Cricket

Ahead of the start of the West Indies England tour, doubts have repeatedly been raised of not just the team’s top order, but the overall unit as well, as they prepare to stand up to an experienced English bowling line-up. Since a 2-1 defeat to England, on their last tour in 2017, West Indies have a batting average of 23.59 across 19 Tests.  Nor can the team take comfort in some of the showings during the recent intra-squad matches, which served as preparation for the series.  In the final warm-up, a top-five of Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope, and Roston Chase found themselves reduced to 9 for 3 and 49 for 5.

“The runs don’t have to only come from the top order.  I think we are putting a lot of emphasis on the top order.  Yes, they probably haven’t lived up to the expectations but in general, it’s a team sport and we just have to put runs on the board,” Holder told members of the media during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday.

“Personally, I don’t care, it’s just for us to put runs on the board and give our bowlers something to work with.”  

The CPL is slated to get under way in August of this year but there is a lot of uncertainty, not just regarding its staging, but also the format it will take as well.  One of the ideas being floated around suggests a ‘social distancing’ version of the tournament, which would be held at Barbados' Kensington Oval.

While some players have claimed an empty stadium could be awkward, Walsh, who is a part of the defending champion Barbados Tridents, has insisted it would be business as usual.  Unlike the massive crowds associated with the CPL, the regional competitions do struggle at times to attract any significant crowd following.

“We still have quite some time to try and get ready while we are waiting for the tournament to come around. We see some progress with the region recovering from the virus, and probably at the start, it may affect the tournament where the social distancing is concerned, and it might not, but I am used to playing in front of an empty stadium in regional cricket where pretty much no one comes sometimes, so I guess it would be business as usual,” Walsh told the Antigua Observer.

Walsh, the tournament’s top wicket-taker last season, was one of nine Barbados Tridents retained.  The list also includes captain Jason Holder, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope and Raymon Reifer, Ashley Nurse and Johnathan Carter.

Cameron’s comments came as he weighed in on the absence of representatives from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), which halted progress on implementing recommendations from the 2020 Wehby report as a quorum was not met.

The GCB and BCA subsequently stated their rejection of the Wehby report—drafted by Jamaican business mogul Don Wehby—and objection to CWI’s failure to facilitate a discussion on changing the system of appointing a president.

“I wanted reform; some of us wanted reform, but how does that reform take shape, and how do you get the men in the room to vote themselves off the organisation with a different structure? That is the question, and I can see (current president) Kishore (Shallow) is still struggling with that to find the answer,” Cameron said on the Mason and Guest cricket radio show.

Cameron also criticized the decision to call a meeting to vote on the Wehby report, given the resistance from key stakeholders.

“If you realised you had such opposition, why would you make this a public situation? Continue to negotiate and discuss it, but don’t make it a public debate and call an AGM extraordinary meeting to get this done when you knew that shareholders were uncomfortable with the position. It’s a very, very unfortunate situation but a very difficult one to address,” he added.

During the show, Pedro Greaves, a director of the BCA, offered a detailed explanation of his association’s reservations about the Wehby report. He revealed that the BCA had enlisted legal experts, including former Barbados Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, to evaluate the recommendations.

“There are flaws in the assumptions of the Wehby report, which seeks to take away the ownership of the territorial boards and the voice of the territorial boards... removing CWI directors from advising the president when it goes to ICC meetings, etc. These are things that come out in the Wehby report,” Greaves explained.

One of the BCA’s key concerns is the current system of electing the CWI president, which Greaves argued disrupts the governance of West Indies cricket.

“What we are saying is that elections are hurting Cricket West Indies. When two parents are arguing, the children are who suffer. And in this case, the players are the ones that are suffering...when they see the various boards campaigning against each other...making promises, and it upsets the actual governance of West Indies cricket. So what we are saying is that we want to have a discussion,” he stated.

Greaves pointed out that the BCA has proposed a rotation system for the presidency as an alternative, emphasizing that accountability should focus on the operational team rather than elected leadership.

