Opener Alex Lees top-scored with a solid 65 off 214, and partner Zak Crawley made 62, with an additional half-century from England captain Joe Root, who added 54 from 105, as England closed the opening day on 251 for 4.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat Lees and Crawley had England off to a comfortable start, until the partnership of 88 without loss was broken by Charles who had the batsman bowled. Root joined Lees at the crease and the pair carried the total to 186 for 1, before Root had his stumps swept away by Shermon Lewis. Lees' steady innings came to an end a few overs later when he was bowled around the legs by Charles. All-rounder Ben Stokes never really got settled and was out caught at the slips after flashing at a Charles delivery, having made just 11 from 29.
Jonny Bairstow joined Dan Lawrence at the crease and the two saw out the rest of the day without further incident. Charles ended the day with figures of 3 for 88, while Lewis ended with 1 for 48.
Left-arm spinner Motie has not recovered from a lower back injury. Charles recently made a return to the West Indies ODI team for the ongoing three match ODI series against United Arab Emirates in Sharjah. He scored 63 in the second match, his 50th ODI appearance, and was named Player of the Match.
Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We want to wish Motie the best as he continues his rehabilitation. He is one of the players who we expect to feature in West Indies cricket going forward, so we want to see him recover fully so he can participate when called upon.”
Haynes added: “When we discussed the replacement player, we looked at the possibility of another spinner in the squad. However, we felt it was better to go with Charles. He is experienced at the international level, he will add value to the team for what will be a very important tournament. He also has knowledge of the Zimbabwe conditions having played ODI matches there before, so we see him as the right man for the job at this stage.”
West Indies will arrive in Harare on Saturday 10 June, where they will prepare for the 10-team tournament. They have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Zimbabwe, Nepal, Netherlands and the USA.
West Indies face the USA in the opening Group A fixture on Sunday 18 June at Takashinga Cricket Club, followed by Nepal on Thursday 22 June at Harare Sports Club. West Indies meet Zimbabwe on Saturday 24 June at Harare Sports Club. The fourth preliminary match will be against the Netherlands on Monday 26 June.
Each side will play the other teams in their group once with the top three from the groups progressing to the Super Six stage from Thursday 29 June to Friday 7 July. The teams each play three Super Six matches against the sides they did not meet in the group stage.
All points won in the groups will be carried over to the Super Six stage apart from those gained against the bottom two from each group. The final will be played at Harare Sports Club on Sunday 9 July. The two finalists will both progress to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
FULL SQUAD
Shai Hope (captain)
Rovman Powell (vice-captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Keacy Carty
Roston Chase
Johnson Charles
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Kyle Mayers
Keemo Paul
Nicholas Pooran
Romario Shepherd
West Indies Match Schedule
All matches start at 9am local time (3am Eastern Caribbean/2am Jamaica)
Sunday 18 June: v USA at Takashinga Cricket Club
Thursday 22 June: v Nepal at Harare Sports Club
Saturday 24 June: v West Indies at Harare Sports Club
Monday 26 June: v Netherlands at Takashinga Cricket Club
Chase ended day two with another solid haul against the Englishmen, this time grabbing figures of 5 for 172, as England posted a sizeable 469 for 9 declared. Chase, who has bowled 44 overs, accounted for the top three batsmen, which included Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, and Zak Crawley before accounting for Ollie Pope and Sam Curran. The other wickets were claimed by Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Jason Holder.
The innings was the second big haul for the spinner, who also rattled the then visitors with an impressive 8 for 60 when the teams played in the Caribbean last year.
“It’s my second five-wicket haul, following up on the eight-wicket haul in Barbados. I do tend to do well against them, even in 2017, even though England is not normally a place where spin bowlers dominate,” Chase told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.
Chase was used sparingly in the 2017 series in England, when he again managed to pick up a few wickets. The player, however, hopes for even more success.
“I still think I have to find a way to get more wickets.”
Under overcast skies West Indies captain Jason Holder had chosen to bowl first, only to see his much-vaunted pace-bowling attack repelled by dogged English batting that kept his side in the field for 162 overs and the better part of two days.
Architects of the English first-innings total of 469-9 declared were the side’s vice-captain, Ben Stokes, 176, and opener Dom Dibley, 120.
To help keep the run-scoring in check, Chase bowled a mammoth 44 overs to claim 5-143, while pacers Kemar Roach, 2-58, Alzarri Joseph and Holder, 1-70, offered support with their wickets.
