Sheldon Cottrell

“His involvement in T20 cricket has been non-existent,” Gray said of Cariah on the Mason & Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old Trinidadian made his One-Day International debut for the Windies in the recently concluded series against New Zealand in Barbados last month.

“With Cariah, I think the selectors are assessing him on the couple of games he played against New Zealand but those were 50-over games. Where are you going to bat Cariah? He’s a very intelligent player, hard-working. I had him at the Under-19 level and I had to stop him a few times because he would be the one that would over-train and put too much pressure on himself,” added Gray, who represented the region in five Tests and 25 ODIs from 1985-1991.

Cariah has played four T20 matches in his career, the last coming six years ago.

Regarding Cottrell, Gray pointed to his fitness as his main question mark heading into Australia.

“I don’t think Cottrell has been fit enough in recent times to warrant a place on the West Indies team.  When you look at Cottrell in the last 50-over tournament, he was the player of the tournament for the West Indian people. When we look at Cottrell then, he was extremely fit. He was not only brilliant with the ball, but he was also brilliant in the field and took some stunning catches,” Gray said.

“The point I’m trying to make about Cottrell is that if he’s not playing consistently, I’m not sure that he’s going to fare well. We understand that he’s going to be playing on bouncier tracks in Australia and that he has different types of deliveries, but I’ve not seen him enough in recent times to make a determination on his fitness,” he added.

Cottrell has taken 48 wickets in 43 T20 Internationals since his debut in 2014. In the 2022 CPL, he took five wickets in six matches for the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.

The Patriots have brought in two players from other franchises. They have signed Dwayne Bravo from Trinbago Knight Riders in a trade deal that saw Denesh Ramdin go the other way. They have also signed Sherfane Rutherford from Guyana Amazon Warriors.

In addition to these two signings, they have retained Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Jon Russ Jaggesar and Rayad Emrit.

Exciting young prospects Joshua da Silva and Dominic Drakes round out the retentions.

The Patriots have eight spots to fill to complete their squad and these will be announced in the coming weeks.

“The St Kitts and Nevis Franchise extends a warm welcome to the new players joining us this year as well as to our retained core team for yet another exciting season of the Hero CPL. This year makes it extra special with us playing at our home – Warner Park. I would like to thank all our team players, support staff and management as well as our global fan base for their continued love and support. I look forward to an amazing season in 2021,” said Patriots owner Mahesh Ramani.

The retained players are Dwayne Bravo, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit.

McCoy was named in the original squad subject to medical clearance but has been ruled out of the upcoming series due to a knee injury.

Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes, said: “Roston gets an opportunity in the upcoming series as we see him being a versatile player who can be called upon at any stage in the game. We want to wish Obed the best with his rehabilitation programme and hope to see him back in West Indies colours soon.”

The three-match T20I Series bowls off on Saturday 25 March at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

The second match will be at the same venue the following day, while the third match will be at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday 28 March.

The T20I Series is preceded by a three-match One-Day International (ODI) Series.

The first two matches will be at Buffalo Park in East London on March 16 and March 18, with the final contest on March 21 at JB Marks Oval Potchefstroom.

T20I SQUAD

Rovman Powell (Captain)

Kyle Mayers (Vice Captain)

Shamarh Brooks

Yannic Cariah

Johnson Charles

Roston Chase

Sheldon Cottrell

Jason Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Brandon King

Nicholas Pooran

Raymon Reifer

Romario Shepherd

Odean Smith

West Indies white ball match schedule in South Africa

Thursday, 16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

Saturday, 18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)

Tuesday, 21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom 

Saturday, 25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Sunday, 26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion

Tuesday, 28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)

The three players along with a non-coaching member of the team management unit will now undergo a period of self-isolation.

All four members are fully vaccinated and without major symptoms.

They will remain isolated from the rest of the West Indies team for 10 days and until they return negative PCR test results under the supervision of Team Physician, Dr. Akshai Mansingh.

CEO of Cricket West Indies, Johnny Grave, explained the positive Covid tests.

“Our arrival testing protocols in Pakistan have confirmed four COVID-19 positives. These were confirmed whilst the players and staff were still in room isolation, so despite this significant setback to our preparation plans, we are confident that the tour can continue as everyone else returned negative PCRs since they have been in Karachi,” said Grave.

