Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher will see his dream become a reality when he steps out to play in this week’s Test at Lord’s.
Campher has already played three Tests for Ireland this year and made a century against Sri Lanka in April but is desperate to feature at the ‘Home of Cricket’ against England.
The prestige of the four-day fixture has been scrutinised since it was revealed the visitors’ star bowler Josh Little would not be involved, while Cricket Ireland’s high performance director Richard Holdsworth labelled the second red-ball meeting between the nations as “a special occasion” but not a “pinnacle event”.
But Campher told the PA news agency: “Anyone that has played cricket would be lying if they say they don’t dream of playing at Lord’s.
“It will be an amazing thing to play England in a Test match at Lord’s. It is massive and a real historic venue, with all the history behind it.
“To be a part of that is really, really cool and just to be a Test-playing cricketer is a massive thing. To be part of history, no-one can take that away from you.
“Everyone is buzzing for the week of Test cricket.”
The journey of Johannesburg-born Campher to this point has been recounted many times with an exchange with his now agent Niall O’Brien during a match in 2018 able to speed up the process of the 24-year-old going on to represent Ireland.
Campher always held an Irish passport, due to his grandmother being from Northern Ireland, and had ambitions to play club cricket during the South African winter months once his studies stopped.
Yet in the summer of 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, he found himself fast-tracked into the senior international set-up and handed his debut in an ODI series against England.
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“I was happy to just carry water but before I knew it I was playing the first game versus England, so it has been an amazing three years,” Campher said.
Back-to-back fifties in losing causes provided a glimpse of what was to come from the all-rounder before Ireland ended the three-match series with victory over the world champions after Kevin O’Brien hit the winning runs.
O’Brien has since followed brother Niall into retirement after a stellar career and, while Campher is too modest to acknowledge any type of passing of the baton, he has taken plenty from one of Ireland’s all-time greats.
Campher added: “It was nice to rub shoulders with Kev for the few years I played with him.
“He has done so much for Irish cricket, the contributions he made were immense so if you can have half the career Kev has had, you’ve had a flipping good career!
“Kev is very calm, very relaxed and tries to simplify things. I have tried to take on that approach myself.”
O’Brien memorably crunched a remarkable 63-ball innings of 113 against England at the 2011 World Cup that propelled Ireland to a first ever victory over their rivals.
While Campher may be in the infancy of his own international career, he already appears to have the same panache as the previous all-rounder in the XI.
After arriving on the scene with scores of 59 not out and 68 against England, he has continued to save his best for the big occasion with four wickets in four balls during a T20 clash with Netherlands at the 2021 World Cup and last year’s tournament saw an unbeaten 72 down Scotland.
Campher also followed in O’Brien’s footsteps by scoring a Test century for Ireland earlier this year and knows what any notable achievements this week would mean.
“England are a class act but if I can contribute and help the team in any way, that would be a bonus,” he said.
“Everyone does look to want to be up on the honours board but that is too far to look.
“If it does happen, it happens, but if not life will still go on.”
A key feature of Campher’s strong form over the past 12 months has been enjoyment being at the forefront of his mind, but that should not take away from his determination.
So high is the belief of the Munster Reds player that he had privately targeted reaching three figures for Ireland long before he reached the milestone.
He is also acutely aware he has won two of his four meetings with England, most recently at the T20 World Cup in October.
Campher said: “A few of the lads have joked about how, since some of us made our debuts (in 2020), we’ve played England four times and won two and lost two.
“They said if we can keep that record going, we’ll have a pretty good careers!”
Windies captain Shai Hope stresses need for efficient execution to clinch series decider against England
West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope has once again stressed the importance of executing efficiently in order to clinch the series decider against England in a crucial contest at the iconic Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday.
Scheduled for a 1:00 pm start, the day-night match has stirred excitement among fans, with Hope rallying his side to draw from their recent performances and focus on building momentum for a strong finish in the three-match series.
The series is currently locked at 1-1 after the West Indies won the opening contest by eight wickets, before England topped the second by five wickets.
“It’s the biggest game of the series because we unfortunately conceded the last game, but this is a great occasion for us; we understand that we have a lot in front of us and we understand that we have to play good cricket to get over the England team,” Hope said in a pre-game interview.
Reflecting on the second ODI, where he led by example with a brilliant 117, Hope underscored the significance of consistency in both batting and bowling.
His century, along with half-centuries from Sherfane Rutherford (54) and Keacy Carty (71), were standout moments in a match that tested the resilience and skill of the West Indies lineup. However, the bowling department failed to deliver as England’s captain, Liam Livingstone, struck an unbeaten 124 to get his team across the line.
“I’ll continue to preach that we need consistency in order for us to consider ourselves an elite team. We have to string performances together; it can’t always be one game or two games in a series; we have to seal it,” Hope said.
“We have to play good cricket all the way through, and it is important that we understand the condition, the times of the game that we are supposed to be pressing and supposed to be relaxed. So, we have to be more consistent disciplined with our skills and make sure when we get to those crucial points of the game we press on,” he stressed.
