England host the Windies in three Test matches behind closed doors next month as international cricket returns following the coronavirus pandemic.
Star bowler Archer was born in Barbados and represented West Indies at Under-19 level before opting to play for England.
He is close friends with Windies duo Shai Hope and Chemar Holder, as well as being a former team-mate of Alzarri Joseph and Preston McSween.
But Roach insists Archer's relationship with many of the squad will have no impact on the cricket that will be played.
The series will be the fast bowler's first Test encounters against his former team, following their Cricket World Cup duel last year.
"Jofra made his decision and he's done a fantastic job for England so far but there will be no friendships during this series," said Roach, who is also from Barbados.
"It's all about winning and playing hard cricket. We will devise a plan for our batsmen to counter him and I'm looking forward to that battle.
"I saw him as a youngster in domestic cricket back home in Barbados and always thought he was talented. He has come over here and shown what he can do.
"I want to wish him all the best in his career. But you will definitely see if we have any words for him on the field when that comes around."
West Indies defeated England 2-1 in the Caribbean last year, with Roach taking 18 wickets, including a five-for when the tourists collapsed for 77 in Barbados.
They have not won a series in England since 1988 but Roach believes there are factors working in his side's favour as they bid to retain the Wisden Trophy.
"[England is a] fast-bowling paradise, it's different conditions to the Caribbean and the ball will do a bit more here," he said.
"We saw what happened in the Caribbean and that's pretty fresh in our minds. If we can get stuck into the batsmen we will have a great chance of defeating England.
"The [five-for] was definitely one of the highlights of my career. It was at home in front of friends and family, one of the best performances I've put down, especially as we went on to win the series.
"I'm proud of the team for what we did then but we've moved on now. It's all about taking the Wisden Trophy back to the Caribbean.
"The strong England support they have here can play a part. Now [without fans] it's a more level playing field.
"When July 8 comes, let's see how it goes and how fast we can adapt and get stuck into the English."
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first because of, according to captain Kieron Pollard, the presence of some ‘juice’ in the pitch, the West Indies produced one of their best bowling displays in a long time to wreck the England batting line-up for just 103 in 19.4 overs.
Jason Holder took his best bowling figures in T20s with 4-7 off 3.4 overs and he was supported by Sheldon Cottrell who claimed 2-30 from his four overs.
Chris Jordan top-scored for the English with 28 and Adil Rashid added 22.
The West Indies looked comfortable in their chase, only losing one wicket before getting to the target in just 17.1 overs.
Brandon King got his second T20I 50, finishing not out on 55, while Nicholas Pooran finished not out on 20.
The second match of the series takes place tomorrow at the same venue and time.
Since 1994, the teams have played 10 series between them, with the West Indies winning two and Sri Lanka winning three. The rest have ended in draws. None of the West Indies wins have come in Sri Lanka. In fact, the West Indies are yet to win a match in Sri Lanka and suffered a 2-0 loss on their last visit in 2016.
Brathwaite believes the current squad, who did experience some success on the continent in February with a win over Bangladesh, is capable of finally breaking this long-running trend.
“I was here in 2016, my first series here and we lost both matches. As a youngster it didn’t feel good just coming into the team. Now I’m looking forward to these games, I think we have a very good team,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Thursday.
“This team is ready to go, and we are ready to break the shackles and win some games in Sri Lanka this time around,” he added.
The West Indies face Sri Lanka in a two-Test series in the Caribbean earlier this year, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
West Indies fast bowler Shamar Joseph’s stellar debut year has earned him a nomination for the ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year award, highlighting a bright spot for Caribbean cricket after a challenging year.
The announcement came as the International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the first wave of shortlists for its prestigious 2024 awards.
In an extraordinary finish at Kensington Oval, the Windies went past their target of 238 with one ball remaining in the second ODI.
Sheldon Cottrell hit a six off the second last ball of the innings to give the hosts a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
But Ireland were left to lament what could have been after an incredible finish to the contest.
Paul Stirling (63) had guided Ireland to 237-9 after they elected to bat first, with Alzarri Joseph (4-32) again starring for the Windies.
Rain delays impacted the Windies' chase as Nicholas Pooran (52) and Kieron Pollard (40) looked to have them on track for victory.
Hayden Walsh made an unbeaten 46, but it still took a nervy finish for the hosts to get over the line.
Ireland almost found a decisive run out off the third ball of the final over, but replays were inconclusive as to whether Mark Adair broke the stumps with the ball or his hands with Cottrell well short of his ground.