Grave said that despite the setback, the team remains in good spirits ahead of the series opener.

“This unusual loss of three players from our squad will seriously impact our team preparations but the rest of the squad is in good spirits and will begin training today ahead of our first game on Monday,” Graves said.

There are recalls for experienced left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell; Shimron Hetmyer, the left-handed top-order batsman; and Roston Chase, the right-handed all-rounder.

The CG Insurance ODI Series will be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 20, 22 and 24 with all three matches scheduled as day/night encounters. The first ball is 2:30 pm (1:30 pm Jamaica Time). There is great anticipation as this is Australia’s first tour of the West Indies since the tri-nation series back in 2016.

The series forms part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ODI Super League where both teams are aiming to win points to be one of the top seven teams that will secure automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.

“This squad is coming off a comprehensive series win against Sri Lanka which should boost their confidence going into what is expected to be a tougher contest against Australia. The return of Shimron Hetmyer, Roston Chase and Sheldon Cottrell adds greater depth and experience to the squad,” said Roger Harper, CWI's Chief Selector.

“Playing in familiar home conditions, hopefully, will bring out the best in each player thereby enabling the team to perform at a consistently high standard. This CG Insurance ODI series against Australia is part of the ICC Cricket World Cup qualification process where every game and every point counts, so it is very important.”

FULL SQUAD: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Anderson Philip, Nicholas Pooran and Romario Shepherd.

The Vipers took first strike and piled up an impressive 219-4 from their 20 overs thanks to an excellent 59-ball 110 from man-of-the-match Alex Hales which included seven fours and six sixes.

Captain Colin Munro added 56 while Guyanese left hander Sherfane Rutherford contributed a rapid seven-ball 23 including two fours and two sixes.

Sri Lankan pacer Lahiru Kumara was the Knight Riders’ best bowler with 2-31 from his four overs.

Then, despite a fighting 57 off 29 balls from Andre Russell, the Knight Riders were reduced to a paltry 108 all out in just 15.1 overs.

Cottrell was well supported by Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and English medium pacer Benny Howell who took 2-21 and 2-6, respectively.

The Vipers now have three wins in as many games and are top of the table while, on the other hand, the Knight Riders are last with four losses from four matches.

A total of 18 players have been offered contracts for the upcoming 2021-22 season which runs from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022.

Meanwhile, Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich are among several who have lost their retainer contracts. Also losing their contracts were Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

“Contracts offered for the 2021-22 period sees 18 players being retained, a decrease of four from last year. Jason Holder is the only player to retain his all-format contract due to his strong Test and T20I performances during the evaluation period,” CWI Lead Selector Roger Harper confirmed.

“There are several new players offered red-ball contracts earned by their strong performances during the last period. A number of players were not retained because they did not meet the minimum requirements.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams was pleased for the players who were retained.

“I am happy for all the players who have been offered retainer contracts for the upcoming period. Especially pleasing was the number of players who were awarded first-time contracts in recognition of their performances during the period under review,” he said.

“I know that the 11 players who have lost their international retainers will be striving and fighting hard to get back into the teams and earn their central contracts back next year.  These players, along with our T20 specialists, will ensure that we have genuine competition for places that will push everyone to attain higher standards of performance.”

The evaluation period for the 2021-22 contracts covered performances and statistics from April 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021 (this was also supported by statistics from the previous 2019-2020 evaluation period). This allows for all players to be appraised immediately after the evaluation period and provides a notice period before new contracts on July 1, 2021.

Below are the players who have been awarded retainer contracts.

All-Format Contracts: Jason Holder.

Red Ball Contracts: Kraigg Brathwaite, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner*, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva*, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Mayers* and Kemar Roach.

White Ball Contracts: Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein*, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr.

*Players offered contracts for the first time in 2021-2022

Players who are no longer receiving international retainer contracts are:

All Format Contracts: Roston Chase.

Red Ball Contracts: Shamarh Brooks and Shane Dowrich.

White Ball Contracts: Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas.

 All players who are no longer on International retainer contracts are offered an A* grade Regional Franchise Contract for the following year.

West Indies have only themselves to blame, dropping two catches in the final over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell and that proved costly in the end.

