West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, insists the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh will be a chance for inexperienced players to prove their mettle by doing well for the short-handed team.
If the play in the One Day Internationals (ODIs) is anything to go by, the regional team could have plenty of cause for concern as they have been unable to compete with Bangladesh to date. In two matches so far, in which they batted first, the team was bowled out for 122 and 149 before Bangladesh easily chased down the target.
Facing off against the Asians next week, in what could be considered their weakest format, and with just as many inexperienced players in the line-up, it is likely to be a stern challenge. Simmons sees an opportunity.
“It’s chance that guys get to show what they can do at this level. It’s a chance for them to put their names in the hat for 2023 and put their names in the hat for Sri Lanka and later this year. So, it’s good to see what people are made of,” Simmons said.
The coach predicts the four-day contests will be good for the team, as it should prove to be a test of strength.
“Playing in these conditions, playing in the environment that we are in and everything, you have to be strong. You have to get stronger than just playing a cricket match. So, you will see who are the strong ones and who leads from the front. Let’s see who takes up the challenge and who comes out best in the two-Test matches.”
'I don't know about catch of the century!' – Steve Smith pulls off a cracker as Australia trample India
Steve Smith brushed off the personal plaudits and hailed the efforts of Mitchell Starc and Australia's openers after a 10-wicket trouncing of India on Sunday.
The tourists dominated in Visakhapatnam to level their three-match ODI series at 1-1, bowling out India for 117 in 26 overs before taking just 11 overs to pick off their target.
Victory at YS Raja Reddy Cricket Stadium sets up a decider in Chennai on Wednesday, with India's nine-match winning run in home ODIs having been brought to a halt.
Australia pace spearhead Starc took 5-53 in a dazzling display, before Mitchell Marsh (66 not out) and Travis Head (51 not out) made it a rout.
Smith made a stunning catch to dismiss Hardik Pandya midway through India's innings, diving away to his right at first slip to give Sean Abbott (3-23) a wicket.
That prompted Smith to be asked about whether it could be considered a "catch of the century", but he appeared slightly bemused by the suggestion.
"I don't know about catch of the century," he said at the post-match presentation. "It was nice I held on today.
"I had a couple of opportunities in the last game that were quite similar and they were just out of reach. I couldn't get my hand quite around it, but I was fortunate I was able to do that today.
"It was a big wicket, Hardik's an unbelievable player, so it was nice to hang on to it."
This match rapidly got away from India, who had won the series opener by five wickets.
"It was a quick one – 37 overs for the game, you don't see that too often," Smith said. "I thought our bowlers were outstanding this afternoon. Mitchell Starc in particular with that new ball swinging it back down the line and putting them under early pressure.
"He complemented really well with the rest of our bowling group and it was a nice start to the day. It was one of those days when every time they nicked it, it went to hand. Fortunately we were on the right side of it."
The batting went well too.
"The way that Heady and Mitch went out and went after against the bowlers, put them under pressure early. When you're chasing 118 you can break the back of it pretty quickly," Smith said. "It was a really good day, and I'm really proud we managed to bounce back after the last game."
India captain Rohit Sharma said his team let themselves down.
"We always knew that was not enough runs on the board," Rohit said. "Obviously it was not a 117 pitch at all. By no means. We just didn't apply ourselves and kept losing wickets. That didn't allow us to get the runs we wanted."
Starc stars as Head and Marsh guide Australia to 10-wicket rout of India
Australia hammered India by 10 wickets with 39 overs to spare in Visakhapatnam to level their three-match ODI series at 1-1.
The Baggy Greens lost badly in the opening match, being bowled all out for 188 runs, but they cruised to victory at YS Raja Reddy Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
India were bowled out for just 117 runs off 26 balls after being sent out to bat first, with Mitchell Starc (5-53) claiming a five-wicket haul in a truly dominant display from the tourists.
Australia's opening batters Mitchell Marsh (66 not out) and Travis Head (51 not out) remained unbeaten to confirm victory inside four hours.
The sides will reconvene in Chennai on Wednesday for the deciding match.