They should have sealed victory off the next ball after a mix up between Walsh and Cottrell but, with both batsmen almost stranded at one end, the latter recovered after Adair was unable to cleanly take a throw.
That would be Ireland's last chance as Cottrell smashed a six over covers off the next ball to clinch victory.
The final game of the series is at St George's on Saturday.
The 25-year-old has to date been cast in the role of a short-ball specialist, having made 21 T20I appearances for the West Indies and 25 One Day International (ODI) matches. Pooran is, however, yet to make any Test match appearances.
Richards has, however, seen enough in the play of the batsman to suggest he could be a very viable option for the four-day format, where the West Indies has struggled to make any headway in recent years.
“We could look at that and I think he could be a serious option down in the middle order, with the gloves on as well. These are some of the things they may have to look at because I think he has got a serious head on him in terms of the way he thinks. He looks pretty serious and the way he would have adapted so far at the highest level, I just think that could be another option,” Richards told the Good Morning Jojo radio program.
“He is a power player as well, and he has got the ability to play all formats, but it is just sometimes you have coaches telling you what they think you should be doing and the things they think you’re good at, but sometimes I believe you have to give these guys a chance. If they have it in mind that they would love to play all these various formats, then why not.”
The 36-year-old all-rounder was recalled recently to the West Indies squad that defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in their T20 internationals in early March.
He sees where the Caribbean side, two-time world champions, can rise to the top once more despite a fall-off in form that has seen them currently ranked 10th in the ICC T20 rankings. Those signs he said were evident during the Sri Lanka series.
"Prior to that [T20I series in Sri Lanka], we weren't really consistent as a team over the years in T20 cricket. We T20 guys had a chat among ourselves along with the management and made a pledge that we want to start back winning series. We said we wanted to be back being the most dominant team in the T20 format,” said Bravo who over the past decade, established himself as one of the best T20 players in the world and one of the format’s best bowlers with almost 500 wickets.
He argued that the West Indies have too many world-class T20 players not to show it on the field of play.
"We have to stamp our authority,” he said.
"We have produced some of the best players in the world and when we are together in the same team, we have to stamp our authority, and to get the cricketing world to respect West Indies cricket again and especially West Indies' T20 team. We said, 'All hands on deck, let's start with this Sri Lanka series and make sure we send the message.'"
England return to Test action next month with three matches against West Indies in the bio-secure stadiums in Manchester and Southampton, and they are set to be without skipper Joe Root when the first contest begins on July 8.
Root is due to leave the team bubble to be with his wife for the birth of their second child and he will require a seven-day period of self-isolation before returning to camp.
That means vice-captain Stokes is set to deputise as skipper, despite concerns from former captain Kevin Pietersen that such a role would curb the all-rounder's attacking instincts.
Stokes is determined to remain the same man, though, even if he admits it will be hard to get the ball out of his hand when he is on a roll.
Stokes said: "If it's flat, I'll just chuck the ball to Jofra [Archer] and Broady [Stuart Broad] and Jimmy [Anderson] and say, 'On you go!'
"It is a tough one because when Joe asks me to come and bowl… if I'm not bowling well I know, right, I'm probably going to be taken off here.
"But then when I feel like I'm in a really good rhythm and don't want to be taken off, Joe doesn't say, 'Keep going.' He sort of looks and goes, 'One more?' And he'll say that for another four or five overs.
"I guess I might have to be a little bit more mindful as I'm the person who's making that decision, but if I've got the ball in my hand or I've got the bat in my hand, I would like to think I'm still going to have to that same mentality as I always do.
"I've been in so many different situations in the field as a batter and as a bowler that I can always relate back to them and think, 'Right, what did Joe expect of me in this situation?' But it's a tough one isn't it to know if you are feeling good as a bowler when to keep yourself on."
While others such as Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Root had been earmarked to be England captain long before they were eventually handed the role, Stokes acknowledged few would have considered him as a skipper-in-waiting.
However, the 29-year-old believes he is ready for the position having played in 63 Tests since his debut in 2013.
"I've been a senior player since 2016 under Cooky and since Joe's been in charge," he added.
"Being able to learn from Alastair Cook and Rooty in terms of different situations throughout the game has rubbed off on me and will put me in good stead for all the different situations that a Test match can throw at you.
"At the same time, we've got some really experienced guys out in the field who I can use. We've got Jimmy, Broady, who've just got ample Test matches and wickets between them. There's so many people that you can throw ideas off.
"I would like to think I would be quite an open captain and wouldn't want my way is the only way. I don't think that's the best way to operate.
"There's 11 guys out in the field so why not get 10 other opinions on something that you're thinking about?"
