Related items

• Sarwan questions CWI’s decision to hire Sammy over Chanderpaul as white-ball head coach- “How is this possible?”

  Former West Indies Captain, Ramnaresh Sarwan, has questioned the hiring of Daren Sammy over Shivnarine Chanderpaul as West Indies white-ball coach.

  Sammy, also a former West Indies Captain, was hired as the regional side’s new white-ball head coach in May.

  The 39-year-old, who has coached the likes of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL and the St. Lucia Kings in the CPL, was hired by CWI despite not having a level III (3) coaching certificate. Sarwan, in a social media post on Wednesday, questioned the process that went into hiring Sammy.

  “Twenty-two persons were interviewed for the white ball coaching position. However, two were shortlisted. The big question is why were the other twenty persons/coaches not made known to CWI directors, and also, why is this a big secret and being kept away from the cricketing public? In the interest of transparency, those names should have been made available, at least to directors of CWI,” Sarwan wrote.

  The 42-year-old then went on to question how Sammy got the job over Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who was the other man shortlisted for the job, despite the fact that Chanderpaul is fully qualified and Sammy isn’t. Chanderpaul, 48, most recently coached the USA Women's Under-19 team and coached the Jamaica Tallawahs to CPL glory in 2022.

  “The two coaches shortlisted by the President (headed) committee were Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Daren Sammy. Chanderpaul is fully qualified with a level III certificate and Sammy has almost zero coaching qualifications. Shockingly, Daren Sammy confirmed as coach. How is this possible? The President has a professional and moral obligation to the Caribbean people and, without delay, make public the criteria/method used for the selection of the coach,” Sarwan said.

  Sammy’s first two assignments will come this month with three ODIs against the UAE before taking part in the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

   

• Stuart Broad’s five-wicket haul puts England on top at Lord’s

  Stuart Broad claimed his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s for 10 years to help England dismiss Ireland for 172 on the first day of this eagerly-anticipated summer.

  Broad ripped through the Irish top order during the first hour of this one-off Test with three wickets to reduce the tourists to 64 for four despite Paul Stirling’s entertaining knock of 30.

  When opener James McCollum edged behind soon after lunch to depart for 36 to give Broad a fourth scalp, Ireland were wobbling on 98 for five but Curtis Campher held firm to ensure Ireland made it through a second session.

  Broad would not have to wait long after tea to add his name to the Lord’s honours board though with Mark Adair bowled to give the Nottinghamshire seamer figures of five for 51 off 17 overs.

  Jack Leach chipped in with three scalps, including the dismissal of Ireland all-rounder Campher for a dogged 33, and Matthew Potts also claimed his first Test wickets since August to ensure Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s team started their Ashes preparations strongly.

  England’s journey to Lord’s from their Kensington hotel had been delayed by five minutes due to Just Stop Oil protesters and enhanced security measures were put in place by the MCC to thwart any potential disruptions during the four-day Test.

  With overcast conditions and a green wicket at the Home of Cricket, it was no surprise when Stokes put Ireland into bat after he won the toss and Broad quickly set about trying to get his name on the honours board again.

  In the absence of rested duo James Anderson and Ollie Robinson, the Nottinghamshire seamer produced a fine opening spell of three for 14 from five overs.

  It did take Broad until the third over to make the breakthrough but Peter Moor, fresh from a century in the warm-up fixture at Essex last weekend, was pinned in front lbw for 10.

  Broad’s next over produced even more drama with Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie out for a five-ball duck after he edged to second slip where Zak Crawley took an excellent low catch diving to his left.

  Harry Tector followed his skipper back to the pavilion two balls later when he inexplicably flicked straight to Potts at leg slip but Broad was denied a hat-trick opportunity when an lbw decision against Stirling was overturned on review after ball-tracker showed it was missing leg stump.

  It enabled Stirling to lead a mini-recovery for Ireland but his enterprising 30 was ended when his attempted sweep flicked off his glove and gave Jonny Bairstow a simple catch behind the stumps to help Leach get off the mark this summer.

