West Indies won by 104 runs in St Lucia on Monday as they hit the highest run total at the tournament so far this year, hitting 218, including registering the highest powerplay score in history with 92.
Pooran alone got 98 of those runs off 53 balls, the highest individual total at this World Cup, and broke the record for the most sixes in T20Is for West Indies, with his eight in this game taking him to 128, going past Chris Gayle's 124.
Asked how he felt following his impressive performance, Pooran was quick to turn the praise to the whole team.
"I felt today was my day and I had to take the responsibility," Pooran said. "When it's your day, you have to make it your day. I assessed the conditions early. It was really important for us to not lose wickets in the middle.
"We have been really consistent as a team. The way we have played is wonderful.
"It's just not today, it started 12-14 months ago. We have been consistent as a team; we went to No. 3 in the rankings. In the last game, [Sherfane] Rutherford took the opportunity and played wonderfully. He inspired us."
Captain Rovman Powell hit 26 when he was introduced but had already witnessed history being made in the fourth over – West Indies scored 36 runs, equalling the record for the most expansive over in men’s T20Is.
Powell was pleased with the performances on both sides but singled out the hard work Pooran has done in order to get this result.
"I think it is on the back of hard work," Powell said. "He has had a very good 12 months. Good to see him score runs not only in franchise cricket but also for West Indies.
"The guys were excited to come here. We knew here would be one of the better wickets of the competition. After Guyana and Trinidad, the batters wanted to come here and get runs."
West Indies face reigning champions England next in the Super 8s on Wednesday.
England head to the Caribbean next week for the three-Test series against the Windies, with the opening match to be contested in Antigua from March 8.
Joe Root's side then head to Barbados for the second Test (March 16-20) before concluding the series in Grenada (March 24-28).
The tourists are looking to respond after their recent comprehensive 4-0 defeat by Australia in the Ashes.
Wood was one of the few players to emerge with any credibility from the chastening tour, taking 17 wickets along the way and registering an impressive 6-37 during the final Test.
The second-most experienced seamer in the squad with 25 caps after Chris Woakes (42), he is set to embark on his first tour without Anderson and Broad, who were left out by the selection panel.
Wood admits it will be strange but knows the duo will be on hand to support the squad if required.
"I was shocked [when they were left out]," he said. "I didn't see it coming at all.
"It will be weird those two not being on tour; a first for me. Even when injured, they normally stay in the group.
"But I know they'll be there on text if I need advice. And if they see something, they'd message too.
"They're England fans, I know they've been there a long time, but they still just want England to win, and I'm 100 per cent sure they'll be back."
The regional team just managed to avoid being on the wrong end of a sweep, after winning the final game of the series in a super over. The 4-1 scoreline was, however, an accurate reflection of the fact that the West Indies Women had struggled to keep pace with the South Africans for the great majority of the One Day Internationals.
One of those key areas was putting runs on the board, with the Windies Women on many occasions looking bogged down by South Africa’s bowling, before being dismissed after ill-advised shots. On four occasions the team struggled to get to one 150, a target that seemed an easy reach for South Africa.
“It’s a concern, the rotation of the strike, it’s something we’ve been talking about since the start of the camp but it was highlighted much more against South Africa,” Walsh told members of the media.
“In terms of just hitting the fielders and not being able to find gaps, not being able to play with soft hands and we have identified that,” he added.
“It has been an ongoing discussion before the series and it was one area I was disappointed in that we did not try to show that (strike rotation) because leading up to the series we had been practicing it, but match-day when we get out in the middle it wasn’t done. We just kept picking out the fielders. It’s the sort of the thing you have to do in 50 over games if you want to really compete and it has to be addressed.”
Dottin showed very little sign of rust in crafting an industrious 69 from 59 deliveries, in dogged pursuit of England’s total of 163. She was, however, the team’s only batsman to reach double figures as the Windies eventually crashed 47 runs short of the total.
"It's been a long time since we've played international cricket but we've been here for two and a half weeks and we've been preparing and I think we ticked our boxes, it was just a matter of execution and we didn't do that today with the bat or the ball but I think the girls were really happy to get out there and play some international and competitive cricket,” Dottin said after the game.
