The ECB put out an advertisement for three vacant positions, pace-bowling coach, spin-bowling coach and batting coach, in December. Interviews were conducted in recent weeks after applications closed last month.
Ambrose, who made known that he had applied for the post a few weeks ago, revealed that he had been contacted but unfortunately was not selected for the post.
“I got a call from one of the panellists yesterday [Thursday] to inform me that I was unsuccessful in my bid. The interview went very well. There were four panellists and everything went according to plan and I thought I did a wonderful job, so I was pretty excited. I thought I probably would have made it but I am not going to really worry too much about it. To have made the shortlist is a step in the right direction obviously,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
With the Ashes on the horizon, Ambrose, who has taken 128 wickets against Australia (fourth-best all-time, with the best economy rate among the top 5), admits that he was hoping that his previously dominant performances down under might have weighed in his favour.
“I was expecting to be part of the squad considering the World T20 coming up and, of course, the Ashes. You know that when England play Australia in the Ashes, it’s a big one and I thought that maybe because of my tremendous success in Australia that it would have, at least, given me an extra step, but it didn’t work out and I am quite happy with how everything went. In life, we get some good news and some not so good, and you learn to accept it and move on,” he said.
The 57-year-old previously worked as West Indies bowling consultant between 2014 and 2016. He was replaced by Roddy Estwick.
Walsh and Ambrose are widely considered the last in a long line of dominant and fearsome West Indies bowlers that had stretched on for several generations.
Before the heyday of Walsh and Ambrose, West Indies quicks like Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Michael Holding, and Malcolm Marshall hunted in packs as they menacingly stalked the crease of fearful opposition batsmen.
It came to an end with Walsh and Ambrose, however, and so it seems did the West Indies fortunes as a winning team.
“Before Courtney and I left the team, we had around six fast bowlers around us. We thought maybe three or four of them could become great,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“We had Franklin Rose, Rayon King, Dillon, Nixon McClean, Pedro Collins, and Corey Collymore. Six who I thought would have carried on the tradition of fast bowlers,” he added.
“Courtney and I talked about it and we always felt that Franklin Rose and Corey Collymore would be the two guys to lead the rest of the attack. These were two guys who had tremendous potential to lead the rest of the attack," Ambrose said.
“Franklin Rose turned out to be a bit of an enigma, you never know which side of the bed he’ll wake up on up. So, you can never be too sure with him. Collymore, when he first played against Australia in 1999, I said to Courtney ‘hey we have a young man here who looks the part’ and then, unfortunately, his back went out soon after that and he has never been the same.”
In recent times, Kemar Roach, who recently claimed his 200th Test wicket, has come to the fore along with Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph to give the bowling line-up more credibility.
The matches for the tournament will be played in Antigua, Guyana, Saint Kitts, and Trinidad. Antigua has been earmarked to host the Super League quarter-finals, semi-finals the finals, in addition to the 3rd, 5th, and 7th place playoffs.
The main venues that will be used are the Coolidge Cricket Ground and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium but there have been questions asked about the state of some of the practice grounds with the tournament set to bowl off on January 14.
Two of the venues of concern are the Liberta Sports Club and the Police Recreation Ground. At Liberta, issues were recently brought to the fore regarding the reconstruction of a section of the facility’s fencing and work for the bathrooms.
Matthew insists there is no need to worry, however, as the government fully intends to honour its commitment.
“I just want to assure the public of Antigua and Barbuda that all of the venues will be ready. We’re almost there in terms of our readiness to host what is probably the largest international cricket event on our shores and the nation will be proud,” Matthew told the Antigua Observer.
“The major area of work that needs to be done [in Liberta] is one part of the fencing and so you can be assured that those things will be completed because it is part of our hosting requirement and so we do not have the option to not do it,” he added.
The ICC Under-19 World Cup will take place between 14 January – 5 February.
“We’re actually hosting the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the finals for the Under-19 World Cup, and immediately following that we will be hosting the Test series with England, the Richards-Botham series and so we will be hosting a four-day warm-up match and then go right into the first Test so for the next eight to 10 weeks we should be having a substantial amount of cricket here in Antigua and Barbuda.”
