way. He makes them understand what he wants from them,” he added.

Brathwaite’s next assignment will be to lead the team to victory in the second test against Bangladesh which begins on Friday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia.

The West Indies are in England to play in a historical Bio-secure Test series against England for The Wisden Trophy and Gabriel made the squad after a long injury layoff.

According to West Indies coach Phil Simmons, Gabriel is being carefully led back into the rigours of international cricket and will likely be a part of the 14-man squad on tour, rather than in the reserves.

“Shannon has been named in the reserves. Yes, he is one of West Indies’ prominent fast bowlers but coming back from injury and we just have to make sure that especially that he was fit enough to go through the tour,” said Simmons.

At this stage, Gabriel is still not an automatic pick, but Simmons believes there is every chance he will play some part in the tour.

“There is a possibility of Shannon Gabriel joining the touring party of 14,” said Simmons.

Gabriel has not played since September of 2019 after a brief spell with Gloucestershire. The pacer’s sidelining came after an ankle injury that required surgery.

The last time Gabriel faced England, he helped the Caribbean side win back the Wisden Trophy in a 2-1 series win where he bowled with real menace, spilling over into a verbal exchange with England captain Joe Root.

According to Gabriel, that instance, for which he was suspended for five One-Day Internationals, is in the past.

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

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

The Windies were victorious by four wickets on the final day of a gripping first Test behind closed doors in Southampton. 

You have to go back to 1988 for the last time West Indies won a series on English soil in the longest format, but they have two opportunities to put that right at Old Trafford. 

Head coach Simmons says his players must focus on the job in hand when the second Test gets under way in Manchester, where Joe Root will return to captain England on Thursday. 

Simmons said: "For me it was a great win [in the first Test] because I think that it signified a lot of hard work being done by the players over the last four or five weeks. 

"But you don't come to England and just win a Test match. It was a top-class Test match, with good cricket played by both teams, and even coming down to the last hour, it could have gone either way. 

"To come out on top, it’s been great for us, and it was important because you don't want to have to chase England in England. So the chasing is from their point of view now. 

"But you guard against complacency by just trying to do the same things you did before the first Test. Right now, that Test match is history. We've got to be thinking about what we do from Thursday to Monday." 

Simmons thinks West Indies' preparation in the bio-secure bubble of Old Trafford paid off in the first Test. 

He added: "I think that has been the biggest influence on the performance. I think the fact that we've been here for that period of time, we've had quality bowling in the nets because we've had nearly 11 seamers here, you can't put a price on that. 

"I think that's something that we have to look at. I don't like to go back into my [playing] days, but we would come to England and play something like three or four proper warm-up games before the first Test, and we would also have three-day or four-day games in between the Test matches. 

"So I think that period of training goes a long way to how we performed in that first Test." 

The team has experienced mixed results since the duo took charge, with Simmons taking the reins in September of last year and Pollard taking charge of the ODI and T20 teams the following month.  Simmons previously served as head coach of the regional team in 2015 and led the Windies to their second T20 World title the following year.

Though the team is yet to put together a strong string of positive results, as they were most recently swept aside by Sri Lanka in three one day internationals, Ramnarine believes the youthful Windies squad has the ingredients to eventually get things right.

“Talent has always been there, no question about that. It takes time to groom them,” Ramnarine told the Sportstar.

“Governance is one aspect always been lacking significantly in sports generally, we in the West Indies have our own share of not-so-good people. The current captain Kieron Pollard, whom I know well, is a fantastic leader. He and Phil Simmons (head coach) bring a lot of positive things to the game, these are good guys. With time, these two have the ability, the skill and leadership to transform cricket in the West Indies.”

At the close of play, the Windwards batting a second time were 157 for 7 with Larry Edward (29) and Kenneth Dember (9) the batsmen at the crease.  Asked to bat again, the Windwards found the going hard early on as the typically dependable Devon Smith was dismissed for a duck in the first over, bowled by Nial Smith.  They lost Teddy Bishop (15), the team’s other opener, soon after, to leave the score at 20 for 2. 

Alrick Athanaze maintained his good form for the match after first hunkering down at the crease with Kavem Hodge to briefly stop the rot.  Hodge was, however, uprooted when he was dismissed lbw off the bowling of Keemo Paul for 15.  Keron Cottoy added 12 before being dismissed by Clinton Pestano and Denis Smith added just four runs before departing two overs later with the score at 77 for 5, after also falling victim to Pestano.

Veerasammy Permaul delivered the crucial wicket of Athanaze, who made 58, in the 29^th over with the team struggling at 125 for 7.  Paul, Permaul, and Pestano have so far taken two wickets each with Smith claiming one.

