The Trinidadian left-arm spinner has so far taken 21 wickets in 13 One-Day Internationals and 15 wickets in 18 T20 Internationals.
Hosein is currently representing the regional side in an ongoing white-ball tour of India in which the team finds itself 1-0 down in the three-match ODI series.
He took 1-46 from nine overs in the game the West Indies lost by six wickets.
Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of the second ODI on Wednesday, Hosein, who is on his first tour of India, explained that figuring out the bowling in the conditions remains a work in progress.
“It's just about reading what type of pitch it is, what type of soil it is, and see what works on the day. Sometimes, you get information and it doesn’t really help you in the match so it’s definitely something that you have to go out there and feel for yourself and you can probably just keep that information at the back of your mind as well,” he said.
In their turn at the crease, in the first ODI, the West Indies batsmen were put into a blender by India’s spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, who took seven wickets between them. So the question remains, how do the Windies batsmen plan to manage the spin onslaught in the second ODI?
“I think more of that will be revealed tomorrow. We don’t know how the surface might play; it might play the same, it might play better, it might play worse. One game plan that we do have no matter what is to just be positive and get ourselves into proper positions. To play strong scoring shots and I think that’s something we’re going to stick with, no matter the surface and conditions. The more we’re able to do those things, we’ll be able to get through it,” Hosein added.
“The conversation after the game was generally about not getting our heads down. Yes, we’ve lost the match and it’s a short series with only three matches but more around the positives we took from the game. Although we lost, there were still positives and it’s just about how we plan to bounce back and come back stronger in the second game,” he added.
His performances this year have certainly caught the eye of the now 10 lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, with the auction for the 2022 season just a few days away but Hosein says his focus is on winning this series.
“These two games are very important for me because they will determine the series for us. I’m not really focused on the IPL. I’m focused on the task at hand right now. Yes, we know the IPL is the best league around but, having said that, I think once I do the right things and perform well for my team, other doors will open for me. The focus now is to try to win this ODI series,” he said.
The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.
In the second of three T20Is, the two teams combined for a record 517 runs including 81 boundaries and 35 sixes as the hosts needed just 18.5 overs to chase down a mammoth 258 set by the West Indies.
The catalyst behind the West Indies’ massive total was an innings from top-order batsman Johnson Charles that can only be described as special.
The 34-year-old right-hander, batting at number three, eclipsed Chris Gayle’s record for fastest T20I hundred for the West Indies, 47 balls against England at the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, when he brought up his maiden T20I century off just 39 balls.
Charles eventually made 118 off 46 balls including 10 fours and 11 sixes. He said the key to his innings was understanding the conditions.
“You know as a batsman, with such a good pitch and such a small ground, that you don’t have to over-hit the ball. I think that was one of the key points that all the batsmen had in the back of their minds,” he said in a press conference after the game.
This continues a remarkable career resurgence for the St. Lucian, who was a member of the victorious West Indian sides at the 2012 and 2016 ICC T20 World Cups.
After representing the regional side in a three-match T20I series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2016, Charles was dropped, with many writing him off completely.
“I think being out of the T20 side for six years definitely allowed me to do some soul searching and see where I’ve been going wrong,” Charles said.
After six years on the outside looking in, Charles finally got a second chance to don the West Indian colors when he was, surprisingly to many, selected for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia after an excellent 2022 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which saw him finish as the third-highest run-scorer with 345 runs in nine innings, including four fifties.
Charles played two games at the World Cup and recorded scores of 45 and 22 against Zimbabwe and Ireland, respectively.
Earlier this year, he played an integral role in leading the Comilla Victorians to their fourth Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) title, making 308 runs in nine innings, including a century and a fifty.
“I’ve gone back to the basics,” was Charles’ response to questions about how he has revived his batting.
“I made sure I have those down pat. Just coming back, it’s worked for me and, going forward, I’m just going to have to make sure that I keep focusing on the basics. If I continue doing that then I’ll keep on having great innings,” Charles added.
Hopefully, Charles can continue this form when the West indies take on the South Africans in the decisive third T20I at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
176, 193 and 169 were the scores the Caribbean side managed to put up during the series and Head Coach Phil Simmons, speaking in the post-series press conference on Friday, says this trend is concerning.
