The win was not just the Irish team’s first triumph over the West Indies in an ODI series, but the come-from-behind victory was only the second over a full member team. Prior to that, the team defeated Zimbabwe at home in 2019.
After dismissing the West Indies for just 212, the Irish survived a late-game wobble but still had enough to get over the line after getting to 214-8 in the 45th over.
The effort was anchored by half-centuries from Andy McBrine and Harry Tector.
Earlier, the West Indies were off to a fast with Shai Hope cracking 53 from just 39 balls at the top of the innings, as he did the majority of the scoring in an opening stand of 72 in 11 overs with Justin Greaves. However, things fell apart when he and Greaves were caught off the bowling of Craig Young in quick succession. The hosts went on to lose the next three wickets for just four runs as the middle order collapsed when Nicholas Pooran, Shamarh Brooks, and skipper Kieron Pollard all spent very little time at the crease.
Jason Holder ensured at least a competitive score with an impressive 44 but was run out, with West Indies all out for 212. Odean Smith remained unbeaten on 20 from 10 balls.
Sent in to bat, the West Indies were bowled out for 122 in 32.2 overs as Man of the Match Shakib Al Hasan took remarkable figures of 4 for 8 from 7.2 overs in his return to cricket from a one-year ban for failing to report corruption.
Hasan Mahmud provided strong support as he took 3 for 28 from six overs. However, the West Indies lost their first two wickets to Mustafizur Rahman who conceded 20 runs from the six overs he bowled.
Kyle Mayers was the best of the West Indies batsmen with 40 runs from the 56 balls he faced. He and Rovman Powell produced the most useful partnership of the West Indies innings with a stand of 59 for the sixth wicket.
However, once Powell got out in the 30th over with the score at 115, the West Indies lost their remaining five wickets for just seven runs.
"It was a bit disappointing for us. The wicket wasn't the easiest one for us, but we didn't have enough partnerships. Even the ones that got starts, didn't convert that for us. It was a great partnership [between Powell and Mayers] but we have to work with the positives,” said Windies captain Jason Mohammed.
It's a difficult place to come and play cricket. The wicket was turning and slow, but we have to put things in place for the next game.”
Captain Tamim Iqbal’s patient 44 provided the foundation for the Bangladeshi reply notwithstanding the efforts of Akeal Hosein who returned figures of 3 for 26 that briefly stymied the home side’s reply.
“Whatever score we put up, our work is to go there and work hard. Akeal on debut was very good, picking up three wickets and being very economical,” Mohammed said.
Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim was unbeaten on 19 and Mahmudullah nine, as Bangladesh eventually cruised to a comfortable victory.
With the return of veteran batsman Chris Gayle and pace bowler Fidel Edwards, along with the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Jason Holder, and Pollard himself, to call upon, the West Indies has plenty of firepower to begin the series against Sri Lanka and build-up to the ICC World Cup, which will be held in India, in October.
With many of the above players forming parts of World Cup-winning teams, in the case of Simmons, Bravo, and Gayle on multiple occasions, the team has an unrivaled amount of title-winning know-how.
Added to the firepower of a younger generation, led by the likes of the explosive Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, and Andre Fletcher the two-time World Champions could have the perfect ingredients for another powder keg. With Gayle being the oldest members of the squad to face Sri Lanka, at 41, and Kevin Sinclair the youngest at 21, the average age of the squad is around 30.
“We’re excited to have certain individuals back. We excited as well to have the younger players trying to get an opportunity as well. I think the way to go forward is having that sort of mix,” Pollard told members of the media via a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.
“In the team, we have youth and experience. The youthful guys can learn from the experienced guys. These are some of the things that have been missing throughout, from 2016 till now, can we say we have put out our best T20 team to go to any series or anything like that. There was always different things happening in the midst of it.”
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie confirmed that both the St Catherine and 12 Dunrobin Avenue locations of Russell's T20 Restaurant and Sports Bar were issued with orders to immediately close on Wednesday.
