West Indies

Bowling with express pace, Taylor had the uncanny ability to cut the ball back into the right-hander, which had many predicting a long and fruitful international career. Taylor made his debut for the West Indies in a One Day International (ODI) in St. Vincent, against Sri Lanka, and did well enough, taking 2 for 39 from 10 overs. He made his Test debut nine days later on June 20, in St. Lucia, against the same opposition. He was just 18.

Years later, however, injury, illness, and some indifferent form saw his appearances for the West Indies become mostly sporadic.  He had a consistent run after returning from injury in 2014, and prior to him retiring from Tests in July 2016 but he never delivered on early potential.

“The first time I saw Jerome Taylor I was excited, but this longevity wasn’t there.  The one thing I kept saying to him is just I don’t think he was patient enough,” Walsh told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“He was a much better bowler than the stats show, but he wasn’t patient enough.  In my estimation, that’s why he didn’t do as well as he could have or should have in Test cricket.  He was one of the most promising players I saw.”

Taylor ended his career with a haul of 150 Test wickets.

Taylor and Dottin were part of the Windies team that made history after claiming victory over Australia in the 2016 Women’s T20 World Cup.  In addition, Taylor is currently ranked second for the most runs scored, her 3062 bettered only by New Zealand’s Suzie Bates.  Dottin is ranked 5^th with 2565.  Taylor also features in the top ten in terms of wickets taken with 94 to date.

The West Indies women’s team captain has also earned a place on the ICC Women's ODI team of the year.  There she was joined by spinner Anisa Mohammed.  With 120 wickets taken to date, Mohammed is the format’s all-time leading wicket tacker.

Taylor had also been in contention for the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade but was beaten out by Australia’s Ellyse Perry.  Dottin was in the meantime in contention for the ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade but was also beaten out by Perry.

ICC Women's T20I Team of the Decade

Alyssa Healy (Wicketkeeper)

Sophie Devine

Suzie Bates

Meg Lanning (Captain)

Harmanpreet Kaur

Stafanie Taylor

Deandra Dottin

Ellyse Perry

Anya Shrubsole

Megan Schutt

Poonam Yadav

The three-team tournament will take place in  St Kitts and Nevis and feature the Barbados Royals, Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Trinbago Knight Riders franchises.  Matthews will be captain of the Royals, Taylor the Guyana Amazon Warriors, and Dottin the Trinbago Knight Riders.

The players taking part in the competition were drafted from a pool put together by Cricket West Indies (CWI’s) selection committee out of which 33 were picked.  Each team will have the option of signing three overseas players which will bring the total squad size to 14.

The West Indies were restricted to 118-6 from their 20 overs, a total India overhauled getting to 119-4 from 18.1 overs.

Winning the toss and opting to bat, the West Indies, despite the early loss of Captain Hayley Matthews for two, laid a solid foundation for a competitive score in the Powerplay.

After losing Matthews to the bowling of Pooja Vastrakar with only four runs on the board, Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbell shared in a second wicket partnership of 73 before disaster struck in the 14^th over bowled by Deepti Sharma.

With her third ball, Sharma caught and short third-man for 30. Three balls later and one run later, Sharma struck again trapping Taylor lbw for 42.

The West Indies were in further trouble when Chinelle Henry was run out for two in the 15^th.

From there the West Indies Women struggled to accelerate the scoring despite the efforts of Chedean Nation who scored an unbeaten 21 from 18 balls and Shabika Gajnabi’s 15 from 13.

Player of the Match Sharma would later bowl Afy Fletcher for a duck to finish the impressive figures of 3-15.

Rashada Williams was not out on two at the other end as the West Indies innings closed on 118-6.

Karishma Ramharck and Matthews tried to make a fight of it claiming the first three Indian wickets with 43 runs on the board in the eighth over.

Ramharack took the wickets of openers Shafali Verma for a 23-ball 28 with the score at 32 and Matthews got Jerimah Rodriquez caught and bowled for one to make it 35-2.

Ramharack then Smriti Mandhana stumped for 10 in the eighth over and India were 43-3.

However, by the 10^th over India were scoring at better than six runs an over as Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh, helped by some wayward bowling, filled their boots with an stand of 72 that took India within four runs of victory.

