Since the team's successful tour of Bangladesh in February three players, John Campbell, Shai Hope, and Kieran Powell have been paired at the top of the innings with West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.
To date, the pairing with the Brathwaite has not bred much success. Campbell has averaged 18.5 in eight innings, Powell 14.57 in seven innings, and Hope 15 in the one match played so far. The results have often left the team well short of a solid start that has not been a feature of its play in recent times.
“I still think we need to find another opener, we are still looking for an opener and one more top-class batsman in the middle,” Dujon told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Right now we are not getting the results, we need good open partnerships and we have not been getting that,” he added.
Dujon believes that so far, the openers paired with Brathwaite have been plagued by shortcomings with playing the new ball.
“I just don’t get the feeling that he is playing down the right line, as an opening batsman playing a moving ball, I don’t think he gets down the wicket far enough,” he said of Powell.
Having only recently returned to the team, Hope has also been tried in the position. While he certainly believes that Hope should have a spot in the team, Dujon is convinced it is not at the top of the innings.
“He’s a very good player but he is not an opener. His style of play to open the batting in limited over cricket is fine. He should be in this batting line-up but somewhere around four or so.”
The Caribbean team, who are the defending champions, was routed by England in the first match where they lost by six wickets after being bowled out for 55. In the second encounter against South Africa, on Tuesday. after a promising start the team was dismissed for a subpar 143, which the Proteas easily chased down to win by 8 wickets.
The loss leave the West Indies rooted at the bottom of the six-team table, with a net run rate of -2.550. With only the top two teams set to advance to the final four, the Windies are already facing an uphill battle to move on to the next round.
“Well, we just have to do what it takes,” a dejected Pollard said following the team’s loss to South Africa.
“We have to dig deeper as a team. We have to dig deeper as a batting unit,” he added.
“We have to get wins on the board now. We’ve put ourselves in a position whereas from a run rate perspective that’s pretty low, and from a win percentage we haven’t won any games.
“So we have to win the next three games. We just have to take it one at a time and try to improve each and every time.”
The West Indies will next face Bangladesh on Friday at 5:00 am.
On the back of a brisk 95 off 47 balls, which included an explosive eight 6s, the Irish posted 208 for 7. The Windies, led by Evin Lewis’ 53 and a decent all-round team batting performance, made a good chase of the target before running out of enough balls to get there.
In analyzing the match, Pollard commended the bowlers for recovering from a poor start and the batsmen for making a competitive chase of the target. He, however, believes the team could have done more running between the crease.
“When we were batting we did not have the urgency running between the wickets. We know we are a good power-hitting team but when the singles are there and the twos are there we need to run hard between the wickets,” Pollard said.
“When Ireland were batting they hit the ball to our fieldsmen and they ran and that is something we did not do,” he added.
In their total, the Windies amassed 142 boundaries with 55 singles as compared to Ireland’s 124 boundary runs and 74 singles.
After losing the opening match, the Kiwis came roaring back into the series with a dominant 50-run (DLS) win over the Windies on Friday. The team would have taken plenty of encouragement after bowling out New Zealand for 212, led by Kevin Sinclair’s industrious 4 for 41.
In their turn at the crease, however, the Windies batsmen could not come to grips with the duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee. Together, the two combined for a relentless opening spell that left the home team six wickets down in the 10th over.
Overall, the duo finished with seven wickets and ended the Windies response before it began. Southee finished with 4 for 22 and Boult 3 for 18.
Cariah, however, did play his part in making a contest of things. He provided the majority of the little resistance getting his maiden half-century in an 85-run partnership with Alzarri Joseph. With the series and possibly an automatic spot at the ICC World Cup on the line the bowler knows the team can’t afford a repeat performance at the crease.
“We need to find a way to bat the first 10 overs from Southee and Boult, keep them out of the game in the wickets column and we will be fine,” Cariah said ahead of Sunday’s decider.
“I just think with the new ball is we had faced some balls and bat some overs and get ourselves in it would have been easier for us,” he added.
