Hetmyer was left out of the team for the upcoming visits of Ireland and England after failing to pass fitness drills administered in his home country of Guyana recently.
The occasion is the third in the last three years that the athlete is failing to get a passing grade for the West Indies basic fitness requirement. Hetmyer was first left out of the squad in 2020, ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, and then again later that year during the home visit of the same team.
Simmons expressed frustration that Hetmyer was not only letting down himself but failing to maintain the required standards but also the entire team.
“It’s the same old, same old. He did his fitness assessment in Guyana and he came way below the required mark,” Simmons told members of the media during a conference call on Friday.
“Again, it is something that is heart-wrenching because you know that you are part of this team, and you have to keep a certain fitness to be part of this team and you keep letting down your teammates.”
Simmons added the player was also “letting down himself.”
Lewis played a starring role when he slammed 89 from just 60 balls but fell just short leading the team home when he fell in the middle of the 18th over. Nonetheless, Ben Dunk was able to take the team home with an expedient 22 from 11, including two big sixes off Nyeem Young when the team needed 13 runs off the last over to win. In their turn at the crease the Tridents made 151 for 7.
“We needed this win and we went out there and backed our skills. I got a good start for the team it’s bad luck I didn’t carry it down to the end but I’m still thankful for it and thankful for the victory,” Lewis said following the match.
“They were very important, we had a shaky start, we lost our first three games. Hopefully this victory will give us some momentum for the rest of the competition,” he added.
Prior to the match, the Patriots found themselves on the losing end against the Tridents, St Lucia Zouks and Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Once considered a replacement built in the mold of T20 Chris Gayle for the shorter formats, the big-hitting left-hander has not appeared for the regional team since November of last year when they faced Australia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
The issues first began for the 30-year-old in 2020 when it was announced that Lewis along with another batsman Shimron Hetmyer had failed a fitness test ahead of the team’s tour of Sri Lanka.
Lewis, however, rebounded strongly to put in a strong performance against Sri Lanka in March of last year, scoring his fourth ODI century. On that occasion, the player credited a renewed commitment to fitness and gym work as a key part of his success. The player went on to score 432 runs in another 15 T20 matches with an average of 31 but has not been seen in the maroon colours since the team’s failed World Cup title defense.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors Desmond Haynes confirmed that that absence would continue as the player did not complete a test for the upcoming series against New Zealand, as has been the case for a number of recent series.
In all honesty, few are likely to favour the team’s chances against a full-strength Bangladesh when the tour bowls off later this month. The West Indies were left short-handed in the experience department after 12 of their first-string players opted out of the tour after listing health and safety concerns.
As a result of the regulars opting out, the selectors were forced to hastily assembly a squad that consisted of majority fringe players and a few others with limited experience. Bangladesh outplayed the full-strength team during a 2018 tour, and have generally had the better of the results in recent encounters.
Still, Mohammed refuses to completely write off the team’s chances before a ball is bowled and was grateful to receive encouragement from the well-respected former West Indies captain, Lloyd, who reportedly penned letters to several players.
“It meant a lot coming from one of our greats. Those are the things you want to hear because there has been a lot of negative talk going around,” Mohammed told members of the media on Thursday, via an online press conference from Bangladesh.
“When you hear from someone like Clive Lloyd it puts great belief within you. With the World Cup coming up it’s an opportunity for all of us to put our hands up and try and get into the original team, when the full squad is back and have a chance of going to the World Cup. I think it inspired the guys a lot and hopefully, we can back his words up.”
Since the advent of lucrative global T20 leagues, the team has on many occasions struggled to have its top players available, as they opt to take part in the competitions over scheduled international fixtures.
At the moment, the problem is less of an issue for some of the sport’s bigger for team who hold a much tighter rein on when and where their players play. India for instance does not allow their player to take part in any other T20 league except the IPL, as Sammy points out, the issue comes down to money.
“India is strong because they can tell their players that you don’t play anywhere else. You have to understand that they have the money to back it up,” Sammy said in an interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI).
“An India A list contracted player could probably make a million dollars a year (match fees plus TV rights money) compared to a Windies A-lister, who would earn USD 150,000,” he added.