Ghosh, unbeaten on 44, struck Shamilia Connell for the winning runs first ball of the 19 over for match to send the West Indies Women to their 15^th consecutive defeat in T20 internationals and their eighth straight against India.

Ramharack was the best of the bowlers with 2-14 with Matthews taking 1-12 and Henry 1-21.

Permaul, the 30-year-old slow left-arm orthodox spinner from Guyana, snared 50 wickets during the West Indies Championships that ended in March at an excellent average of 12.98. Speaking with Sportsmax.TV shortly after the season ended, he said he felt that the success he enjoyed would have put him closer to selection to the West Indies senior squad.

“Playing for the West Indies is always my goal every season I play,” he said, “but I wasn’t finding favour with the West Indies selectors. I don’t know how close I am to making the West Indies team, I would think after an excellent season like this one I am not far from playing for the West Indies again.”

However, according to Harper, a fellow Guyanese, Permaul’s success did not get him close enough.

“If you look at the structure of the team; the Test squad and the reserves, you realize that there are not many spinners in the party,” Harper said while speaking on the Mason and Guest talk show in Barbados on Tuesday.

“In England, we looked at the conditions you are likely to face there and the sort of bowlers we will need in the squad and (Rahkeem) Cornwall was selected as a spinner in the squad from his performance in his last Test match.

“Looking at the reserves we thought we would look at a replacement for the positions in the Test team…the panel went for the incumbent who was on the last tour.”

The decision to exclude Permaul did not go down well with Hilbert Foster President of the Berbice Cricket Board in Guyana. Permaul plays his domestic cricket in Berbice.

“The BCB would like to condemn in the strongest possible way the sick treatment being handed out to this outstanding son of Berbice and would like for an explanation to been given on his non-selection," Foster said.

"Has a decision been taken that Permaul's career is over at just 30 years old? Is there another unknown factor for his non-selection? Is he indisciplined? Is he considered just a regional bowler or is he too old?

"We deserve to know as the BCB is, without doubt, the hardest working cricket board in the Caribbean and we would not sit back and watch our cricketers being treated like a second class when they deserve better."

Super 8 qualifiers are:

• Group A: India and USA
• Group B: Australia and England
• Group C: West Indies and Afghanistan
• Group D: South Africa and Bangladesh

The eight teams will be divided into two groups:

• Group A: India, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh
• Group B: USA, England, West Indies, South Africa

Four of the Super 8 qualifiers have won the World Cup previously, India, England, West Indies and Australia. Super 8 matches will be played across four West Indies venues: Antigua and Barbuda (four matches), Barbados (three matches), Saint Lucia (three matches) and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (two matches).

Each team will play every other team in its group once, with the top two sides in each group qualifying for the semi-finals, to be played in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana on 26 and 27 June, respectively.

The Super Eight stage commences in Antigua on Wednesday 19 June with a clash between USA and South Africa at 10h30. That same evening West Indies take on old rivals, England in Saint Lucia. The two sides have a prolific cricketing history, with the co-hosts ensuring a dominant display at home against England in recent years.

Full Fixtures (Local time)

19 June

USA v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (10h30)

England v West Indies, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (20h30)

20 June

Afghanistan v India, Kensington Oval, Barbados (10h30)

Australia v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (20h30)

21 June

England v South Africa, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (10h30)

USA v West Indies, Kensington Oval, Barbados (20h30)

22 June

India v Bangladesh, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (10h30)

Afghanistan v Australia, Arnos Vale, St Vincent (20h30)

23 June

USA v England, Kensington Oval, Barbados (10h30)

West Indies v South Africa, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua (20h30)

24 June

Australia v India, Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia (10h30)

Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Arnos Vale, St Vincent (20h30)

The 27-year-old was recently dropped from the West Indies squad for the tour of New Zealand, after a nightmare run of form had seen the player averaging 19.48 since December 2017 and just 14.45 since February 2019.

 On the England tour, the scene of his triumph three years ago, Hope averaged below 18 in a 2-1 defeat against England.  Overall, his Test cricket average has slipped to around 26.27.

“He never suggested to me, even with the games where he scored those two wonderful 100s, as far as the red ball is concerned that he is a force to be reckoned with,” the former Combined Campuses and Colleges player turned analyst told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“If I remember correctly, Shai Hope took a long time before he started to score runs in our regional first-class competition and do well…I think we are always looking for heroes.  Certainly, when Shai Hope is on the go, you’d pay your money for two cover drives, but at the end of the day Shai Hope has never suggested permanence at the top,” he added.