“Who the president or vice-president is should not really matter once we hold the operational team accountable for what is happening in Cricket West Indies, and that is what we have tabled and that is what we are asking for discussion,” Greaves declared.

Despite the missed meeting, Greaves reiterated the BCA’s commitment to finding solutions for West Indies cricket, as he stressed that their actions were not a boycott but a call for meaningful dialogue.

“We want to have a discussion, and if the vote then goes against what we are saying, then so be it. But we have not had the opportunity, having raised it at the last special AGM on March 23, 2024,” Greaves ended.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews beamed with pride as she reflected on her team’s stunning nine-wicket victory over India in the second T20 International at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday.

The win not only leveled the three-match series 1-1 but also marked West Indies' first T20I victory over India since the 2016 World Cup—a milestone Matthews believes signals a new chapter for her team.

Maxwell defied “horrific” back spasms to hit an unbeaten 201 and power his side from 91 for seven to 293 and a three-wicket win.

It was Australia’s first one-day international double century and here the PA news agency looks at the records set by Maxwell and his eighth-wicket partner Pat Cummins.

Double delight

The highest ODI score by an Australia batter stood at 185 not out, by Shane Watson against Bangladesh in 2011, until Maxwell’s astonishing effort in Mumbai.

It is only the third double century at a World Cup, with West Indies star Chris Gayle setting a record of 215 against Zimbabwe in 2015 but then watching New Zealand’s Martin Guptill top it with 237 not out against his side later in the same tournament.

He is only the ninth man to make an ODI double hundred, with 11 such scores in total, including three for India’s Rohit Sharma. Maxwell made Australia only the fifth nation represented on that list – India with seven from Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, while Fakhar Zaman hit 210 not out for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2018.

In 128 balls, Maxwell’s is also the fastest World Cup double – Gayle took 138 balls to reach the landmark and Guptill 152. Kishan narrowly held on to the fastest ODI double, in 126 balls against Bangladesh last year.

The inning was completed fittingly with the winning six, Maxwell’s 10th to go with 21 fours – only Guptill, with 24 fours and 11 sixes in his 237, has scored more runs in boundaries in a World Cup innings.

Perfect partner

“Just ridiculous!” Cummins told Sky Sports with a smile, adding: “It’s got to be the greatest ODI innings that’s ever happened, it’s one of those days where you just go, ‘When that happened, I was here in the stadium’.”

The Australia captain was far more than a mere spectator, though, defying Afghanistan for 68 balls in a two-hour stay at the crease.

He contributed 12 runs to a lop-sided partnership of 202, which destroyed the ODI record for the eighth wicket – an unbroken 138 between South Africa’s Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall against India in 2006 – and the Australian best of 119 between Paul Reiffel and Shane Warne against the Proteas in 1994.

It was also the first 200 stand for any wicket from the seventh downwards – the previous record being Jos Buttler and Adil Rashid’s 177 for England’s seventh wicket against New Zealand in 2015.

Mitchell Marsh’s 24 was the second-highest score as Maxwell racked up 68.6 per cent of Australia’s runs in the innings – only West Indies great Sir Viv Richards has ever scored a greater share of his team’s runs in a completed ODI innings, 189no in a total of 272 for nine against England in 1984 (69.5 per cent).

Afghanistan contributed valiantly to a thrilling match and, while it will be relegated to a footnote after Maxwell’s heroics, opener Ibrahim Zadran carried his bat for 129no to record their first World Cup century.

According to Logie, the West Indies Women are a much better batting team than they have proved so far.

“It's T20 cricket, you need show courage, you need to show composure. If you are timid you are not going produce the kind of scores you want to produce and we've seen that with our batting, it's been pretty timid the whole series starting with the first game against Thailand when you have a score of 70-odd to get and it took 16 overs to get it,” said Logie, who watched as his side started with a seven-wicket win over Thailand before being blitzed by Pakistan and then England. Their final game against South Africa was abandoned on account of persistent showers.

"That tells me, at the end of the day, while the players have some batting ability I think there's a fear factor in the middle to play their natural game. It's unfortunate that they wait until they get to the highest level of the game, in a World Cup, to show that lack of courage," he said.