The last time the regional team faced Sri Lanka away, in 2015, it was the part-time spin of Brathwaite that stole of as the batsman claimed six wickets in an innings. The frontline pace bowlers Kemar Roach (2), Jason Holder (3), Shannon Gabriel (1) failed to have a huge impact on the series, with the exception of Jerome Taylor who claimed 6 over two games.
Although the captain admits the surface is likely to favour spinners, Brathwaite is confident the Windies quicks will have a big role to play.
We haven’t been there as yet to see the surface but there’s always a role for the fast bowlers. Shannon Gabriel really led the way in Bangladesh in the first Test, bowling with some good pace, then Kemar Roach getting an early wicket in the morning was very crucial. Obviously, Jason wasn’t there but is always crucial. So, I do believe that possibly there being spin-friendly pitches, I think the pace bowlers will do well.
“I can see them getting wickets. It’s really about building pressure but seamers are very important and obviously, Shannon will bring some aggression and I look forward to seeing the guys operating.”
The tour is set to take place between January 10 and February 11. It was greenlighted on the recommendation of the CWI’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), who received a detailed report from a pre-tour visit of Bangladesh by CWI Director and Member of the CWI and ICC MAC, Dr. Mansingh, and Security Manager, Paul Slowe.
The recommendations have, however, not been enough to convince some players to embark on the tour. With 510,080 confirmed coronavirus cases and 7,479 deaths, Bangladesh is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. The country has, however, been hosting cricket tournaments under heavy quarantine restrictions.
According to initial reports, both captain Jason Holder and vice-captain Roston Chase have opted out of the tour with out-of-favour batsman Shai Hope also reportedly unwilling to accept the invitation. The West Indies were one of the first teams to resume playing international cricket when they travelled to England in July. The team then went on to travel to New Zealand for another series earlier this month. Cricket West Indies (CWI) is expected to announce the squad for the tour within the next 24 hours.
Matthews, the number one-ranked ICC Women's T20I all-rounder put together a remarkable series of performances last year, as she racked up 700 runs in the year, the most by any player in a year in Women's T20Is. She also picked up 19 wickets at an average of 16.21 in a mere 14 matches for the year.
The 25-year-old Barbadian is up against three high-class players, with, England’s Sophie Ecclestone, the top ranked T20 international bowler, Australia’s Ellyse Perry, and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu also nominated.
Matthews’ stellar display against Australia in a bilateral T20I series in the second half of the year, was one for the ages. During that series, she posted scores of an unbeaten 99, 132 and 79, as she proved to be a thorn to the Australian side.
Matthews’ extraordinary unbeaten 99 in the first game of the series was overshadowed by her mind-blowing 132 in a run-chase of 213 in Sydney. The world-record run-chase in women's T20Is saw Matthews break several records, including that of the highest individual score in a women’s T20I run-chase.
Her overall tally of 310 runs in the series is the most by any player in a women's T20I bilateral series. Matthews also enjoyed good form in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, where she tallied 130 runs and took four wickets and four catches.
The hard-hitting Matthews produced a match-winning performance in a tight encounter against Ireland at the T20 World Cup. In that contest, she picked up four wickets and made a 34-ball 48, but her remarkable 132 against Australia overshadowed it all.
Having taken three wickets for 36 runs with the ball as Australia made a whopping 212, West Indies were faced with a daunting task in the run-chase, but nothing could have prepared anyone for Matthews’ innings.
She hit two fours and a six in the 17th over of the run-chase to raise her century off just 53 balls, and then clubbed Jess Jonassen for four fours in a row in the 19th over to bring the equation down to eight runs needed off six balls.
While Matthews was dismissed in the over, she had set the stage for one of the most outrageous women's T20I wins of all-time with her blistering 132 off just 64 balls. The innings was studded with 20 fours and five sixes, as 110 of her 132 runs came in boundaries.
Meanwhile, the men’s T20 shortlist includes 2022 winner Suryakumar Yadav of India, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani – who helped his side qualify for their first ever World Cup.
Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand), compete for the men’s emerging player.
Nominees for Test and ODI awards will be released later this week.
The West Indies found themselves on the losing side of another series, after going down by 8 runs to India on Friday. The result saw the South Asian team claim an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, after winning the opener by 7 wickets.
This time, however, in pursuit of a solid 186 for 5, the team went a lot closer to the target and was more comfortable in the run chase. A 100-run partnership from Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell got the team close to India's score, and, in fact, until a miserly 18th over from Harshal Patel it seemed the West Indies were favourites to level the series.
