Former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray has questioned the selection of left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.
“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.
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Babardian Chemar Holder signed by Durham for backend of County season
West Indies pace bowler Chemar Holder has signed for Durham to bolster the side for their final three Championship games of the county season.
The 26-year-old will replace New Zealand's Neil Wagner, who damaged his shoulder against Nottinghamshire in August.
Holder played his sole Test in New Zealand in December 2020 and also appeared in a one-day international against Bangladesh the following month.
“With international call-ups and a number of injuries, it was extremely important to bring in an additional seamer, and we are pleased to have secured a bowler of Holder’s quality," said director of cricket Marcus North.
Holder, who had a spell with Warwickshire in 2021, has taken 89 wickets in 27 first-class matches at an average of 29.60, claiming five or more in an innings on five occasions.
"It feels very good to be a part of Durham and to be playing county cricket for a second time," the Barbadian said.
He will be available for Monday's game against Lancashire at the Riverside.
Dhananjaya and Kamindu frustrate England on day two
Sri Lanka duo Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis frustrated England's bowling attack to ensure the tourists finished day two of the final Test on 211-5.
England resumed on 221-3 after bad light limited Friday's play, with Ollie Pope having reached his seventh Test century shortly before stumps.
The hosts enjoyed a major reprieve early in the morning session, with Harry Brook inexplicably dropped on 12 by Asitha Fernando after skewing Milan Rathnayake's ball horribly.
Brook's luck soon ran out as Kamindu took a stunning catch off his drive, but Pope was more fortunate to survive an lbw review after appearing to have been trapped for 139 by Vishwa Fernando's delivery.
Pope made it to 154 before being caught in the deep by Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka's second wicket in three balls, as they went on to make light work of the England tail.
Olly Stone was the pick of England's bowlers, taking 2-28 after first running out Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne, while Chris Woakes dismissed Kusal Mendis before debutant Josh Hull took his first Test wicket, ending Pathum Nissanka's brilliant knock of 64, with Woakes taking a fantastic catch at cover.
Yet Hull dropped a gilt-edged chance to send Dhananjaya packing, and the Sri Lanka captain took full advantage, moving onto 64, with Kamindu on 54 at the other end, by the time bad light stopped play with the tourists trailing by 114.
Data Debrief: Kamindu England's bogeyman
Kamindu's tally has come from just 70 deliveries, at a strike rate of 77.14. He has scored 70+ in two of his last three Test innings against England, and he is well on course to make that three from four.
England stuttered in the field after an excellent start to defending their lead, though the hosts should still be confident. After all, they are undefeated in their last eight Tests at home (W7 D1).
Australia ease to T20I series sweep of Scotland
Australia overcame a rough start to their innings to ease to a six-wicket victory over Scotland in the teams' third T20I on Saturday, clinching a series sweep at The Grange.
Having been inspired to comprehensive victories by some expert batting from Travis Head and Josh Inglis in the first two matches of the tour, the visitors found themselves dropped to 18-2 as they chased a target of 150.
Scotland had been led by Brandon McMullen's 56 runs off 39 balls as they achieved a respectable figure despite the best efforts of Cameron Green, who finished with figures of 3-35 for the tourists.
It was also McMullen whose terrific diving catch sent Jake Fraser-McGurk walking for a duck before Head (12) swept Brad Currie's fourth-over delivery straight to George Munsey to put Australia in a spot of bother.
However, Green replicated his bowling heroics with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 62 off 39 balls to ensure Scotland's joy was short-lived.
Even the wicket of captain Mitchell Marsh, who dragged on for 31 runs from Jack Jarvis' rasping delivery in the 10th over, could not halt the tourists' momentum, and they got over the line with 23 balls to spare for just one further loss.
Data Debrief: Green shows all-round credentials
Australia's third straight victory in Edinburgh was slightly more testing than their previous two as the top order faltered, but they could count on an exceptional all-round showing from Green.
Having taken three wickets in a T20I for the very first time, he proceeded to also register his best batting performance in the format, beating his previous best of 61 versus India in 2022.
Had Scotland succeeded in setting a more challenging target, Green might have had his eyes on an even more impressive total, having slammed five sixes and two fours.
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