Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Monday announced the West Indies Championship 2022 will start on Wednesday, February 9, marking the return of first-class cricket in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CWI has unveiled the match schedule for the first two rounds of the West Indies Championship as part of a five-round tournament scheduled for the six professional regional franchises.
The West Indies Championship marks not only a return of the regional red ball competition but also the opportunity for West Indian players to stake their claim for selection to the West Indies Test squad for the forthcoming Apex Test Series between West Indies and England in March 2022.
The first and second rounds will be played in Barbados and Trinidad from Wednesday, February 9 to Saturday, February 12 and from Tuesday, February 15 to Friday, February 18. The teams will again compete for the Headley/Weekes Trophy named in honour of West Indies legends George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes.
Defending champions, Barbados Pride will face Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the first match at Kensington Oval, home team Trinidad and Tobago Red Force host Jamaica Scorpions at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad while the newly named Guyana Harpy Eagles face Windward Islands Volcanoes at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad.
In the second round, Barbados Pride faces Jamaica Scorpions at Kensington Oval, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force take on Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and Guyana Harpy Eagles meet Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Queen’s Park Oval.
The last three rounds of the West Indies Championship are scheduled to be contested in May.
For the 2022 tournament, each squad will consist of 15 players due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CWI is also implementing a special “player loan” system to try to ensure that each team will be able to complete their fixtures. If a team has a player(s) ruled out due to a positive COVID-19 result, they can request to use a player(s) from another team and/or from a pool of locally registered reserve players.
Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI, commented on how the West Indies Championship is a critical part of CWI’s professional cricket calendar. Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket also welcomed the return of the four-day format.
“Following detailed planning over the past six months, we are delighted to finally announce the return of the West Indies Championship. This is exciting news as we know the teams have been putting in hours of hard work in the nets, patiently waiting for the matches to be confirmed and are looking forward to being back on the field and entertaining their fans. These upcoming matches are especially crucial as we host England in the Apex Test Series in March, so the ‘Championship’ will be the ideal preparation for our Test players as well,” Grave said.
“I am pleased to see the re-introduction of regional four-day cricket for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This competition plays a critical role in our player-development pathway and, after almost two years, we are delighted to have our regional players back playing competitively in this format,” Adams said.
Live ball-by-ball scoring of each game will be available through the www.windiescricket.com match centre. CWI will be streaming each of the matches with commentary via the Windies Cricket, YouTube channel. The Championship will also be streamed live in India on FanCode, as part of CWI’s partnership with the Indian broadcaster.
King, Charles hit fifties as West Indies beat UAE by 78 runs to secure series win
Brandon King and Johnson Charles both struck fifties as the West Indies took an unassailable 2-0 lead over the UAE with a 78-run win in the second ODI at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The day started brilliantly for the West Indies as the opening pair of King and Charles put on 129 for the first wicket after West Indian captain Shai Hope won the toss and chose to bat first.
In the process, Charles brought up his fifth ODI half-century before being dismissed for a rapid 47-ball 63. The St. Lucian hit eight fours and three sixes in his knock.
King, who brought up a maiden ODI hundred on the way to a man of the match performance in the first encounter, continued his good form with 64 off 70 balls including four fours and as many sixes.
The tourists then got solid contributions from Odean Smith (37), Keacy Carty (32), Kavem Hodge (26) as they were eventually bowled out for 306 with one ball to spare.
Zahoor Khan led the way with the ball for the UAE with 3-44 from 9.5 overs while Aayan Khan (2-45), Ali Naseer (2-69) and Sanchit Sharma (2-69) also provided good contributions.
The UAE reply looked to be coming to an end quickly at 95-5 in the 24th over before a fighting 80-run partnership between Basil Hameed and Ali Naseer brought some respectability to proceedings.
Hameed batted valiantly, facing 84 balls before he fell for 49. He hit a boundary and three sixes in his knock.
Meanwhile, Naseer, who struck a fifty in the series opener, got his second straight half-century with a 53-ball 57 including six fours and three sixes.
Vriitya Aravind also contributed 36 and Aayan Khan 23* as the UAE eventually made 227-7 off their 50 overs.
Kavem Hodge (2-46 from 8) and Roston Chase (2-49 from 10) were the day’s best bowlers for the West Indies while debutant, Akeem Jordan, Odean Smith and Yannic Cariah were the other wicket-takers.
Pat Cummins has no plans to rest as Australia captain targets every Ashes Test
Australia captain Pat Cummins insists he plans to play all five games in this summer’s Ashes, despite this week’s World Test Championship guaranteeing a gruelling workload.
Cummins will lead his side out at the Kia Oval on Wednesday looking to defeat India in the second edition of the ICC’s showpiece finale, but despite being a prestigious event in its own right that is just the start of the story.