According to the West Indies captain, while the team may have come up just short on runs, the approach was closer to what was required.
“I thought the partnership with him (Rovman Powell) and Pooran almost got us over the line. Sometimes that’s all we are asking from the guys to bat as deep as possible and for me, I’m pleased, obviously not with the result but with the way they continue to aim for consistency,” he added.
The partnership was the fourth-highest between two Windies players since 2019, adding to an overall 306 scored in 6 matches, whenever the duo of Powell and Pooran has come together during that time.
“Nicholas got another half-century, Powell has gotten two in the last four games, so, we are making progress.”
Despite the high of coming off a dominant T20I series, the Windies were crushed by 133 runs, via the DLS method. Batting first, Australia made 259 for 9 but in response, the West Indies could only muster 123 all out and were at one stage, 27 for 6.
For his part, Pollard, who only just returned to the team, made a battling 56. In an innings where four batsmen were dismissed without scoring, the captain could have used more of that grit from the rest of the team.
“I was disappointed with our overall batting performance, not being able to chase down 250 from the position that we were in,” Pollard told members of the media.
“I didn’t think we showed enough fight or enough courage. They are going to come hard at us, it’s an experienced bowling attack that they have so we need to fight as a team and as individuals when we go out there.”
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc was the dangerman for the tourists after ending with figures of 5 for 48.
The squad is expected to depart from the Caribbean on June 8.
According to cricket commentator and talk show host Andrew Mason, the selectors had a hard time selecting a squad but in the end, came up with a squad that includes the recalled Jermaine Blackwood and Shannon Gabriel.
The names of the others who were selected include Captain Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Shane Dowrich, Roston Chase, Shemarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Nkrumah Bonner, Alzarri Joseph, Chemar Holder, John Campbell, Raymon Reifer and Kemar Roach.
The West Indies will be in the United Kingdom for about four weeks and will be housed in a bio-secure environment while they get up to speed before the start of the first Test.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Tuesday that a three-Test series without spectators is scheduled to start on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl.
Old Trafford will host the second and third Tests.
The venues have been selected from a group of four that submitted an interest, having had to demonstrate to the ECB board an ability to meet criteria surrounding biosecurity, medical screening-testing provision, footprint to enable social distancing and venue-cricket operations.
Edgbaston was picked as a contingency venue and will be utilised for additional training throughout July.
The Windies are due to arrive in England on June 9 and will use Old Trafford as their base for training and quarantining before travelling to the Ageas Bowl.
The 36-year-old Bravo will be heavily involved in the proceedings from start to finish, beginning with the tournament launch press conference in February, to a celebrity appearance on the final day.
The tournament, now in its third year, has garnered increased interest for this edition with a reported 40 teams in pursuit of just 20 spots. The first two editions of the tournament saw 16 teams take part. Bravo has indicated his delight at both the association with and taking part in the tournament.
“I am delighted to be the face of the 10PL World Cup of tennis ball cricket tournament. I have learned a lot of my key tricks that I'm sure many of the players in the tournament will employ, especially the use of slower ball and Yorkers,” Bravo said.
“The tournament, therefore, promises to be the perfect platform for raw talents to showcase what they are capable of. I am really looking forward to this competition,” he added.
Meanwhile, Abdul Latif Khan, who is the chairman of Petromann Events has expressed delight with having Bravo onboard.
“It is an absolute honour to have Bravo as the face of the tournament. In the coming days we will be unveiling a campaign with Bravo to further raise the profile of the tournament,” he said.
The tournament is expected to take place between the 8-13 of March.
The 41-year-old star batsman recently stepped in front of the mike with British-Indian singer Avina Shah for a single titled Groove. The music video which was shot in two separate locations, during the pandemic, is also a mix of Indian and English, and is set to a lively, club-rocking beat.
The track wasn’t the musician’s first foray into the music entertainment business. Earlier this year the star batsman recorded a remix of Jamaican entertainer Stylo G’s Too Hot. The cricketer, who is known for having a good time, recently revealed that there is likely to be more to come from him in the future and even during his ongoing career.
“Well, I am someone who doesn’t really like to have limits in life. No limits is what I believe in. I love music and I am fun-loving by nature,” Gayle told IWMBuzz.
“I have recently got an entire music studio set up in my house and I will certainly be looking forward to making more songs to entertain the fans. I can happily say that music will now co-exist in my life along with cricket.”
Gayle isn’t the first West Indian cricketer to make an incursion into music and follows on the heels of all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
With the disease having a devastating impact on normal life over the last year, countries around the globe have already launched various campaigns to stop the spread of COVID-19 in a bid to halt its devastating impact on those most vulnerable to its effects.