The Windies great, formerly the all-time record run-scorer in Tests, believes his countrymen will struggle if matches go the full five-day distance.
But he sees West Indies as having the players who can impose themselves on their hosts, with the behind-closed-doors series starting in Southampton on Wednesday.
"They have to hit the road running and stamp their authority on England," Lara said in quotes published by the BBC.
"I don't think they can last five days, so they have to take these games in four days. They have to establish a lead and keep it."
Lara still holds the highest individual score in Tests - the 400 not out he scored against England in Antigua in 2004.
He knows what it takes to pick apart an England bowling attack, and West Indies' 2-1 series victory over the same opponents last year suggests the current breed can also more than hold their own.
Whether West Indies can be as competitive in English conditions as they were in the Caribbean remains to be seen.
"They have to be able to pounce immediately," said Lara. "England are not beaten very easily at home and are overwhelming favourites."
According to the 51-year-old Trinidadian, the tone for the series could be set on day one.
Lara said: "If they play good cricket on the first day of the Test series, show they have the mettle to perform against England, that's the key."
Spinner Akeal Hosain and pace bowler Alzarri Josephs both had strong performances, claiming figures of 3 for 52 and 2 for 33 respectively, and the Windies bowling line-up was dominant in patches. Even so, the last two overs of the innings went for a damaging 27 runs as Pakistan put on 275.
In the previous match, the hosts took 44 from the last four to secure a narrow five-wicket win.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a problem, but we definitely need to review it and keep working. We know that has been a problem for us in the last couple of months, last couple years actually,” Pooran said, following the match.
“It's a new team as well, the guys are young and inexperienced. We are in the rebuilding stages and obviously, we can’t get everything right and it (death bowling) is hurting us but having said that we’ll learn from this experience and hopefully we get better with every game we play,” he added.
The West Indies will face Pakistan in the third and final One Day International (ODI) on Sunday.
The five-match CG Insurance T20I Series is currently 1-1 after the first two exciting matches of the Series. Two-time World Champions, West Indies won the series opener by eight wickets on Saturday, while South Africa fought back to win the second match by 16 runs on Sunday.
Roger Harper, CWI Chief Selector, said there was no need for change.
"The Selection Panel is happy to retain the same squad for the third CG Insurance T20I. With this series in the balance, we would like to give this squad another opportunity to display how well they can play together,” he said.
“We are aware that there are still a number of T20Is ahead so there will be opportunities for other players going forward.”
This series forms part of the West Indies’ international home season with a total of 15 T20Is as they continue preparations to defend their title at the ICC T20 World Cup to be played later this year.
The full squad: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Kevin Sinclair.
The women team recently ended a disastrous tour of England, which ended with the ignominy of being swept aside 5-0. The concerns for the 2016 World Cup champions, however, spread well beyond that. The West Indies Women, since being crowned world champions, have won just four of 10 series played and drawn one. The wins have come against Pakistan and Ireland, with other results against more established teams like England, Australia, and India often featuring one-sided or heavy losses.
After watching the England series, however, Lloyd believes two things were clear. There needed to be a better effort in developing the team’s grasp of the basics of the game and more competition was required to push players to do better.
“A lot of players are having technical difficulties. Shrubsole, she is the opening bowler (for England), she bowls inswingers. We’ve known that for years because we’ve seen her, and we’re trying to square-cut a woman with a new ball. If you look at the way they get out, they all play the same shots. Everyone is getting out square-cutting. Who is coaching these women?” Lloyd said recently on the Mason and Guest radio program.
“I think we need to have an overhaul of the situation and we have to try to get women from more islands playing cricket; so that these girls are going to be pushed, nobody is going to push them now because we are just choosing from a small crop of players,” he added.
The West Indies Women’s team has already made some changes to its program with men’s team bowling legend Courtney Walsh recently appointed as its new head coach.
On Thursday, the regional team limped out of semi-final contention after losing to Sri Lanka by 20 runs, a result that had followed heavy defeats to England and South Africa.
In between the three defeats, the team did manage one win, which came against Bangladesh but that was far from some of the loftier expectations heading into the event.