“It’s something that at Test level, I keep stressing on his strike rate. He bats about 80 to 90 balls and gets out somewhere between the 15s to 20s.  That suggests more to me, rather than him just having to adjust his mindset, that he is technically flawed.”

Smith believes the break from the team will provide the player with an opportunity to address some of those issues.

Recently the duo of Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmeyer returned to the batting line-up, but there was no room for the out of form Shai Hope, once a staple of the batting order.  With Bravo looking to be in good form on his return to the line-up and some displays of consistency from the likes of Sharmarh Brooks and Roston Chase, Simmons hopes the tussle for places leads to steadier performances in the future.

“It’s a case where everybody is under pressure.  We are getting more and more of a group of batsmen where everyone is competing for four or five places,” Simmons told members of the media via an online press conference from New Zealand.

“With the likes of Hetmyer coming back in and Bravo coming back in, after missing the England tour, Shai Hope is not here.  You are getting a group that is fighting for three or four positions in this case,” he added. 

“So, it is putting pressure on them to perform, that is what we want.  If you perform you will be there and the performance we are talking about is 100s, big 100s that is what we keep singing to the players.”

The regional team ending up beating Sri Lanka in the first T20 by a fairly comfortable margin, in the end, but things did not always look so straightforward.  Overall, a few of the players did not have the expected impact straight out of the gate for the Windies.  This was particularly the case with the batting line-up where three players, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Fabian Allen were dismissed for ducks.

In pursuit of the modest target of 131 for 9, the Windies were rocked in the third over by an Akila Dananjaya spell, which saw the dismissal of Evin Lewis, Gayle, and Pooran.  Gayle was batting in the unfamiliar third spot, which worked well during this season’s IPL campaign.

Pollard is adamant he is, however, in no hurry to change things around, particularly after one game.  In fact, he believes the practice is one that has hurt the team in the past.

“If we are honest with ourselves, that’s one of the problems that has plagued us over the years, the constant chopping and changing when things don’t go right after one or two games,” Pollard told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Thursday.

“We don’t expect miracles from people.  Sometimes you have to give them a chance and opportunities to fulfil what they are trying to achieve and after a period of time you can make a judgment call,” he added.

“After one game I don’t think we are even thinking of doing any changes or anything like that.  We need to get away from the fact that if a guy doesn’t perform, not exclusively using Chris for example, but any individual that has played one or two games, thinking they are not good enough and just be looking to discard them."

The 41-year-old has not precisely gone out on his own terms, with the Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum setup opting to move on from an all-time bowling great.

Speaking ahead of his farewell appearance against West Indies on Monday, Anderson reiterated that he was bowling as well as he ever has, but said he had "made peace" with England's decision to revamp their attack.

Now, his focus will be going out on a high as he plays his 188th and final Test on the same ground where he made his debut 21 years ago. 

Ahead of an emotional few days at an iconic venue, we run through the Opta data surrounding Anderson's remarkable career.

The records

Anderson will, without a doubt, be remembered as the finest paceman England have ever produced. In fact, he is the all-time leading Test wicket-taker among fast bowlers from any country, managing 700 dismissals in his 187 matches.

Stuart Broad, his close friend and team-mate for 138 of those contests, is a distant second with 604 in 167 outings, with Australia's Glenn McGrath (563), Windies' Courtney Walsh (519) and South Africa's Dale Steyn (439) rounding out the top five. 

Among all bowlers in Test history, Anderson ranks third for wickets taken, behind Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Australia icon Shane Wayne (708), some way clear of Anil Kumble (619) in fourth.

Anderson also edges out Broad in England's all-time appearance charts, though he will fall short of the global Test record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who represented India 200 times between 1989 and 2013.

While Anderson's legacy in the bowling stakes is set in stone, his contributions to the tail end of the batting order should also not be forgotten.

Anderson has 1,353 Test runs in total, with 687 coming at #11. No other batter in history can match that return at the position, with his highest score – a remarkable 81 versus India at Trent Bridge in 2014 – coming when he batted last.

The highs

That haul was certainly Anderson's best moment with the bat, but what about with the ball, doing what he does best? 