Chasing 146 for victory, Australia owed their victory to Aaron Finch (58) and Matthew Wade (39*) whose sixth-wicket partnership turned the match in favour of the hosts who had lost half their wickets early.

The pair came together with Australia struggling after Sheldon Cottell’s two wickets and one each from Yannic Cariah, Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph had reduced the hosts were 58-5 after eight overs.

They eventually repelled the West Indies attack with a 69-run partnership that for a while took the match away from the tourists. The match swung significantly in Australia’s favour when Sheldon Cottrell, who had earlier removed David Warner and Mitchell Marsh in his first over, leaked 18 runs in his third over, the 12^th of the Australian innings.

Bowling his final over, Joseph broke the stand when he dismissed Finch for 58 with the score at 127 with Australia needing just 19 from 17 balls.

The Antiguan conceded only four runs from that over to finish with the impressive figures of 2-17.

Odean Smith bowled Cummins for four to leave Australia needing 11 from the final over.

Cottrell gave up a four to Wade off the first ball setting the stage for Australia to achieve the target but with a lot of help from the West Indies.

Wade escaped the second ball when Reifer dropped him in the deep and square of the wicket which resulted in Australia getting two runs.

The hosts needed four runs from three balls when Mayers dropped Starc from Cottrell’s fourth and Australia took two more runs.

Starc got two from the Cottrell’s fifth to get Australia over the line with a ball to spare.

Cottrell finished with 2-49 while Smith bowled well to end with 1-19.

Earlier, Kyle Mayers scored 39 at the top of the order and Odean Smith 27 at the end as the West Indies posted 145-9 from their 20 overs. Brandon King (13) and Raymon Reifer (19) each got starts but the West Indies lost wickets regularly and were unable to get any momentum during their innings.

Josh Hazelwood was the best of the Australian bowlers with 3-35. Pat Cummins 2-22 and Mitchell Starc 2-40 were solid in support.

In typically flamboyant style, Gayle welcomed his countryman to the team with a short march and salute.  The celebration style has been made popular by the fast bowler who treats fans to the salute every time that he takes a wicket.

The 31-year-old former soldier was bought for a whopping INR 8.5 crore ($US1,156,239) by Punjab during the IPL 2020 auction.  The player joined the IPL after taking part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).  It was not smooth sailing for Kings XI on debut.   Chasing 158, Kings XI needed 13 from the last over bowled by Australia Marcus Stoinis. Mayank Agarwal started the over with a six followed by a couple and a four, thereby equalling the score.

Now, the KL Rahul-led side required just one run to win off three balls. But in a significant twist, Punjab failed to score. The game went to the Super Over where DC successfully defeated KXIP.  Gayle was also not a part of the team picked for the opener.

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.”

Hetmyer was retained by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2021 auction, despite a lukewarm season in which he scored 185 runs in 11 innings at an average of 23.12 and a strike rate of 148.

However, his compatriots Keemo Pail and Sherfane Rutherford were not as fortunate as they were both released having failed to force their way into the starting line ups for the Capitals and the Mumbai Indians, respectively.

Not surprisingly, Kieron Pollard has been retained by the 2020 champions Mumbai Indians. Pollard was an influential figure in the Indians set up and captained the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury at the back end of the season.

Pollard’s compatriot, Dwayne Bravo, who suffered a season-ending injury in 2020, was retained by the Chennai Super Kings. Bravo won the Purple Cap in the 2013 and 2015 seasons. In 2013, he took 32 wickets during the IPL, the most ever for in an IPL, and he continues to be a game-changer for the Super Kings.

Meanwhile, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were both retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders even after less than stellar seasons. Christopher Gayle and Nicholas Pooran were deservedly retained by the Kings XI Punjab.

Jason Holder, who was signed by the Sunrisers Hyderabad, after Mitchell Marsh suffered an injury early in the season, was retained by the franchise.

It was not all good news for Sheldon Cottrell who was released by Kings XI Punjab after a disappointing season. He was signed for more than USD$1 million.  Fabian Allen and Oshane Thomas were released by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals, respectively.

Hetmyer scored 70 from just 35 balls as Gulf Giants scored 196-5 to win with three balls to spare. Despite the impressive knock from the Guyanese batsman, he did not do it alone as Chris Lynn was equally impressive scoring 71 from 42 balls in the winning effort.

