Cricket West Indies (CWI) has paid tribute to Easton McMorris, who passed away on Tuesday. The former Jamaica captain and West Indies batsman was 86.
McMorris made his Test debut for West Indies against Pakistan at Queen's Park Oval in 1958 in a team alongside Sir Everton Weekes, Sir Garry Sobers and Sir Conrad Hunte. He played 13 Test matches and scored one century – 125 against India at Sabina Park in 1962.
“I had the privilege to engage with Mr McMorris on a few occasions over the years. I found him to be an encouraging and selfless gentleman. On behalf of CWI, I want to send condolences to his family and the entire cricket fraternity in Jamaica,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.
“Easton was a true stalwart of the game and contributed significantly at all levels, on and off the field. He was a leader at the Lucas Cricket Club, carrying on the legacy established by the great George Headley. After retirement from playing, he gave yeoman service as a board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association and manager of the Jamaica cricket team.”
McMorris was an outstanding captain for Jamaica, including winning the much-coveted Shell Shield, and he was a steady performer for West Indies in Test cricket. As a captain, McMorris led from the front. He was an astute thinker of the game, a shrewd tactician and was respected by his teammates and opponents. He was a very determined batsman, who valued his wicket. The region has lost a true and life-long servant of the game.
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Jadeja comes up big to lead CSK to fifth IPL title
Ravindra Jadeja was the hero as the Chennai Super Kings beat the Gujarat Titans by five-wickets in the final of the 2023 Indian Premier League at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday
The Titans, after being put in to bat by the Super Kings, made an imposing 214-4 off their 20 overs.
Sai Sudharsan made an extremely composed 47-ball 96 for the Titans including eight fours and six sixes while Wriddhiman Saha made 54 off 39 balls earlier.
A prolonged rain-delay with CSK 4-0 after just three balls meant that, upon the return, they needed a revised target of 171 in 15 overs.
CSK’s formidable opening pair of Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad continued their excellent form this season, putting on 74 for the first wicket before Gaikwad went for a 16-ball 26. Conway, who top scored for the Super Kings went, soon after, for a 25-ball 47.
In the end, an unbeaten 22-run partnership between Shivam Dube (32*) and Ravindra Jadeja (15*) handed Chennai their fifth IPL title, putting them alongside the Mumbai Indians at the top of the pile.
The match came down to the last two deliveries, with Jadeja facing pacer Mohit Sharma needing 10 to win.
He hit the fifth ball of the final over for a straight six before clipping the final ball down to the fine leg boundary to secure the win.
Sharma tried his best with the ball, taking 3-36 from his three overs while Noor Ahmad took 2-17 from his three.
Ja's gymnasts take positives from failed qualification bid at PanAm Champs in Colombia
Despite failing to secure qualification to the Pan American (PanAm) Games nor the World Championships, Jamaica's artistic gymnasts Tyesha Mattis and Kiara Richmon took heart from their respective performances at the just-concluded PanAm Gymnastics Championships in Medellin, Colombia.
Mattis, Richmon and newcomer Mya Absolam, all produced credible showings in a highly competitive environment at the three-day championships which ended on Sunday but were unable to break into a coveted top 12 position.
The England-born Mattis, who was Jamaica’s standout performer at last year’s event when she qualified for the World championships, expressed some disappointment that she wasn’t able to repeat the feat, as she was firmly set on getting to the PanAm Games in Chile and the World Championships in Belgium, later this year.
She placed 32nd overall with an all-around total of 44.500, after scoring 12.867 on vault, 10.533 on uneven bars, 10.733 on the balance beam and 10.367 for her floor routine.
"I was happy with parts of my performances, but I felt like I put a little bit too much pressure on myself to qualify and so I didn’t do as well as I would have liked to,” Mattis said shortly after competition.
However, the 24-year-old did find a few positive takeaways that she hopes to improve on ahead of next month’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in El Salvador, when she is next expected to parade her skills for the island.
“I managed to complete a 2 1/2 twist off beam again after not putting that out in competition for over four years, so I am super proud of myself in that regards as I am proving to myself that I can do more than I am limiting myself to,” she reasoned.
“I am more than capable, and I just need to trust that my body can do the work and again, not putting too much pressure on myself. I work so hard in the gym and when I really wanted to put out my best, I made a couple mistakes.
“But I have to remember I’m only human and I can learn from some of my mistakes and so I am really looking forward to a better performance out in El Salvador in a couple weeks. Looking forward to trying some different routines there and putting out more of my skills as I know I have so much more up my sleeve and the more I compete internationally, the more confident I feel,” Mattis added.
For Richmon, who placed 36th overall with an all-around score of 42.866, just being able to represent Jamaica at the event, represents a remarkable achievement and another significant milestone in her budding career.
Her total includes score of 11.100 on vault, 10.233 on the uneven bars, 10.400 on the balance beam and 11.133 for her floor routine.
“I feel like I did my best with my performance at the championships, especially being that I only had two weeks to prepare. So, I am definitely proud that I was able to hit all four apparatus and getting to be here with the team,” Richmon shared.