The allrounder has spent more time out of the game than most, having suffered a serious injury to her right shoulder in early 2019 and underwent reconstructive surgery in June of last year. Having only recently returned to action earlier this year, the sport was halted by the pandemic. The player, however, now seems to be on the verge of rediscovering her best form.
"The game plan was for me to bat through the innings and set up the game. If it came down to the latter part, we could actually get a couple of big overs. Unfortunately, England bowled very well, they used their variations very well, so we did not get the score we projected,” she added.
Natalie Sciver and Sophie Eccleston each claimed two wickets as an economic England were found to be in a miserly mood.
King made a crucial 54 from 66 balls as the Windies attempted to chase down India’s total of 308. Despite eventually falling short of the target, the performance was one of the team’s best in several ODIs, particularly on the back of a poor showing against Bangladesh.
In addition to King, Kyle Mayers added a half-century, while the lower order pair of Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd added a valuable 53-run partnership, which got the team close. King himself formed part of two half-century partnerships, the first with Shamarh Brooks, then Nicholas Pooran.
“We always believe that if we bring a game down to the final five overs we have guys that can chase down a total. Shepherd and Akeal showed that today (Friday), we were always in the game. We would have liked some of the early wickets not to fall so we could have some batsmen at the end but that’s part of cricket,” King said.
“It’s just our batting formula and how we want to play cricket. I think bringing down the game to the last ball, chasing 300 plus, was very good for us, another day we would have gotten over the line.”
The West Indies will attempt to level the series when they play India in the second ODI on Sunday.
Despite commendable performances from its bowling line-up, the Windies batting line-up continued to struggle for yet another series after going down 3-0 to India on Thursday. At the crease, in South Asia, the team at times looked ill-prepared or unable to find the resolve or technical ability needed to put partnerships together at crucial times or cope with the India bowlers for any prolonged period.
Similar to its performance against Ireland last month, where they lost an ODI series against that opponent for the first time, the Windies looked, perhaps more than ever, susceptible to losing wickets in huge clusters, which made it impossible to chase even modest targets. In three matches, the team failed to reach 200 with its highest score of 193 coming in an all-out effort in the second match, in pursuit of 237 for 9.
For the batsmen, it was Jason Holder who led the way with a modest 65 over three matches, followed by Nicholas Pooran with 61, while lower-order all-rounder Odean Smith had 60. By comparison, India’s top three featured Kuldeep Yadav who made 104 in three matches, Rishabh Pant made 85, while Shreyas Iyer made 80 in just one match. Overall, the India batting line-up, which chased a low target in the first match, outscored the West Indies line-up by 148 runs.
“This is difficult, the last six games have been difficult in this format. We started putting things together last year when we played Sri Lanka, it was difficult against Australia, but we started putting things together. For this (type of performance) to come now, it’s hard to take, it’s hard to take from the batsmen,” Simmons told members of the media on Thursday.
“It’s not outwardly showing, but it’s hurtful and the players know that. We have to make sure that we do the right things moving forward to get this batting line-up or whoever the batting line-up is to function as a batting line-up, to have big partnerships and assess the thing properly.”
The team’s highest partnership of the series was a 78 run seventh-wicket stand between Fabian Allen and Jason Holder. Overall, the majority of the team’s biggest partnerships came from batting places below the 5th wicket.
“The mode of dismissals is the biggest issue. If we are assessing the situation and we are playing according to the situation, and you get out then that’s execution. But not assessing the situation and knowing what you want to do in the situations and the modes of dismissal it’s hurtful, and it doesn’t make for good watching as we’ve seen. It’s something the players have to sit and get right as soon as possible. We can’t keep going like this.”
The 34-year-old has found himself at the centre of controversy in recent months, with the majority of the debate surrounding his lack of availability for the West Indies team. In the last year, despite his appearances at various T20 leagues around the globe, the player has not appeared for the West Indies since the T20 World Cup last year.
It is a situation that has at times left Windies coach Phil Simmons, and some fans, admittedly exasperated. With the player having not been part of the Windies T20 squad for the last year, many have speculated on the merits of his inclusion for the upcoming tournament.
The all-rounder, who is currently plying his trade for the Trinbago Knight Riders, insists the CPL tournament is his only focus at the moment.