Successive West Indies administrations have tackled the issue with various approaches that have yielded little success, the former captain does not see things changing anytime soon.
“Gone are those days when you played for love. Love doesn’t buy you groceries from a supermarket,” he added.
The player believed the region could possibly think of adopting a similar model to the one used by New Zealand.
The world number one-ranked Australia will host the Windies in two-matches. The first of the games will be held at Optus Stadium in Perth, beginning on Wednesday 30th.
The public’s interest in the series, however, remains lacklustre to date. According to reports, just hundreds of tickets have been sold to members of the public, so var, well below the stadium’s capacity of the 60,000. There now are concerns the series could set a record low vor Test mathes between the teams.
Australia batsman Australian batsman Marnus Labuschagne does not believe the low turnout is an overall lack of interest but believes there may be some fatigue in the fanbase.
The country is fresh off a huge T20 World Cup on home soil and went straight into a three-game ODI series against England.
In a wonderful advert for women's cricket, the all-around entertaining affair got the thrilling ending it merited. With the West Indies needing to defend just 6 runs in the last over, Dottin, who has hardly been seen with the ball over the last few months, stepped up to take 2 for 2, and also effected a run-out, to finally wrap up brave New Zealand resistance in her only over of the match.
The result meant the West Indies had successfully defended 259 for 9, their third-highest total ever recorded at the tournament.
Earlier, a brilliant 119 of 128 from Matthews, who was named the player of the match, set the stage for the West Indies triumph. Unexpectedly returning to the top of the order after Rashada Williams was ruled out of the match due to concussion protocol, Matthews hit 16 fours and a six, dispatching New Zealand’s bowlers to all parts of the ground while proving to be the stable catalyst the West Indies needed.
Dottin, who opened with Matthews, had promised a similar type of performance but was sent packing after hitting three fours and skying another attempt to Jess Kerr after playing across the line off Lea Tahuhu.
With Kycia Knight then departing for just 5, Matthews formed a crucial 66-run partnership with captain Stafanie Taylor, which helped the West Indies reach 100 at a steady five runs an over. The partnership was broken when Taylor was caught behind after clipping off Tahuhu.
It was, however, one only of three partnerships Matthews would be involved in as she also paired with Shemaine Campbelle and Chedean Nation to glue the team’s innings together.
Matthews was eventually dismissed going after Kerr as Hannah Rowe held on to the catch in the deep. Nation's 46-ball 36 and then Anisa Mohammed's six-ball 11, however, added valuable runs for the team at the end of the innings. Tahuhu was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with 3 for 57, while Kerr claimed 2 for 43.
In pursuit, Sophie Devine struck a magnificent century to keep New Zealand's chase on track, for the most part, and Katey Martin and Kerr's quickfire 40-run partnership brought it down to run-a-ball for the last over before the timely intervention of Dottin.
The loss was the first for the Caribbean team who began the tournament with wins over New Zealand and England. The powerful combination of Mandhana and Kaur, however, typified an attacking India and set the Windies a daunting 318 for a third straight win, which would always have been a difficult scenario.
In pursuit, the West Indies did, however, get off to a flyer with opener Deandra Dottin and Hayley Matthews smashing the India bowlers around the ground. Suffering from back issues Dottin was particularly aggressive as she looked to deal in boundaries to avoid scampering between the wickets. In fact, the all-rounder reached her fifty in just 35 balls and the Windies were 81 without loss at the end of the Powerplay.
Spinner Sneh Rana, however, eventually got the breakthrough as Dottin's miscalculated sweep attempt was caught. Facing the massive target, wickets continued to tumble for the West Indies with Meghna Singh joining Rana in the attack to pick up the wickets of Kycia Knight and Stafanie Taylor. Rana then dismissed Matthews.
With the required run-rate around seven, the pressure of run-scoring got to the rest of the Windies batting line-up, which saw the team bundled out for just 162, still 156 runs short.
Earlier Mandhana smashed 123 from 119 balls and Harmanpreet contributed 109 from just 107 deliveries. Their partnership was the highest by any Indian duo at a Women's Cricket World Cup, beating Thirush Kamini and Punam Raut's 175-run opening stand against the West Indies at the 2013 edition of the tournament.