“It needs urgent attention. It cost us the last two games. If you bowl India out for 230 and 260, you expect to chase it,” he said.
The West Indies, not too long ago, showed improvement in their batting performances in ODIs, particularly in Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies in early 2021 which saw the regional side make scores of 236-2, 274-5 and 276-5 in the three matches.
“Just under a year ago, we were cruising to 280 and 290 against Sri Lanka who has similar spinners so the batting is a huge concern and people have got to stand up now as we go into our next set of ODIs in June,” Simmons added.
On a more positive note, Simmons praised the performance of his bowlers in the series.
“I think a positive is that the bowlers have done what we’ve asked of them. We’ve kept a strong India batting line-up to 230 and 260 and I think that’s a huge positive. The way how we’ve gone about our task on the field when bowling and fielding have been a huge positive all-round,” he added.
The West Indies will play India in three T20Is beginning on Wednesday while their next ODI assignment will be a three-match tour of the Netherlands in June.
Chasing 231 with more than four sessions to play, Bangladesh were bowled out for 213 with less than 10-minutes to go on the penultimate day of the match. Rahkeem Cornwall was the hero of the piece taking 4-105 and nine-wickets in the match.
Brathwaite, who captained the team following the withdrawal of Jason Holder and several senior team members, said the victory was due to a collective effort from a group of players, who were not expected to win.
“People wrote us off. But we kept it simple, enjoyed it, and we proved them wrong,” said the proud captain afterwards.
“I would say it's a team effort. The one-day team not doing well, but we wanted to here. We had a plan, enjoyed it, and happy to win the series.”
The Barbadian opener, who had scores of 47 and 6 in the match, perhaps his biggest contribution with the ball taking 3 for 25 including the openers Tamim Iqbal for 50 and Soumya Sarkar, who enjoyed an opening stand of 59 that threatened to wrest the match from the West Indies.
“I wasn't surprised with my wickets of the openers,” he said, “wanted to come on, keep it tight. Nice, it's a series win in Asia since 2012.”
He expressed his gratitude for being selected to lead the team and how the players responded to his leadership.
“Very thankful to God for the opportunity to captain West Indies. (The) boys stuck to their plans, they were very disciplined. Very proud of the boys. Means everything back home. Cricket means everything to us. People will be proud,” he said.
The West Indies secured a 1-0 series win over England after a dominant 10-wicket win in the third Apex Test match in Grenada on Sunday.
The win extended the Windies’ home dominance over England in the past 50 years to eight wins and two draws in 11 series with England’s only series win coming in 2003-04.
“It means a lot not only for the team but for us as Caribbean people,” said Ambrose while working as a commentator for the series.
“We were spoiled, for many years we were the best team in the world, beating everybody. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he added.
The former fast bowler who ended his Test career with 405 wickets at an average of 20.99 while clearly delighted with the result, explained that the result doesn’t mean the West Indies have suddenly turned a corner.
“Winning one game convincingly doesn’t mean we’ve turned the corner but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ve seen times in the past when they get under pressure they tend to crumble. That didn’t happen in this series,” he said.
England completed an innings and 114-run victory over the West Indies inside three days on Friday.
“It’s quite disappointing but it’s gone. We have two Test matches left in this series and we have to look ahead and stay mentally tough. That’s important for us,” Brathwaite said in Friday’s post-match press conference.
During their tour of Australia in January, the West Indies were similarly dominated by 10 wickets in the first Test in Adelaide before bouncing back with a historic eight-run win over their much stronger opponents in the second Test in Brisbane.
“Yeah for sure,” was Brathwaite’s response when asked if he believes this group can replicate that performance in response to a big loss.
“Every individual I believe in 100%. I know they can get the job done at this level so I believe in them for sure,” he added.
The 31-year-old also saw a few positives from the team’s performance in the first Test against England, mainly in the bowling department.
“Positives? We did bowl them out, albeit 50-60 runs too many. With the bat, we got three guys that got to 20-add and batted for an hour. We caught decently as well,” he said.