Lynn and Hetmyer’s partnership of 117 from 56 balls helped get Gulf Giants’ chase back on track after they had lost Tom Banton, James Vince and Rehan Amhed for three, four and one, respectively, with only 30 runs on the board.

Hetmyer was eventually dismissed in the 14^th over having hit five sixes and five fours. Lynn fell in the 17^th leaving the dependable David Weise and Liam Dawson to take the Giants to victory.

Weise was unbeaten on 22 from 19 balls while Dawson was not out on 16 from just nine balls in the end.

Sheldon Cottrell was the best of the Vipers’ bowlers with 2-24 from his four overs.

Earlier, Vipers owed their challenging total to Alex Hales 99 from just 57 balls. He hit 10 fours and five sixes in his knock and got support from Colin Munro, who scored 39 from 23 balls and Sherfane Rutherford, who contributed 27 from 15 balls as Desert Vipers scored 195-4 from their allotment.

It proved to be a tough target but one that Hetmyer and Lynn were able to achieve.

In the end, pace bowler Sheldon Cottrell smashed a six off the penultimate over of the match to give the hosts a one-wicket win.  However, at several points during the match the Irish seemed on the verge of securing a rare win over the Windies, with the hosts struggling at 3 for 24, 4 for 76 and 7 for 148 before heroics from Khary Pierre, Alzarri Joseph and Cottrell lifted the team to 242 for 9.

Before Cottrell’s heroics, the big pacer only narrowly just avoided being run out at the bowler’s end.  Cottrell was a long way short of his ground when but was given a reprieve after the third umpire determined Mark Adair failed broke the stumps with his hand before the ball actually hit the wicket.

The drama in the final over was not yet over with Cottrell finding himself stranded three-fourth of the way down the pitch after Hayden Walsh failed to take a second run but luckily, the return throw went to the wrong end and Cottrell, despite slipping on his way back, managed to return to the striker's end safely.

“I can’t really fault guys now, they’re all distraught now actually.  We have thrown everything into the game and come up short and that will definitely haunt us today,”  Balbirnie said.

“We’ve lost a game of cricket, which is usually disappointing…I backed the bowlers to keep their heads, we have skillful enough bowlers.  Garry Wilson came up with an outstanding bit of fielding that almost won us the game but like I said I can’t fault our bowlers.  We have put in two really good efforts with ball and in the field and hopefully, we can come up better in the third ODI.”

Kings XI finished a disappointing 6^th place in the final IPL standings, after missing out on a spot in the playoffs.  A good portion of the team’s season had, however, focused on a five-game winning streak, which had put them in unlikely contention for the final four after a 1-7 start.

The man at the centre of the winning streak, Gayle, had spent the early days of the competition sitting on the bench, while Australian Glenn Maxwell, who had huge expectations placed on him heading into the season, continued to disappoint.

He wasn’t alone, however, as Gayle’s international teammate Cottrell also failed to live up to expectations after commanding a whopping INR 8.5 crore ($US1,156,239) at the auction.  In the end, Cottrell ended the competition with six wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 8.80.  Chopra believes, ahead of the next campaign, several changes should be considered

"Kings XI Punjab have a reasonable need of a mega auction because they need changes. They have to do something for the fast bowling unit because it will not work out with the ones they have," Chopra said in his review of the season.

"They should leave out Sheldon Cottrell, they should leave Hardus Viljoen also if they are not playing him, and they should leave Maxwell as well," Chopra added.

"They can keep Gayle if he wants to play although he is 41-years old. But the IPL is just a few months away and he was not expensive as well. So they can keep him as he is an X-factor and an intimidating factor," Chopra continued.

The pundit, however, believed the team would have to weigh its options more carefully if there is an IPL mega auction next year, in which case retaining Gayle may not be a good idea.

The Zouks batted first and Cottrell controlled himself with the new ball. After a chaotic first over the St Lucian team were on 16/2 after two dropped catches, a run-out and a catch taken in the deep.

The madcap start continued within the second over with wickets falling from the first, third and fifth balls from Alzarri Joseph to leave the Zouks 21/5.

Yet another dropped chance prevented in from being 21/6 when Daren Sammy chipped one to mid-wicket off the bowling of Sohail Tanvir. That drop seemed to be the wake-up call that the Zouks needed with Sammy finally finding the boundary with some regularity.

