The Windies had set the hosts 290 to win the opening match of the three-game series, Shai Hope leading the way with 115 as he scored his ninth ODI century.
It was a target that looked like it could well be beyond Sri Lanka after their innings lost impetus following a 111-run first-wicket partnership between Avishka Fernando (50) and captain Dimuth Karunaratne (52).
Thisara Perera played an in important role with a 22-ball 32, but when he was caught off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph the match was very much in the balance with Sri Lanka on 253-7.
However, Hasaranga (42 off 39) produced a performance that belied his ODI average of 14.37 to get Sri Lanka over the finish line.
Hasaranga's ability to find the rope – he struck a quartet of fours and one maximum – and inaccurate death bowling from the Windies left the scores level going into the final over.
A direct-hit run out from Sunil Ambris to remove Lakshan Sandakan frayed the nerves a little, but the one run Sri Lanka needed came from a Keemo Paul no-ball off the next delivery.
Batting first, anchored by a resilient half-century from Danushka Gunathilaka (56), the Sri Lankans posted a creditable 160 for 6 after winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Gunathilaka and Pathum Nissanka put on a blistering 94 off the first 10 overs.
In response, the Windies were also off to a strong start at 45-1 before losing five wickets for just 21 runs.
Chris Gayle, who made a first-ball duck on Wednesday in his first appearance in two years, didn’t comfortable in making 16 before falling to a catch by Ashen Bandara off Hasaranga.
Opener Lendl Simmons (21) was next out, lbw failing to pick a Hasaranga googly.
Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, and Dwayne Bravo all followed quickly for single-figure scores.
Hasaranga ended with 3-17, off-break bowler Akila Dananjaya, who was the victim of Kieron Pollard's midweek assault claimed 1-13. Wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan took 3-10, including accounting for Pollard who made just 13.
Dananjaya earlier accounted for Evin Lewis who made six. Hasaranga added Fabian Allan to his list of victims with the West Indies then struggling on 89-7 in the 16th over.
With more than 22 an over required, Sandakan then got the wicket of Pollard, who was caught in the deep for just 13 having surprisingly opted to bat at number seven.
The final match of the series is on Sunday.
The Proteas secured their first series victory away from home in the longest format since 2017 on Monday, bowling the Windies out for 165 at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.
Set 324 to salvage a 1-1 draw, West Indies collapsed on the penultimate day in St. Lucia following a battling half-century from Kieran Powell (51).
Kagiso Rabada took 3-44 and Maharaj (5-36) became only the second South African to take a Test hat-trick in a sensational over just before lunch, with the tourists retaining the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy in the afternoon session.
Rabada reduced the Windies to 26-2 early in the day by removing Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope, but Powell and Kyle Mayers showed defiance.
They put on 64 for the third wicket before Mayers (34) top-edged to Dean Elgar at second slip attempting to hook the rapid Rabada.
Spinner Maharaj then took centre stage, dismissing Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva in the penultimate over before lunch to join the Test hat-trick club.
Jermaine Blackwood (25) and Kemar Roach (27) added 40 for the seventh wicket, but Maharaj finished off the Windies with his fifth wicket by getting Jayden Seales caught at deep square leg, with Roston Chase unable to bat due to a quad injury.
MAHARAJ MAGIC
Geoff Griffin was the only South African to take a hat-trick for South Africa against England at Lord's in 1960 before Maharaj worked his magic in the penultimate over of the morning session.
He had Powell taken by Anrich Nortje in the deep on the leg side and snared Holder before Da Silva was taken by Wiaan Mulder at leg slip, sparking jubilant scenes.
The left-arm tweaker put the icing on the cake by helping himself to a seventh five-wicket Test haul after lunch.
POWELL A PLUS FOR WINDIES
Opener Powell was recalled for this series after being left out in the international wilderness since 2018.
He made only 14 in the second innings of the first Test after being selected as a concussion substitute for Nkrumah Bonner and fell for only five in his first knock in this match.
Powell, 31, showed the sort of defiance West Indies have been lacking in a 116-ball knock, but there was an all-too familiar collapse after he departed.
Leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr has been named in the match-day squad while all-rounder Fabian Allen returns from an injury sustained in the recent series against South Africa. All-rounder Jason Holder is being rested for this series as part of his workload management, and he is expected to feature in upcoming One-Day Internationals and Test matches.
Roger Harper, Lead Selector said: “Hayden Walsh Jr adds variety and another wicket-taking option, while Fabian Allen, who was unavailable for the last game because of injury, returns. Considering the opposition, it is important that the team plays well in all departments, especially the batting, which needs to deliver more consistently.”