Earlier, resuming the day at 181 – 5, still trailing the Winwards first innings tally of 339 by 155 runs, Singh held the Harpy Eagles innings together along with Paul as the pair put on a solid 146 for the 6^th wicket to change the complexion of the match.  Paul was eventually dismissed, after putting 77 on the board, when he was trapped lbw by Kenneth Dember. Singh departed two overs later, just seven runs short of a century when he was stumped by Smith off Dember.  With the score then at 290 for 7, the team added another 37 runs to move to within 12 of the total.

Among them is Sir Vivian Richards, a man considered by many to be the greatest batsman of all time and one of the most destructive.

Richards, who played on the West Indies teams that won the Prudential World Cup in 1975 and 1979, said he still cannot believe that former West Indies captain Jason Holder, was not among the 15-man squad named for the world cup.

Holder, who played well in the recent CPL and took 16 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this season, was only named among the four reserve players who will travel with the team to the United Arab Emirates where the West Indies will begin the defence of their title on October 23.

The decision by the selectors doesn’t sit well with the Master Blaster.

“I felt maybe it could have been a misprint and then hearing the news as well you think you were not hearing right at that particular time,” Sir Vivian told the Antigua Observer.

“We may have our issues with Jason when he was in charge as captain of the team, but we can never doubt the individual’s ability and his talent and I just felt sad that someone with such ability couldn’t make a West Indies T20, so that suggests to me that we must be seriously blessed with talented individuals the calibre of Jason Holder.”

Despite his misgivings, Richards urged fans to get behind the team as it goes for a third world title having won the tournament in 2012 and 2016.

West Indies open their defence against England in Dubai.

Called to the West Indies squad to replace the injured Shane Dowrich, the 22-year-old Da Silva got off to an inauspicious start in his Test debut which came recently against New Zealand.

After looking at ease in the middle, a moment of indecision cost him his wicket.

When on three, he decided to play at a fullish outswinger in the corridor from Tim Southee. In an instant, Da Silva tried to pull his bat away but not far enough as the ball brushed the bat face on its way through to wicketkeeper BJ Watling.

However, in his second turn at bat with the West Indies following on, Da Silva was the most composed batsman, going on to make a polished 57. With the West Indies facing certain defeat and with only one batsman left to come, he was eventually trapped lbw by Neil Wagner. During the knock where he stroked six balls to the boundaries, the young Trinidadian impressed none other than the Master Blaster himself, Sir Isaac Vivian Richards.

“I think some of these guys should have a look at him and see how simple he keeps his game because even for the period I saw him at the crease he was compact, not flashy and had the bat coming down with all kinds of flashiness,” Sir Vivian told the Antigua Observer in a recent interview.

“He looks very respectable to me, like he knows his game.

“You see him when he is batting and when he is looking to defend, how straight his bat is. He looks organized to me and you’re not seeing that in all the other guys.”

Da Silva came away with a Test average of 30, the third best among the West Indies batsmen. Only Jermaine Blackwood with an average of 54 and Captain Jason Holder who averaged 34.33 were better.

Floyd’s death, at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin last year, prompted global outcry and worldwide protests.  In response to the incident, Holding gave powerful testimony about racial injustice, during Sky Cricket's coverage of England against West Indies in July 2020.

Holding won the Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) Award for Best Pundit in 2020 at the SJA Awards and Sky Sports won the Sports Network of the Year category.  The Sports Pundit award is decided by an SJA Members' vote.

The West Indian revealed the speak has simply come from thoughts that have been buried deep in his consciousness for a number of years now.

"People don't understand what it is like to go through life and always thinking that people think less of you than what you think of yourself,” Holding said at the online awards ceremony.

"It can be a little bit tiring and when I got that opportunity it just came spilling out,” he added.

He, however, holds out hope that the process that could lead to lasting change has already begun.

"If you just look at the protests on the road and look at the faces of the people that were on the road. I saw a Swedish women's football team take a knee before a game, so it is going all over the world that people are recognising that things need to be done, and it's about time it did."

He was part of the famous Three Ws – alongside Sir Frank Worrell and Sir Clyde Walcott. He was also a highly respected coach, a knowledgeable analyst on the game for the regional and international media, as well as a former Team Manager, Match Referee for the International Cricket Council, and a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.

He passed away on Wednesday at the age of 95.