"I am focusing on CPL at the moment. This is where it is for me at the moment. I am taking it one day at a time, one game at a time,” Russell told members of the media.
“Whatever is to happen will happen. I have no control over what’s going on at the (CWI) or what is going on in (the) selectors' minds…whatever happens in the next week or two only God knows, so I am not even going to stress on that,” he added.
“No one has reached out to me, no one has said anything…once I do the performance on the field then I leave everything else in their hands.”
In addressing recent criticism aimed in his direction by legendary fast bowler Sir Andy Roberts, Holder insisted he respected the former players a great deal. He, however, believes a great deal more could be achieved with a direct dialogue between the past and present players.
Rose, who is also well-known for pulling no punches in his analysis, agreed with the captain’s assessment.
“We’re all passionate about the game and we are all disappointed in the performance of West Indies cricket, but it seems as if some of the past players live to see the guys fail,” Rose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“We should be supporting the guys. Give them a call, send them a text message. Give them a few words of encouragement,” he added.
“When I used to play Malcolm Marshall was my coach and I was honoured to be a part of that team. So, I would always try to impress as a fast bowler, impress the great Malcolm Marshall. I think if some of these past players would pick up their phones and send a message or words of encouragement to these guys, I think it would play a big part (in their development).”
In the light of the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, which ended with two drawn games, several former players and Windies coach Phil Simmons has expressed dissatisfaction with the surface prepared for the tour.
The debate has, however, raged on long before that, with Ambrose himself listed among those previously suggesting that many of the pitches prepared are too flat and offer little assistance to bowlers.
The West Indies, Sri Lanka series has only added to the dissatisfaction. In both Test matches, Sri Lanka, then the West Indies, the teams enjoyed comfortable leads headed into the final day but ended up doing very little to disturb the batsmen in the pursuit of wickets.
“I have seen local cricket played at Sir Viv Richards cricket stadium where you have grass on the pitch and the ball bounces and carries with good pace … so it’s not a situation where it cannot be done,” Ambrose told the Good Morning Jojo Radio show.
“I felt that the pitches were a little too flat and I’ve been saying this for years — we need to prepare better cricket pitches where the batsmen could play their strokes and the ball bounces a bit for the bowlers,” he added.
While poor all-around batting display was the order of the day in a lopsided loss against South Africa in the first Test, the West Indies, as has become customary, had another slow start at the top of the innings.
The opening pair of captain Kraigg Brathwaite and recently recalled Shai Hope only managed to put 30 on the board in the first innings, with Brathwaite then partnering with another recalled batsman, Kieran Powell, to combine for 21 in the second innings.
Prior to this series, however, Brathwaite and opening partner John Campbell has had an average stuck at around the 22 mark for the last several series played. Campbell has been ruled out of the current series with an injury.
On the back of the lopsided defeat to South Africa, Simmons insists it is an area the team is desperate to fix.
“It’s one of the things we have been desperately trying to work on because if you look back, a lot of times when we win Test matches against top teams, we have good opening stands,” Simmons recently told members of the media.
“It’s disappointing because when you look at the last 7 Test 100s scored by an opener, I think they were all scored by Kraigg. So, it’s disappointing for us and we are trying to work very hard on that,” he added.
The West Indies will need just two wickets tomorrow and attempt to minimize the 170-run lead the hosts have after they were restricted to 284-8.
The West Indies, leading England by 99 runs at the Ageas Bowl at the beginning of Saturday, were pushed back, as openers Rory Burns, 42, and Dom Sibley, 50, whittled down that lead.
After lunch, things got worse for the West Indies, who had to remain patient as Zak Crawley, 76, and stand-in skipper Ben Stokes, 46, threatened to take the game away from them, pushing England’s lead in the match to 135 before the latter was removed by a fine piece of bowling from Holder.
Holder, for the second time, turned Stokes around after just changing the field to include two gullies and had him caught by Shai Hope.
It’s what he does. He comes back and puts in the big spells for the team.
Simmons was speaking at the end of day four, highlighting what was a pivotal moment in the West Indies’ second stint on the field.
England then lost five wickets for 35 runs, as Shannon Gabriel, 3-62, and Alzarri Joseph, 2-40, reduced England to 284-8, a lead of 170.