This CG Insurance T20I Series forms part of the West Indies’ World Cup preparation with a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup to be played from October 17 to November 14 in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Fans in the Caribbean can watch exclusively live on Flow Sports or via the Flow Sports app. West Indies fans can also follow live ball-by-ball scoring in the www.windiescricket.com live match centre, featuring the new live match blog. Live radio commentary is available on a number of radio stations across the Caribbean and available worldwide, except in India and Bangladesh, on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel.
Fans in Australia can follow this match and the entire West Indies vs Australia CG Insurance T20I and ODI Series live on Foxtel’s Fox Cricket channel as well as via live stream on Kayo Sports.
Fully vaccinated patrons will be able to buy tickets for the series from the stadium ticket office at the East Gate on presentation of their vaccination documentation and their national ID, with tickets available at EC$50 per match. A three-match ticket promotion is available for just EC$120, with a special Series five-match season ticket special at EC$200.
FULL SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Travelling Reserves: Akeal Hosein, Kevin Sinclair, and Oshane Thomas.
The West Indies drew the ODI series 1-1 before enjoying a 2-1 victory in the T20s.
“Yes, Hetmyer was available. He did send through an email to Jimmy (Adams), our director of cricket, stating that he was available for the tour,” Haynes said.
“We have a new captain in Shai Hope and he was very happy to express his views about the type of camaraderie we had in the team in South Africa.
We as selectors saw some commitment and a real change in our approach to one-day cricket and we thought it’s only fair to stick with those guys at this time,” he added.
The left-hander, currently representing the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), last represented the regional side in the ODI format in 2021 against Australia. His last T20I appearance for the Windies came in August last year against New Zealand.
Although initially selected for the T20 World Cup in Australia between October and November last year, he was replaced in the squad after failing to board a rescheduled flight to Australia.
Haynes, however, made it clear that this is by no means the end for Hetmyer or any player who wasn’t selected.
“I must say, though, that I want the public to know that nobody has been ruled out of selection for the West Indies. We do not have the depth of players to rule out anybody for selection,” Haynes added.
The West Indies will take on the UAE in three ODIs from June 5-9 before moving over to Zimbabwe for the World Cup qualifiers from June 18-July 9.
Cricket Australia on Monday confirmed a 14-man squad for the series opener at the Gabba following Sunday's 419-run rout of the West Indies in Adelaide.
Cummins has been named in that squad despite missing the Adelaide pink ball Test with a quad injury, but Hazlewood is absent again with an ongoing side strain issue.
The return of the Australian skipper would mean one of Scott Boland or Michael Neser would likely miss out in Brisbane against the Proteas. Uncapped WA tearaway Lance Morris retains his place in the squad but appears unlikely to break into the XI.
"Pat continues to improve, bowled with freedom on Saturday and appears likely to play this match, although Josh will need more time," selection chief George Bailey said. "With that in mind we have retained Michael Neser and Lance Morris in the squad for this match.
"Michael bowled superbly in Adelaide, as did Scott. We were impressed as always with their performances that backed up what they have achieved in the past. Lance is a very exciting prospect who will benefit from time with the squad.
"With so much cricket ahead, we continue to seek opportunities to grow and maintain our fast-bowling experience and depth."
Neser took five wickets for the match in the second Test against the West Indies, while Boland only managed three, but the latter's trio came in one devastating over in the second innings.
Hazlewood joins skipper Pat Cummins (quad) in missing the second Test after helping Australia to a comprehensive 164-run victory in the first Test in Perth.
Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat on Thursday for the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval which rounds out the two-game Test series, before taking on South Africa in a three-game Test series starting on Saturday 17 December.
Neser comes into the Australia side for his second Test appearance, with his only previous game coming at the same venue 12 months ago in similar circumstances with both Cummins and Hazlewood dropping out.
Uncapped tearaway Lance Morris, who was added to the Australia Test squad along with Neser earlier this week, misses out on the final XI.
"Unfortunately, Hazlewood was pulled out last night. I'm not entirely sure of his availability for South Africa," Smith said at the coin toss. "But Neser bowled really well last year so we're thrilled to have him back."
Australia had previously indicated they were optimistic Cummins would be available for the first Test against the Proteas.
The West Indies made three changes to their side, with Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales and Kyle Mayers out through injury, replaced by Anderson Phillip and debutants Marquino Mindley and Devon Thomas.
Walsh took charge of the team in 2020, on the back of a difficult period that had seen the WI Women swept aside 5-0 during a tour of England and four straight series defeats prior to that. The team was also the subject of criticism for their overall fitness levels.