Logie went on to say that you saw the difference in the team when they were in training where they felt the freedom to play the way they play.

"Batting is an individual thing, you play as well as you can, you have to back yourself. Some of the balls these ladies are patting, you bowl those balls in the nets and they go way, way out of it. It's not to say they can't play the shots, I think it's about believing in themselves under pressure.

"Over the years, we've always had good performances, but if you look at the scores they've always been about 120-130. We've had good bowling performances and defended it in the field. I don't think we have scored 160s and 170s as regularly as we want to."

While insisting that he will not be able to magically fix all the issues, newly-appointed Cricket West Indies (CWI) CEO Chris Dehring says he will do everything in his power to explore all options in an attempt to address challenges facing West Indies cricket.

Dehring, who expects scrutiny of his tenure to intensify overtime, acknowledged the importance of governance, accountability, and transparency but also highlighted resource gaps as the core issue facing the regional body.

In recent days, both violent and peaceful protests have swept across the United States as citizens demand justice for the killing of George Floyd.  Floyd, an African American male in his 40s, died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, was recorded kneeling on his neck while he was pinned to the floor for several minutes during an arrest.

According to reports, police had been called to the scene after a convenience store clerk alerted the authorities regarding what he suspected to be a counterfeit $20 bill used by Floyd to purchase a pack of cigarettes.  Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder but protests have continued to boil over as the issue has sparked a larger debate regarding the deep-seated issue of racial injustice.

Many athletes around the world, spanning several generations, have not been shy in making their thoughts known on the issue.  The long list includes NBA greats Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lebron James, and rising tennis star Coco Gauff.  In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi displayed “Justice for George Floyd messages” scrawled on t-shirts hidden beneath their jerseys after scoring.  Schalke’s 21-year-old American midfielder Weston McKennie and Borussia Monchengladbach’s 22-year-old French forward Marcus Thuram also displayed support for the movement.

Closer home the ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain believes things have been too quiet and called on officials to add their voices to the mix.

“@ICC and all other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to people like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind…” Sammy said in a series of tweets.

“Now is not the time to be silent.  I wanna hear u.”

Joining Sammy in speaking out was West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle who also posted a message on social media that advocated for black lives to be considered as important as any other life.

“Black life matters just as any other life,” Gayle’s statement read.

“Even within teams as a Black man, I get the end of the stick.”

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 Jason Holder.

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.

With just two wickets needed on tomorrow’s final day, the West Indies are hoping not to have to chase too many and to be given the time to do it.  

“All you can do is get the remaining wickets for as little runs as possible and then bat normally,” said Simmons at the end of day four.

“If we bat for five hours tomorrow to chase 180-190 then it is a normal batting day,” he said.

Simmons is wary of what it may be like batting on a final-day Ageas Bowl pitch though.

All the batsmen have called the pitch ‘dry’, which could make it particularly difficult on the final day of a Test match.

“It’s not a chase where you have to go at the bowling. We hope that in the morning, whatever roller is used, will flatten out the wicket so we can get a good start,” said Simmons.

According to the former West Indies opening batsman-turned-allrounder, the West Indies can take heart from the way they batted in the first innings and that it should give them confidence headed into the final day.

“I think the confidence from the way we batted, the attitude towards batting in the first innings, is going to be a huge plus for us, batting in the second innings. Whether it be 170 or 190 it is going to be the same attitude that you will need to chase it.”

The 75-year-old Lloyd has been respected for generations, not just for his cricketing ability but steady and inspiring leadership, which saw the West Indies lift back-to-back ICC World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979. 

With the team currently a long way from those heady days of success, several former players have pointed to the issue of mentorship as a missing element in the current team’s success and have been quick to offer their assistance to rectify the problem.  Not so fast, says Lloyd.

“We have to find out how strong they are in certain departments.  You can’t just say this guy is going to be this when he isn’t suited for that role.  You have to find out what strengths he or she has,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest Radio program.