The regional team was on the wrong side of a 3-0 mauling, at the hands of Bangladesh, in a lopsided series that showed a tremendous gulf in quality between the two teams.
The result could not have been entirely unexpected, as a full-strength Bangladesh comfortably beat a full-strength West Indies team in 2019. The Jason-Mohammed team that took the field last week had at least eight players making their international debut.
Skerritt’s administration has made it clear that players who opt out of tours during the pandemic will not be punished, believes that the threat that the disease poses to the players must be acknowledged.
“We have to deal with the reality that players are facing a tremendously stressful decision about their careers and whether they participate in cricket under risky situations; even though cricket West Indies and other boards are doing everything possible to minimize the risk,” Skerritt told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“What do you do to get the best players on the park, when many of the best players are reluctant to travel and choose not to play? Are you going to punish them? Are you going to say if you don’t play then you don’t play again ever, then you lose them forever?”
"I listen to some of the discussion’s about COVID and I wonder if we believe that COVID only affects us individually and we should be fearful, but players and others shouldn’t. So what has happened with this particular tour and the two tours before, during COVID is that you could not get all of your best players on tour at the same time.”
The 74-year-old official stood in 128 Test matches and 181 One Day Internationals (ODI) in a career that spanned 20 years. While admitting an affinity for the destructive power of Viv Richards, the Jamaican-born umpire admits there was something otherworldly about Lara.
“Viv Richards, the Master Blaster, I rate him very highly on my list because he destroyed every type of bowling…then there is Brian Lara who I think is the best thing the eyes can behold when he is on the go. He was poetry in motion. He did things that others couldn’t do,” Bucknor told the Mason and Guest Radio program.
"Once he was on the go then Lara is the batsman that I enjoyed umpiring. In other words, I didn’t want to be a spectator when Lara is batting, I wanted to be in the middle to enjoy the cricket there. As someone who has played the game you must enjoy the game out there,” he added.
“Umpires enjoy the game. In your heart, you cheer. You clap in your heart to see a good shot. You clap in your heart to see a good delivery. You enjoy that but you cannot show it on your face, in your eyes or anywhere.”
The Windies scored a dramatic win over Pakistan to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing two-Test series. The match featured typically robust performances from the team’s bowlers with Jayden Seales ending with 125 for 8 and Kemar Roach 5 for 77.
With the bat, there were solid performances from captain Kraigg Brathwaite, Jason Holder, and Blackwood but elsewhere in the batting order, the concentration and execution on display from the line-up sparked cause for concern. For Blackwood, however, it remains a work in progress and a hurdle that the unit will get over sooner or later.
“We are making improvements, baby steps. It’s just the process, we are working hard as a batting unit, even though we did not get the scores we wanted,” Blackwood told members of the media on Wednesday.
"I see this unit is in a good place and on pace to do well for all the people of the West Indies, themselves and their families, and every day that we go to train we put in 150 percent,” he added.
Since the start of the year, Blackwood has himself struggled with the bat, averaging 22.92 in 7 Test matches played. So far, he has a high score of 68.
After several months of negotiations, the teams are confirmed to play two Test matches and five Twenty20 Internationals. The venue, which will be one country, due to existing coronavirus protocols, has not yet been announced. Originally, it was believed the matches would be held in Trinidad and Tobago, but the country's fresh battle with a COVID-19 surge seems to have put that in doubt.
De Villiers, who played in the Caribbean with the Barbados Tridents in 2016, has not played for the South African team since a Test match against Australia in 2018. The player has, however, given repeated displays of his jaw-dropping hitting ability for the India Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
It was last month that South Africa coach Mark Boucher suggested the big hitter could return to the South Africa line-up for the T20 World Cup, scheduled for India from October to November. It could still be moved due to issues caused by an outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
South Africa has not played in the West Indies since 2016.
Coming into the final day’s play of their match against Windward Islands Volcanoes, the Bajans led the Leewards Islands Hurricanes on points. Resuming the day on 109-1 the Pride batted out the final day without much event. Barbados captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored 109 off 219 balls and ended the season as the leading runscorer in the tournament. Brathwaite shared in a 95-run partnership with Roston Chase, who made 59 as the team ended on 285-6.