In reply, the West Indies have already lost the services of John Campbell, after Sam Curran trapped him leg before for 12. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, 6, and Joseph, the night watchman, 14, are the batsmen at the crease, with the West Indies 32-1.
Despite the setback, Chase believes the West Indies have the tools to overhaul England’s total.
“I would never say that the 400 and odd is beyond us with the talent of the players that we have,” he said in a post-match conference on Friday.
Chase does recognize though, that batting on the third day may provide different challenges to the ones the English batsmen managed to navigate on the first two days.
“I would say that the wicket is slower than in that first innings when the ball was skidding on, so you have to give yourself time to adjust,” said Chase.
Even with that fact, however, Chase is still optimistic about his side’s chances, even though the odds of an England win stand at 70%.
“But I am backing our players to get the total or even close to it and then put them in a place where they have to decide what they are going to do,” said Chase.
Odds for the game ending in a draw now stand at 28% with a West Indies victory at this stage at a mere 2%.
The West Indies lead the three-Test series 1-0 and only need a draw to secure their hold on the Wisden Trophy.
England skipper Joe Root gave the signal to declare the innings on 469-9 just about an hour before close of play but before that, the side’s vice-captain, Ben Stokes, 176, and opener Dom Dibley, 120, made the West Indies toil.
Chase, himself, bowled a mammoth 44 overs to claim 5-143, while pacers Kemar Roach, 2-58, Alzarri Joseph and Holder, 1-70, offered support with their wickets.
In reply, the West Indies have already lost the services of John Campbell, after Sam Curran trapped him leg before for 12. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite, 6, and Joseph, the night watchman, 14, are the batsmen at the crease, with the West Indies 32-1.
“Most teams being out there for 160-odd overs you would begin to see the tiredness and the lines and lengths start to go wrong, but we didn’t let it get away from us. We still kept the run rate to under three and that was our aim from the beginning,” said Chase.
A large part of that were the 32 overs bowled by Roach. The pacer went at a miserly 1.76 runs per over even though he didn’t get among the wickets til late in the day when he had Stokes caught behind attempting a reverse sweep, and Woakes caught at slip with a peach of a delivery with the very next ball.
“We didn’t get wickets in clusters or really fast like we did in the first game but we stuck to the game plan and stuck to the task,” said Chase.
The West Indies were in for a surprise after believing they could get the most out of the wicket on day one under gloomy skies and with some moisture from rainy days still affecting the pitch.
“I thought the conditions played a big role in us deciding to bowl first. Outside was very overcast and dark, the lights were on before play even started, and having the success we had in the first game as well, everyone was down for the decision to bowl first. But as I said, the English batters played tremendously so kudos to them,” said Chase.
There were a few instances when things looked to be falling apart for the West Indies toward the end of the England innings.
Roach dropped a catch, pushing his effort over the ropes for six, Shannon Gabriel missed an easy run out, having caught the return but failed to make contact with the stumps, as well as a couple of other misfields.
Those instances, though, Chase explained are bound to occur after such a long time in the field.
We made a few blunders in the field which is going to happen when you’re out there for that long because your body is under tremendous strain but all in all I think it was a good effort from the guys,” said Chase.
The tourists' pacemen struggled to apply any pressure on England's openers as play began 90 minutes late and under lights at Old Trafford. Chase was handed the final over before the break by captain Jason Holder and trapped Rory Burns lbw for 15 with the second delivery.
Burns chose to review, but replays showed the ball was hitting the top of middle stump.
England went into lunch on 29-1 after 13.2 overs, a disappointing start to a tough morning for the hosts at least off the field.
England was without fast bowler Jofra Archer, who was excluded from the team for breaching isolation protocols by returning to his home in Brighton on Monday as the squad transferred from Southampton to Manchester. With James Anderson and Mark Wood rested for the match, England had a completely new specialist pace attack featuring Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Sam Curran.
Returning England captain Joe Root then lost a toss that was delayed because of wet weather, and Holder had no hesitation putting the English into bat even though no team has won on the eight occasions it has chosen to field first in a test at Old Trafford.
The radar of West Indies' fast bowlers was off, particularly Shannon Gabriel, who produced a comically bad first over that included five wides when one of his deliveries flew wide of the pitch and all the way to the boundary. Gabriel lost his run-up and had to abort his first delivery, and was wayward through most of his three overs.
Holder gave Gabriel and Kemar Roach only three overs each before removing the strike bowlers, but Burns and Sibley (8 not out) continued to be unflustered until Chase struck.