Brathwaite also said it’s too early to determine whether or not changes will be made to the XI for the second Test at Trent Bridge starting on July 18.
“It’s a little too early to decide. Obviously, it’s a different pitch we’ll be playing on so when we get there we’ll know,” he said.
Individually, since his 182 against Zimbabwe last February, Brathwaite’s form at the highest level has taken a massive downturn.
He has scored one fifty in his last 16 innings, 75 against India in Port-of-Spain last July.
Since that Zimbabwe series, Brathwaite has scored 227 runs in 16 innings at an average of 15.13.
Brathwaite believes something big is around the corner.
“I’m coping okay. Test cricket is always a challenge but, as I say to the boys as well it’s the same thing for myself, you’ve just got to stay mentally tough. You’ve got to believe that something’s coming around the corner. Just keep doing the right things and everything will work out,” he said.
Spooner, the tournament’s global media operations Manager, acknowledged the early problems, but said efforts were made to rectify the issues, as cricket fans flocked the venues to secure tickets for the highly-anticipated June 1-29 tournament, to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
To celebrate 30 days to go to the start of the tournament, box offices were opened on Thursday until the end of the event across the six host locations -Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua Recreation Ground; Barbados: Kensington Oval; Guyana: Guyana Cricket Board Office; Saint Lucia: Daren Sammy Cricket Ground; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Commercial Centre, and Trinidad and Tobago: Queen’s Park Oval and National Cricket Centre -in the West Indies.
“We apologise to the members of the public for the challenges that they faced, but we are very happy to see people coming out because it shows the level of interest, and this is a tremendous first day of operations.
“People want to be part of this event and they are participating meaningfully. We are very happy about that. We will put everything in place that needs to be put in place for our customers, our fans, who are the biggest supporters of the games,” Spooner said in an interview with Barbados Today.
“So far, the atmosphere has been amazing; there has been a lot of attention to the tournament globally, it is literally out of this world. We had the launch of the amazing anthem and the music video with Sean Paul and Kes, two of the best and most visible global artists in the region. We are very happy with that aspect of how things are going. The preparations of the fields and pitches have also been good, obviously, there is still work to be done as we are a month away, but we are where we want to be,” he added.
Hetmyer was originally named in the 15-man squad for the Australia series and the World Cup before being replaced by Shamarh Brooks on Monday.
The Guyanese batsman, who recently captained the Guyana Amazon Warriors to a playoff appearance in the Caribbean Premier League, was scheduled to travel to Australia to join the squad on Saturday before informing CWI that he would be unable to make the flight.
He was then rebooked for a flight on Monday before, once again, informing the CWI that he wouldn’t be able to make it. CWI’s selection panel then unanimously voted to replace him with Brooks. Before scheduling the Monday flight, he was informed that failure to make the flight would leave CWI no choice but to replace him in the squad.
“To be honest, that’s not my focus at the moment,” Pooran said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“The decision has been made, there are consequences for your actions. At the moment, I just want to focus on why we’re here and how we’re going to achieve our goals. Obviously, we planned with him but, unfortunately, he’s not here and we have to plan differently now,” he added.
“He’s definitely an experienced cricketer,” was Pooran’s reaction when Australian journalists questioned him about Hetmyer’s replacement in the squad, Shamarh Brooks.
“He’s been in our white-ball set up for the last year and has been doing fantastic. He had a really good CPL as well. He has a vital role to play for us,” he added.
Brooks is fresh off a fantastic CPL playoffs where he had scores of 47, 109* and 47 to help the Jamaica Tallawahs win their third CPL title.
The Windies are in a must-win situation after suffering an embarrassing 42-run defeat at the hands of Scotland on Sunday, leaving them at the foot of Group B needing wins in their last two games to move on to the Super 12s.
“Obviously, we had a tough start yesterday,” said the former West Indies Test and ODI skipper in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We’re all disappointed with the performance we had but I think the most important thing we have to do now is to come together and try to find solutions. There’s no doubt that we have what it takes to turn it around and it’s all about hitting the ground running against Zimbabwe,” he added.
The Zimbabweans will enter the game on a high after getting a comprehensive 31-run win over Ireland in their first game, also on Sunday.