Night clubs across the island were ordered closed in March, in a bid to arrest the spread of the Covid-19 virus. According to McKenzie, however, some of the locations across the island have been operating as restaurants in an apparent bid to circumvent the regulations. In addition to that, however, McKenzie also claimed some of the establishments were not licensed to operate in the manner in which they were.
“There are two locations that we have decided to take actions against, immediate actions. They are facilities that are owned by a prominent sports individual,” Mckenzie told Nationwide Radio.
“I’m talking about Russell’s T20, the one on Dunrobin and the one in Old Harbour. The KSMEC and the St Catherine Municipal have never received an application for an amusement license or permit for the operations of these facilities."
Russell opened the Old Harbour branch of the restaurant in 2017, the Kingston location was opened earlier this month.
Though scans showed no fracture after he was clattered on the boot by a Mitchell Starc yorker, a gritty Joseph battled through pain on the fourth day to produce one of the greatest spells in Test history. The 24-year-old Guyanese claimed seven wickets for 68 runs to inspire West Indies to a famous eight-run win - their first victory in Australia since 1997.
Interestingly, Joseph was not expected to feature on the day, but with the help of team physio and painkillers, he defied the injury and bowled a remarkable spell that will forever be etched in the minds of cricket enthusiasts.
Following his heroics, Joseph was due to head straight to the ILT20 having signed with Capitals, the team of West Indies T20 captain Rovman Powell, before the Australia tour, but will now return home to recover before travelling to the PSL where he was signed as a replacement by Peshawar Zalmi.
Still, with his stocks rapidly rising, Joseph is unlikely to be short of offers from T20 leagues around the world after the stunning start to his Test career where he claimed Steven Smith with his first delivery and claimed two five-wicket hauls.
The one-day matches will be the final bilateral series West Indies will play before the Caribbean side and all the top thirteen teams participate in newly formed ICC ODI league that runs from May 2020 - March 31, 2022.
In this new limited-overs cycle, under the 2019 - 2023 Future Tours Programme (FTP) established by the ICC to bring greater context to international cricket fixtures, the seven highest-ranked teams apart from India, who gained automatically entry as tournament hosts, will qualify for the 2023 World Cup.Following the 3- 0 ODI series clean sweeps against Afghanistan and Ireland, the West Indies currently sit in 9th position with 80 points with Sri Lanka in 8th place on 81 points.
A series win for West Indies will move them into 8th position ahead of Sri Lanka in the official ICC ODI Team Rankings, ahead of the first ODI league matches at home in July against current number three ODI ranked team, New Zealand.
The T20Is provide West Indies the opportunity to win their first T20I rubber since the 2-1 series victory over Bangladesh in December 2018 as they continue to build momentum ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October 2020, a country where the team won their first T20 World Cup title in 2012.
Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said the series was important as the team sought to continue steady preparations for the World Cup.
“The Sri Lanka series allows us to continue the process of building towards this year’s T20 World Cup in Australia as well as the longer term goal of automatic qualification for the next ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023. Playing in unfamiliar conditions should be a good test for both of our squads.”
Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.
The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.
Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.
From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.
“We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.
“That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.
West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.
Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.
“Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.
The inconsistency of the batting unit has been a sore point for the Caribbean team for the past several years, particularly the top order, who are often accused of not spending enough time at the crease.
As expected, the performance of the top order has been crucial to the outcome of matches against England in recent outings. In the last two series, the top order has averaged somewhere around 158, in wins for the West Indies, and around 66 in losses.
“We’re missing some key players right now, so it’s very important for us as top-order batters to get those runs on the board, see off the new ball and make it easier for batters coming down the line,” Hope told members of the media.
“As soon as we get those starts, we have to capitalise and go big for the side,” he added.
“It’s the first series back for us, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our skills and win the series.”
Hope and Kraigg Brathwaite were two of the standout performers for the regional team on their last tour of England. In the only Test match that the team won, Hope, scored 147 and 118 while opening batsman Brathwaite made 134 and 95.