Fast forward a few months later and a fitter-looking Windies Women have shown signs of improvement, putting together much stronger performances that saw them win 2 of the last 3 ODI series. Matthews believes a new approach has slowly started to show benefits for both herself and the team.
“I think it’s been fantastic, just looking at the structure. Our entire camps and training session have been going really well. He’s brought in some fantastic coaches to work with us, you have Corey Collymore as a fast bowling coach, you have Ryan Austin as our spin coach, Steve Liburd for the fielding and the wicketkeeping and then Robert Samuels has been working with us for batting as well. So, I think there’s a really good balance at the moment,” Matthews told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“Everyone has been getting a bit more zoned in on the specifics and that’s something we were missing in the past, not having as much firepower in the coaching area. Really breaking it down to the basics in those general areas. That’s been really good and Courtney has done a fantastic job bringing in the right people to blend with the girls.”
Matthews has had an exceptional season herself and is one of three nominees for the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year award.
On Wednesday, Hope maintained a rich vein of form that has seen the batsman score centuries in consecutive series. Against Pakistan, the opening batsman racked up 127 runs in an innings that featured 15 sumptuous fours.
Despite occurring in a losing effort, the score saw Hope move past into fourth on the all-time list of most ODI hundreds for the West Indies. His tally of 12 edged him ahead of the likes of Gordon Greenidge (11), Viv Richards (11), and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11). Desmond Haynes (17), Brian Lara (19), and Chris Gayle (25) are the batsmen ahead of Hope.
“He continues to show his class,” Pooran said, following the match.
“He is one of the best batsmen in this format and today was a magnificent innings, especially in those tough conditions he just showed his class today,” he added.
Hope’s cameo led the team to an innings score of 305 but Pakistan successfully chased down the total with four balls remaining.
The 27-year-old off-spinner was recently selected as part of a 15-man Test squad that will face New Zealand in a two-match series later this month.
After putting in several strong performances at the regional and A-Team level, the player made his debut for the West Indies senior team against India last year.
Cornwall has since gone on to appear in three matches, where he has claimed 13 wickets with a best innings of 7 for 75 against Afghanistan. Discussions surrounding the player have, however, inexorably centred around his weight. At an estimated 1.96 m and 308 lbs, he is believed to be the heaviest man to ever play Test cricket. The debate surrounding the issue has settled mainly into two camps, with some believing the player should continue to be given a chance because of his achievements to date and others believing he should be judged on the same fitness merit as other players selected for the squad. Rose has trended toward the latter.
“He has a lot of talent, but no disrespect, I have a problem with his fitness,” Rose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Say for example they play him in the first Test and he makes 100 runs. ‘Very well done, congratulations’ but when he goes out into the field to field, how many runs is he going to give away?” he added.
“No disrespect, it doesn’t fit the profile of a Test cricketer. Maybe try him with the T20. Can he bat for three days? Do you think he can bat for three days in a Test match? Can he chase the ball to the boundary, pick it up and throw it back in?”
Cornwall is often deployed in the slip positions when the team is on fielding duty.
The 32-year-old pace bowler had a first Test to forget, failing to claim a wicket for the entire match. Overall, he ended with figures of 0 for 89 in 27 overs. The bowler last went wicketless in a match last year, in the second Test against England where he ended 0 for 122.
In assessing the player’s most recent performances, however, Simmons dismissed Gabriel’s first-match struggles as just a blip and looked forward to a much better showing in the second Test.
“I thought in Bangladesh, he bowled exceptionally well in both Test matches and he was the main one, on the occasion in the first Test, who turned things around with his spell in the evening,” Simmons said in an assessment of the player’s recent form.
“He had a bad game and bowlers have that. Two of the main bowlers did not have a good game but that’s one game,” he added.
“I think he has been unsung, in New Zealand he was unsung, in Bangladesh he was unsung, so, one bad game does not change him being the strike bowler.”
In New Zealand, despite a tough series for the regional team, Gabriel, who was the pick of the bowlers, extracted plenty of pace and bounce from the surface to claim six wickets in two matches, where New Zealand only batted once.
The West Indies have had a mediocre start to the first Test, with the young bowler’s performance on the first day, where he claimed 3 for 34 one of the few highlights of the match so far.
The inclusion of the 19-year-old, in the absence of lead strike bowler Shannon Gabriel, had proven to be somewhat of a controversial decision. Critics insisted that the player’s limited experience, having played one First-Class match prior to his debut, meant that more experienced bowlers were being overlooked in his favour.