“They’re a very good cricket team. We’ve played against them quite a bit in the recent past and they’ve been more and more competitive. They’re on a bit of a win streak as well so we’re expecting a highly competitive game; one of the hardest games we’ll have in the competition.”
The first game saw the Caribbean team struggle with the bat, being bowled out for 118 in just 18.3 overs in pursuit 161.
Better situational awareness and the forming of partnerships were Holder's answers when asked about possible solutions for the team's batting struggles.
“We’ve got to be a little more situationally aware and try to build partnerships. Partnerships are key in any cricket game.”
“The situation of the game will determine how we play. If that requires that we go for boundaries then we’ll go for boundaries but if it requires that we have to knock it around for a bit, we’ll make that adjustment.”
The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 am Jamaica Time (4:00 am ECT).
After batting first and posting a paltry 176 all out in just 43.5 overs, India needed just 28 overs to get to 178-4 and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pace bowler Alzarri Joseph, who was the best bowler on the day for the Windies with 2-45 from seven overs, said the nature of the pitch made bowling difficult.
“It was a pretty difficult wicket. It was slow and spin-friendly so there wasn’t really much in it for me. We had our team meetings and we had specific plans for specific batsmen so I was just bowling towards the plans. I just tried to put in my effort and put my best foot forward for the team,” he said.
A common theme in the West Indies batting over the years, Joseph lamented the lack of application during their innings.
“I just think we need to assess a bit better and spend some more time at the crease. As you see, Fabian and Jason gave us a good partnership and partnerships will give us a better total. We needed to score a bit more," the Antiguan said.
"I think maybe 240 or 250 would have been a more challenging total on that wicket but it’s our first game out and we have two more games to get back in the series so we’ll just go back to the drawing board and put our plans in. We have two days to go back and plan so we’ll have our post-match meetings and come up with plans to get to where we need to get.”
Joseph has had an excellent start to his ODI career with 66 wickets in 41 matches and his goal is to just keep improving.
“My goals are just improving as a cricketer every time I go out on the field. Year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, I try to improve myself and be better than I was yesterday,” he said.
The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.
Mayers, 28, scored an unbeaten 210 and featured in a record-breaking partnership with Nkrumah Bonner as the West Indies came from behind to defeat the home side by three-wickets mere minutes before the close of play on the final day.
His unbeaten double century is the second-highest score by a West Indian batsman on Test debut. Only Lawrence Rowe’s 214 against New Zealand in 1972 was better. Mayers also became only the third West Indian batsman to score a double century in the second innings of Test match following in the footsteps of George Headley (223) and Gordon Greenidge (214 not out).
The fourth-wicket partnership with Bonner, who made 86, is the best in the second innings of a Test match and was the fifth-highest successful run chase in history, the highest in Asia.
"I am always a positive person. I always believe in my abilities and the team, and I always was positive,” said Mayers, who hit 20 fours and seven sixes during his 310-minute knock.
“We never gave up. We always said in the dressing room that we need to keep fighting. The captain and coach told the bowlers as well that you need to keep fighting on a pitch like this.”
Mayers said he was thankful for the opportunity to play Test cricket and hopes his performance proves to be an inspiration for young cricketers in the West Indies.
“It's a great feeling to be playing Test cricket. Then to go on and score a century, and then to make it a double, and then going on to win this Test,” he said.
“I would like to be thankful to my teammates, my coaches and family back home. A guy making his debut and making a double should inspire all youngsters to work hard and reach this level."
After a 20-run victory on Wednesday, the Caribbean side now leads the series 2-1 with the chance to take an unassailable 3-1 lead on Saturday.
West Indies head coach Phil Simmons says that even with a series win in sight, he is focused on how the team is playing.
“Saturday, if we win the game we’ll win the series so yes, I’d be happy, but I’m happier now with the way that the players are taking on board how we want to play going forward,” Simmons said in a press conference today.
With the ICCT20 World Cup a few months away, the emphasis for the former Ireland and Afghanistan head coach is for the two-time champions to have a much-improved performance from the disaster of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in the UAE where they won only one of their five group matches and crashed out of the tournament.