Ricky Skerritt, President of CWI said: “On behalf of CWI I want to publicly express our deepest sympathy to the family of this remarkable Iconic sportsman and gentleman, who passed away earlier today [yesterday]. I also send condolences to former CWI President Sir Wes Hall, and his family, who were all extremely close to Sir Everton. I never had the opportunity to see Sir Everton bat, but I had the opportunity to get to know him a little in his later years. I learned about his incredible career by reading about him and looking at old videos when I could. His performance stats were excellent as he set tremendously high standards for his time.

Sir Everton was, therefore, a most amazing pioneer in West Indies cricket; a gentleman and quite simply a wonderful human being. I got to spend a couple of hours with him last year just sitting at his home and talking with him, at a time when he was recovering from a serious illness. I have never known a more humble and gentle human being. I grew to appreciate his sense of humour and his love of people and witnessed the love and respect that so many held for him in Barbados and across the entire region. I am so privileged to have known this amazing West Indian Legend and gentleman. Sir Everton Weekes was truly one of the founding fathers of West Indies cricket excellence. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Born, Everton DeCourcey Weekes, he was a member of the famous Empire Club in Barbados, which was also home to several other legends of the game including Sir Frank Worrell, Sir Charlie Griffith and Sir Conrad Hunte.

He made his Test debut at age 22 against England at Kensington Oval in 1948 under the captaincy of George Headley. His final match was against Pakistan in Trinidad a decade later.

In his career, Sir Everton played 48 Test matches and made 4455 runs at an average of 58.61 per innings. This included a world record five consecutive centuries in 1948 – scores of 141 against England in Jamaica, followed by scores of 128, 194, 162 and 101 in India. In his next innings, he made 90.

His average of 58.61 runs means Sir Everton is one of two West Indies greats, along with George Headley, in the top 10 Test averages of all time. This average has been bettered by only four players in history to have scored more than 4000 runs. In all first-class cricket he played 152 matches and scored 12010 runs at an average of 55.34 with a top score of 304 not out.

Cornwall was named as part of a 14-man squad for the tour of England, as the regional team returns to international cricket next month, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic struck.  With the series still some weeks away there is yet to be any indication of an official starting line-up, but Wallace believes any picked should include Cornwall.

 “I think that Cornwall is going to be our match-winner because he is the man that is going to apply the pressure.  I like him, he is skillful.  He is a skillful bowler and he is smart.  I think he can be the trump in England,” Wallace told the Mason and Guest radio program.

Wallace believes Cornwall should be used as part of a six-man bowling line-up that would also include four fast bowlers.  The combination, he believes, would also have the benefit of adding a deep batting line-up.  The off-spinner has played two Test matches for the West Indies so far, claiming three wickets against India on debut before claiming a five-wicket haul in a one-off Test against Afghanistan.

“I would play four fast bowlers Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Alzzari Joseph, Chemar Holder and those two spinners Cornwall and Chase.  When you look at those six bowlers, four of those six bowlers can bat…so you are still playing with long batting," Wallace said.

“It’s time that Cornwall recognizes his ability as a batsman, he has only played a few matches but you have to give him the confidence that he can go out there and bat."

Having set the Nepalese a winning target of 340, West Indies bowlers, not helped by a several dropped catches, combined to restrict their opponents for 238 and achieve their second win from as many games in the ICC World Cup qualifiers.

Aarif Sheikh was the top scorer with 63 for the Nepalese team, who also got contributions of 42 from Gulsan Jha and 30 from Captain Rohit Paudel.

Jason Holder was the best of the bowlers with 3-43 from his 10 overs with Akeal Hosein 2-49 and Keemo Paul 2-63.

Nepal were fortunate not to have been dismissed for much less as the West Indies spilled several catches in the field.  Alzarri Joseph suffered the most with three catches dropped off his bowling as he finished with figures of 2-45.

Earlier, having been sent to bat, West Indies recovered from a poor start that saw them lose two wickets with only nine runs on the board to score 339-7.

Shai Hope scored 132, his 15^th ODI century while Nicholas Pooran scored 115. The Caribbean men also got useful scores of 32 from Brandon King and Rovman Powell 29.

Lalit Rajbanshi was the best of the Nepalese bowlers with 3-52.

Hope said he was happy to have been able to overcome some early challenges and the loss of two early wickets to score an important 100 for his team.

“I believe the rhythm was a bit off. I am just happy that I came good for the team. We were put on the backfoot there...happy to get the team over the line today. The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end,” he said, revealing that Pooran’s arrival of the crease helped him turn things around.

“Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible give us the best chance towards the end. I don't think I hit the targets where I wanted to but happy to just bat as deep as I possibly could there. The team really needed me. They bowled well, must commend their bowlers, especially their spinners, they stuck to their task well.

