Five members of the West Indies Academy have earned places in franchise teams for the first and second rounds of the upcoming West Indies Championship four-day first-class tournament, starting on 31 January.
The West Indies Academy players that have been selected are Kirk McKenzie, left-handed batter for Jamaica Scorpions; Kevin Wickham, right-handed batter for Barbados Pride; Ashmead Nedd, left-arm spinner for Guyana Harpy Eagles; and Teddy Bishop, right-handed batter for Windward Islands Volcanoes. Kelvin Pitman the right-arm fast bowler has been listed in the 13-member provisional squad named by the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager who has overseen the West Indies Academy programme since its inception in 2022, anticipates good performances from the players when the tournament bowls off next week in Grenada and Antigua.
West said: “It is really good to see players being selected to participate in the West Indies Championship. It shows the investment made by CWI in the development of these young players is bearing fruit. The West Indies Academy played in the CG United Super50 last November, some players also got picked in the CPL earlier in the year, and this was great exposure in the white ball formats. Now, with the first two rounds of the West Indies Championship in front of us, we have players being selected for the red ball format and we hope to see more graduate later in the tournament as well.”
West added: “In addition to playing in the four-day tournament, we also have the chance to play in the Headley Weekes Tri-Series in April and May, another major investment in player development by CWI. This is an amazing opportunity for these young players to match skills against some of the region’s best and we view this as the right kind of platform at this stage in their development. They equipped themselves very well in the 50-over format last year in the CG United Super50 Cup and we anticipate more growth and eye-catching performances when they match up in the red ball format as well.”
The tournament will open with Windward Islands Volcanoes hosting Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the Grenada National Stadium (GNS). This match will start on 31 January and will continue on 1 to 3 February.
In Antigua, defending champions Barbados Pride will start their bid for at hattrick of titles when they face Guyana Harpy Eagles in the feature match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) on 1 to 4 February. The third contest will see Leeward Islands Hurricanes hosting Jamaica Scorpions at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) from 1 to 4 February.
The second round will be played from 8 to 11 February when Barbados Pride will meet the Jamaica Scorpions at CCG; Trinidad & Tobago Red Force travel to face Leeward Islands Red Force at SVRS, and Guyana take on Windward Islands Volcanoes at GNS.
Following the West Indies Championship, the new Headley Weekes Series will follow the West Indies Championship and will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will select from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.
Team Headley and Team Weekes are named in honour of West Indies pioneers and legendary batting greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes, whose names are also honoured on the Trophy for the winners of the West Indies Championship. All three matches will be played from 18 April to 6 May at CCG in Antigua.
Every West Indies Championship match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. Fans can follow each and every game from their mobile devices, computers or connected TVs, including access to live ball-by-ball scoring on the windiescricket.com live match centre.
2023 WEST INDIES CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH SCHEDULE
All matches start at 10am Eastern Caribbean time (9am Jamaica time)
GNS – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
SVRS – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
CCG – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
ROUND 1:
31 January to 3 February - Grenada
Windward Islands Volcanoes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at GNS
1 to 4 February - Antigua
Barbados Pride v Guyana Harpy Eagles at SVRS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Jamaica Scorpions at CCG
ROUND 2:
8 to 11 February – Grenada and Antigua
Windward Islands Volcanoes v Guyana Harpy Eagles at GNS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at SVRS
Jamaica Scorpions v Barbados Pride at CCG
ROUND 3:
15 to 18 March in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles
Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride
ROUND 4:
22 to 25 March in Trinidad - Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Jamaica Scorpions
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes
ROUND 5:
29 March to 1 April in Trinidad - Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes
Headley Weekes Tri-Series
All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua
Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy
Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy
Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley
SQUADS (Rounds 1 and 2)
Barbados Pride: Shane Dowrich (Captain) Camarie Boyce, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Drakes, Keon Harding, Chaim Holder, Akeem Jordan, Nicholas Kirton, Jair McAllister, Shayne Moseley, Zachary McCaskie, Shamar Springer, Kevin Wickham; Vasbert Drakes (Head Coach)
Guyana Harpy Eagles: Leon Johnson (Captain), Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Matthew Nandu, Kemol Savory, Tevin Imlach, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith, Ronsford Beaton, Akshaya Persaud, Ashmead Nedd, Shamar Joseph; Ryan Hercules (Head Coach)
Jamaica Scorpions: Paul Palmer jr (Captain), Jamie Merchant, Alwyn Williams, Aldaine Thomas, Leroy Lugg, Kirk McKenzie, Romaine Morris, Abhijau Mansingh, Patrick Harty, Akim Fraser, Marquino Mindley, Gordon Bryan, Ojay Shields; Andrew Richardson (Head Coach)
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force: Darren Bravo (Captain), Amir Jangoo, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Terrance Hinds, Jyd Goolie, Jeremy Solozano, Yannic Cariah, Bryan Charles, Vikash Mohan, Uthman Muhammad, Tion Webster, Khary Pierre; David Furlonge (Head Coach)
Windward Islands Volcanoes: Alick Athanaze (Captain), Jerlani Robinson, Kavem Hodge, Keron Cottoy, Sunil Ambris, Justin Greaves, Tevyn Walcott, Kenneth Dember, Preston McSween, Teddy Bishop, Daurius Martin, Kimani Melius, Ryan John; Shirley Clarke (Head Coach)
Leeward Islands Hurricanes (provisional squad): Jahmar Hamilton (Captain), Mikyle Louis, Kieran Powell, Colin Archibald, Terance Warde, Jeremiah Louis, Keacy Carty, Ross Powell, Kofi James, Damion Williams, Kelvin Pitman, Hayden Walsh jr., Rahkeem Cornwall; Stuart Williams (Head Coach)
Hazlewood moves top of ICC's ODI bowling rankings ahead of Boult and Siraj
Australia's Josh Hazlewood has moved to the top of the ICC's ODI bowler rankings for the first time in his career after Mohammed Siraj slipped to third.