Batting first after winning the toss, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 307 in 50 overs. Kusal Mendis top-scored with 55 off 48 balls and Dhananjaya de Silva made a 47-ball 51. West Indies in reply narrowly fell short at 301-9.
West Indies seam bowler Alzarri Joseph took 4-65.
Shai Hope top-scored for the West Indies with 72 off 88 balls. Fellow opener Sunil Ambris made a run-a-ball 60 and Nicholas Pooran scored 50. Mathews took 4-59 in 10 overs and was player of the match.
Sri Lanka won the first ODI by one wicket and the second by 161 runs.
In a magnificent player-of-the-match performance, Matthews put together a shot-filled 119 from 128 and claimed bowling figures of 2 for 41 to anchor the West Indies in a nail-biting 3-run win over the hosts.
Prior to the win, the team had not defeated New Zealand in the format since 2014 and it was only their second win in 7 meetings between the teams at the tournament. The innings, her third ODI century and first at the World Cup, also represented a career run high for Matthews and was the team’s fourth-highest total at the World Cup.
For a team that few would have listed among the favourites, it was a solid start to the tournament.
“It’s exactly what we were looking to come out here and do, get off to a really good start and hopefully we can carry this momentum into the rest of the tournament,” Matthews said, following the match.
Matthews seemed to be set to bat in the middle order for the World Cup, after several strong performances in that position heading into the tournament. The player was, however, promoted back to the spot she had previously occupied after an injury to Rashada Williams.
“I didn’t know how I felt about it at first, seeing I was pretty comfortable at 5 but I’m the type of player that whatever the team needs, I’m looking to try and do. It seemed to work out all right."
The past year saw the talented 23-year-old put in brilliant performances with both the bat and ball. In 14 matches Matthews scored 380 runs at an average of 29.23, with one century and one half-century. She claimed 18 wickets at an average of 22.44 and had an economy rate of 3.33.
Matthews was named Player of the Series when the West Indies Women faced Pakistan in a five-match ODI series in July. She scored 168 runs, which included a century, and took seven wickets in a series that the Caribbean team won 3-2.
The player was not as impressive against South Africa but returned to full form in the following series against Pakistan. Matthews started the series with a half-century and three wickets in the first ODI and followed that up with a four-wicket haul in the second game. The all-rounder ended the series with a knock of 49 in the final match, which helped her side complete a whitewash.
Also in contention for the award are Pakistan’s Fatima Sana, and England’s Tammy Beaumont.
Matthews ended the match with figures of 2 for 17, going to work with the ball first of before smashing 49 from 58 balls in pursuit of 120.
In stifling Pakistan, Matthews had plenty of help from the duo of Anisa Mohammed, Karishma Ramharack as the trio combined for eight wickets.
Overall, it was Mohammed who led the way with 4-27 off 9.4 overs, while Matthews had 2-17 off eight and Ramharack got 2-27 off nine.
Opener Muneeba Ali top-scored for Pakistan with 37 from 63 balls but runs and partnerships came at a premium. Aliya Riaz also contributed 26 for the tourists.
In reply, West Indies Women were solid from the get-go as Matthews and Kyshona Knight put together 65 in 17.5 overs effectively ending the contest.
Matthews was eventually dismissed after being run out by Diana Baigs, while Knight remained unbeaten on 39. Kycia Knight fell for 12, and Deandra Dottin was on 13 not out when victory was achieved.
Game three will take place on July 12 from 9:30 pm at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Despite being considered one of the team’s brightest talents, and having appeared in all formats, Hetmyer has not suited up for the Test team since 2019, against Afghanistan.
The 24-year-old, who made his debut against India in 2016, has struggled for consistency, scoring five 50s in 15 matches with a high score of 93, but with several other innings where he has not delivered. Despite obvious potential, his overall average of 28 falls on the mediocre side.
In addition, the athlete has also had his share fair of fitness issues over the past two years, twice failing fitness standards after being included in touring squads. Simmons has, however, backed the batsman to eventually get things right.
“I think that Hetmyer can be a world-class Test player when that time comes,” Simmons told members of the media.