Elsewhere, Guyana Harpy Eagles opener Tevin Imlach put together a resolute half-century, in a predictable draw, as the heavily rain-affected West Indies Championship fixture against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force came to an end at Port of Spain.
Having lost the last two days due to the inclement weather, the Red Force resumed the day at 203 and only added another 10 before the last wicket pair were dismissed.
In their turn at the crease, the Harpy Eagles chased the score with conviction, and Imlach’s 76 from 172 formed the base of the innings. The team, which ended with a score of 331 all out, also got valuable contributions from Kevin Sinclair, who had 58, and Veerasammy Permaul who scored 47.
For the Red Force, Bryan Charles and Terrance Hinds took three wickets each. Batting again, Trinidad and Tobago were 25 for 1 at the close of play. The day’s other match between the Leeward Island Hurricanes and Jamaica Scorpions was called off in the hour after the lunch break, because of persistent rainfall.
The West Indies had a day to forget at the crease, failing to get to triple digits in an innings for just the 19th time ever. Jason Holder had the team’s high score with a mere 20 runs, with Brathwaite himself and opening partner Shai Hope adding the next best with 15 apiece.
The hosts were undone by the pace tandem of Lungi Ngidi, who claimed an impressive 5 for 19, and Anrich Nortje who took 4 for 35. In response, South Africa were 128 for 4 but Brathwaite was already thinking about the second innings.
“Obviously, South Africa bowled well and we didn’t bat well, so we have to make up for it in the second innings, it’s as simple as that,” Brathwaite said at the end of the day’s play.
“We played some loose shots, but it happens, everything won’t always be perfect as batsmen we played some balls we know we probably shouldn’t have played at, we should have left, but we know what we have to do in the second innings.”
Lara’s new role will be to support the various head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense, as well as working closely with the director of cricket on ICC World Cup Tournament strategic planning.
“I am really looking forward to Brian making a significant contribution to our cricket system by providing invaluable guidance and advice to our players and coaches,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams. “We are confident that Brian will help to improve our high-performance mindset and strategic culture that will bring us more success on the field across all formats. Everyone is excited to have Brian involved in supporting our players.”
Meanwhile, Lara believes he can make a difference in his new role as performance mentor.
“Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI, I really believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and with their tactics to be more successful,” he said.
“I'm looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year."
Lara’s first assignment will be with the West Indies Test squad. He has joined the Test squad in Zimbabwe where he will assist in the team’s preparations ahead of the first Test Match in Bulawayo on 4 February 2023.
Earlier this week, the 31-year-old left-hander was named among the final 13-man Test squad that will compete against South Africa. His selection marked a two-and-a-half-year absence from the team, despite some believing the player to be among the region’s top talents.
Powell, who last represented the West Indies in 2018, during the team’s series against Bangladesh, was in contention for selection to the team last year but failed a fitness test in May.
With several first-string players opting out of the Bangladesh tour earlier this year, he was certainly favourite to claim a spot in the squad but was declared to not have met the fitness standard required by the Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel. Both the player and the Nevis Cricket Association (NCA) rejected the claims and insisted the batsman had in fact met the required fitness standard. Having been given another chance to shine, Power is, however, eager to claim the opportunity.
“I’ve been out of the team for two and half years now and I’ve counted each month I was not on it,” Powell told members of the media.
“So, it’s obviously a great feeling to be back, but being back is just the start. Obviously, now when I get my opportunity I have to go out and perform and cement my spot,” he added.
The 41-year-old big-hitter was left out of the line-up for the first six games of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. With the team struggling to a 1-6 record, the player was scheduled to appear for the seventh match but was sidelined with a stomach illness.
Gayle eventually made his debut with an important 53 against Royal Challengers Bangalore that kept the team’s season alive. Since his introduction, KXIP's playoff chances have been revived as they have won three games in a row and go for a fourth on Saturday. In analysing the situation, Ganguly praised Gayle’s performance and believes some time on the sidelines may have helped the West Indies star. Typically an opener, Gayle has been brought into the line-up as a number three batsman with captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal doing a great job at the very top of the order.