Ngidi, who himself lit up the first day for South Africa after claiming a sensational 5 for 19, insisted that he had so far been impressed with the young bowler’s talent.
"He is a bit of a danger and a very exciting future lies ahead for West Indies with him in the line-up," Ngidi told members of the media.
"I was keeping a really good eye on him and his seam presentation is pretty much what I tried to do when I was bowling. I think he has a great wrist behind the ball and a very clean action and he seems he can run in all day."
Two years ago, the 33-year-old was one of the most explosive fast bowlers in the sport and was bought by the Kings XI Punjab ahead of the Indian Premier League season. The bowler has, however, since struggled to build on that momentum and has also been plagued by recurrent injury.
His selection would have come as somewhat of a surprise for many having not represented the T20 team since earlier this year when he played in series against India and England. The player also missed out on this season’s IPL and has not featured regularly in the CPL so far.
The left-arm seamer, who recently recovered from injury, only just returned to action for the St Kitts Patriots and has not made a telling impact so far.
In 8 overs bowled, in the three CPL matches to date, he has produced figures of 2 for 73 at an average of 36.50. The economy rate for his 8 overs bowled has also been an unimpressive 9.12. Haynes, however, believes once fully fit the player will have plenty to contribute to the campaign.
“He does the job for us up front but he is coming back from an ankle injury, so everyone is going to be assessed before we go to Australia,” Haynes said.
“I think that with Cottrell we know that he has been very good for us and that’s the reason we would select him.”
On the back of an impressive effort in marshaling the squad to defeat Bangladesh, in a two-Test series last week, calls have arisen for Kraigg Brathwaite to lead the team, ahead of regular captain Holder, for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
Holder missed out on the team’s tour of Bangladesh after being one of 12 players to pull out of the campaign due to health and safety concerns. In addition, however, the captain, who had led the team to previous tours of England and New Zealand, also admitted to experiencing a high level of fatigue, particularly having gone through several weeks of quarantine.
For Bradshaw, provided he is in a good mental state, Holder should resume his duties leading the squad.
“I would support the retention of Jason if it is that we understand his state of mind at this time,” Bradshaw told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Jason has been earmarked as our long-term captain. Let’s recall that he’s had some success and we were very excited when we won the Wisden Trophy. He has had some success and he has been molding the team,” he added.
“He has led by example and I would want to sit down with him and understand the challenges he was going through. Because if he is still challenged it may need a situation where he is given that space to ensure that his individual performance does not suffer.”
Holder was appointed captain of the team in 2015.
The 26-year-old has long been touted as one of the region’s brightest prospects but has struggled mightily at the crease in recent years. A quick look at the player’s statistics makes for jarring reading. Hope has averaged 19.48 since December 2017 and just 14.45 since February 2019. In the 2-1 defeat against England, he averaged below 18. Such dismal form has seen his 34 Test average slip to 26.27.
Even so, the debate has raged on over the player’s continued inclusion in the team, with plenty of ferocity on either side. His proponents will point to performances like Headingley when he steered West Indies to a famous win over England in August 2017.
“He’s a great talent but Shai Hope needs to go back to the drawing board. What the selection panel has done is correct,” Wallace told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“He has struggled for three years in Test match cricket. He looked out of sorts in England and he deserves to be in Barbados working on his game,” he added.
“The lead selector said that the coach has identified a program for Shai Hope. We don’t know who will be working with him, but in Barbados, they have lots of good coaches…when we see Shai Hope again playing red-ball cricket, his physique should be different, his mentality should be different and obviously, his ability to bat and bat long should be back above even where he left off.”
Thomas burst on the scene during the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where the fast bowler regularly clocked over 90 miles per hour. That kind of promise quickly landed the 23-year-old straight into the senior Windies set-up, where he has so far played 20 ODIs and 12 Twenty20 Internationals.
Things have, however, not been going smoothly for the player since then with bouts of indifferent form leading to a less impressive showing in subsequent seasons of the CPL. In 2018, Thomas finished with the second most wickets on 18, but the following season had just 9 and none in the 2020 edition, where he had limited playing time. Some believe the 23-year-old’s dip in form has coincided with some amount of weight gain. The player is indeed seemingly several pounds heavier than when he burst onto the scene three years ago.
“I think he has a lot of work to do. He has to get himself back in shape,” Walsh told the Mason and Guest radio program.
"He has the raw ability, talent, and pace but he has to reign himself back in and I had a very serious talk with him. If he wants his career to take off and be consistent, then he has to get himself back in shape, in fighting condition,” he added.