“We batted well in that period to overcome their spin threat. There's obviously room for improvement, so we need to make sure we are ticking those boxes going into the next game.”

With the win the West Indies go top of Group A with four points from their two matches to date.

Speaking to the media, on Thursday, before the team’s five-match Betway T20 International series against England, Smith said he has ambitions to be a fixture in the West Indies white-ball setup for years to come.

“Definitely. I think I have a long way to go and a lot of work to do but it’s all a learning process. Cricket is a learning process. I just have to work on my game along the way and I think I’ll definitely get to where I want to be when the time comes,” he said.

One of the biggest talking points across the regional cricket landscape over the last few years has been player fitness and Smith said he is fully aware that if he wants to achieve his goals, he must prioritize taking care of his body.

“I think it’s very important. If you’re not taking care of your body then you probably won’t have far to go so, I work a lot on my fitness. Cricket is a lot of running so I tend to do a lot of that. I don’t really go to the gym to do a lot of strength work. Running and eating well are the things I take pride in,” Smith added.

A member of the triumphant 2016 West Indies Under-19 team, Smith also stated that it is an ongoing process because of a busy schedule.

“I’m not where I want to be right now because, as I said, it’s an ongoing process and there’s a lot of cricket going on so it’s hard to get anything done during the season. When I get a little time, I’ll focus on distance running and my eating habits,” he added.

Smith has, so far, played 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is for the West Indies.

With the team coming off a disappointing ODI series defeat to Ireland and England coming off a 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes, Smith believes the upcoming series will be an important one for both teams.

“Both teams have an equal opportunity to go out there and win this series. England has a very good team and we also have a very good team as we’re trying to rebuild. We have a few new guys so the coaches are trying to figure out roles for everyone. This series is going to be very important for both teams going forward,” he added.

The series between the West Indies and England gets underway at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.

The much-travelled power-hitter will bring plenty of experience to the Napal-based franchise as the tournament head into its fourth edition.

 The 36-year-old Smith, a former Windies batting all-rounder who made 255 appearances for the regional team, has played for over 14 T20 franchises.  He most recently appeared for the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).  Smith currently averages 26.23 and has played 337 matches.

The signing of the West Indian veteran proved a source of excitement for Gladiators captain Sharad Vesawkar.

"I still can’t believe that the powerhouse of West Indies Cricket and IPL for a long time, Dwayne Smith will be playing under me in the upcoming season of EPL,” Vesawkar said.

“This will do a world of good to the team’s top order and also serve as an exciting opportunity to all the players especially the young ones to observe how the greats go about their game.”

Smith scored 70 runs from 119 deliveries as England followed on from their opening day dominance, ending the day with a 171-run lead over their opponents. 

The debutant was one of five players to reach a half-century, with Joe Root (68) and Harry Brook (50) backing up the opening day totals scored by Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57).

England led by 250 runs after being bowled out for 371 and continued their dominance with the ball in hand. 

Anderson opened England's attack and got the first wicket of the afternoon, bowling West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite before capturing Alick Athanaze late on for his 703rd international wicket.

Ben Stokes also took two wickets (2-25) which included Jason Holder off the final ball of the day to leave the West Indies 79-6 heading into tomorrow's action. 

Data Debrief: Stokes and Smith impress at Lord's

Stokes two wickets at Lord's saw him claim his 200th Test wicket. In doing so, he became just the 3rd player to score 6,000 runs and take 200+ wickets in men's test history, after Jacques Kallis & Sir Garry Sobers.

With the bat, Smith's score of 70 is the 5th best on Test debut for an England men's wicketkeeper. Only Matt Prior - 126* v West Indies (Lord's 2007), Ben Foakes - 107 v Sri Lanka (Galle 2018) Jack Russell - 94 v Sri Lanka (Lord's 1988) Jos Buttler - 85 v India (Southampton 2014) have scored more. 

And while doing the damage with the ball in hand, Anderson was kept quiet with the bat. It was the seventh time that he has batted in a test innings but not faced a delivery, the first time since 2019.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The full squads are as follows:

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

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

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

The team’s ambitions of getting off to good start in their quest to match England’s first innings total of 466 for 6 declared was immediately put in check after a mix-up between Solozano and opening partner Shane Moseley saw the latter sent back to the pavilion for just 16.

Moseley did not last much longer as he was dismissed for 20 after wildly pursuing a delivery from spinner Jack Leach, which left the team struggling at 48 for 2 at the end of play.  Keacy Carty (8) and Devon Thomas (1) were the not-out batsmen at the crease heading into Thursday's day three.