“That’s the way he leads this team and I didn’t expect anything different,” said Simmons.
“He was bowling for a while and you expected him to change but he wanted to make that breakthrough for the team.”
So far, the general consensus is that the regional team has, at times, been fairly impressive in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. They battled to a 2-1 win in the T20 series, but then swept the visitors aside in a confident display during the One Day International series.
Lloyd believes some of that confidence stems from the performance of the Kraigg Brathwaite unit, which was understrength and underestimated heading to last month’s tour of Bangladesh but battled to a surprise 2-0 Test series win.
“I believe it is because of the way our players played in Bangladesh, that it trickled down. They put their head down and batted intelligently and won,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It galvanized those other guys to do the same. We had 274, 270-odd and we looked good. We batted well. (Things were tighter) in the T20s but we won out because we are getting that professional attitude back and that I think it is because of the guys winning in Bangladesh.”
The team will look to take the momentum into the two-match Test series, which will get underway on Sunday.
On Saturday, England leveled the series on the back of a stroke-filled 64 from the team’s captain Moeen Ali, which bankrolled the team’s first innings score of 193 for 6.
Things had looked far more controlled at the start of the 18th over, with England on 134 for 3. Holder, who had put together a tidy spell to that point, was the target of a savage attack from Ali who launched four consecutive sixes and eventually milk 28 off it. The following over for Romario Shepherd also proved costly as it ended up adding another 18 to England’s tally. Pollard admitted the expensive final overs were likely where the game turned.
“That’s the nature of T20 cricket all it takes is six balls or a couple hits to get you away from where you want to be,” Pollard said following the match.
“We were looking at around at around 160, 170, a total that would have been chasable but them getting to 190 put that extra 20 runs out of our reach,” he added.
“I thought right until then, and even when we started to bat, we had a very good chance. We slowed up in the middle not losing wickets but we were a little slow.”
Jadeja scored a career-best unbeaten 175 and took match figures of 9-87 as India hammered the tourists by an innings and 222 runs in the first Test at the PCA Stadium.
The 33-year-old's exploits moved him above team-mate Ravichandran Ashwin and West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder to top the rankings.
Holder, currently in action in the first Test against England in Antigua, slips to second and Ashwin is third.
Jadeja was named man of the match for a third time in Mohali after tormenting Sri Lanka.
Virat Kohli is up two places to fifth in the batting rankings after making 45 in his 100th Test - and his first since stepping down as India captain.
Australia run machine Marnus Labuschagne remains the top-ranked batsman in the world, with his captain Pat Cummins still the number one bowler.
Jaiswal and Sharma began day two 80-0 and the pair went on to put on a partnership of 229, the highest for India against the West Indies.
In the process, Jaiswal, 21, became the 17th Indian batsman to score a century on Test debut while Sharma hit his 10th Test hundred and third against the West Indies.
Sharma was the first of two wickets to fall on another tough day for the West Indian bowlers. He became Alick Athanaze’s first Test wicket, going caught by wicketkeeper, Joshua Da Silva, for a well-compiled 103 off 221 balls including 10 fours and two sixes.
Shubman Gill was the other to go, caught by Athanaze off the bowling of Jomel Warrican for just six.
Jaiswal stood firm, ending the day on 143* off 350 balls. His knock has, so far, produced 14 fours.
Former Captain, Virat Kohli, was Jaiswal’s partner at stumps as India ended the day 312-2 off 113 overs, holding a commanding 162-run lead. Kohli was not out on 36 off 96 balls at the close.
In an 18-page ruling, Campbell who was charged with evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection, a three-member independent panel, found that the player was intentional in his actions.
"The panel is persuaded to a comfortable degree of satisfaction that the athlete committed an anti-doping rule violation, namely a breach of JADCO rule 2.3. The panel does not find, on the evidence presented, that the athlete's anti-doping violation was not intentional.
"In the circumstances of this case, the athlete is ineligible for a period of four years."
The ban takes effect retroactively in May 2022.
The 29-year-old left-hand batsman has played 20 Tests for the West Indies since he debuted in January 2019 against England.
In those Tests, he scored 888 runs at an average of 26.11 and included three half-centuries. His last Test was against Bangladesh in June 2022.