“I’m sure at some point he’s going to return to the Test squad. I’m sure the experience he’s gotten from being there before will serve him well and that he will make use of it. I think he is maturing as we go along. He’s had a few incidents he’s not proud of, but he’s maturing and I’m sure he will get back into the Test squad at some point in time and show what he’s made of.”
After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Mayers and Brandon King got the team off to a solid start, in the power play, after a 57 partnership for the first wicket. Although by taking 20 deliveries to make his 20, King somewhat slowed down the scoring rate.
Hardik Pandya got the breakthrough for India when King, deceived by a slower ball, dragged onto the stumps. Mayers then joined forces with captain Nicholas Pooran for another 50 partnership pushing the team to 107. Pooran was then undone by a delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which he miscued before being gobbled up by Pant. The Windies captain used 23 balls for his 22 runs.
The same pair, Kumar, and Pant, combined to finally account for Mayers, as well, as he top-edged to Pant from a slower ball. Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer made brief cameos of 23 and 20, and briefly accelerated the scoring but were kept in check by India’s bowling line-up.
In pursuit, India got off to a flyer despite Rohit Sharma retiring hurt in the second over and Shreyas Iyer struggling after coming in next at the crease. The innings was fueled by Yadav’s aggression with his 76 runs off 44 balls putting the match out of reach for the West Indies. India now leads the five-match series 2-1 after three games.
At the close of play, having overhauled Bangladesh the West Indies were 340 for 5 and had a lead of 106 runs. The team’s strong position was in large part due to the work of Mayers who put together a dominant 126 from 180 deliveries, providing the base of the West Indies' response to the Bangladesh first innings total of 234.
The batsman came to the crease just before lunch with the team struggling at 132 for four and immediately went to work by putting on a big partnership with Jermaine Blackwood.
The duo steadied a shaky situation with a 116-run fifth-wicket stand after the team had fallen to 137 for 4. Blackwood was dismissed just after tea, by spinner Mehidy Hasan, having added 40 to the tally.
Mayers, who scored 210 on debut against the same opponents last year, pressed on and helped himself to 15 fours and two sixes. Wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva joined him at the crease to add 26, and 92 for the sixth wicket, before the close of play.
Earlier, having resumed the day at 67 without loss, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell pushed the score to 100 without loss. The partnership was finally broken when pacer Shoriful Islam produced some extra bounce to Campbell who was then gobbled up by the wicketkeeper, on 45.
Brathwaite was next to follow and was bowled after being deceived by a flighted delivery from Mehidy, shortly after reaching a half-century. The struggles of Raymond Reifer in the number three spot continued. He never looked really comfortable before being dismissed by Khaled Ahmed after getting to 22. Up next, Nkrumah Bonner, who also had success against Bangladesh last year, continued to struggle through a rough patch as he was dismissed for his second duck of the series.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, for the first time all series, the Caribbean team posted 308 for 5 in their 50 overs at the crease. The Windies had lost opener Shai Hope with 58 runs on the board after he was caught by Vivian Kingma off the bowling of Ryan Klein.
Mayers and Brooks, however, came together for a damaging 184-run partnership that powered the regional team to a comfortable 242 before Mayers was dismissed by Ryan Klein. From there the team would suffer a mini-collapse of sorts with captain Nicholas Pooran (7), and Brandon King (10) both going cheaply.
In response, Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd each put on a half-century to open the innings as the team got to 97 with loss before Mayers struck to remove Singh. O'Dowd went on to put 89 on the board, forming the backbone of the innings but The Netherlands continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and ended all-out at 288.
Shermon Lewis was the pick of the Windies bowlers after taking 3 for 36, while Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh each took two wickets.
The debate has continued to rage around the selection of the squad after the selection panel was unable to even considered some players for the World Cup squad after they had reportedly not made the requisite CWI fitness standard.
Among that crown were batsman Sherfane Rutherford, promising fast bowler Odean Smith and spinner Sunil Narine. With that considered, for some, the selection of players like Chris Gayle and Ravi Rampaul proved problematic, but both players were given exemptions by the CWI’s medical committee.
At current, all players are required to pass the popular Yoyo fitness test, but the results of the tests are graded on a sliding scale. The CWI has repeatedly insisted that its policy, along with the exemptions is a standard international practice. It has, however, continued to stir debate.