“We all think Chris Gayle keeps laughing and roaming but it pinched him that he has been made to sit out,” Ganguly told Star Sports.
“These are the things to see and learn from. IPL is just too much competition,” he added.
Put into bat, Pride stumbled to 132 for five in the first hour after lunch on a rain-marred day.
But Mayers transformed the complexion of the innings with an array of meaty strokes to all parts of the ground to complete his second hundred of the season, against these same opponents, following his 106 in their first-round match at the Arnos Vale Cricket Ground in St. Vincent
The left-hander, playing for his home franchise after spending four seasons with the Volcanoes, built strong alliances with the lower order to drag the Pride from the precipice, gaining admirable support from Kevin Stoute and West Indies pacer Kemar Roach in successive half-century stands.
Mayers shared 92 with Stoute for the sixth wicket and put on a further 92 for the seventh wicket with Roach to frustrate the Volcanoes in between two brief stoppages for rain.
Stoute scored 46, Roach made 41, Justin Greaves added 38, left-handed opener Shayne Moseley got 36 and West Indies batsman Shamarh Brooks gathered 33.
Mayers’ innings carried him to the brink of becoming the first batsman this season to clear the 500-run mark. He needs only two more.
While the majority of his exploits in the game’s shortest format have occurred in the league format, Gayle has also made his presence felt on the international stage. The towering left-hander played a crucial role in the West Indies winning two T20 world titles, first in 2012 and then again in 2016.
In addition, Gayle is fifth on the all-time list for the most T20I sixes with 105 registered so far. India's Rohit Sharma is at the top of the pile with 127. The player is fourth on the list of highest scores, with 117 off 57 balls, and is one of only nine players to score more than one century in T20I cricket.
Pollard, the West Indies T20 captain, was part of the successful World Cup-winning team in 2012. He has scored a total of 1226 runs and has blasted 78 sixes with a highest score of 75 unbeaten. Gayle and Pollard were the only West Indian men named to an ICC team of the decade
ICC T20 team of the decade
Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c), Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga.
The in-form Blackwood scored a solid 68 from 146 deliveries, before being caught by Liton Das off the bowling of Mehidy Hasan. Prior to his dismissal, Blackwood formed part of a crucial partnership with Joshua Da Silva worth 99 runs, which formed the bedrock of the team’s 259 first innings score.
The batsman, however, seemed well settled before getting a feather touch to a length delivery that seemed to just be spinning past the batsman.
“It was very frustrating because I’ve told myself that I really want to convert more of these half-centuries into centuries,” Blackwood said, following the day’s play.
“I’m stepping in the right direction, but I was very disappointed with the way that I got out. But, I guess next innings I just have to hold down my head and bat in the same fashion,” he added.
The West Indies still trail Bangladesh by 218 runs. Mehidy ended the innings with a tidy 4 for 58, with Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, and Nayeem Hasan claiming two wickets apiece. Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite top scored with 76.
The stylish 30-year-old batsman has evolved as a red ball specialist over the last few years but was called into the team after recently returning Shimron Hetmyer pulled out of the squad due to personal reasons and allrounder Keemo Paul was ruled out with an injury.
The aggressive batsman has only ever played two ODIs and has a high score of 11 but has long been proposed as an option for the format because of his aggressive scoring instincts. In Test cricket, he averages 31.29 and has three half centuries.
Blackwood is ever to prove that he has improved much as a batsman since his previous two appearances.
“I was over the moon. I’ve always been telling myself that I wanted to come back into the team and make a difference, so right now I have the opportunity to do just that,” Blackwood said.
“My game has developed a lot. I haven’t played regional 50 over cricket in three years because of West Indies duties but in-between that I’ve played a bit and I’ve scored some 100s batting at the top of the order and at number three. So, I have the experience batting the new ball and the old ball.”
The middle-order batsman’s previous encounter against the Sri Lankans earlier this year did go quite to plan after managing just 42 runs in two matches with a high score of 18. Ahead of the upcoming series Blackwood who admits to being a better frame of mind this time around is determined to set things right.