  Stirling had put on 45 for the fourth wicket with opener McCollum, who made it to lunch unbeaten on 29 but his pursuit of a maiden Test fifty ended early into the afternoon session.

  Again it was the third over of Broad’s spell that did the trick, with McCollum squared up and only able to edge to Joe Root at first slip to depart for a hard-fought 36 off 108 deliveries.

  Warm applause greeted Ireland’s hundred via a single from Lorcan Tucker, but the wicketkeeper became Leach’s second victim when he was hit on his front pad and a review adjudged the delivery to be clipping off-stump.

  Campher and Andy McBrine tried to shift the momentum and take the attack to England, but Potts had the last laugh when the latter edged behind an 88.9mph delivery to Bairstow.

  Broad needed only 11 balls after tea to write his name on the Lord’s honours board when his inswinger fooled Adair and hit the top of off-stump to give him a first five-wicket haul at the London venue since his seven for 44 against New Zealand here in 2013.

  The end was nigh for Ireland now with Campher’s 79-ball innings over when he was bowled charging at Leach, who finished with three for 35, and Potts wrapped up proceedings when Test debutant Fionn Hand edged behind to Bairstow.

• The Hundred overhaul ‘not something that’s on agenda’ for ECB boss Richard Gould

  Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has insisted making changes to the format of The Hundred is “not something that’s on my agenda”.

  The peak summer month of August has been controversially ring-fenced for the third season of The Hundred, which still polarises opinion among cricket fans and is exclusively played in the UK.

  Reports last month suggested its structure was being considered and the theory gained traction with the news Sanjay Patel, mastermind and managing director of The Hundred, would leave the ECB in September.

  But Gould argued the distinction between the 100-ball competition and its T20 rivals abroad is a selling point and admitted Sky and the BBC, the ECB’s broadcast partners, are champions of The Hundred.

  “In a crowded market, it is a point of difference,” Gould said on the Final Word podcast. “The format is not something that’s on my agenda, in this regard.

  “Sky have been really supportive in driving it forward, it’s given us that point of difference and everyone in the cricketing world has heard of The Hundred, that’s a good thing.

  “As long as people are talking about the game, I’m happy.

  “There is always going to be arguments with competition, as to what we do and where we go next but we will be utterly pragmatic and more focused on progressive improvement and we will do it in a collaborative manner where everybody can feel involved.”

  According to a report from Worcestershire chair Fanos Hira, the competition made a £9million loss in its first two seasons, a figure disputed by the ECB which says a profit of £11.8m was achieved.

  Gould and ECB chair Richard Thompson were once prominent critics when The Hundred was first broached during their stints in identical roles at Surrey but the pair’s stance has softened appreciably.

  But while Gould sees substantial upsides to The Hundred, he believes there is room for improvement amid a proliferation of domestic white-ball competitions from all over the world fighting for attention.

  “You see the competition we’re in globally now and every country needs to have a super primetime white-ball domestic competition,” Gould said.

  “We have invested very heavily in The Hundred over a number of years, both emotionally and financially.

  “We are not going to take The Hundred out, we are going to make it bigger and better. We’re going to make the whole of cricket bigger and better, that is our aim.

  “I think the level of investment that has gone into The Hundred has delivered really good returns in terms of a new audience. The broadcasters really enjoy it, the BBC have put it on free-to-air.”

  Gould, who has already opened the door for multi-year central contracts and increased match fees for England players, accepted salaries in The Hundred may need to go up to compete with its market rivals.

  Currently, the highest bracket for the men in The Hundred is £125,000 while for women it is £31,250.

  “Salaries will need to go up, not just for The Hundred but also for international cricket because we can see there is a global market for players,” Gould added.

  “The difficulty for the ECB and our revenues is we have so many mouths to feed whereas the franchise tournaments can just take the cream off the top, they don’t get charged for the players, they’re very efficient models at getting money back into the players’ pockets but they’re not funding the pathway.

  “We’re always going to fund the pathway but having a really strong and healthy pathway is the secret to long-term success, you’ve got to have the players.”