“I’m talking about players that have done extremely well, have been through the mill, and can pass the knowledge on," he added.

 "Not every great player can be a teacher but there are certain aspects and things that they are strong at, and that is what we have to search for, so that when we have a player coming through and they get to Test level they are not learning on the job they have already qualified.”

The Jamaica-based franchise lifted the third title in its history and first in six years following a dominant 8-wicket win over the more heavily favoured Barbados Royals.  Heading into the final, the Royals were the league’s hottest team having lost just two of 10 games.

The Tallawahs on the other hand, who are conditioned by Ambrose and another Windies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in the meantime, finished in the final qualifying spot.  At one point during the season, the Tallawahs lost 5 of 7 games.

“This means a lot as a group we came into the tournament as underdogs.  Not many gave us a chance to come out of the first round, let alone win it,” Ambrose said, following the team’s triumph.

“I haven’t sprinted for years and I found myself sprinting onto the field.  It was a wonderful performance thought and we were deserving winners,” he added.

“The thing about the Tallawahs is that we didn’t really on just one or two players.  At any given time, any player can step up.  We have depth in our batting, we have good bowling.  We stuck together as a family and we believed from day 1 that we could have won this championship and we did.”

Correction: The original story claimed that the Jamaica Tallawahs won its fourth CPL title on Friday, September 30 and it's first in four years. That was incorrect. The Tallawahs had previously won two titles (2013 and 2016). So the 2022 title was its first in six years. Sportsmax.TV apologises for the error.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, only Powell (33) and Nkrumah Bonner (41) managed to mount any kind of resistance as the Jamaica-based franchise was dismissed for 107.  In response, Lendl Simmons’ 54 unbeaten and 44 undefeated from Tion Webster saw the rampaging Knight Riders cruise home with a 9-wicket win.

Even in a low-scoring tournament, the Tallawhas struggled at the crease for most of the tournament.  The team scored under 120 on four occasions and over 150 on just three occasions.

“We have played a lot of inconsistent cricket.  The batters didn’t stand up all season. We ask that our international batters bat most of the overs and we just did not do that,” Powell said after the game.  On this occasion the Tallawahs found themselves four wickets down with only 24 runs on the board, coming out of the powerplay.

“The batters just didn’t come to the party. If we should look at it from a bowling perspective, I think our bowlers handled themselves very well.  The international spinners did very well for us in the middle overs and even when we started the pace bowlers were good.”

Anderson reached the milestone when he had Kuldeep Yadav caught behind by Ben Foakes at the start of day three of the fifth Test.

While England went on to be dismissed for 195 to lose by an innings and 64 runs in the final Test of the series, the plaudits rolled in for Anderson, who is the only seamer to reach the 700-wicket mark and has Shane Warne’s tally of 708 in his sights.

TNT Sports pundit Cook even joked the 41-year-old would have half an eye on the record 800-wicket haul of Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan.

Cook said: “You go to Dharamsala as a fan and see your side get drubbed but at least you can say you were there when the only seamer in Test history got to 700 wickets.

“It was a great moment and who knows when he will stop.

“I think he would like to knock Warne off and I don’t want to say he can’t get to Muralitharan!

“Jesus, 700 is a lot, a lot of effort.”

Ex-England seamer Finn hailed Anderson’s ability to adapt given the Lancashire veteran made his Test debut back in 2003.

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“My word what a player he is,” Finn added.

“He has been a remarkable player, with his ability to evolve and adapt with the times, to stay fit and bowl at the same pace now as he did eight or nine years ago.

“What a setting to do it, at the foot of the Himalayas. To get 700 wickets in 187 games is truly remarkable.”

Anderson’s captain Ben Stokes insisted the 187-Test capped bowler should serve as inspiration for aspiring seamers.

Stokes admitted: “Yeah, amazing to be on the field. I’ve been lucky enough to be on the field for some of the milestones Jimmy has got to but being there for 700 wickets as a seamer is quite phenomenal.

“I’ve said many times he is someone every young kid who wants to be a fast bowler should look up to and try to emulate everything he has done.