The West Indies were scheduled to start a three-Test duel with England at T/he Oval, Edgbaston, and Lord’s on June 4 until the rapid spread of COVID-19 across Europe threatened to derail those plans.
The ECB and Cricket West Indies have been trying to come up with solutions to keep what is expected to be a lucrative series alive.
According to reports, the ECB is stepping up plans to resume cricket in June, but with no spectators, but that broadcasting would still go ahead since that was safer and that is where the majority of money to be earned from the series would be in any case.
The approach, ECB Director of Special Projects, Steve Elworthy, explained that any approach involving re-starting cricket in England would mean creating a sterile environment, safe for players and staff.
The decision to postpone the tour came as a result of the uncertainty for the safe resumption of cricket in the United Kingdom, as well as international air travel.
As a result, it was a logically mutual decision to postpone the tour to a later date until the clearance is granted by the UK government. The proposed window for the likely staging of this series is now July until the end of September.
“We continue to be in regular dialogue with the ECB on when and how we might be able to rearrange the Test Series. Clearly playing in June is now not possible and we will continue our discussions with the ECB and other Internationals Boards on trying to find new dates,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.
“We will only travel to England to play the series if our players can be assured that it is safe to do so. Our respective Medical Teams are beginning to discuss how this series could be played whilst guaranteeing the health and safety of our players and support team. We will be as flexible as we can without compromising the safety of our team.”
The West Indies were scheduled to play the three-match Test series from June 4-8, The Oval, June 12-16 Edgbaston, June 25-29 Lord’s.
This was the second agonizing one-wicket defeat in the series, following a similar result on the second Youth ODI in Beckenham.
Left-arm quick Gordon, who claimed 3 for 37, stood out bowling with good pace and swing, highlighted by his dismissal of England opener William Luxton, clean bowled in the first over. He was well supported by his right-arm pace duo compatriots Layne, 3 for 40, and Isai Thorne, 2 for 40, as they kept West Indies in the contest by regularly taking wickets.
When Layne dismissed tail end batters Nathan Barnwell caught behind and Joshua Boyden comprehensively bowled in the space of two overs, West Indies were on the verge of pulling off a thrilling fightback win with England still needing 12 runs. However, George Bell, who had an unbeaten half-century of 60 from 115 balls, held his nerve alongside the number 11 batter Sonny Baker to take the home side over the line.
Earlier, Matthew Nandu (51) became the second West Indies batsman to score a half-century on tour alongside Teddy Bishop. His 57-run third-wicket partnership with Ackeem Auguste 32 had West Indies solidly placed at one stage on 101 for 2. But the innings never kicked on, with captain on the day Giovonte Depeiza (34) being the only other major contributor.
The two teams will return to the same venue on Friday for the series finale. First ball is 10:30 am (5:30 Eastern Caribbean/4:30 am Jamaica).
The U-19 Windies, who won the title in 2016, are off to a strong start at the current edition of the tournament after notching wins over Australia, England, and Nigeria. The team’s latest win, a dominant 246 runs win over their African opponents, ensured that the Windies were top of group B.
According to the CWI president, the team’s strong showing, which has taken many by surprise, is no accident.
“This administration promised that we would invest more seriously and in a more focussed and strategic way on our youth cricket and this Under-19 team is an example of what we set about to do immediately – to give them the best possible preparation going into this World Cup,” Skerritt said recently.
“They have achieved already way beyond the expectations of most people. They beat Australia, they beat England. We are going to hope and pray that they continue on the path of improvement and performing at their best and whatever the end result of this World Cup is for them they would have made the Caribbean people extremely proud.”
The 28-year-old gloveman often failed to get things right to start the decisive Test, with a day characterised by fumbles and being wrong-footed. The Windies managed some control, bar a late run from England, but Dowrich never really look at ease behind the wicket.
In defense of his teammate, however, Brathwaite was adamant that things were not as easy as they looked and was confident the player would be much improved for the second day.
“He had a tough day but he’s a strong guy so I know he’ll be looking to bounce back,” Brathwaite told members of the media, via a Zoom Press Conference, in assessing the players performance.