It was Sammy who took the Zouks to a total that they had a chance of defending with 42 (11) before he holed out looking for yet another six.

Rayad Emrit put an end to Sammy’s innings and nearly had a hattrick in the final over, a tricky chance at square leg put down by Chris Lynn to deny him.

 The Zouks closed out their innings at 77/8 and the Patriots set off in pursuit with a bang. Evin Lewis ploughed into the bowling of Chemar Holder, taking 28 off the first over before being caught on the boundary going for another six.

At the other end, Chris Lynn was as explosive as his opening partner, taking 16 from five balls before he was dismissed by Obed McCoy. Lynn was soon followed by Denesh Ramdin who went for a golden duck but with the score at 45/3 and with just 33 more runs needed it looked like the Patriots were still favourites.

A stunning caught and bowled from Williams brought the Zouks back into the game with the Patriots now 55/5 with two overs to go. When that became 62/7 the Patriots were in real trouble with 15 needed off the last over.

Scott Kuggeleijn was given the responsibility of bowling the last and he didn’t let the Zouks down, conceding just 2 runs as his team won a fascinating match by 12 runs.

The 31-year-old pace bowler was bought for a sizeable INR 8.5 crore ($US1,156,239) during the IPL 2020 auction but failed to justify the price tag.  In six matches, Cottrell bowled 20 overs, claiming 6 wickets for 176 runs at an expensive economy rate of 8.80.  Unfortunately, perhaps the player's biggest moment came after being on the wrong side of thrashing from Rajasthan Royals Rahul Tewatia, who smashed 5 sixes off one of his overs during a record run chase.

Gayle, on the other hand, was sensational.  Despite starting the season on the sidelines, the big left-hander became the driving force behind the team's push for a playoff spot, although it ended with the team narrowly missing out on 6^th spot.  The West Indian had been left on the bench for the first seven games of the season.  He was not picked for the first five, and food poisoning ruled him out for the next two.  He ended with 288 runs at an average of 44.14 and a high score of 99.

India batsman Karun Nair is also expected to be released but the team remains undecided on Australian Glenn Maxwell, who had a mediocre IPL season but had a splendid series against India.

The Risers struggled to 73-6 off their 10 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Captain and former West Indies pacer Krishmar Santokie (2-7 off two overs) and left-arm spinner Errol Thomas (2-19 off two overs) were the best bowlers for the Titans as only Delbert Gayle (23), Ricardo McIntosh (15) and current West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell (10 not out) were able to reach double figures for the Risers.

Wayne Davis (17), Brian Clarke (15) and Jamaica Scorpions all-rounder Jamie Merchant (15) then ensured the Titans successfully chased the target, reaching 74-6 off 9.4 overs.

Akim Fraser (2-10 off two overs) and Gordon Bryan (2-22 off two overs) tried their best for the Risers who finished with six points from 10 matches and will play in the fifth-place playoff on Wednesday.

The Titans moved into fourth with nine points from 10 matches and will either be in the third-place playoff or fifth-place playoff based on the results of Tuesday’s matches.

The Patriots won the toss and opted to field first, but the decision backfired, as the Amazon Warriors made light of losing wickets at regular intervals, to post an exceptional 197 for 7. 

In reply, the Patriots struggled to get close to the Warriors total, being bundled over for 132 in 16.5 overs.

Evin Lewis played a quick-fire captain’s knock, but once he fell, no one else in the Patriots order was able to have a similar effect on the game.

The Amazon Warriors innings suffered an early blow when Sheldon Cottrell removed Chandrapaul Hemraj in the first over for a duck.

Though the Patriots lost two further wickets in the PowerPlay –Saim Ayub falling to Dominic Drakes and Azam Khan to Oshane Thomas –they kept the run-rate brisk, and were well positioned at 59 for 3, at the end of the initial six overs.

Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer maintained and, by extension, built on that momentum taking the score to 101 for 3 at the halfway stage of the innings. Hope led the way, as he raced to a half-century from a mere 26 balls.

However, the partnership was eventually broken by wrist spinner Izharulhaq Naveed, who bowled the destructive Hope for 54. That wicket was quickly followed up by the dismissal of Hetmyer for 26, as the left-hander holed out to the fielder on the deep point boundary.