“He is 41 years old, he is as fit as I’ve ever seen him and I honestly just don’t know when he will stop because the desire, commitment and everything is still there. It’s great to watch.”

The opener issued a public plea for the cap’s return on Tuesday after it went missing in transit from Melbourne ahead of Australia’s third Test against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The search for Warner’s “baggy green” has made headline news in Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joining the calls for its return.

The 37-year-old revealed it had been found in an Instagram post on Friday.

He said: “I’m pleased and relieved that I have got my baggy back in my hands.

“Any cricketer knows how special their cap is and I’ll cherish this for the rest of my life.

“Very grateful to all those involved in locating it: the Qantas team, the freight company, the hotel and our own team management.

“It’s a load off my shoulders going into the last couple of days; I really appreciate it, so thank you all.”

Cricket Australia said it was uncertain about the circumstances in which Warner’s cap, along with a back-up, were returned.

In his initial appeal, Warner described the cap as “sentimental to me” and that the backpack which it was in had been taken from his luggage.

Warner was out for 34 in the first innings of the Sydney Test, his 112th and final red ball appearance for his country.

At a press conference on Monday, Warner announced he was also retiring from one-day cricket, but would still be available for the T20 format.

 Former West Indies and Barbados batsman, Philo Wallace, believes the combative leadership style of former CWI president Dave Cameron means he will never get the support of the current board, in his bid for ICC Chairman.

The addition of the name of the former legendary batsman to the speculative list of potential replacement for Phil Simmons has garnered mixed reactions.  In opposition, some have pointed to Chanderpaul’s relative lack of experience, while others believe he would be more suited to a role in administration.

For Radford, who is well acquainted with the former player, there is no doubting the quality he would be able to bring to the role.  

“I’m a big fan, I’ve often talked about Shiv and what he brought to the game as a player.  He was a very hard worker and meticulous in preparation, a lot of the things I think he would instil as coach for the younger players,” Radford told the Mason and Guest show.

“He has been there and done it.  He was number one in the world for a period of time, a top Test player in the world.  He has played all round the world.  I think he would bring a huge amount to it,” he added.

“He is new to coaching and still finding his feet but he is having relative success and I think he would bring a lot to it,” he added.

Radford, however, believes the former batsman would have to be supported by a very capable team, which is always the case for head coaches as opposed to specialist coaches.  Chanderpaul, who retired from the sport six years ago, has already experienced some success as a coach, having led the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title last year.

The regional team has endured a particularly wretched run of form across all formats in recent months.  A poor showing at the T20 World Cup saw the two-time champions embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of the competition after loses to Scotland and Ireland.

In the aftermath, Simmons, and, then later team captain Nicholas Pooran, resigned their positions.  The Test team then traveled to Australia to face the home team in a two-match series where they were badly outplayed.  In the second Test, for instance, the team lost by a massive 419 runs after being bowled out for 77.

In light of such performances, Murray believes there needs to be many more changes at the broader management level than just Simmons, if the team is to truly start moving forward. 

 “I want to commend Phil Simmons he has done the honourable thing. 
He was responsible for the team when we did not qualify for the T20 World cup and he did the hourrable thing,” Murray told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We should not assume for one minute, however, that one man, Philip Simmons, is responsible for the decline, for the losses of West Indies cricket," he added.

“I keep looking to see others follow suite but nothing like that has happened…”

Murray went on to state that he believed the entire government system surrounding the sport in the region needed to change.

The spinning duo were uncapped at the start of the trip and held modest first-class records, albeit from small sample sizes, but Hartley is the series’ leading wicket-taker with 20 dismissals in four Tests and Bashir took a maiden professional five-for in Ranchi.

But Lancashire signing Australia star Nathan Lyon this summer places a question mark over how much game time Hartley will get and Bashir is second choice at Somerset to Jack Leach, who will have surgery on a knee injury which ended his tour early and allowed the rookies to shine on the international stage.

While McCullum acknowledged Lancashire and Somerset have their own interests to consider, England’s head coach hopes Hartley, 24, and Bashir, 20, will not fade away in the months ahead.