According to research, the majority of the vaccines have efficacy rates between 80 and 100 percent when it comes to preventing serious illness and deaths for those who contract the virus. Despite the evidence of clinical trials, however, some have questioned the safety of the vaccines. Last week, Jamaican World Champion Yohan Blake stated that he would rather not compete at the Olympics than take the vaccine.
“If I don’t have to take it, I wouldn’t want to take it. I wouldn’t want to take any vaccine at all, to be honest, because I am naturally living fine. So, I don’t want anything being injected inside of me,” Gayle told the Antigua Radio program Good Morning Jojo Radio Show.
So far, no sport has mandated that athletes looking to compete at any event be vaccinated. Gayle, however, believes that in the future it could be a requirement for those wishing to compete.
“Down the road, there is a possibility they are going to slow you down from your earnings and say if you don’t take it you can’t do this or you can’t do that and you can’t earn. So, it’s a situation where they might hold you ransom at some stage, but for me, if I don’t have to take it, I don’t want to,” he added.
“I am sure that at some stage they are going to hold everybody ransom by saying you can’t travel, you can’t play in a particular tournament or you can’t fly on a particular airline, but I am not up for it. I’ve been tested maybe over 60 times, 70 times since I’ve been flying and playing and being in a bubble and knock wood because I haven’t caught the Covid.”
The 31-year-old T20 star was forced to have surgery on his left knee after being out of the ICC World Cup with the injury. Despite having a successful T20 career the issue has kept the player out of the longer formats of the game.
In retrospect, the big hitter believes things could have been dealt with differently by taking better care of the issue and has warned developing players not to follow his example.
Russell is expected to undergo an injury assessment to determine his level of fitness as the team steps up its plans for this year’s T20 World Cup.
“Those who want to be another Russell should never do what happened to me. When I was 23 or 24 I began to get knee pain,” Russell told Gulf News.
“If I had someone tell me: ‘Look Russ, you should get your knee stronger by keep doing these simple exercises, I would have been pain-free from my knees and hopefully I wouldn’t have to have had surgery. Unfortunately, at 23 you are fearless, and I used to ignore that pain and I always gave it a quick fix by taking pain killers and kept running,” he added.
“By the time I reached my late twenties I started feeling the pain like I never felt before. The wear and tear began to show up. If I was doing those strengthening exercises like training of the legs and doing the right things, I would have been fitter.”
“I want the youngsters to know that guys should not just think about the upper body alone,” he explained.
“I used to go to gym and just work only on my abs and my shoulders because I wanted to look sexy for the girls. At the end of the day being sexy and then your legs being weak, don’t work. So it is very important to have a complete work out of the body. I could have done more wonders had I worked on my legs too.”
The schedule for the tournament in the United Arab Emirates and Oman was confirmed on Tuesday, with the final taking place in Dubai on November 14.
Pakistan and India will do battle in their opening Super12 Group 2 match at 6 pm local time.
New Zealand will get their bid for glory underway against Pakistan in Sharjah two days later, while Afghanistan begin their campaign on 25 October against a qualifier
Holders West Indies play England in a repeat of the dramatic 2016 final in debut on October 23, the same day as Group 1 rivals Australia face South Africa in Abu Dhabi.
The opening game of the competition will see co-hosts Oman come up against Papua New Guinea in Group B on October 17, with Scotland and Bangladesh in action on the same day.
The first semi-final will take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and the second will be staged in Dubai the following day.
West Indies T20 World Cup schedule
23 October
England vs West Indies
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
26 October
South Africa vs West Indies
Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
29 October
West Indies vs B2
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
4 November
West Indies A1
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
6 November
Australia vs West Indies
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Despite some promising signs in both the Test and T20 versions of the sport, the team Windies have continued to accumulate indifferent results in 50-over cricket. Currently ranked at 9th in the world, the team has won just 4 of the last 10 games and won only one against a team in the top 10.
In their last encounter, the team struggled to come to grips with Pakistan in a 3-0 loss after a convincing win against the Netherlands prior to that. Recently appointed Pooran, however, believes the team is still trying to find its legs.
“There are a lot of new guys on the team and we need to learn to play together as a group. You just have to be patient, the ODI format is between the Test and the T20, and the mindset is changing. We just need to get the right mindset, the right template, and just stick with it for a bit, I am really looking forward to the Bangladesh game,” Pooran said.
The West Indies will play Bangladesh in a three-match ODI series, beginning in Guyana tomorrow.