Those wickets briefly took the momentum out of the innings, before Keemo Paul and Romario Shepherd not only steadied the ship, but added quick runs at the backend to help the Warriors to their imposing target.

The Patriots reply never really got going as scoreboard pressure told. 

Andre Fletcher and Joshua Da Silva fell inside the PowerPlay to leave the Patriots 37 for 2 at the end of six overs.

Lewis played a fine counter-attacking innings of 48 from 24 balls to bring the required run-rate down to something more manageable, but whatever hope they had of achieving the winning target, was short lived. 

Lewis and Sherfane Rutherford fell six balls apart to leave the Patriots at 88 for 4 after 10 overs.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, the remaining batsmen failed to put together any useful partnerships, as they came and went in quick succession.

Gudakesh Motie proved too hard to handle and, as such, finished with career best figures in a spell that included the wicket of Ambati Rayudu. 

The left-arm spinner ended with four wickets for 28, almost single-handedly gifting Amazon Warriors an opening victory, which would not only boost their confidence, but also set them up nicely for the remainder of the campaign.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 197-7 (Hope 54, Ayub 31; Thomas 3-38, Drakes 2-43) beat St Kitts & Nevis Patriots 132 (Lewis 48, Rayudu 32; Motie 4-29, Tahir 2-35) by 65 runs

The Patriots will look to bounce back when they host the Barbados Royals on Saturday.

Pollard’s 57 from 34 balls during a 65-run partnership with Tim David after Multan Sultans lost Usman Khan for 29, Mohammad Rizwan for 33 and Rilee Rossouw for 13 to be 90-3 in the 13^th over. The powerfully built Trinidadian smashed one four and six sixes, three of them coming off the bowling of Shaheen Afridi in the 19^th over that yielded 20 runs.

He was eventually bowled by Haris Rauf in the final over in which Multan Sultans also lost the wicket of Khushdil the very next ball.

David remained unbeaten on 22 watched from the other end as Rauf finished with figures of 3-34 when the innings closed at 160-5.

Needing eight runs an over for victory, Lahore Qalanders found the going tough at 15-2 as Cottrell dismissed Mirza Baig for eight and Abdullah Shafique for a duck in the third over. Anwar Ali bowled Fakhar Azam for six and Lahore were quickly in deep trouble on 19-3.

Cottrell picked up his third wicket when he dismissed Afridi for a duck in the fifth over to make it 28-4. Pollard got rid of Sikandar Raza for one as Lahore crumbled towards defeat.

Sam Billings scored 19 and Rauf 15 but wickets continued to regularly as Lahore folded for 76 in 14.3 overs.

Cottrell finished with 3-20 while Pollard took 1-3 from the only over he bowled.

The three players tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Pakistan last week and have been ruled out of the tour that involves three T20 internationals and three ODI’s from December 13 to 22. 

While describing the situation as being ‘unfortunate’, the Trinidadian, who is leading the team in the absence of the injured Kieron Pollard, said that while the unavailability of the three players will disrupt their initial plans, he believes it presents a chance for others to take advantage.

“(The) selectors and coaches had original plans on what the 11 would look like, who was going to play, who wasn’t going to play,” Pooran told members of the media Sunday.

“When saying that, other guys are going to get the opportunity to showcase their talent and abilities, so we are looking forward to seeing those guys take their opportunity.”

The three players out with Covid is expected to have a major impact on the team that is already without several of its senior players including Andre Russell, Jason Holder, Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis.

In their absence players like Odean Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Dominic Drakes, Justin Greaves and Shamarh Brooks, are among those aiming to cement a place in the team that has begun a process of rebuilding following a disastrous ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where the West Indies was eliminated in the group stage after winning only one of their five matches.

Pooran said he is excited to see what the new players will bring to the team.

“It’s obviously a new rebuilding stage for us now. It is unfortunate that we don’t have other senior players here but when saying that I am very excited to see this new crop of players get onto that cricket field,” he said.

“I believe that there are a lot of talented players here, a lot of special players, especially when it comes to the shorter form of the game so I am very excited to see what’s going to happen on the cricket field. I am looking forward to seeing us play together, sticking to our plans as much as possible and being hungry for success.”