Club cricket in Jamaica had been dormant for two years due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From May 7-June 9 this year, the Jamaica Cricket Association staged the All-Island Limited Overs competition, ending a long wait for the return of club cricket in the country.
That two-year hiatus affected many of the prominent cricket clubs around the island, including The Melbourne Cricket Club.
Since its inception in 1892, the club has been synonymous with winning and has produced many cricketers who have gone on to represent the region at the highest level including Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Marlon Samuels, Robert Samuels, Carlton Baugh Jr, Donovan Pagon and Nikita Miller to name a few.
“For starters, Melbourne is a cricket club and we attract patrons mostly through cricket; be it players, spectators and/or fans. Closing our doors for two years resulted in a loss of the vibrancy of the club as well as the recruitment of young players,” said James Stewart, team manager at Melbourne.
“Currently, the players who represent the club are those who have been around for some time,” he added.
The Derrymore Road-based club also won the last edition of the Limited Overs tournament in 2019 but failed to pass the preliminary round this year.
“Our team failing to progress to the next round was down to several factors. Firstly, we did not execute our plans in the first three games. As a result, we had to play ‘catch up.’ Secondly, several players in our ranks had overseas assignments and that left the team weakened,” Stewart said.
The Jamaica Defence Force came away winners of that title after a tense two-wicket victory over St. Mary at Sabina Park.
Melbourne will be aiming to rebound from that disappointment with success in the ongoing JCA T20 Bashment which began on September 4 and will end on October 9.
The team has so far gone unbeaten in their first five matches of the preliminary round, recording three wins and two no results and with their final two group games coming this weekend, the club stands a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.
“Based on our team structure, we have a good chance of winning this ongoing T20 Bashment. Currently, we have not lost a game and we have only dropped points because of the weather. Most of pour players are in good batting form and the bowling is improving weekly,” said Stewart who is also coaching the team in the tournament due to the absence of regular head coach Nikita Miller who is on assignment with the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League.
“Additionally, we have had some bolstering to our ranks in terms of our bowling. These additions will go a far way in terms of how effectively and efficiently we execute our plans throughout this tournament,” he added.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Moca FC's Baez, Correa sanctioned by Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in Carib Cup semis clash against Cavalier
The Concacaf Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned players Miguel Baez and Jesus Correa of Dominican Republic club Moca FC for incidents that occurred during their Concacaf Caribbean Cup second-leg semi-final match against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC on Thursday, October 30.
After considering the documentation and evidence gathered during its investigation and based on the competition regulations and the applicable disciplinary code, the Disciplinary Committee has imposed Miguel Baez a six-match suspension and Jesus Correa a three-match suspension for violent conduct.
The sanctions include the automatic one-match suspension for the on-field direct red cards given to each player during that 7-0 beating in Kingston.
Both Baez and Correa must serve their suspensions during the upcoming 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place matches and future editions of the competition.
Moca FC is scheduled to meet Haiti's Real Hope FC in that home-and-away tie on November 26 and December 3 to determine the next Caribbean representative that will contest next year's Concacaf Champions Cup. Finalists Cavalier and Cibao FC, also of the Dominican Republic, have secured automatic berths.
Meanwhile, the Disciplinary Committee has also warned the players and the club that more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.
Archer back in IPL auction despite being left off the shortlist
Jofra Archer will be in the IPL auction after all, having been left off the shortlist initially.
The fast bowler was an entry on the longlist but did not appear among the names after it had been whittled down to 574 last week.
There had been no word from Archer as to why he had pulled out of the auction and re-entered, although the prospect of playing in the IPL in future could have been key.
According to new rules in the competition, a player will be ineligible to play in the IPL for two years if they do not enter the auction.
Archer has struggled with injury since 2020 and has carefully worked his way back from an elbow problem he suffered last year. Having been part of England's white-ball set-up since May, he has a desire to get back into Test cricket.
The 29-year-old has not played the longest form of the game in nearly four years and, if picked for the IPL, could find it harder to get back into it.
With the early rounds of the County Championship season clashing with the IPL, it could harm Archer's ability to prove his fitness and reduce his chances of playing in a home Test in 2025. Additionally, he could also find it difficult to force his way in for the Ashes in Australia next winter.
Magnificent Bumrah humbles Australia after India batting collapse
India wrestled control back from Australia to leave them 67-7 at the close of play, despite having been bowled out for just 150 earlier on a remarkable first day in Perth.
The tourists chose to bat first, having made six changes from their Test defeat to New Zealand earlier this month, but things did not go well for them as they were reduced to 32-3 and 73-6.
Virat Kohli struggled again and went for just five after being caught by Usman Khawaja. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and number three Devdutt Padikkal were both playing in Australia for the first time and were dismissed for ducks.
Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) dragged India to a level of respectability before their bowlers tore through the Australian batting lineup.
Jasprit Bumrah (4-17) was India's saviour, producing a spell to leave the hosts 19-3. Nathan McSweeney (10) went on lbw after a review, Khawaja (8) was caught in the slips and Steve Smith was out on his first ball after another lbw.
Both Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh went for a combined total of 17 runs, with Marnus Labuschagne next to go for two off 52 balls. Pat Cummins was the final wicket of the day, meaning Australia finished on 67-7 with Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc at the crease.
Data debrief: Australia and India go wicket crazy
It was undoubtedly a day for the bowlers on the first day in Perth, with 17 wickets being the most to have fallen on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952.
While all 10 of Australia's wickets were caught, India managed four dismissals through either bowling their opponent or lbw.
Following his unplayable performance in Perth, Bumrah now has 177 Test wickets for his country and can count himself unlucky not to have had more.
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