Siraj conceded 37 runs off just three overs in India's 10-wicket loss to Australia on Sunday, which caused the paceman to slump behind Hazlewood and New Zealand's Trent Boult.
Mitchell Stark took 5-53 in that rout, equalling the record number of five-wicket ODI hauls by an Australian bowler.
Hazlewood's rise to the top of the rankings comes despite the 32-year-old having not played in an ODI since November, while his last appearance in any format came in January.
However, he is expected to be back playing for this year's Ashes series in England, which commences on June 16 at Edgbaston.
Meanwhile, Kane Williamson has moved up four spots to second in the Test batting rankings behind Marnus Labuschagne.
Williamson scored a remarkable 215 runs in New Zealand's victory over Sri Lanka in their two-match series, which the Black Caps won 2-0.
Delhi Capitals advance to WPL final, Mumbai Indians to play UP Warriorz in eliminator
The Delhi Capitals have advanced to the final of the inaugural Tata Women’s Premier League after a five-wicket win over the UP Warriorz at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The Warriorz made 138-6 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Capitals. Talia McGrath made 58* and captain Alyssa Healy made 36 against 3-26 off four overs from off-spinner Alice Capsey.
Meg Lanning (39), Capsey (34) and Marizanne Kapp (34*) then led a successful Delhi chase as the finalists needed just 17.5 overs to reach 142-5.
Pacer Shabnim Ismail took two wickets for the Warriorz.
With the league phase of the tournament now complete with all teams having played eight games, the Capitals, after finishing top-of-the-table with 12 points, are automatically into the final.
The Warriorz will have an opportunity to meet them there when they take on the Mumbai Indians, who finished as runners-up in the league phase, in the eliminator on Friday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mumbai also finished the league phase with 12 points after a four-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Sr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.
RCB made 125-9 from their 20 overs after losing the toss. Ellyse Perry and Richa Ghosh both made 29 for RCB as Amelia Kerr continued her good form with the ball with 3-22 from her four overs for Mumbai. Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong also took two wickets each.
Kerr then completed a fine all-round performance with an unbeaten 31 while Yastika Bhatia made 30 and Hayley Matthews 24 as the Indians reached 129-6 in 16.3 overs.
The eliminator will be held at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy on Friday while the final will take place at the Brabourne Stadium on March 26.
Klaasen masterclass sees South Africa coast in third ODI to tie series
Heinrich Klaasen brilliantly took the third ODI away from West Indies with his unbeaten century to give South Africa a four-wicket win and tie the three-match series.
Klaasen scored 119 off just 61 deliveries, completing a routine victory with three consecutive boundaries.
There were still 123 balls remaining, with South Africa's number five batter having accelerated the scoring just as the tourists had recovered some hope at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
The Windies were all out for 260, losing their way after a strong start from Brandon King (72) lifted them to 110-1 in the 19th over.
King contributed to his team's downfall when he chose not to run and left partner Shamarh Brooks (18) stranded, slipping in the middle of the pitch for a run out that triggered a steady stream of Windies wickets.
It was still no sure thing the Proteas would chase down their target despite scoring at a good rate, losing four wickets inside 13 overs – including that of captain Aiden Markram for 25.
Yet Klaasen came to the fore, bringing up his hundred off just 54 balls to swiftly bring the finish line into sight.
A showstopping finale saw poor Yannic Cariah punished, conceding 49 runs off only three and a half overs as the Windies' hopes of a rare series win against South Africa were wiped out.
Windies' wait for series win goes on
West Indies have not beaten South Africa in a multi-game ODI series since April 1992, but this represented a real opportunity, leading 1-0 ahead of the final match after the opener was abandoned without a ball bowled.
A failure to capitalise on competitive starts to both innings extended that wait, although the Windies at least ended South Africa's run of seven straight series victories.
Klaasen crashes six after six
Coming into this match, South Africa had hit only 70 sixes in ODIs since the start of last year, compared to 143 for West Indies over the same period.
But Klaasen alone matched the Windies in that regard on Tuesday, smashing five maximums – as many as the entire touring team – to go with 15 fours in South Africa's fourth-fastest ODI century.
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