“Winning as a whole is a great thing for any team so it’s something that we’re happy with, but for me, at this point in time, it’s about building back the team because at the end of the day, October is another T20 World Cup and, especially with our performances in the last one, we want to get back up to where we normally are. I’m looking at the quality of the cricket we’re playing and how we’re improving rather than just a series win,” Simmons said.
The former West Indies player also commented on Rovman Powell’s brilliant maiden T20 hundred.
“I think it was a brilliant innings from the start. The way he assessed the situation at the beginning is something that we’ve been talking about as a group and I’ve been looking forward to someone doing that in a match and he did that. We’re moving in the right direction,” Simmons added.
The West Indies will play matches on May 31, June 2 and June 4 in what will be their first-ever ODI series against the Dutch side and Pooran believes his players need to be in the correct frame of mind.
“Obviously, we don’t want to be complacent. We just saw the Netherlands play New Zealand and they did well,” said Pooran in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“They didn’t get a win but, as a team, they played really well. They have some good players.”
Pooran, who recently ended a stint for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, will be in charge in his first assignment as full-time West Indies ODI captain and provided some insight as to how he plans to lead.
“I’ll try to make the best decisions for the team. I’m very instinctive so a lot of my decisions you guys may not like but, hopefully, it will be the right decision for the team at that point in time. It’s similar to my batting so, hopefully, that goes well,” he said.
As for tomorrow’s game, Pooran says the team is prepared for battle.
“I believe that we’re ready to play. We’ve been here a couple days now and getting used to the weather. We came here to be successful and get some wins on under our belt to get some points so, hopefully, things can go our way and we can do the right things,” said Pooran.
The match is expected to begin at 4:00 am in Jamaica, 5:00 am ECT.
Speaking after the West Indies lost the final T20 by 17 runs on Sunday, Pollard said the tour was not a complete disaster.
“When you look at the games, it was definitely a close series but it just goes to show the fine line in international cricket in terms of the margins for error,” said Pollard.
“I thought the guys really put up their hands and gave a really good account of themselves so I don’t think we should feel disgraced by what has taken place.
"We’re not happy with losing but it is a work in progress. I’m very happy with the performances of some of the guys and we crack on. We have no international white-ball cricket for the next three months so we have time to find out what’s for the future.”
Among the players that Pollard was pleased with was his vice-captain Nicholas Pooran who starred with 184 runs in the three games.
“I thought Nicholas was outstanding. Three fifties in three games is fantastic for him and that’s the consistency that we ask for,” said Pollard.
Pollard’s Mumbai Indians teammate Suryakumar Yadav was India’s best batsman in the series with 107 runs in the three matches. The West Indies captain believes he is someone his batters should try to emulate.
“Surya is a world-class player. I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of years with him so it’s great to see that he has grown well and is doing great things for himself and great things for India. He’s a 360-degree player and that’s something that our batsmen could try to emulate,” Pollard said.
An important part of a successful T20 outfit is laying out specific roles for specific players and Pollard, while being aware of this, says it’s also important to rotate to give others opportunities.
“I think everyone is clear in their role. Once you get an opportunity to play, you know your role so it’s about getting the experience and understanding what is needed at the international level. We’re not just chopping and changing for the sake of it, guys came in and had specific roles to play. We’re in a position where we have to give guys opportunities,” he said.
The West Indies next white-ball assignment will a tour of the Netherlands in May-June where they will play three ODIs.
Bonner’s score of 38 was the top score in the West Indies’ second inning of 117. Those runs proved to be crucial in helping the Caribbean men set a target of 231 that was just good enough for the West Indies to pull off a 17-run win.
Over the two matches, Bonner accumulated 231 runs at an average of 57.75 during the series where he scored Test bests of 86 and 90. He was also involved in match-changing partnerships for the West Indies team that was supposed to be without their best players on tour.
The 31-year-old Jamaica said sound advice helped him achieve success.
“[I] spoke to seniors and knew you have to be patient while batting here,” he said after receiving his award. “After all it’s Test cricket, you need to put a price on your wicket.”
He said it was not that difficult adjusting to the conditions in Bangladesh.