Ahead of the competition, the selection of several senior players had proven to be a major bone of contention with some fans around the region, who clamoured for younger players to be included.
In response, however, it was argued that the experience of the senior players would prove vital to the campaign. In reality, things did not quite pan out that way. The likes of Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Dwayne Bravo, and Pollard himself, had disappointing performances. In addition to his performances with the bat and ball, Wallace argues, however, that Pollard failed to deliver in another key area, his leadership.
“I think Pollard has failed us in that he has not stepped up to lead the team, the way we thought he would have led the team,” Wallace told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“…I thought that Pollard would have been the one to step up and say gentlemen I will take this on my back, and we are going to do this, X, Y, Z. To tell the public that it is not a developing tour and then be in the position that we are in with seasoned campaigners is detrimental to his credibility,” he added.
“For all that he is worth in T20 cricket, I have not seen it at this World Cup…I know he had an injury but I expected more from him in terms of gluing that middle order together and with bowling and stuff, those guys needed a leader.”
Overall, Pollard scored 46 runs, with a best of 26 and an average of 15.33.
Chasing a sizeable 469 and with one day rained out, the Windies needed at least 270 to ensure England did at least bat again. A battling knock of 68 from 137 balls by Brooks went on a long way in ensuring the team got to 287, on the back of a devastating new-ball spell from England pace bowler Stuart Broad.
Brooks also featured in two key partnerships. He paired with opener Kraigg Brathwaite for 76 runs and with middle-order batsman Roston Chase for 43. With England back at crease, 219 runs ahead, but two wickets down thanks to impressive late evening bowling by Kemar Roach, all eyes will be focused on how many runs the team will feel is needed to feel comfortable before putting the West Indies back in to bat.
“Yesterday being rained out we knew it was a crucial day lost in this Test match. We knew the situation was just having to come today and bat for as long as possible,” Brooks told members of the media, via a Zoom press conference, at the end of the day’s play.
“Yes, it is England's game and we knew that saving the follow-on was important but the more time that we batted today is the harder it made it for England to get a result out of this game,” he added.
Known internationally for their flamboyant, swashbuckling style, the Caribbean team will head into next week's tournament as defending champions. However, despite having captured the global title on two occasions, questions have been raised in recent times regarding the team’s batting approach.
With a batting line-up filled with heavy hitters, the problematic issue stems from the tendency to soak up too many dot balls. Pooran admits that it has been a focus but in the grand scheme of things the team intends to stay true to its style as it has delivered success in the past.
“We have net sessions and we as a group have spoken about it, we have players to play certain roles, honestly. As a batting group, we want to get better, we want to improve, and getting singles is a part of that game as well, but our focus is not so much on singles,” Pooran told members of the media on Tuesday.
“We won two World Cups with the same problems, to be honest, not getting singles. I don’t think the emphasis is so much on it, but on intent and playing smart cricket. There are times that we know that will have to put our egos aside and grind for the team and if that means pushing a dot ball and getting singles, we’ll do that.”
In the rain-affected fixture, India triumphed by a massive 119-runs via the Duckworth Lewis method, after Shubman Gill’s 98 anchored the team’s first innings effort of 225 for 3, in a reduced 36 overs.
In pursuit, the West Indies never really got things out of first gear. As early as the second over, Mohammed Siraj dealt the men in maroon an early blow, after getting rid of Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks in the same over, which left the team struggling at 0 for 2.
King and Shai Hope put on a 47-run stand to give the team a fighting chance. Yuzvendra Chahal struck to end the partnership, however, after Hope was stumped for 22. King then partnered with Pooran to keep the recovery going, but that momentum was ended when Axar Patel's arm-ball bowled King for 42, leaving the team at 5-103.
With a climbing run rate the struggles of Keacy Carty, who was next at the crease, put pressure on Pooran to keep up with the run rate. Carty was put out of his misery after going down the pitch to Shardul and edging the ball onto the stumps, making a total of 5 from 17 balls.