Chase was at it again just after the lunch interval, as Zak Crawley, fell to leg slip.
The West Indies, which named an unchanged team, won the first Test in Southampton and are looking to seal a first series victory in England in 32 years.
Only 49.4 overs were possible on day two as rain halted proceedings on multiple occasions.
The tourists began the day 133-4 off 41 overs with Kyle Mayers on eight and Chase on five.
The pair brought the score to 184 in the 54th over before Mayers was dismissed by Brandon Mavuta for 30, bringing Joshua Da Silva to the middle to join Chase.
Chase and Da Silva brought the West Indies total past 200 in the 61st over, with Chase bringing up his fifty off 83 balls in the process. This was Chase’s first Test fifty since a 51 against England in Manchester in July 2020.
At lunch, the West Indies were 236-5 after 71 overs with Chase on 56 and Da Silva on 25.
Soon after the Windies 250 was brought up in the 78th over, Chase fell to pacer Victor Nyauchi for a 132-ball 70 to leave the tourists 269-6 after 84.5 overs.
Just one run later, Da Silva also fell to Nyauchi. He faced 111 balls for his 44.
It was 270-7 when Alzarri Joseph joined Jason Holder at the crease and, two balls later, it was 274-8 as Joseph, after striking a boundary off his first ball, became Nyauchi’s third victim of the day, going for four.
At stumps, the West Indies were 290-8 off 90.4 overs with Jason Holder on three and Gudakesh Motie on 11.
Scores: Zimbabwe 115 off 40.5 overs (Innocent Kaia 38, Gudakesh Motie 7-37, Jason Holder 2-18)
West Indies 290-8 off 90.4 overs (Roston Chase 70, Raymon Reifer 53, Joshua Da Silva 44, Victor Nyauchi 3-56, Brandon Mavuta 3-73)
McCoy was named in the original squad subject to medical clearance but has been ruled out of the upcoming series due to a knee injury.
Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes, said: “Roston gets an opportunity in the upcoming series as we see him being a versatile player who can be called upon at any stage in the game. We want to wish Obed the best with his rehabilitation programme and hope to see him back in West Indies colours soon.”
The three-match T20I Series bowls off on Saturday 25 March at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
The second match will be at the same venue the following day, while the third match will be at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday 28 March.
The T20I Series is preceded by a three-match One-Day International (ODI) Series.
The first two matches will be at Buffalo Park in East London on March 16 and March 18, with the final contest on March 21 at JB Marks Oval Potchefstroom.
T20I SQUAD
Rovman Powell (Captain)
Kyle Mayers (Vice Captain)
Shamarh Brooks
Yannic Cariah
Johnson Charles
Roston Chase
Sheldon Cottrell
Jason Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Brandon King
Nicholas Pooran
Raymon Reifer
Romario Shepherd
Odean Smith
West Indies white ball match schedule in South Africa
Thursday, 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Saturday, 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
Tuesday, 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
Saturday, 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Sunday, 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion
Tuesday, 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)
On Friday, England declared their first innings in the second Test of the #raisethebat Series at Old Trafford on 469-9 thanks to innings from their vice-captain Ben Stokes, 176, and opener Dom Sibley, 120.
Sibley and Stokes were patient in compiling their respective innings, the former facing 372 deliveries for a strike rate of 32.26. Stokes was a little more adventurous, scoring at 49.44.
Chase eventually removed Sibley, the opener counting as one of his five wickets after 44 overs of bowling.
“I would say the approach should be to play each ball on merit,” said Chase. “Just take a page out of the English players’ book, especially Sibley and how patient he was and just really waited on the bowlers to come into his areas and score,” he said.
Chase was also cognizant of the way the pair ran between the wickets, always keeping the pressure on the West Indies to field well and thought this was something his West Indies teammates should also take onboard.
“I thought that they ran really well between the wickets so that is something that we can take from them as well and just stay patient,” said Chase.
The West Indies, in their reply, are 32-1, with opener John Campbell back in the pavilion for 12.
Campbell struck a couple of handsome drives but then misread the line of a delivery from Sam Curran to fall leg before.
Alzarri Joseph, the night watchman is not out on 14, while opener Kraigg Brathwaite is on six.
Come tomorrow, Chase wants the two to “just take that leaf from their book and play each ball on merit and when the opportunity comes to score, just score and go about cricket the normal way, run hard between the wickets.”
The West Indies lead the #raisethebat Series for the Wisden Trophy 1-0 and could secure their hold on the trophy with a draw in the second Test.