“You have to be seen to be fair across the board. Either everybody does it (meet fitness standard) or nobody does it,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“You can’t choose who gets tested and who gets an exemption, it doesn’t seem to be a fair system. I think it either all the players are tested and they all need to pass it or they don’t,” he added.
“Otherwise, it makes a mockery of the test. You’re leaving out players who are on form and younger and fitter, generally, saying they haven’t passed the test and you are taking people 10 years older who struggle to run between wickets and the field.”
The 26-year-old was called to the West Indies red-ball camp a few weeks ago, as part of the team’s preparations to face South Africa in two weeks time.
The player was, however, forced to isolate, as part of strict COVID-19 protocols, after returning a positive PCR test. The player was put into isolation at the team hotel away from the other players and the coaching staff.
He was cleared to resume training with the rest of the camp on Thursday, after returning a second negative RT-PCR test result.
Mindley even managed a short spell on the final day the intra-squad four-day match, which concluded on Thursday. The bowler, however, missed the majority of the Best vs Best four-day match, which was used to select the squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa beginning June 10. Both Tests will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.
The 76-year-old former wicketkeeper played 88 matches in 10 years for what is generally referred to as the ‘all-conquering’ West Indies squad. The team proved themselves to be the best in the world after capturing back-to-back ICC World Cup titles with wins over Australia and England at the 1975 and 1979 editions.
For the current crop, however, those glory days have long faded. The team has captured two world titles of its own in the freshly minted T20 format, but when it comes to the traditional ODI and Test formats, they have for the most part lost far more often than they have won.
Murray believes a part of the team’s recent failures is down to losing the significance of what it means to be on the pitch for the West Indies and the passion required to succeed.
“I’d love to give them an understanding of what it really means to represent the West Indies. I think that is something that would be difficult to assimilate without the kind of mentorship that I had and I’m sure a number of youngsters coming into the team in my era had,” Murray told Barbados radio show, Mason and Guest, recently.
“I think now people talk about cricket as a job, you have to be professional. You have to do this you have to do that. You have to hit a 100 balls in practice. That’s not what international cricket is about. International cricket is about the desire to play a Test match, to win a Test match, to win a Test series,” he added.
“It has nothing to do with how much you get paid or how much the coach gets paid or whatever. It’s about wanting to do something, and you want to do it and go out and train. Because you train for 35 minutes a day you recognize you really could train 40 minutes and it won’t hurt me. When you do 40 minutes you think I can do an hour and you keep going.”
“…You need to get into the passion for what it is that you are doing and how you are doing it. You need to believe that there is a meritocracy and feel that if you are the best the coaches and selectors will pick you…it’s as much as about the psychological game as much as the actual technique of batting and bowling.”
A quick glance at the record books will tell you that the hastily selected second-string unit is expected to have a difficult trip to Asia. The West Indies has won just one of the last seven ODIs against Bangladesh. The most recent loss saw Bangladesh stroll to a comfortable 7-wicket win at the 2019 World Cup. With several first-team players, including West Indies captain Jason Holder, in-form batsman Shai Hope, in the 50-over version anyway, and the explosive Shimron Hetmeyer are just a few of the players missing from the squad. Their replacements will be short on experience.
While admitting that results will not be easy to come by for the series, Mohammed hopes to at least lead the team to consistent and calm performances.
“What I can bring to the table is being calm. That’s one of the things that get us in trouble. Speaking for myself, as an experienced player, sometimes when we overthink the situation, we just don’t stay calm in certain situations like bowling in the right areas, shot selections,” Mohammed told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“A lot has been said about the team going but I don’t think there will be a lot of pressure on us as players because at the end of the day we are going to represent the West Indies. We still have a job to do.”
West Indies ODI Squad
Jason Mohammed (captain)
Sunil Ambris (vice-captain)
Nkrumah Bonner
Joshua Da Silva
Jahmar Hamilton
Chemar Holder
Akeal Hosein
Alzarri Joseph
Kyle Mayers
Andre McCarthy
Kjorn Ottley
Rovman Powell
Raymon Reifer
Romario Shepherd
Hayden Walsh jr
