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• CWI confirms Bassarath as only nominee for Vice President role

  Cricket West Indies (CWI) will hold an election for the Vice President on September 20, 2024. This follows the recent judicial decision from the High Court of Guyana regarding the Vice President's election, which has led to Mr. Azim Bassarath vacating the position.

  At the close of nominations, Mr. Bassarath is the sole candidate, having been nominated by the Jamaica Cricket Association and Leeward Islands Cricket Board. The nominations were circulated as customary, and every territorial board, which constitutes the shareholders, was adequately notified. CWI is being guided by its Articles of Association in conducting this election to ensure the process is handled with the highest standards of democratic principles and transparency. 

  The upcoming election will provide a timely resolution to the current vacancy of the Office of the Vice President and reinforce CWI’s commitment to fair governance.

  The organization looks forward to the completion of this robust and transparent electoral process while continuing its efforts to advance the sport of cricket across the region.

   

• Bangladesh cut Pakistan lead with defiant batting on day three

  Bangladesh cut Pakistan's commanding 421-run lead to 132 on day three of the first Test in Rawalpindi, with Shadman Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das putting together defiant knocks.

  Bangladesh were faced with a mountain to climb after day two as Pakistan declared at 448-6, but the tourists kept themselves in the contest in sweltering conditions on Friday.

  Shadman set the tone with a composed 93 off 183 balls faced, steadying the ship after an early Pakistan onslaught led to the dismissals of Zakir Hasan (12) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (16).

  His knock lasted over five-and-a-half hours before Mohammad Ali's delivery sent stumps flying at the end of the 66th over, but any hopes of that being the all-important breakthrough for Pakistan were frustrated.

  Mominul Haque brought up his half-century before falling to Khurram Shahzad's off break, but sixth-wicket duo Mushfiqur and Litton would not be beaten.

  They reached stumps still standing at 55 and 52 respectively, launching a fine counterattack late in the day as Pakistan struggled to get to grips with the new ball, with Bangladesh scoring 67 off the final 11 overs before stumps.

  They still have it all to do if they are to inch ahead in the two-match series, though, with Pakistan maintaining a decent lead as they close in on the tourists' lower order.

  Data Debrief: Pakistan attack frustrated

  When Pakistan captain Shan Masood declared and put Bangladesh in with around an hour to go on day two, he might have been envisaging swift wickets and a comfortable first-innings lead.

  By the end of day three, those hopes were in question thanks to excellent work from the Bangladesh batters, who relished the hostile conditions to trim Pakistan's advantage.

  Some expensive bowling from Agha Salman (0-53), Shaheen Shah Afridi (0-55) and Naseem Shah (1-77) has not helped the hosts' cause, and they will demand better on Saturday. 

• Powell emphasizes importance of South Africa series as part of road to 2026 T20 World Cup- “This is a building block”

  The West Indies T20 outfit will get their first opportunity to compete since their Super Eight exit at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in June when they take on South Africa in the first of three T20 Internationals at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on Friday.

  In what promises to be a competitive series, the hosts will be looking for revenge against the team that knocked them out of their home tournament with a three-wicket win via the DLS method in Antigua in their final Super Eight match on June 23.

  South Africa eventually got all the way to the final before narrowly losing to India.

  West Indies skipper Rovman Powell likes the chemistry he’s seen from his group during their preparation for the upcoming series.

  “I think it’s very good. It’s the first series since the World Cup so it’s an important one in the sense that we have to get back on track as a T20 team and I think so far, so good,” he said in a pre-match interview on Thursday.

  The squad for the series comprises 12 of the 15 players that represented the region in the World Cup with Powell emphasizing keeping the core of the squad together with one eye on the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

  Alick Athanaze, Fabian Allen and Matthew Forde are the three new members of the squad, replacing Brandon King, Alzarri Joseph and Andre Russell.

  “We try our best as a selection group to keep it as close as possible to those guys in the World Cup looking forward to 2026,” Powell said.

  “It’s also an opportunity for us to see other players like Alick (Athanaze), Fabian (Allen), Matthew (Forde) that we identified. Hopefully, once given the opportunity, they can grasp it with both hands,” he added.

  Speaking about the team’s performance at the World Cup, Powell found some positives despite exiting the tournament earlier than they had hoped.

  “I think we played good cricket. We had a clean slate right through the preliminary stage and faltered in the quarterfinals. I think we showed that we are a quality unit and if we prepare well and have the right plans, we can be successful at the international level,” he said.

  With the West Indies currently sitting fourth in the ICC rankings, Powell also spoke about where the team wants to be at the end of 2025. Is it a case of wanting to just be high in the rankings or playing good cricket?

  “I think it’s a mixture of both. Gone are the days when you played series just to play them. You use these series as building blocks and nothing is more important than winning. Once you win games you improve your ranking in the ICC standings and also guys become more familiar with roles and more encouraged to play for West Indies because the atmosphere and environment is a winning one,” he said.

  “People want to associate themselves with winners so this is a building block for 2026. It might seem a long way away but we just need to continue to play good cricket series by series,” he added.