The Selection Panel named one newcomer in Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the left-handed opening batter and recalled two experienced players in allrounder Roston Chase and middle-order batter Shamarh Brooks.
Lead Selector The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “We have a core group of players who have been part of the Test squad and have performed well. We have played two series this year – against England and Bangladesh – and won both. We have been playing good Test cricket and expect to do well against the Australians on their home turf.” “We have one newcomer to the team in Tagenarine Chanderpaul. He equipped himself very well in the West Indies Championship four-day matches and also did a very good job at the top of the order against Bangladesh A in Saint Lucia this summer. He has what it takes to do well at the highest level.” Haynes added: “Roston Chase has returned to the squad as an allrounder and we believe his experience and skill set will be beneficial and Shamarh Brooks has also returned to bolster the middle-order batting.”
The West Indies Test squad is expected to assemble in Australia on 10 November. As part of the preparations for the two-match series the visitors will have a three-day warm-up game against an ACT/NSW XI at the Philip Oval, Canberra on Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 November.
This will be followed by a four-day pink ball match against the Australia Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday 23 November to Saturday 26 November. The day/night match will be played under lights and will recognize the anniversary of the inaugural fixture in 1951, also against the West Indies.
The Test series will be contested for the prestigious Frank Worrell Trophy – named in honor of the legendary West Indies captain. It will also form part of the ICC World Test Championship.
FULL SQUAD
Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain)
Jermaine Blackwood (Vice Captain)
Nkrumah Bonner
Shamarh Brooks
Tagenarine Chanderpaul
Roston Chase
Joshua Da Silva
Jason Holder
Alzarri Joseph
Kyle Mayers
Anderson Phillip
Raymon Reifer
Kemar Roach
Jayden Seales
Devon Thomas
Hope, widely agreed to be one of the region’s most talented batsmen, was dropped from the team after a poor run of form in November of last year. Chase, the consistent all-rounder, at the same time replaced Kraigg Brathwaite as vice-captain ahead of the New Zealand series.
Both players were called to the team ahead of the Bangladesh series but were among 12 players to decline due to health and safety concerns.
Hope has since returned to the ODI squad, where he looked to be in strong form. Chase, who initially missed out on the minimum fitness requirement ahead of the series, put on a strong display in the warm-up tour matches. Both players remain on the sideline, so far. For now, according to Simmons, however, the current players are doing well enough to keep their places.
“The guys who played in the Test matches have done well, so we need to continue to back the guys who have done well in the last three Test matches,” Simmons told members of the media via a Zoom press conference.
“The way I look at it is the guys did well. The guys went to Bangladesh, each one of the batsmen did well. They earned their places. So, it is a case where they continue to play and play well,” he added.
“Roston, Shai, those other players will have to fight their way back in, and that just how cricket goes.”
The three players along with a non-coaching member of the team management unit will now undergo a period of self-isolation.
All four members are fully vaccinated and without major symptoms.
They will remain isolated from the rest of the West Indies team for 10 days and until they return negative PCR test results under the supervision of Team Physician, Dr. Akshai Mansingh.
CEO of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave, explained the positive Covid tests.
“Our arrival testing protocols in Pakistan have confirmed four COVID-19 positives. These were confirmed whilst the players and staff were still in room isolation, so despite this significant setback to our preparation plans, we are confident that the tour can continue as everyone else returned negative PCRs since they have been in Karachi,” said Grave.
Grave said that despite the setback, the team remains in good spirits ahead of the series opener.
“This unusual loss of three players from our squad will seriously impact our team preparations but the rest of the squad is in good spirits and will begin training today ahead of our first game on Monday,” Graves said.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Windwards lost opener Devon Smith (11) with just 28 runs on the board and continued to lose wickets in clusters after that. Denis Smith, Kavem Hodge (24), Alrick Athanaze (9) all got starts but did not carry on.
Teddy Bishop put up the most resistance with 44 from 61 balls and Larry Edwards added a useful 37 from 70 at the bottom of the innings. Bishop’s innings came to an end when he was bowled by Miguel Cummins, while Chase accounted for Edwards. Overall, Chase ended with figures of 3 for 44, while Simmonds had 3 for 27.
In response, Raymond Reifer put together an unbeaten 56, while Kraigg Brathwaite added 39 from 83 to close the day at 109 for 1, 94 runs behind the Windwards' first innings total. Shane Mosely was the batsman that was out for 7.
In a rain-affected third T20I on Tuesday, the Windies emerged victors by eight wickets as they chased down the Proteas revised 108 run target in just 9.2 overs.