The most hotly anticipated Ashes series in a generation follows close behind, with all five matches compressed into just over six weeks in a schedule that is sure to challenge minds and bodies, not least among fast bowlers.
England have already made it clear they plan to rotate their attack, with captain Ben Stokes appealing for eight fit seamers to share the load and record wicket-taker James Anderson declaring three games out of five a realistic target.
Resting is a trickier proposition for Cummins in his role as leader, not only of the attack but the team itself, and he is not making plans to stand down.
“I’ll be aiming to play all six,” he told reporters on the eve of the WTC final.
“There’s some good breaks in between every batch of two Test matches, so I think it’s manageable. I mean, it’s a balance. I’ve been exhausted and depleted before but still got up and felt like I did a really good job, but if that comes up at any stage, of course, it’s a conversation.”
Cummins is preparing to win his 50th cap, a landmark that looked a dim and distant prospect during his earlier, injury-ravaged years. At one point his persistent back problems looked like ruining his red-ball career, but he now stands at the very pinnacle of the sport on a tour that could define his legacy in the Test arena.
“I thought getting back into Test cricket was so far away for a lot of that (time),” he said.
“(After) 10 overs a day I would wake up and felt like I had a car crash. When you’re in your fifth cycle of stress fractures, 50 Tests feels like a long way away. Test cricket is tough, you play all around the world, different conditions and physically it is demanding.
“So as a fast bowler to play 50, it is something to be pretty proud of. Particularly because for five or six years it felt like one [more] Test match was a long way away.”
Cummins will be joined by Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland against India, with Josh Hazlewood sidelined by a side strain and Michael Neser just missing out on the final spot.
Boland, 34, made a stunning introduction to international cricket during the 2021-22 Ashes, taking six for seven in the Boxing Day Test the MCG to seal the series. He has already taken 28 wickets in seven Tests and averages a remarkable 13.42.
“Someone like Scotty, it’s just a really simple game-plan – you hit your good areas and you stay there all day and hopefully the ball will do the work for you,” Cummins said.
“He’s had a few bowls over here now and has looked good. But he looks good whenever he bowls. In the past here in England, because the ball does talk a little more, I’ve seen players get too caught up in trying to take wickets every ball because you’ve suddenly got the ball swinging and seaming.”
India are leaving it late to make a decision on the final balance of the side, with the role of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin once again up for debate. He may have to cede his place to an extra seamer, but a late call will be made.
Captain Rohit Sharma, who ended his pre-match net session early after taking a blow to the thumb, is under pressure to deliver India’s first global title since the 2011 World Cup.
“Whether it’s me or someone else, even the guys before me, their role was to take Indian cricket forward and win as many games, as many championships as possible,” he said.
“Every captain wants to win championships. That is what you play for, that’s what sport is all about. Having said that, I genuinely feel that we don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves by overthinking this stuff.
“It will be nice if I can win one or two championships as and when I decide to move on from this job. The next five days will be quite challenging for us and gives us the opportunity to win the championship, but we do understand that winning the championship is not easy. You got to do a lot of things right to win.”
Women's CPL 2023 expanded to seven games
The 2023 edition of the Women's CPL will feature seven matches, as opposed to four in the inaugural season last year. The league will host will get underway on August 30, with the final taking place on September 10 in Trinidad and Tobago.
As was the case last year, the sides taking part are Trinbago Knight Riders, Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors. Barbados will serve as the other venue for the tournament.
In 2022, each side played one group game, before TKR, led by Deandra Dottin, beat Barbados Royals, who were captained by current West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews, in the final in St Kitts.
This time around, the group stage will feature a double round-robin format, with the top two qualifying for the final.
"We are hugely excited to have an expanded WCPL schedule for 2023 and we are grateful to the government of Trinidad & Tobago for their support in helping to grow the tournament in 2023," Pete Russell, the CPL CEO, said.
Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe said: "Once again, the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is pleased to partner with the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) as we get ready to host the final match of the 2023 Women's CPL. The hosting of this game comes at an opportune time as it strategically aligns with the goal of the Ministry's ongoing Pink Reign TT campaign, which speaks to promoting women and girls in sport."
The scheduling of the WCPL means the tournament avoids a clash with the Women's Hundred this year, with that competition running from August 1 to 27. It allows Matthews and Dottin to be available for the entirety of the Hundred before the WCPL starts, and frees other players signed up to both tournaments to play each in full. There was a significant overlap last year, with the final of the Women's Hundred on September 3 and the WCPL final the following day.
Sune Luus, Chloe Tryon, Ayabonga Khaka, Chamari Athapaththu, Hayley Jensen and Fatima Sana were the overseas players at the 2022 WCPL.
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