“To be honest, the last time I played Sri Lanka my mind wasn’t right at that time, but now my mind is fully there, so, I’m looking forward to a very good series,” Blackwood told Windies cricket.
Despite not typically being a threat with the ball, Blackwood believes he might even be able to make an impact with the ball, should the surfaces in Sri Lanka live up to their usual reputation of being more friendly to slower bowling.
“I always tell the skipper that I want to bowl a few overs because I have the golden arm. As you can see, I always get one of the wickets. So it will be very interesting this series if I can get a few overs.”
The 35-year-old Bonner has earned plenty of accolades for gritty performances for the West Indies since making his debut against Bangladesh in 2021. The player has, however, struggled vor vorm ov late, managing just 65 in his last 5 innings and has been hit twice off short pithed bowling in the last year.
Bonner has been ruled out of the current Test series against Australia after being struck on the back of the helmet by a Cameron Green bouncer. Despite being allowed to continue batting for another few hours Bonner is now under the team’s concussion protocol.
In light of the latest incident, questions have been raised regarding the player susceptibility to pace bowling.
“Short bowling is simple yet complex, you are either looking to attack the ball or defend it. I think. In simple parlance either you are hooking or you ducking. I think either Bonner is caught between two minds,” Smith told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“…He takes his eyes off the ball. We’ve seen him now being struck. If we’re being honest, we can pinpoint some of the technical deficiencies our batters have,” he added.
“We can’t knock Bonner because he’s done reasonably well up until this point, but you know he’s languid, he always looks little bit slow on the ball and these hard bouncy surfaces will show that up.”
Bonner has recorded two 100s and three 50s for the West Indies in 15 matches so far.
The Windies are booked to face New Zealand in a three-match T20 international series, which will run between the 27th to 30th of this month.
Both Boult and Williamson had several strong performances in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) season, but the Blackcaps have prioritised the Test series. New Zealand are eyeing a spot in the World Test Championship final at Lord's next year. They are currently fourth in the standings and need to beat West Indies in the two-Test series in December to stake their claim.
"We've had to make a decision on Kane and Trent to prioritise the test matches, given how important they are to our red-ball team and the fact they both played such big roles in the recent IPL while also managing injuries," New Zealand coach Gary Stead said after announcing the squads.
"There's no secret we're right in the hunt for the World Test Championship final following our two-nil win over India and having Trent and Kane fully fit and focussed for the upcoming series will be crucial."
Set a target of 180, South Africa appeared to be in a strong position at 129 for 3 in the 14th over, but the West Indies bowlers had other plans. In a stunning collapse, South Africa lost seven wickets for just 20 runs within the space of 35 balls, eventually being bowled out for 149 in 19.4 overs, falling short by 30 runs.
The West Indies' innings was anchored by key contributions from Shai Hope (41) and Rovman Powell (35), allowing them to post a competitive 179 for 6. South Africa's bowlers, led by Lizaad Williams (3 for 36) and Gerald Coetzee (2 for 29), kept the West Indies' scoring in check, but the hosts managed a late flourish, adding 50 runs in the last five overs.
South Africa started their chase aggressively, racing to 100 inside 10 overs, but the West Indies bowlers tightened the screws in the middle overs. Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie delivered crucial breakthroughs, dismissing Tristan Stubbs and Donovan Ferreira respectively. However, it was the duo of Romario Shepherd and Shamar Joseph who truly turned the game on its head.
Shepherd was particularly effective, claiming 3 for 15 in his four overs, while Joseph recorded a career-best 3 for 31. Their combined efforts derailed South Africa's chase, which at one point seemed on track for victory.
South Africa's middle-order collapse highlighted concerns for the visitors, with only one batter from No. 3 down managing to surpass 20 runs. In a match where individual scoring milestones were scarce, the West Indies' ability to clear the boundary made the difference. They hit 13 sixes compared to South Africa's six, underscoring their superiority in power-hitting.
The 47-run stand between Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford provided the West Indies with a crucial edge, as their late acceleration ensured a challenging total for South Africa.
The victory not only secured the series for the West Indies but also demonstrated their growing dominance over South Africa, particularly in home conditions. The hosts will now look to build on this momentum as they prepare for future challenges.