The visitors reached 23 runs without loss before play was stopped at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, with Tristan Stubbs scoring 40 runs from 15 balls upon play resuming.
Aiden Markram (20) and Reeza Hendricks (27) also contributed to South Africa's total, with Romario Shepherd ending with figures of 2-14 for the Windies.
Despite the early loss of Alick Athanaze (one) after just the fourth ball, Shai Hope (42) and Nicholas Pooran (35) handed the hosts the advantage.
Shimron Hetmyer's 31 from 17 balls secured the triumph, with West Indies captain Chase pleased with his team-mates playing their natural game in the shorter format.
"It was a good one [leading this time]. We wanted to win the series 3-0. I just asked the boys to give me victory because you want to start well," Chase said.
"The powerplay, we were doing well. I just thought that today the guys came out and applied pressure early.
"In a shortened game, we want guys to go and play their natural game. Guys came out and played brilliantly."
Shepherd was named the man of the match with his impressive bowling display, securing the wickets of Ryan Rickelton (27) and Markram.
The 29-year-old was not part of the Windies squad for the T20 World Cup in June, but was happy to exact their three-wicket defeat against the Proteas at the tournament.
"It's just about sticking to the process. Today was quite difficult because of the wet ball. The wicket was sticky," Shepherd said.
"I think I'm 70% there. You are never 100% in T20 cricket. To come and clean sweep the team which knocked us out of the World Cup was great."
On Wednesday, her grandson, Chemar Holder, received a call from Cricket West Indies for his first tour with the men’s senior team that will play three Tests in England starting July 8.
For Holder, the leading pace bowler in the West Indies Championships that concluded in March, it was a dream come true.
“It was a good feeling yesterday (Wednesday) when I got the call to know that I was included in the 15. It was something that I was always looking forward to and now I have got the opportunity to represent my country,” he said.
Holder, 22, took 36 wickets at a healthy average of 18.91 during the championships that was ended with two rounds to go because of the Coronavirus pandemic, leaving him just four wickets shy of the target he had set at the start of the season.
Nonetheless, the West Indies selectors rewarded him with a place in the senior squad that is set to play the ‘bio-secure’ Tests series.
“Chemar Holder is an exciting young fast bowling talent who is coming off an excellent domestic First-Class season. He should enjoy bowling in English conditions. He could prove a real asset to the team in England,” said Roger Harper, Cricket West Indies Chief Selector.
Coming from a cricket-loving family, Holder has always enjoyed their support.
“If things are not going well, they all talk to me, tell me to keep my head up, everything is not going to be the same,” he said. “So I always get support from them, especially my grandmother, who passed away. She was always my big supporter.
“She stayed up all night and watched me during the U19 World Cup. Every time I play I remember her so she would be happy to find out this news if she was alive today.”
Marva Holder passed away in 2016 at the age of 72.
Team captains Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, and Roston Chase were among 12 players opting not to go on the Bangladesh tour due to Covid-19 concerns. The list includes Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Sheldon Cottrell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran. Fabian Allen and Shane Dowrich will be unavailable because of personal reasons.
With the first team players missing Kraigg Brathwaite will lead the Test team, with Jermaine Blackwood assigned as his deputy. Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies A team captain, Jason Mohammed, will lead the ODI team with Sunil Ambris as vice-captain.
The absence of the A-list players will see Kavem Hodge, a right-handed top-order batsman, called to the Test squad for the first time. Left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers will now feature in the first team for the first time, after making trips to England and New Zealand as reserves earlier this year.
Two other players will earn their first call-ups for the ODI squad — Akeal Hosein, a left-arm spinner allrounder; and Kjorn Ottley, a left-handed top-order batsman.
Despite coming off the back of dismal Test performances in England and then New Zealand, where they lost both matches by an innings, Harper believes the desire to prove themselves as good enough to play at the highest level could see the stand-in team put in a strong shift.
“Touring Bangladesh is not easy. Bangladesh is a team that plays well in its own conditions but I really believe that the group of players that we put together, the squad for both the Test series and ODIs, will be competitive and give a good account of themselves,” Harper told members of the media on Tuesday.
“I think we can come away with some positive results from this series. Bangladesh plays extremely well in one-day cricket, so the players will have to play well be at the top of their games and make smart decisions,” he added.
The selectors announced an initial party of 23 to face the Windies and the Tigers, featuring a number of players who played in an Indian Premier League that was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They have now added Christian, Agar, Ellis, Ben McDermott, Cameron Green and Ashton Turner.