Anderson started as he meant to go on when making his Test bow against Zimbabwe in 2003, going 5-73 in the second innings for the first of 32 career five-wicket hauls.

His best Test figures came in September 2017, as he finished 7-42 in the third innings of a win over West Indies at Lords. His only other seven-wicket haul came in 2008 at Trent Bridge as New Zealand were vanquished.

In fact, 2017 was the most efficient year of his Test career, as he conceded just 17.6 runs per wicket taken. In no year where he played at last 10 matches did Anderson record an average worse than 33.9 (2011).

But fans will likely remember a couple of special Ashes performances most fondly. 

Having played a supporting role as England won a legendary home series in 2005, Anderson had to wait a while to experience a big moment against Australia, his first real taste of the rivalry coming as England were whitewashed 5-0 down under in 2006-07.

Twelve wickets in support of Broad (18) and Graeme Swann (14) helped England reclaim the urn on home soil in 2009, but it was in 2010-11 when he really made his mark.

England had not won an Ashes series in Australia for 24 years, while some had expressed doubts over Anderson's ability to take wickets on foreign soil, but he finished with a magnificent 24 dismissals as the tourists claimed a famous 3-1 series victory.

The urn was retained on home soil in 2013, the tone being set by a nail-biting 14-run victory in the opener, with Anderson claiming a five-for in each innings. 

The opponents

Anderson took 117 wickets in his 39 matches against Australia, but India were his favourite opponents, with 149 in 39 appearances against the Men in Blue.

His historic 700th wicket came against India earlier this year, with Kuldeep Yadav his victim as he became the first paceman in history to reach that landmark.

He took 103 versus South Africa, including his 100th, which came versus Jacques Kallis back in 2008.

This week's match, meanwhile, will give him the chance to add to his 87 wickets in matches versus West Indies. He previously reached the 500 mark against them in 2017, bowling Kraigg Braithwaite to kick-start that remarkable spell of 7-42.  

In terms of opposition players, India's Cheteshwar Pujara is the man to have fallen victim to Anderson most often, being dismissed by him on 12 occasions between 2014 and 2022.

Lord's: A fitting farewell

Anderson may be a Lancashire lad, but one might suggest Lord's has been his spiritual home since he made his red-ball bow on the ground 21 years ago.

He has taken 199 of his Test wickets on the ground in 28 matches there. Only Sri Lanka great Muralitharan has ever taken more at a particular venue, finishing his career with 166 in 24 matches at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

If Anderson adds to that haul on his farewell appearance this week, there won't be a dry eye in the house. 

The issue comes to the for on the back of a tough, lopsided loss to South Africa, where the batsmen, in particular, struggled to deal with the guile and pace of the opposition bowlers.  Many, however, will point to the team’s proclivity to succumb to batting collapses as a chronic illness.  From his perspective, the situation has left the former batsman to ponder about the amount of work and investment being put in by individual players behind the scenes.

He, however, admitted that the overall issue was a complicated and difficult one to assess.

“Is it that heading into a Test series we aren’t preparing well enough technically and mentally, or is it that when players have their own downtime they are not targeting key areas that are critical,” Adams asked on the Mason and Guest radio program.

“Any successful player, at the international level or the elite level, who stays there for any period of time, would have spent all of that time doing remedial work because the cycle never ends,” he added.

“If you get exposed, you cover that gap.  When you think you have that gap covered you get exposed somewhere else.  You talk to any of them, the Laras the Ricky Pontings, the Sachins, they can confirm that they spent all their careers doing remedial work.”

Against the South Africans, the Windies batsmen were floored for 97 in the first innings and never managed to make 200 in any of the four innings against the visitors.

 “I would throw it out for consideration, do we have that mindset amongst our quote and quote elite players? I’m not talking about just international players; I’m talking about first-class cricketers as well.  Are they attacking themselves enough?

“Not just batsmen, bowlers, and wicketkeepers as well.  The one thing that you can guarantee at the international level is you will know where your weaknesses are.  If you are deaf and blind, then the rest of the world will know.  The critical question is am I as a player embracing that? I am taking ownership in a way that as soon as I have my spare time I am attacking myself, I am getting at my weaknesses because the opposition already has it.”

The West Indies on Friday named a 14-man squad that is expected to play three T20 Internationals in New Zealand later this year that included Andre Fletcher who was making a return to the squad after a two-year absence as well as Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo. However, it was noticeable that Russell, Lewis and Simmons were absent.