With this being her first elite outing since 2019, the 21-year-old Fisk University student is eagerly looking forward to continuing her journey, as her unwavering determination, relentless work ethic and immense potential positions her as one of country’s gymnast to watch.
“It felt amazing, and this performance will definitely serve as motivation for me going forward, I just need to just trust my training and do not over work myself. I also need to have more confidence and belief in myself and hopefully on my next competition I can produce a stronger performance with cleaner routines,” the US-born Richmon said.
Meanwhile, Absolam, another England-born gymnast, had an all-around total of 39.533, after scoring 10.333, 10.033, 8.600, 10.567, on vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor, respectively. She placed 42nd overall.
On the male side, Canada-born Elel Wahrmann-Baker, was Jamaica’s top performer, placing 27th overall, with an all-around total of 72.301. Wahrmann-Baker had scores of 12.767 on floor, 13.067 on the pommel horse, 11.067 on rings, 13.100 on vault, 13.133 parallel bars and 10.167 on high bar.
Caleb Faulk placed 29th overall with scores of 12.300, 10.900, 12.400, 12.767, 11.9667 and 11.667 for an all-Around total of 72.001, while Matthew McClymont tallied 63.165 for 47th overall. His scores include 12.233, 9.133, 7.533, 12.733, 10.800 and 10.733.
Jamaica’s other representative Michael Reid only took on the pommel horse and parallel bars where he scored 11.933 and 12.467 for a total 24.400.
England will not alter aggressive approach during Ashes – Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum is excited about the “magic” that could occur in the Ashes and has promised England will not move away from their aggressive approach at the first sign of danger.
England begin an eagerly-anticipated summer with a one-off Test against Ireland at Lord’s on Thursday, but already much of the discourse is around the upcoming series with Australia.
After a string of poor showings both on home soil and Down Under, the script book was ripped up this time last year when Rob Key, managing director of men’s cricket at the England and Wales Cricket Board, decided to pair captain Ben Stokes and head coach McCullum together to revitalise red-ball cricket in this country.
The results were devastating with ‘Bazball’ taking the nation by storm with run-rates going through the roof, draws being discarded and the pressure of losing taken away, but the perennial question throughout England’s run of 10 wins from 12 Tests has been, can it be taken into the high-pressure stakes of an Ashes series?
McCullum said: “It’s a challenge, but it’s an exciting challenge.
“The more that’s at stake, the more it’s important to keep it simple and relaxed, to do what gives you your greatest chance.
“At the first sign of trouble you can’t run away from it, or at the first sign of all the eyeballs in the world watching you, you can’t run away from what’s been most successful for you.
“That’s when you should be at your clearest, keep things as simple as possible and that will be the message right throughout.”
Former New Zealand wicket-keeper McCullum is no stranger to battles with Australia, but modestly and perhaps unfairly suggested he was only good enough to scrap against teams wearing the baggy greens.
That is not the case for his England side, the 41-year-old insists.
“I’m not as good as these guys are, so you always felt like you were scrapping for something rather than being able to go toe to toe with them (Australia),” McCullum added.
“The ability to go toe-to-toe with a good side is where the magic happens.
“I think we’ve got the quality in our team and they’ve got the quality in their team to be a heavyweight contest so I’m excited about that.
“There’s so much excitement about what’s coming and there’s so much uncertainty for everyone and that’s where I think the real magic has the opportunity to come out. so we’re just excited about it.”
England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has been heavily debated since it arrived on the scene and at its height, Stokes’ side were scoring at 5.50 runs per over in Pakistan during the winter.
Whether or not that can be replicated remains to be seen, but McCullum does feel they should only get more consistent with time.
“To be fair, there’s some stuff we did last year that I didn’t really think was achievable but the guys were able to do it,” he admitted.
“If you are present and clear of mind, you’re able to make good decisions because you’re not worried about the outcome as such, you’re just able to adapt to what’s required.
“There will be periods where we’ll have to absorb pressure. It may also be that we’ll be able to put the handle down a bit more and achieve what we did last summer. We’ll just wait and see.”
A key part of England’s philosophy is a relaxed environment and spending quality time together, which occurred on Sunday when the team linked up for the first time – since the New Zealand series in February – for a round of golf at the Grove in Hertfordshire.
After facing Ireland this week, England will have 11 days before the Ashes opener at Edgbaston on June 16, but that will not be spent exclusively together, with a mixture of days off, training and some “quality time” arranged before the battle for the urn begins.
McCullum stated: “I think it’s a good build-up, I think it’s perfect.”
One man not set to be involved is Ben Foakes after he was left out of the Ireland Test in favour of the fit-again Jonny Bairstow, who will don the gloves and try to replicate his stunning 2022 form where he hit six hundreds.
“Well, I mean he’s an incredible player,” McCullum said of Bairstow.
“He’s a rare commodity and he’s able to do some things that other people just can’t.
“I think if he’s able to recapture even a glimpse of the form which he showed last summer, then our side does look really, really strong.”
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