Jimmy Adams, Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies does not believe regional players are taking advantage of the governing body to secure T20 contracts in the more lucrative T20 leagues around the world.
During a press conference on Monday with Lead Selector Desmond Haynes, Adams, who was also present, was asked whether this was the case in the wake of the recent development wherein Shimron Hetmyer took time off from the IPL to attend the birth of his child in Guyana, promising to return to complete the season, but using the same reason, has declared himself unavailable for the West Indies white-ball tours of The Netherlands and Pakistan that start later this month.
There have also been instances in the past where players have declined invitations to represent the West Indies choosing instead to play franchise cricket.
“You will have players who will opt not to take contracts because they want the freedom to go and play whenever and wherever. While I respect that, by the same token I think we kind of understand where those players’ priorities lie. There could be a few others like that around. We live with them and we move on if we have to,” Adams said.
“I don’t think that is a majority, I don’t think it impacts us in a negative sense, per se. We have had many players in the last few years who have played, who are not contracted players - your Chris Gayles, your Andre Russells.
“Yes, it needs managing for sure at both the international and the levels within the regions around the world. I think given where we are now in world cricket, and I believe where we are now in West Indies cricket, that we are doing a pretty good job of it.”
That said, Adams does concede that in regions like the West Indies where player contracts pale in comparison to those offered by the wealthy owners of IPL franchises, there is little that can be done.
“T20 cricket and the leagues are here to stay. I don’t necessarily think that they are a bad thing. At the end of the day what players have nowadays that they did not have in my time and Sir Desmond’s time was choice and I don’t think choice is a bad thing.
“We try to ensure we don’t have any overlaps with either IPL or CPL, so all our contracted players know that there is a minimum of two windows where they will not have any competing international cricket. As it stands now it is not something that sees us losing control.”
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Somerset stay perfect in T20 Blast while Sue Redfern makes history at Bristol
Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast record with victory over Essex, while Sue Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in the competition in Gloucestershire’s win over Middlesex.
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset defended a seemingly under-par score to triumph by 11 runs at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs. Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.
In reply, Essex slumped from 130 for six to 139 all out after Michael Pepper’s 63 off 43 balls, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
Redfern wrote her name into the history books as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for Gloucestershire.
The 21-year-old top-scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as the hosts chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second triumph in three days.
Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.
The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.
Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire, who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.
Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.
Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls) produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.
Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.
Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.
England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.
Nottinghamshire put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire.
The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.
Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.
The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries, and slumped to a third straight defeat.
Player of the Match Brandon King scores maiden ODI century as Windies cruise to seven-wicket win over UAE
Brandon King scored his maiden ODI century to lead the West Indies cruised to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over the United Arab Emirates with 88 balls to spare in the opening match of their three-match series at Sharjah on Sunday.
Captain Shai Hope showered praised on his bowlers for the clinical execution in the lop-sided victory.
“There was no hurry. They all bowled well, I can't single out too many, and I was happy with the execution,” he said. “Nice to see Hodge play in West Indies colours now and hopefully we can continue. I don't think there were devils in the surface but credit needs to be given to the bowlers.”
He reserved special praise for the Player of the Match.
“King is an exceptional player and someone who I thought would've scored a lot more runs early in his career. But happy for him. He saw the opportunity to take the game forward and happy to see him get his first hundred today,” said Hope who collected the award for King, who was suffering from cramps.
Set a target of 203, King scored a run-a-ball 112 to guide the West Indies to 206-3 from 35.2 overs in the day/night encounter. He was the last man out with the West Indies 10 runs shy of their target.
King shared in an opening stand of 48 with Johnson Charles that ended when Charles bowled for 24 while going for a big shot off Zahoor Khan delivery that cut back to hit his off stump for 24.
A 91-run second wicket partnership followed between King and Shamarh Brooks, who rode his luck before he was eventually trapped lbw by Aayan Azfal Khan for 44. King, who was dropped on 52, then took the match away from the hosts with a 54-run partnership with Keacy Carty before being last man out, caught behind off the bowling of Rohan Mustafa.
King’s knock included 12 fours and four sixes, three of which came in the 34th over bowled by Karthik Meiyappan. The second of those sixes took King from 96 to his first ODI century.
Captain Shai Hope replaced him and quickly ended proceedings with consecutive sixes off Karthik Meiyappan to end on 13 not out from just four balls. Carty was on seven from 19 balls when the match ended in the 36th over.
UAE won the toss and chose to bat and were restricted to 202 all out in 47.1 overs. Ali Naseer scored a useful 58 from 52 balls and Vriitya Aravind, a contrasting 40 from 77 balls. Asif Khan also contributed 27 against the West Indies attack led by Keemo Paul, who took 3-34.
Dominic Drakes took 2-29, Yanic Cariah weighed in with 2-26 and Odean Smith 2-40.
Matt Henry and Ben Green help Somerset keep perfect record
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast South Group record with an 11-run win over Essex at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs.
Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.
In reply, Essex were bowled out for 139, despite a bristling 63 off 43 balls from Michael Pepper, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
Sue Redfern wrote her name into the history books when she became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in a Blast fixture for Gloucestershire’s emphatic seven-wicket victory over Middlesex.
Redfern stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for the home side.
The 21-year-old top scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as Gloucestershire chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second win in three days.
Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.
The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.
Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire Rapids, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire Steelbacks who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.
Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.
Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls) produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.
Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.
Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.
England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire Foxes ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.
Notts Outlaws put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning.
The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.
Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.
The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries.
Instead, the eighth-placed South Group Sussex slumped to a third straight defeat, and a fourth in five games.
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