That said, Hope believes that his team is mentally primed for the challenge.
“We are always mentally ready; I think that these most recent months we have been playing some really good cricket. We’ve had our ups and downs yes, but we can definitely see some improvements in the different stages in the game. For us, we have to ensure that we always have that positive mindset regardless of what we do in the field,” the Barbadian said.
“We have to believe in our skills both inside and outside to ensure we have all the capable assets to go out there and perform for the West Indies. But the feeling is always good; the guys are raring and ready to go; we understand what is at stake, and this is basically a final for us,” Hope added, emphasizing that while the rivalry adds an edge to the contest, they are not letting it overshadow their approach.
West Indies are currently 3-2 ahead in the head-to-head of the last five ODI meetings between the two teams dating back to December 2023.
“You have an understanding of the history, but the past is the past because you have to go out there and play what is in front of you. You have to stay in the present, but we know what we are playing for. We know the amount of history that there is in our rivalry, so it is something that we have in the back of our minds, but not something we let get the better of us,” Hope ended.
One brings two: Scorpions build on victory over Academy with 19-run DLS method win over Volcanoes
The Jamaica Scorpions entered this year’s CG United Super50 Cup after a winless season last year and lost their first game to the Barbados Pride to increase that streak to eight.
They broke that streak in their last game with an 80-run DLS method win over the West Indies Academy on Saturday.
On Tuesday, they got their second win in a row, another DLS method victory, this time by 19 runs over the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Queen's Park Oval.
The Scorpions, after winning the toss and batting first, reached 155-4 in the 31st over before rain brought their innings to a close.
Kirk McKenzie, on the back of 90 against the West Indies Academy on Saturday, was 59* off 75 balls at the time of the stoppage while captain John Campbell made a 49-ball 41.
Darel Cyrus had figures of 2-21 off 5.1 overs.
The Volcanoes, chasing a revised total of 205 off 30 overs for victory, were dismissed for 186 off 29.3 overs.
Captain Sunil Ambris led the way with the bat for the Volcanoes with 59 while Shamar Springer and Kavem Hodge hit 37 and 36, respectively.
Marquino Mindley was the pick of the Jamaican bowlers with 4-33 from six overs while Tamarie Redwood and Odean Smith each had figures of 2-31 from six overs and 5.3 overs, respectively.
Full Scores:
Jamaica Scorpions 155-4 off 30.1 overs (Kirk McKenzie 59*, John Campbell 41, Darel Cyrus 2-21)
Windward Islands Volcanoes 186 off 29.3 overs (Sunil Ambris 59, Shamar Springer 37, Kavem Hodge 36, Marquino Mindley 4-33, Tamarie Redwood 2-31, Odean Smith 2-31).
The win moves the Scorpions into fourth on the points table with 20 behind the Barbados Pride (31), Leeward Islands Hurricanes (26) and the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force (25).
Hope says Windies women's return to Test cricket a step in the right direction; Graves hopes Hayley Matthews gets to play format at home
With West Indies women set to make a return to Test cricket after a 20-year hiatus from the sport’s longest format, men’s ODI captain Shai Hope welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.
Hope’s comments came after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced its line-up for the Blockbuster Women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2025-2029.
The Maroon women reignite the region’s Test status when they play host to Australia for one match in 2026, 50 years after the Caribbean team made its Test debut against the Australians in 1976.
England women play against the West Indies in 2027, and this will be the first meeting between the two teams in this format since 1979. It was also confirmed that the West Indies women will travel to South Africa for an away Test in 2028.
Shai Hope.
WI women have not played a Test match since 2004. Their short record from four Test series stands at three draws and one loss to England.
The Maroon team played Australia (0-0) in 1976, India in 1977 (1-1), lost to England (2-0) in 1979, and drew against Pakistan (0-0) in 2004. The 1976 match against Australia was the last time West Indies played a Test match at home.
“It is always a step in the right direction. Anytime you get opportunities to excel and improve,” Hope said on Tuesday ahead of his team’s decisive ODI clash against England in Barbados.
“I think it is going to be great for the women’s game because anytime you’re playing the longer format, it tests your skills in a different way, and you can always use what you learnt from that format into the other formats. So I think it is a step in the right direction, and I wish them all the best,” he added.
Johnny Grave, whose tenure as Cricket West Indies CEO ended last week, raised the prospect of the Windies playing a Test at the iconic Kensington Oval, Barbados.
“When you have an iconic player who will go down in history of our game, in Hayley Mathews (Barbados), it seems right she will have the opportunity to wear a maroon Test cap and lead her team out, hopefully at her home ground of the Kensington Oval at some point in a Test,” Graves told the Stumped podcast.
“Our philosophy has been that red-ball cricket is where you can build your technique, hone your defence and look to score all around the wicket. If that is what we believe for the men, then it has to be the case for the women,” he added.
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