The Jamaicans will be looking to claim their first title since 2012 and should enter the match with some confidence after a strong batting performance against Guyana on Thursday, in the semi-finals, and four straight wins.
Miller knows, however, that the challenge will be different against an in-form Trinidad and Tobago who have lost just once this season.
“We will have to plan for Trinidad’s game differently. We have gone to a couple of their games and looked at some footage and we'll plan our approach,” Miller said ahead of the game.
Trinidad and Tobago were the zone A winners after finishing ahead of Guyana, while Jamaica won zone B ahead of the Leeward Islands.
“We’re looking forward to it we are not going into that game overconfident. We know that they are playing good cricket and they know that we are playing good cricket as well,” Miller added.
The Jamaicans managed to defeat Trinidad and Tobago in the final the last time they won the trophy.
In its most recent campaign, the team crashed out of the Regional Super50 competition after being comprehensively beaten in the semi-finals by eventual champions Trinidad and Tobago. The result ended yet another poor run of form in the competition, which the team has not won since the 2011-2012 season. In fact, since that time Jamaica has only managed just one final appearance.
Jamaica’s poor form isn’t limited to just the Super50 competition. In the regional four-day competition, despite having 12 titles, the team also not won since the 2011-2012 season. Jamaica’s franchise has fared better in the shortest format, the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 but even then has not won that competition since 2016 when Gayle himself played a crucial role in lifting the trophy. For his part, the batsman does not believe the country has been making full use of its talent pool.
“Jamaica cricket needs help. We need help and there is a lot of talent there and we don’t really want to lose them. We have lost a lot of talent in Jamaica already,” Gayle said.
“We need to try and keep the players happy and then we can try and rebuild Jamaica cricket as well,” he added.
“I will offer whatever (help) I can offer in terms of Jamaica cricket, but a lot of structure needs to be put in place.”
The 2024 ICC T20 World Cup is set to be hosted by the United States and seven Caribbean countries, including St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana, with the final slated to take place at the iconic Kensington Oval in Barbados. This prestigious cricketing event set to bowl off on June 4 and conclude on June 30, has generated significant interest and excitement among cricket enthusiasts across the region and the globe.
In a statement, Minister Grange explained the rationale behind the decision: "We had been considering the cost and source of funding of nearly half a billion dollars to host a few games in Jamaica. In our cost/benefit analysis with stakeholders, we also considered the economic, social, and development impact, including the potential tourism-related impact and attendant industry benefits using year-over-year economic modeling, reconciled against current tourism performance."
The decision to forego hosting rights was not taken lightly, as the prospect of hosting international cricket matches at renowned venues like Sabina Park in Kingston held immense allure. However, Minister Grange emphasized the need for responsible governance and sustainable development in the sporting arena. She stated, "I could not just follow my heart. As a responsible Minister, I am obliged to look beyond immediate gratification to sustainable sport development that will yield immeasurable rewards at all levels in Jamaica. I had to pay attention to the cost/benefit analysis, especially in a circumstance of limited resources."
Jamaica's commitment to cricket development remains unwavering. Minister Grange announced a significant investment of JMD$100 million in youth cricket and cricket in schools over the next five years. This initiative is in addition to the government's ambitious plan for the rehabilitation and development of Jamaica's sports infrastructure.
While the decision has garnered support for its long-term vision, it has also sparked consternation among stakeholders who view it as a missed opportunity for the country. Opposition leader Mark Golding lamented to the Jamaica Observer, "It is hard to accept that an international tournament of this stature is being played in the Caribbean, and not a single match is being held here at our iconic Sabina Park."
Dr. Donovan Bennett, a Cricket West Indies board director, expressed skepticism about the government's intentions, stating, "It's quite obvious that the Government had no intention of bidding because this thing has been going on for about 10 or 12 weeks."
Dr. Akshai Mansingh, the dean of the Faculty of Sport at The University of the West Indies, echoed the sentiment that Jamaica missed a unique opportunity, saying, "By not bidding, the Jamaican Government spurned the chance to not only boost the economy and the tourism sector but also to upgrade infrastructure."
West Indies XI ended day two of their three-day tour match with a commanding 134-run lead over Pakistan Shaheens in Islamabad, setting the stage for a strong finish on Sunday.