Chief selector Roger Harper explained during a press conference Friday morning that the three batsman gave different reasons why they opted out.

Simmons, he said, decided against travelling after discussions with his family. Lewis, he said, also discussed the issue with family but was also concerned about a injury that needed more time to heal.

Russell, who is currently playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, said he needed time to clear his head after being in quarantine situations in the Caribbean Premier League and IPL competitions.

“Lendl Simmons and Andre Russell are two very experienced T20 players who performed very well on the last tour of Sri Lanka and their absence will surely be noted,” Harper said in a release from CWI.

However, the respective decisions to decline the invitations to tour will not factor in the selection process to future teams, CWI said.

The 1993 winner-takes-all showdown between the teams was decided by Ambrose’s magical 32 ball spell - from 85 for 2, the Australians tumbled to 119 all out. West Indies closed the first day on 135 for 1, and that was effectively that. The match was over by lunch on the third day. 

In recently reflecting on the match itself, however, the bowler explained that the almost perfect circumstances for fast bowling was one reason the spell did not rank at the top of his list.

“When people ask me about some of my top spells, I will include that, because seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries is unheard of but I’ve never had it at the top of the tree,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“It was the best spell, yes, but when you looked at the game itself, the first morning of a Test match, the pitch was ripe for fast bowling.  Everything was there for a fast bowler.  I was not under any pressure or anything, that is why I never rated it as my best spell,” he added.

  Interestingly, the WACA groundsman was subsequently dismissed for preparing such a home away from home pitch for Ambrose and the other Windies bowlers.

“The spell against South Africa, I would put it ahead because of the nature of the game.  Our backs were against the wall.  When we bowled England out in Trinidad for 46, I would have that spell ahead of it as well because of the nature of the game.  The 8 for 45 against England in Barbados is the same thing.  The situations were all different but that 7 for 1, I was not under any pressure on the first morning with a good pitch.”

The West Indies batting legend, after a few months of battling with an ailment, died at his Christ Church home at around noon.

Already, Cricket West Indies and Barbados Cricket Association president Conde Riley have expressed sadness at the news.

“Sir Everton was one of our greats. He has a massive contribution to Barbados and West Indies cricket. This is a sad time for cricket. We have lost a legend,” said Riley.

In a Tweet less than an hour ago, Cricket West Indies had this to say:

“Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of an icon. A legend, our hero, Sir Everton Weekes. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and many fans around the world. May he rest in peace.”

Sir Everton Weekes began his international career against England on January 21, 1948, and would go on to enjoy a career spanning 48 Tests in 20 years of service to the regional side.

In that time he would average a remarkable 58.61, score 15 centuries and 19 half-centuries with a highest score of 207.

In combination with Sir Clyde Walcott and Sir Frank Worrell, Weekes was a major part of the West Indies transition from being a competitive team to being one of the most dominant units in all of sporting history.

The three Ws, along with George Headley made what used to be a talented but fickle batting line-up, into a picture of consistency.

The 41-year-old big-hitter had been tipped to return to the line-up last week but instead ended up in the hospital after a bout of food poisoning.  It seems, Gayle, the record T20 runs scorer will finally step on to the pitch to face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Thursday. 

"To all the fans out there, the wait is over. The Universe Boss is back. I know you all have been waiting for such a long time and the wait is over," Gayle said in a video posted on KXIP's official Twitter handle.

It will be difficult circumstances that will great the player, with Kings XI having lost six of its first seven games.  The results leave them firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, with very little hopes of making it to the playoffs. Gayle, however, encouraged fans to have hope.

"Unless something drastic happens to the Universe Boss again, which I hope not. You know it's still possible. I know we are at the bottom of the table but it is still possible," he added.

"Seven games to go, we believe we can win all seven it is still possible. I urge each and every one of the guys to still have that self-belief as I said, the only way we can go is up is only up from here. So, we gonna do it, we can do it.”

On the back of a responsible 95 from Windies batsman Jermaine Blackwood, and a 9-wicket haul from pace bowler Shannon Gabriel, the regional team claimed a 1-0 lead after a 4-wicket win in Southampton, on Sunday.  With the omission of veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad from the first Test, however, former England captain Nasser Hussain suggested the hosts may have underestimated the West Indies.  England instead, opted for a line-up that included Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and James Anderson.