“I’m looking for him to improve, it has to be up from here. We just have to keep supporting him. Obviously, the ball was swinging quite late so it wasn’t easy but tomorrow he will be better,” he added.
Dowrich has also had a difficult time with the bat for the series, with the exception of a solid 61 in the first innings of the first Test. The player was dismissed, without scoring, in both innings of the second Test, which England won by 113 runs.
The Proteas have been tentatively scheduled to tour the Caribbean in June of this year, most likely in Trinidad and Tobago, but a dispute between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the government could lead to its cancellation.
The issue stems from the government's request that Cricket South Africa (CSA) adopt a new constitution for cricket administration in the country. In a recent meeting, however, CSA voted against adopting the measure. The country’s sports minister is as a result said to be considering taking serious measures against the board.
One option could be to take away the body’s right to designate itself as the official national representative of the country. As such, CSA could not then select a national team for the tour of the Caribbean.
South Africa is one of several countries that are lined up to tour the Caribbean this year, as the region looks to recover from the financial setback of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka toured the region last month and Australia and Pakistan are also expected to tour the Caribbean later this year. The South Africa series was previously reported to consist of two Tests and five T20s.
The West Indies will take on the Netherlands in three ODIs on May 31, June 2 and 4. The team will then travel to Pakistan for three more ODIs on June 8, 10 and 12.
Estwick was speaking at a media conference late last week when he addressed the Hetmyer situation. Hetmyer recently withdrew from Rajasthan Royals in the IPL to travel back to Guyana for the birth of his first child.
Mere days later, he returned to the Royals which will play the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday, May 24 in the first IPL qualifier. However, the explosive Guyanese batsman has not made himself unavailable for the West Indies tours.
Estwick said the West Indies will miss his talents.
"If someone like Hetmyer's not playing, you're obviously going to miss his talent. He's having an outstanding season for Rajasthan Royals. He's doing very, very well. He's playing well,” Estwick said.
“He will be missed, but at the end of the day, he's not there. He's asked not to be selected for this tour so we have to get on without him and we hope that he will make himself available for future tours."
Notwithstanding Hetmyer’s absence, Estwick said he expects the West Indies to win the three ODI series against the Netherlands.
"Our expectation is to win all three ODIs [in the Netherlands] but it's not going to be easy," Estwick said. "Remember, a lot of the players won't have played in conditions like the ones we'll encounter in the Netherlands.
"It's about how quickly we adjust to conditions. We've only got a couple of days' practice before we go into the first ODI so it's all about adjusting and getting used to the conditions and then executing plans as well as possible."
West Indies batsman Haley Matthews has targeted putting together a string of consistent performances, with the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers just on the horizon.
Matthews has had a strong showing in the recently concluded tour of Pakistan, scoring 132 runs in three games, with an average of 44. In addition to that, however, she also made a healthy contribution with the ball after snaring seven wickets.
The 24-year-old has, however, managed to put together standout performances before. Her career-best score of 117, in 2018, was for instance followed by scores of 17, 17, 6, 26, and 16 in subsequent One Day Internationals, before improving again to make 49 and 100 not out.
On the back of her recent performances in Pakistan, the player is hoping to maintain her current run of consistency heading into the World Cup qualifiers and beyond.
“I think for me it’s going to come down to consistency. I feel like for a lot of tours I have one big score or two big scores and then I’m probably dry for the rest of the season,” Matthews told SportsMax.Tv’s InCaseYouMissedIT.
“Here in Pakistan and moving into Zimbabwe my key focus is going to be putting down good performances more consistently. I don’t want these games to be just the entire series, I want it to be the start of something really big for me. Hopefully, I can take this form into the World Cup qualifiers as well.”
The player has been enjoying a new position in the team’s batting line-up, coming in at the 5th in the middle order as opposed to her traditional position of opener. She, however, remains unsure as to whether the change will be a permanent or temporary one but insists she remains ready to assist the team in any capacity.