“We’ve got to keep trying to get cricket into them,” McCullum said. “Whatever opportunity we can we’ll try and give it to them because there’s two guys there more than good enough for international cricket.

“They’re tough characters. We’ve seen both of them have big hearts. It doesn’t get any harder than it is right now and they’ve both stood up and performed so we’ve just to keep giving both of them chances.

“It will be a slight frustration of ours if they weren’t given opportunities at county level. There’s a very real possibility that might be the case.

“But without wanting to dictate to counties because they have their own agendas, when you see performances like we have out of those two bowlers throughout the series, I think you’d be slightly mad if you didn’t give them more opportunities in county cricket.”

England losing by five wickets in Ranchi leaves them 3-1 down with just the final Test in Dharamshala, starting Thursday week, with McCullum suffering the first series defeat of his reign.

There have been just four wins in their last 11 Tests but McCullum is convinced England are a superior team than the one he inherited in May 2022, which had triumphed just once in their previous 17 matches.

“We weren’t quite good enough when it mattered – or India were better, to be honest, than us being not quite good enough,” McCullum said.

“We’ve lost this series and we didn’t win the Ashes (last year) but we’re a better cricket team than we were 18 months ago and we’ve got opportunity in the next 18 months to do some pretty special s***.

“Time on the tools, experience and just keep chiselling away at any of those rough edges which creep up every now and then, which is natural, and we’ll get there eventually.”

McCullum confirmed Jonny Bairstow will play in his 100th Test next week, despite not reaching 40 in the series, but there is scrutiny over seamer Ollie Robinson following a disappointing return to action.

Robinson registered an important fifty in his first competitive appearance since July last year but while pace has never been his biggest asset, he struggled to reach 80mph on the speed gun and sent down six no-balls – taking his career tally to 77, which is one more than his haul of wickets in 20 Tests.

His drop of Dhruv Jurel was a key moment, allowing India to move to within 46 of England’s total after the first innings, while Robinson was not called upon to bowl as the hosts chased 192 to win by five wickets on Monday.

McCullum explained Robinson, who has an impressive Test average of 22.92, felt a twinge in his back, which he has struggled with in the past.

“Everything he did leading into the Test match suggested we’d see not just the Ollie Robinson we’d seen previously but a better version of it,” McCullum added.

“He’s not just as disappointed as everyone else, he’s the most disappointed out of everyone. It’s just sport right? You have great expectations and sometimes you’re not quite able to deliver.”

Stokes had missed the historic first Test in Multan that England won by an innings and 47 runs, but he recovered after a two-month lay-off to make himself available ahead of the second Test. 

On a reused pitch in Multan, England fell to a 152-run defeat to the hosts with the 33-year-old all-rounder managing 1 and 37 with the bat and bowling just 10 overs without a wicket. 

Stokes did not have much luck in the third Test either, collecting just 15 runs over the two innings as Pakistan made it back-to-back wins to win the three-match series. 

“He's disappointed but he's our skipper and we know he's tough," McCullum told BBC Sport.

"He'll make sure he'll come back. It's our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way."

The swashbuckling 31-year-old was in fine form for the Windies during their recent tour of Sri Lanka, picking up man-of-the-series honours in a 2-0 win over the home team.  In fact, with a T20 strike rate of 171.29, the signature of Russell has become one of the most coveted on contracts all over the globe.  His development has impressed the Trinidadian all-rounder, who knows a thing or two about high-quality performances himself.

“It’s the same thing I used to say about Chris Gayle, we are happy to have someone like Gayle representing us, we don’t have to come up and bowl against him in an international match. I think it’s the same with Andre Russell. Andre Russell now is our Chris Gayle, is our Brian Lara in the T20 format. He is a superstar, he’s the best player and we are happy,” Bravo told local Trinidad-based radio station I955 FM.

“He’s the best in the world and we’re happy to have him in our team.”

Russell has claimed a number of titles with various franchises, including five in eight months in 2016.  He was named in the team of the tournament at the T20 World Cup that same year.