"It's quite similar to Caribbean conditions,” he said. “It spins at home too, just a little lower here.”
The two-time champions will do battle with rapidly improving Afghanistan, perennial title-challengers New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda in Group C. The top two teams in the group will advance to the Super Eights.
They will open their account in the World Cup against Papua New Guinea at Providence in Guyana on Sunday.
“All 20 teams in the World Cup are good teams. I think we have a group that will give us some challenge. It’s T20 cricket and on a day, that is when it’s played, regardless of how strong your squad is,” Powell told the media at a training session at the UWI SPEC in St. Augustine on Wednesday.
“I think we have a strong enough squad to fight off any battles that these teams give us,” Powell added.
West Indies will round off their preparation for the tournament a final warm-up game on Thursday against likely title-challengers Australia, at the Queen’s Park Oval.
The outing will give Powell and the players who missed the recent three-match series against South Africa because of commitments in the Indian Premier League, the chance to get some time in the middle before their opening game.
The West Indians produced some excellent cricket in that series to come out 3-0 winners and Powell says it’s important to keep that momentum going.
“It’s important that we keep on winning. Winning builds a very good morale in the team, so that is always very good,” he said.
One important player that the hosts will be without for the World Cup is all rounder Jason Holder who picked up an injury and has been replaced in the squad by left-arm quick Obed McCoy.
“Obed is a suitable replacement. It’s a good four overs that he comes with; four overs with a lot of variation and he also comes with the left-handed factor. It’s important for him to just come on and be himself,” Powell said.
The skipper also commented on the selection of fast bowler Shamar Joseph for his first World Cup.
“When we were selecting the team, there were other fast bowlers in the Caribbean that we could have selected but he comes with a little bit of X-Factor, a little bit of cutting edge,” Powell said.
“He’s faster than the other fast bowlers around the region. He’s a little bit fitter than the other fast bowlers around the region, so we think it’s an opportunity now for us to give him a go in a World Cup like this. With his exploits in Test cricket, he should be going into it pretty confident,” he added.
“I’m feeling pretty good at the moment. I’m hitting the ball very well in the nets,” the 31-year-old told members of the media in a press conference on Friday.
“The way I’m feeling now, I feel like my old self from a few years ago so, hopefully, I can go out there and out in some good performances for the team,” he added.
Blackwood is coming off a modest tour of Australia where he scored 63 runs in four innings at an average of just 15.75. In those four innings he recorded scores of 36, 24, three and zero.
Despite the poor returns, Blackwood noted that the failures were not due to tough luck rather than poor form.
“I never really had any difficulties. I just didn’t get the scores I wanted,” he said.
“In the first game, I thought I got a hard decision in the first innings with the LBW against Mitchell Starc and then, in the second innings, I thought I was unfortunate when the ball hit my bat then my thigh pad and lobbed up to Labuschagne. In the second game I didn’t really get a start,” he added.
Nevertheless, Blackwood views the two matches against Zimbabwe as an opportunity to score some much-needed runs ahead of the team’s three-match tour of South Africa starting on February 28.
“My goal is to score as much runs as possible. In the last three series, I haven’t scored any centuries so I’m looking forward to scoring at least one in this series and get the form going for the South Africa series coming up shortly,” he said.
As he mentioned, his last Test hundred came in March 2022 against England at the Kensington Oval.
Since then, he’s scored 237 runs in eight innings at an average of 29.62 with one half century, 63 against Bangladesh in Antigua in June 2022.
The first Test against Zimbabwe bowls off on February 4.
Da Silva made a well-compiled 100 off 149 balls as the Windies scored a massive 517 in their first innings of a tour match against a Zimbabwe XI in Bulawayo. The match was declared a draw on Monday after the West Indies reached 82-2 in their second innings after dismissing the hosts for 122.
“It’s always good when you get to spend some time in the middle in a practice game. I had fun out there,” the 24-year-old Trinidadian said.
“It is a decent pitch. Some balls are staying a bit low but I think the boys have really applied themselves and made the most of the opportunity to get into the middle. The goal set out by Kraigg (Brathwaite) was to bat a day and a half and we did that. Kraigg gave us a target of 450 an hour after lunch on the second day and we got that as well. We ticked all the boxes and, hopefully, we can transfer that into the Test series,” Da Silva added.