“It’s a good role change I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be playing this role for but at the same time I’m just trying to do as much as I can for the team as possible and if me batting at five is what the team needs from me right now…then it’s exactly what I’ll do.”
The match then went to the one-over eliminator and the home team scored 7-1 after the visitors made 6-0.
West Indies made their highest score of the series, thanks to a career-best knock from Rashada Williams – playing her fifth match.
The opening batter, top-scored with 78 not out off 138 balls as she batted through the innings. Then, off-spinner Sheneta Grimmond took a career-best 4-33 off her 10 overs in her sixth match, as South Africa slipped from 111-0 to 143-6 in the space of 13 overs.
“It was a great finish and I’m happy I played my part in today’s win. We really wanted to win, and we gave it all we had. The end was amazing with the run out off the last ball. We didn’t panic, we were focused, we kept our nerve in the ‘super over’ and it felt great to win,” said Grimmond, who was named CG Insurance Player-of-the-Match.
Match Summary: West Indies Women 192-5 off 50 overs (Rashada Williams 78 not out, Hayley Matthews 48; Nadine de Klerk 3-33) South Africa Women 192-7 off 50 overs (Lizelle Lee 61, Tazmin Brits 48, Mignon du Preez 46; Sheneta Grimmond 4-33, Qiana Joseph 2-29)
The regional team shocked the cricket world after defeating heavily favoured Australia in the 2016 final. The 28-year-old Windies skipper has freely admitted that reflecting on the unexpected triumph years later still fills her with a sense of pride and is eager to replicate it.
“I have played a lot of games over the years but the memories of India 2016 stand out so much,” Taylor told the ICC Cricket.
“Looking back on it, I’m just hoping that we can replicate it again this year – both the feeling that we had as a team and the impact that individual players had on the tournament from start to finish,” she added.
“Four years ago was a perfect storm for us. We really wanted to win, and I think we left all we had on the field throughout the tournament, especially in the final against Australia.
“This time around, we just need to do that again, play our game and push until the last ball to see how far that can take us. Winning the title and bringing the trophy back to the West Indies would be success for us.”
The West Indies Women will hope to emulate the feats of the men’s team who are two-time winners of the competition.
In pursuit of England’s target of 151, the West Indies were at 71 for 1 at around the halfway point of the runs chase. The team was anchored by a 61 run top-order partnership between captain Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin.
Once Dottin was dismissed lbw, however, Taylor followed two overs later and a rapid collapse saw the team eventually all out for 104. In the last 6.1 overs, the team nosedived from 72 for 1, to 96 for 8.
“For this format of the game, the intensity is very important. We had that early on with that significant partnership between Deandra and Stephanie of 60-odd that really kept that momentum going,” Colley explained following the match.
“During that middle period, however, we actually dipped in terms of our intent and moved away from that intensity around scoring boundaries and that obviously led to us losing some momentum toward the end. We needed to keep going to stay on pace with the required rate,” he added.
Even before that, however, the team must certainly be regretting not doing a bit better with the ball. Having reduced England to 96 for 6, they let it slip in the last bowling five overs, and a 150-target was always going to be a tough task.
"In this game, we were able to pull things back in the middle. Our spinners did well to pull back in the middle. The last five overs was really what cost us, they scored 50 runs in the last five and that pushed them past a score we were looking at.”
Electing to bat first the Windies Women complied just 125 with the DLS further reducing the target to 110. Pakistan were 103 for 6 when the rain stopped the match.
The West Indies effort was built on the backbone of Chedean Nation and Kycia Knight, who put together a 32-run stand from 26 balls for the fifth wicket. The batsmen were 28 and 30 not out respectively, after forming the partnership at 69 for 4 in the 14th over.
In pursuit, Pakistan got off to a tough start after the top three were sent back to the pavilion with just 25 runs on the board. Pakistan had five run-outs, with Nida Dar top-scoring with 28. West Indies Women coach Courtney Walsh admits he is hoping for a clean sweep.
“I don’t expect any complacency to set in. Winning is a habit to have and I want us to go out and focus on us winning the series comprehensively,” Walsh said, following the match.