 "Hats off to West Indies for a super performance, but I'd like to ask England one question. If this had been the first game of the Ashes, would they have left out Stuart Broad?" Hussain asked in his post-match analysis.

Simmons has, however, refuted any suggestions of underestimation.

“I don’t think so.  England is a professional unit and I would not expect that from them. I think they thought on the day they needed to bat first.  Maybe they looked at how the match would end, the wicket and how dry it was at the time,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.

“There are many factors why they could have batted first. I don’t want to speculate but I don’t think they took us for granted,” he added.

“I think there is a choice between five quality bowlers, so one had to sit out.  It came to Broad that day but there are three back-to-back Test matches and England has maybe five or six Test matches, so sometimes we think that’s the way we have to go.”

The West Indies and England have had competitive outings in the last two Test match series between the teams.  The West Indies also won a Test match, in England, in 2017, before claiming the Wisden Trophy with a 2-1 win over England in the Caribbean last year.

For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about.  The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.

Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.

“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.

“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs.  I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.

In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.

“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world.  How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.

 “People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth.  We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region.  It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”

The topic of player fitness has been a hot-button issue in recent years, with a few cricketers failing fitness tests and others on occasions noticeably overweight.  The issue is back in the spotlight following the recently concluded Women's T20 Blaze where Jamaica were crowned champions. 

Some critics have pointed to the lack of a regulatory fitness program for the regional, players but Perry insists it must also be an issue of personal responsibility.

“I don’t think enough work is being put into our cricketers and our cricketers are not properly monitoring themselves.  They eat anything they want, they eat KFC, they eat Burger King, they eat Chinese, they don’t have a proper program,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“A part of the program is nutrition.  You have to be eating properly to be a top-class cricketer because your body is going to need it, because, it brings the best out of your body.  Rehydration, you go to the beach, you swim, you do all of these things, you follow a specific program,” he added.

“Players aren’t following that, they go on their phones and they go and sit in the dressing room and do nothing and then they go home and put on weight.  How can you be a professional cricketer and a be putting on weight?  You are not supposed to be putting on weight.”

The omission of promising pace bowler Chemar Holder raised more than a few eyebrows when the squad was named last week, especially on the back of a promising debut in New Zealand.  The Test squad at current features four spinners in Rahkeem Cornwall, Kavem Hodge, Veerasammy Permaul, and Jomel Warrican along with the regular fast bowling trio of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph.

  Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors, Roger Harper, went on to explain that Holder’s exclusion for additional spin bowling was based on the fact that the team was eager to take advantage of Bangladesh’s spin-friendly pitches.

Radford, who was part of a successful tour of the region in 2012, is unsure if that was the best approach.

“I’ve been listening to what people have been saying.  We have gone heavy with a lot of spin.  You expect the pitches to be slow and turn out there.  Whether they need as many spinners as they are taking, I’m not too sure,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“In fact, when we won in 2012 it was done with good batting, posting big scores and having pace, actually, guys who could get it down in the high 80s, 90 miles and hour, not just assuming that because it’s slow pitches spinners are going to do the work.  I’m actually working for Bangladesh at the moment, I spent 6 weeks out there, they play spin very well, they’re brought up playing that kind of bowling.”

Following the promising start but a disastrous end to the tour of England, a lot of discussions surrounding how to improve the team’s performance focused on increased technological infrastructure around the region.

The typically fiery former pace bowler was, however, quick to point out that such investment is unlikely to make a difference if the attitude and work ethics of the batsmen do not improve.

“Infrastructure will not make you a better player.  You have to make yourself a better player and I don’t think the commitment is there from a lot of West Indies players,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“It’s not just the Test players but a lot of people who play cricket in the West Indies, I don’t think they commit themselves enough.  If you did, you would not be averaging 30 in first-class cricket and that is what we are getting.”

In the recently concluded series, it was Jermaine Blackwood that averaged the most for the team with 35.17 but he was the only one to get to 30.  Overall, for the series, the team averaged closer to 20.  In fact, the team’s highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66 and that was against Zimbabwe in 2017.

“You can’t beat any quality team with that type of average.  So, our guys first have to stand up in front of the mirror and think what am I doing to improve myself, because, until our players improve their batting we are not going to score runs against a strong team.”