“That's one of the challenges that we had. A lot of people probably don’t know that behind the scenes we had to do things to stay at the top of our game. If it means running that extra lap, probably that extra bit of bowling in the nets or going to the gym. Whatever it takes for you to be able to maintain that fighting weight and good body fitness for longevity.”
In the same breath, the iconic former batsman fondly referred to as the ‘Master Blaster,’ believes any failure by the player to do so would be a great loss not just to the West Indies, but the sport as a whole.
The 24-year-old Guyanese-born batsman has been in the spotlight recently, after failing to secure an international retainer contract from Cricket West Indies (CWI). Long-touted as one of the region’s premier talents, Hetmyer has had a disappointing period, missing out on several appearances for the West Indies and twice failing a fitness test.
“You’ve got to put in the work [because] if you take half measure, then you are going to get half measure results for sure. Shortcuts in this particular profession are of no substance and I am not sure if what I am saying here now will get to him at some point, but the individual is a talented individual and there are times when I see him on the field and he is pretty playful like he is still a kid and he actually has to be a little more mature at this stage now,” Richards told the Antigua Observer.
“The guy has got too much talent and I think that if this talent goes to waste, it would be a huge loss, not just maybe to himself but to world cricket on a whole,” he added.
Hetmyer, who has played all three formats for the West Indies, last appeared for the team in a T20I series against New Zealand last year. He has, however, not played One Day International Cricket since January of last year and has not played a Test match since November of 2019.
“If he really wants to make this sport his profession and to get the maximum result that everyone feels he has in him in terms of the talent then he has got to really start looking at himself in the mirror and start to think. I think he is [24 years old] now, so he has got to be serious. When you hear some of the stuff like they fail a fitness test and all that sort of stuff then that is just totally unprofessional.”
The 24-year-old fast bowler has long been tipped to give West Indies the type of firepower typical of years gone by but is yet to completely deliver on that promise.
The young bowler has shown plenty of flashes of that prodigious talent. He put in a strong performance against England, in 2019, and took a record-breaking six for 12 on his debut for Mumbai Indians. Joseph has, however, not produced such performances consistently. Joseph, who made his debut in 2016, has taken 38 Test wickets in 16 matches and 54 One Day International wickets in 34 matches.
“It’s disappointing that he does not seem to have gone on from the time he started until now, there doesn’t seem to be any great improvement,” Edwards told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“He seems to be bowling wide of the crease to right-handers, angling it. He should get as close to the stumps as possible,” he added.
“He is not accurate, he had not been able to develop as much as you would have expected. He is not a real swinger of the ball, he is athletic, he looks like he bowls pretty fast, but he is not doing much with the ball.”
In eight matches to date, Russell has struggled to an average of 11.85, with a high score of 24. As those stats will tell you, the typically big-hitting West Indian has managed to clear the boundary rope just 6 times, reaching to it on four occasions, well short of his explosive best.
The performance is light years away from last season’s bulldozer campaign, which saw the player accumulate 510 runs from the stipulated 14 games at an average of 56.66, with a whopping 204.81 strike rate.
Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha believes a big part of the issue is that Russell has not developed his game and is the same player he was four years ago. Worse yet, he believes it could increasingly become a liability for KKR.
“Andre Russell is not an improved cricketer, he has not changed his game. You see all the top players, they have changed their approach. Andre Russell is playing just the way he was playing 4 years ago, that is a liability,” Ojha told India Today’s Sports Tak.
“Look at Jasprit Bumrah, when he came into the Mumbai Indians side and what he is today, you have to improve. You have to improve as a cricketer, cricket is evolving and you have to evolve, you cannot be stagnant.”
Russell has done a bit better with the ball, claiming six wickets at an economy rate of 9.12.
Partnered with man-of-the-match Rovman Powell, Pooran put on a near-perfect display, a combination of power-hitting, game management, and finesse. The batsman put together a crucial 70 from 43 deliveries, which formed part of a match-winning 122 partnership for the third wicket.
Simmons admits the knock was a good illustration of the type of role the team envisions the batsman is capable of playing.
“It’s been a plan since World Cup. As we saw, he is understanding his role better and better and yesterday (Wednesday) just showed exactly how we see him controlling the innings,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.
“His communication and control with Rovman was a big plus yesterday,” he added.
Pooran came to the crease following the departure of Brandon King and was part of a 37-run partnership with Shai Hope before joining forces with Powell.
In total, Pooran has played 14 matches batting at the number three position, scoring a total of 356 runs, and has averaged 32.36 so far.