Earlier, damaging knocks from Dan Lawrence and Jonny Bairstow underpinned England's solid total.  After resuming the day at 251 for 4, Bairstow and Lawrence pushed the team past the first session without losing a wicket.  Lawrence departed soon after the resumption, however, after he was caught at first slip, on 87, after edging a delivery from Colin Archibald.

Bairstow took over after lunch, pushing the score to 339 for 5, along with Ben Foakes before the latter was dismissed, for 25, after going after a short ball from Shermon Lewis.

Woakes then joined Bairstow at the crease to add a useful 49 for 91 deliveries before the team declared.  Bairstow remained unbeaten on106 from 158.  For the West Indies, Lewis ended with 2 for 75, while Archibald claimed 1 for 67.

The decisions to include Chris Gayle, omit Jason Holder from the final 15, and the inclusion of veteran fast bowler Ravi Rampaul have been among those that have drawn criticism.  Others have called for the inclusion of players that put in strong performances in the recently concluded CPL, which includes the likes of Sherfane Rutherford and Odean Smith.

Butcher, who has himself sat on a selection panel for Barbados, has insisted some of the picks were understandable and insists that in fact, some players left themselves out of contention and does not see why the panel should bear that burden.

“In terms of the selection, Jason holder really should have been selected, because he may not have done well of late but he is a proven player if we use him correctly.  I think Jason is someone you use to bowl four overs there and then, let him bat later on the game, and he is also a good fielder,” Butcher told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“In terms of the guys who didn’t make it, everyone is shouting and screaming that Rutherford should have made it.  People forget that Rutherford has played for the West Indies for some time and he has a poor average in actual fact,” he added

“…Roger Harper didn’t say it, but if you notice Rutherford for the last few years has not played for Guyana, except for the white ball competition, that is because he has refused to take a fitness test and that is obviously why he was not selected because he was dropped before, and the caseis obviously still the same.  Why are selectors being crucified for leaving him out, by his actions he has made himself unavailable for selection.”

Butcher also did not agree with the criticism of the bowling selection as he is confident that both Rampaul and Chase can contribute meaningfully to the team.

“Roston Chase upset the applecart because no one was looking for him to perform the way he did, by doing that he forced his way into the side.  In terms of Oshane Thomas and Rampaul, Fidel Edwards really caused them to have a problem because he was picked for the 15 matches but unfortunately got injured and was able to show his best,” he said.

  “In Rampaul’s case he is proven at the international level and I can see why they have gone for him in the current crop of fast bowlers and Thomas, we’ve seen his inconsistency, but Smith is one for the future.”

In the light of the omission of batsman Shimron Hetmyer from the West Indies squad, ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka, based on the player failing to meet the requisite fitness standards, critics have pointed fingers towards other members of the team they doubt are able to meet the requirements.

While a few expressed doubts about legendary batsman Chris Gayle’s fitness level, the majority pointed to the continued inclusion of Rahkeem Cornwall.  The off-spinner is listed as 6’ 7” and 308 pounds but has performed creditably for the West Indies on a few occasions, most recently against Bangladesh.

“As is best practice around the world, there are going to be times when players for different reasons might be unable or incapable of achieving minimum standards either across the whole battery of tests or certain aspects of it,” Adams told members of the media via a Zoom press conference call.

“There are exemptions that are given to these players and the four main areas that are considered for these exemptions would be the player’s age, individual physiological limitations, their injury history, and also their training history.  This is standard across many high-performance environments and we are no different,” he added.

“There are quite a few players that have been exempted under one of these four headings and it is something that I think maintains robustness about the situation.  If I go back and look at an Indian spinner in the 70s who had a withered arm, if he were to have an upper-body strength test he would not be able to complete that test and therefore in that area he would have to have an exemption,” Adams said.

“It is there ensuring that we do not discriminate against players that have issues, injuries, long-standing chronic things that might prevent them from completing some of these tests.”

Since the start of the year, the recently appointed West Indies captain has played in 9 matches, spanning three series.  He has averaged a mere 11.22 with a high score of 34.

Heading into Wednesday’s series against Pakistan, Pooran scored a total of 24 runs in three matches against The Netherlands.  Despite the added responsibility of captaincy, however, Pooran is backing himself to turn things around.

“This isn’t the first time I haven’t scored runs.  If you check my stats I’m always scoring runs so I am not bothered,” Pooran told members of the media on Tuesday.

“I think something big is close.  I’m working very hard and it’s only a matter of time,” he added.

In his career so far, Pooran has only faced Pakistan once scoring 34 unbeaten in 2019.