With the rate needed climbing to 10 an over Pooran was dismissed for 42 when he was caught at mid-on off by Prasidh Krishna. Chahal ended with the best figures for India after taking 4 for 17.
The first match was originally scheduled for Monday, 5 June. The West Indies Men’s team will arrive in Dubai on Thursday, 1 June.
The second match will be played on Tuesday, 6 June with the third and final match scheduled for Friday, 9 June.
All three day-night matches will start at 4:30pm with the toss at 4pm at the iconic Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Both teams will depart for Zimbabwe at the end of the series for their World Cup qualifying campaign which begins on 18 June.
The all-important tournament will confirm the remaining two spots for the 10-team ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, India.
UAE vs West Indies ODI series, matches to start at 4:30pm (8:30AM Caribbean/7:30AM Jamaica)
4 June – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
6 June – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
9 June – UAE vs West Indies, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
Full squad: Shai Hope (captain), Brandon King (vice captain), Alick Athanaze, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Kavem Hodge, Akeem Jordan, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas.
The 39-year-old pace bowler last suited up for the regional team against Sri Lanka, at Pallekele, in 2012. Edwards has been unavailable for selection after signing a Kolpak deal in 2015. However, the player became available again with the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union and the termination of such contracts.
Earlier this year, the player announced his availability for the West Indies and also took part in the IPL and Abu Dhabi T10 League. Despite being one of the oldest active players, in the sport, Edwards has lost none of the pace he has always been noted for and is cable of exceeding 90mph deliveries. His pace and guile were very much on display in a fiery over against in-form young compatriot Nicholas Pooran during the T10 league.
The Barbadian-born right-arm pacer has played 20 T20 internationals for the West Indies and claimed 16 wickets. He has also taken part in 55 Tests and 50 One-day Internationals. Edwards hopes to be part of the T20 World Cup squad, which will attempt to defend its title in October.
The 24-year-old quick has been a part of the Patriots franchise since 2016. Joseph did, however, struggle last seasons, claiming just three wickets from seven matches, at an expensive 9.29. In 2019, the pace bowler captured 9, the third most on the team, with an economy rate of 7.75.
Late last week, the Patriots announced that they had retained Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit, Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Joshua Da Silva, and Dominic Drakes.
Joseph is currently taking part in the English County Championships where he is currently representing Worcestershire.
This season’s Caribbean Premier League (CPL), which bowls off on August 28, will be held in its entirety on the island of St Kitts & Nevis. This year could mark the return of fans, with fully vaccinated patrons expected to be allowed to attend a half capacity Warner Park venue. The Patriots have never won the CPL but went to the final of the competition in 2017.
Thomas was taken to hospital after he was involved in a crash in Jamaica on Sunday.
The quick's agent, Mark Neita, told the Jamaica Observer that Thomas is "at home resting" after being taken to hospital.
Thomas, who turned 23 on Tuesday, has played 20 ODIs and 10 Twenty20 Internationals for the Windies.
The West Indies Players' Association released a statement saying: "The West Indies Players’ Association [WIPA] extends best wishes to West Indies and Jamaica fast bowler Oshane Thomas who was involved in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday, February 16 in Jamaica.
"Thomas was reportedly involved in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 2000 near Old Harbour in St. Catherine and was taken to hospital.
"WIPA's executive and staff would like to extend our sympathies to Oshane. We wish for him a speedy and full recovery."
Russell played a starring role as the Windies closed out its T20 series against Sri Lanka, with a convincing 7 wickets win at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Friday. The 2-0 win triumph for the West Indies was the team’s first series win against an opponent since Bangladesh in 2019.
For a re-tooled Windies team looking to win an unprecedented third world title, the all-rounder believes that while the team has a long way to go, the victory is timely encouragement.
“We are peaking at the right time but we still have some areas to work on as a team,” Russell, who was named man of the series, said.
“We have a new set of guys who have the professional mind-set and we know what we have to do to better than what we have been doing. I just hope everyone is in tuned in and ready to make the sacrifices moving forward to work on our cricket.”
Russell ended the series with a decisive 75 runs and one wicket.