All-rounder Christian, 38, and wicketkeeper-batsman McDermott will end spells in England with Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire respectively to fly home and complete the mandatory two-week quarantine period before the final squad's scheduled departure for the Caribbean late in June.
Christian has not played for his country since October 2017, while Agar and Ellis will be hoping to make their international debuts.
Promising all-rounder Green made his ODI bow against India last December, while Turner has featured in the 50-over format six times and played 11 Twenty20 Internationals.
Confirmation of the tours are subject to agreement on bio-security arrangements and relevant government approvals.
Chasing 190 to win, Brooks put together a responsible 79 from 91 deliveries and formed part of a crucial partnership with Windies captain Nicholas Pooran. The pair put on 75 for the fourth wicket, with Pooran getting 28 from 47.
In pursuit of the total, New Zealand struck an early blow after removing Kyle Mayers for 6. Shai Hope blasted an aggressive looking 26 off 24 but was eventually caught by Tom Latham off the bowling of Tim Southee. Kacey Carty then struggled to 11 from 22 before being mopped up lbw by Mitchell Santner.
Pooran then combined with Brooks to push the score to 149 for 4. After several rain interruptions, Brooks was dismissed shortly after the third time the teams re-took the pitch. The batsman was finally out after edging to Latham off the bowling of Trent Boult. Pooran perished a few overs later but with the damage done Jermaine Blackwood (12) then combined with Jason Holder (13) to see the Windies easy over the line at 193 for 5, with 66 balls remaining.
Boult and Southee took two wickets each for New Zealand.
Earlier after winning the toss and choosing to field Akeal Hosein led a stifling spell by the Windies bowlers, who took wickets at crucial points to ensure New Zealand never got momentum. Hosein picked up figures of 3 for 28, with Windies pace bowler Alzarri Josephs also claiming 3 for 36.
Playing on Thursday at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Guyana’s victory was first set up by a magnificent century from Shimron Hetmyer, who was deservedly named the CG Insurance Man-of-the-Match. He scored his seventh List A century of 112 and it came off 80 balls with 11 fours and five sixes. He was well supported by Raymon Reifer who made a career-best 90 off 104 balls with eight fours and three sixes.
The left-handed pair boosted the Jaguars to 305 for 7 – the third 300-plus total in the tournament. Then, under the floodlights, leading wicket-taker Gudakesh Motie (53 for 4) led the charge with the ball as the Windwards were routed for 210 all out in 46.4 overs.
The Jaguars started poorly with the bat and were forced into errors courtesy of some outstanding bowling by the Volcanoes. They initially slumped to 63 for 4 in the 12th over as skipper Leon Johnson was out first ball after he top-edged an attempted hook off pacer Ray Jordan – who had an inspired first spell of 12 for 3. It was Kevin Stoute who took a stupendous catch. to dismiss Johnson, as he ran in from the fence at long-leg and dived full stretch.
One run later, Hetmyer (12) was dropped by wicket-keeper Emmanuel Stewart. This proved to be the game-changing moment as in partnership with Reifer, who was playing his first game of competition, Hetmyer procured a regional List A record fifth-wicket partnership of 194. The total eclipsed the previous mark of 159 unbroken between Devon Thomas and Jahmar Hamilton for the Leeward Islands against Combined Campuses & Colleges at Conaree, St Kitts in Super50 2019.
Although the Windwards kept the Jaguars from scoring an even bigger score by conceding only 49 scored in the final 10 overs, they never looked capable of chasing the target. No one supported top-scoring opener Alick Athanaze, who made a patient 58.
Hope had scores of 16 and nine in the first Test the West Indies won by four wickets in Southampton before scoring 25 and seven in a 113-run defeat in Manchester.
Hope, since scoring back-to-back hundreds against England in 2017, has only managed to get past 50 on four occasions, even as he faced the music 39 times.
“I am concerned. He has now gone some four innings without a score and in contrast to how he played over the last four months, five, six months in the other formats, I am concerned about his form and we will be sitting down and chatting about that,” said Simmons.
The coach, who was speaking in a press conference after the West Indies defeat by England in the second Test at Old Trafford, was referencing Hope’s phenomenal year with the bat as an ODI player.
In Hope’s last 10 ODI innings, he has scored three centuries, and three half-centuries, including 115, 51 and 72 in his last three innings against Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Simmons has said it was too early to decide on whether or not Hope would be dropped for the third Test or if another role in the batting line-up would suit him more.