Brathwaite got a hundred of his own, stroking 116 off 170 deliveries, and Da Silva commented on his skipper’s form heading into the series.
“Everybody’s seen it. We know the kind of form he’s in and ever since he’s gotten the captaincy his form has taken an uphill climb. It’s been a joy to watch for me and I try to take little things from him and add it to my game,” he said.
Da Silva also commended his bowlers, especially Alzarri Joseph, who he said was able to extract some good pace out of a slow wicket.
“I think Alzarri’s pace opening up really surprised them. He was bowling quite fast on the pitch and it’s not a quick pitch by any means. To see him run in, give his full effort and bowl as fast as he could was really good.”
Powell smashed a belligerent 107 off 53 balls, including five fours and 10 sixes, to help the home side amass a total of 224-5 off their 20 overs. In the field, Powell took two catches to help the Windies restrict the English to 204-9 and secure a 2-1 lead in the series but it was with his batting that he spoke loudest.
“It means a lot. The last six or seven months have been tough, not getting a lot of runs so it was good for me to get an opportunity tonight and I took it. I hope it’s a breakthrough international performance. It’s just for me now to go back to the drawing board, think about the stuff that I did right and hopefully I can replicate it come Saturday,” Powell said after the game.
Many fans and pundits were left bemused when Powell strode to the crease at number four ahead of Darren Bravo, who batted at that position in the second game, but Powell said that the move was tactical and that he was told of the possibility the night before by captain Kieron Pollard.
“It was to split up the two left-handers. We didn’t want Pooran and Bravo at the crease at the same time, so I was the right-hander that slotted between them. Last night (Tuesday) he told me it's a possibility that I would bat four so I started to think back to some of my good innings and started to come up with a game plan. I think that plan served me well today. When I walked out to bat, I was confident because for the last five months I’ve been working hard and stroking the ball well so that confidence transferred into the game,” he said.
That confidence also comes from a fantastic stint Powell had at the Abu Dhabi T10 League in late 2021 for the Northern Warriors where he scored 305 runs in nine innings at an average of 33.88 with 15 fours and a mammoth 27 sixes.
“I think I’m in very good form. I told the guys I’m sure that I’m one of the best in the world at the moment when it comes to hitting the ball and it started from the T10. When I went there, I just tried to express myself and catch back the eyes of the selectors and now everything is coming to fruition,” he added. West Indies fans are hoping that that form will carry over into the fourth T20I which takes place on Saturday.
With the World Cup just a few months away, the debate has raged on regarding the most effective composition of the squad. Experienced players like Gayle, Narine, and Dwayne Bravo, who all have world titles under their belts, remain eligible for selection. Some have called for the selection panel to look past the players.
Recently, the selection of veteran players Fidel Edwards and Gayle, for the West Indies series against Sri Lanka, set off vigorous debate around the region. While some endorsed the decision the Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel’s decision to add experience to the World Cup squad. Some argued that Gayle being 41 and Edwards 39, the CWI should be invested in selecting promising youth players.
In the meantime, top spinner Narine is only 32 but has not appeared for the West Indies since 2019 and prior to that had not played consistently.
“I don’t think that Sunil Narine is interested in going to World Cup, to be honest, given the challenges he had,” Ragoonath told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Dwayne Bravo is showing that he is still capable and Chris Gayle for me is a big question mark. For the first time, I’ve seen Chris Gayle actually dive around in a match. The last game they played (Punjab King’s XI). He looks a little fitter, but at the same time, I am not inclined to taking Chris Gayle to a World Cup at this stage,” he added.
Gayle struggled to make an impact against Sri Lanka in March, scoring just 29 runs in three matches. Since the start of this season’s IPL, the batsman has been solid, if not spectacular for Punjab Kings XI after scoring 165 runs from seven matches.
“Of the three, I would love to have Sunil Narine on my side, but psychologically Sunil is not half the player he used to be and so Bravo is the only one I would give serious consideration to.”