In the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which considers performances in the last three matches of the series, Hosein moved up 15 places to 18th position after a haul of 4-30 that helped him finish with six wickets in three matches.
“It’s not something I pay close attention to. However, when I play or train, it’s always about aiming to become the best,” Hosein said while speaking with CWI Media.
“It’s about having that mindset of wanting to improve and wanting to be at the top, so definitely it is an aspiration of mine to be the number one bowler in the world someday. Therefore, this move means a lot to me. It shows that my hard work is paying off and that I will be rewarded if I perform well. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
Holder was the star performer with the unique feat of grabbing four wickets in four balls in front of his home crowd. He finished with figures of 5-27 – the best in a T20I at the historic venue. This took his tally to nine wickets in those three matches, as he advanced three places to 23rd with a massive gain of 20 rating points. Overall, he took 15 wickets in the five matches, a new record for the most in a bilateral series, and was named the Player-of-the-Series.
Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell (up 10 places to 31st) is another West Indies bowler to move up in Wednesday’s update while England spinner Moeen Ali (up three places to 32nd) and Liam Livingston (up 33 places to 68th) have also advanced.
In the ranking for batters, Nicholas Pooran is up eight places to 18th after scoring 113 runs in the three matches including a knock of 70, while opener Brandon King (up 25 places to 58th) and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard (up 15 places to 60th) have also advanced. King made a stylish 52 not out in the first match as West Indies won easily, while Pollard had a crucial 41 not out off 25 balls in the final match.
“This definitely means a lot to me, because I put a lot of work into my craft. I work day in and day out, so moving up the rankings is important. The ultimate goal is to be the best. I do pay attention to it (the rankings) because it is a good way to track your growth,” Pooran said.
Rovman Powell made the most of his return to the team with a brilliant 107 in the third matchmaking him the third West Indian to record a century in this format. He followed up with 35 not out off 17 balls in the last game.
Speaking at the end of the enthralling series, West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said the improvement shown was extremely pleasing.
“After the last couple of months that we’ve had, it’s really pleasing that we’ve won a series. Improvement for me is actually more important than winning the series because you’ve got to focus on getting to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and doing a lot better than we did in the last one,” he said.
“The crowds coming back to the stadium is very important. The players were a lot freer this time around. The bubble was still there but a lot more relaxed and you could see the players responding to it so credit to the medical staff of the Cricket West Indies.
“Akeal Hosein was really brilliant for us when the chips were down along with Fabian Allen. They turned the tide, put England under pressure, continued to get wickets and that’s all we can ask, that people put their hands up when they need to and lead and fight and battle.”
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.
The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.
On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.
Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.
Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.
Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.
Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.
In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.
SunThe match will be held on March 8-11 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) ahead of the two-Test matches which will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. Several members of the West Indies Test team that beat Bangladesh in the recent series have been included among the players named while other recent Test squad players will be participating in the CGI Insurance ODI Series from March 10-14.
“The ‘Best v Best’ game is firstly part of our preparation for the Test series against Sri Lanka. It gives the players who performed well in the last West Indies Championship an opportunity to showcase their skills, playing against each other, which we expect to be very competitive and put forward a case for themselves. It is a chance to raise their stock and show what they can do,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.
“The Test series win in Bangladesh was a real joy to watch. The results were brilliant, but it was the passion, the application and the determination, as well as the team spirit that were exactly what we wanted to see.
“It was most encouraging to see everyone pulling together and working hard for each other and enjoying each other’s success. I think the team performed much better than many people thought they were capable of doing. I am really looking forward to seeing the team move forward and build from here.”
Below are the squads for the Best v Best match.
SQUAD A: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Shamarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Derval Green, Keon Harding, Shimron Hetmyer, Kavem Hodge, Paul Palmer jr, Veerasammy Permaul, Kieran Powell, Preston McSween and Jayden Seales.
SQUAD B: Roston Chase (captain), Sunil Ambris, Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, John Campbell, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Imran Khan, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Jomel Warrican.
Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel have been rested for this match due to their workload management.