India had lost only one of their nine ODIs at this venue prior to Sunday, but Shubman Gill was sent packing for a duck off the third ball to set the tone for what was to come.
Returning skipper Rohit Sharma (13) started well with a couple of boundaries, but he did not last much longer and India never found any real rhythm.
Only four players reached double figures, with Virat Kohli (31), Ravindra Jadeja (16) and Axar Patel (29 not out) struggling to cause Australia any real problems.
Starc starred with the ball, responsible for the wickets of Mohammed Siraj (0), KL Rahul (9), Suryakumar Yadav (0), Shubman Gill (0) and Rohit.
India's target of 118 for victory was never going to trouble Australia, and so it proved as the explosive pair of Head and Marsh made light work of the hosts' bowlers.
Head smashed Siraj for four successive boundaries in a 50-run stand with Marsh for the first wicket, with the Aussies sealing an emphatic win in just 11 overs.
Marsh and Head blitz completes the job
The best India could hope for after a rather embarrassing batting effort was prolonging this second ODI for as long as possible for the paying spectators.
Marsh and Head clearly had other ideas as they put up an unbeaten partnership of 121 from 66 balls.
That strike rate of 183.33 is the highest for any opening stand in an ODI in India from a minimum of 10 balls.
Sensational Starc leads the way
Take nothing away from Marsh and Head, but the foundations for this incredible victory were laid by Starc, who got five wickets in an ODI for the ninth time.
The defeat was India's first in 10 ODI matches on home soil, ending what was the second-longest active winning streak of any nation in the format.
Hope century enough for West Indies to overcome South Africa despite impressive Bavuma knock
A century from Shai Hope in his first game as West Indies captain helped the tourists to a 48-run win over South Africa at Mercedes-Benz Park.
Hope hit 128 not out from 115 balls to lead West Indies to an imposing total of 335-8, their highest score against South Africa in ODIs.
His opposite number, Temba Bavuma, did even better as he managed 144 from 118 in reply, but a lack of help from elsewhere saw the Proteas fall short of the target.
Openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers put on 67 for West Indies' first wicket before the latter hit Bjorn Fortuin (2-57) to deep midwicket to the waiting hands of Ryan Rickelton for 36.
Hope and Nicholas Pooran steadied the innings after the further losses of Shamarh Brooks (0) and King (30) with a partnership of 86 before Pooran was dismissed by Gerald Coetzee for 39, but Hope established another solid stand with Rovman Powell (46) through the middle overs.
After Jason Holder went for 15, it looked like Hope may run out of partners as Akeal Hosein (2) and Odean Smith (1) departed quickly, but Alzarri Joseph (13 not out) played a solid supporting role in the final overs as Hope clattered some more crucial runs at the end of the innings.
The Proteas' chase got off to a good start as Quinton de Kock and Bavuma provided 76 for the opening wicket before De Kock was trapped lbw by Mayers for an aggressive 48 from 26 balls.
Bavuma kept things ticking over along with Rickelton (14) and Tony de Zorzi (27), while Rassie van der Dussen (8) and Tristan Stubbs (6) exited quickly as South Africa's captain was also running out of partners.
Marco Jansen (17), Fortuin (1) and Coetzee (1) were not far behind, before Bavuma's innings was finally over when he gloved one from Joseph (3-53) down the leg side and into Hope's waiting hands, with the same duo combining to dismiss Tabraiz Shamsi for a duck to secure victory.
It's the Hope that kills you
Hope seems to thrive in the 50-over game more than any other format, averaging 50.4 with the bat in ODIs – the best of any player for West Indies in the history of the format (min. six innings) – compared to 25.0 in Tests and just 17.9 in T20Is.
The new West Indies captain's unbeaten 128 here was his 14th ODI century, which he reached by clubbing five fours and seven sixes.
Bavuma's brave riposte not enough
It will be little consolation to Bavuma that he outscored Hope, but it was still an innings worthy of acclaim from the 32-year-old.
His 11 fours and seven sixes briefly gave the Proteas a chance, but a lack of support meant he was on a hiding to nothing.
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