The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel on Wednesday named a 14-member squad for the first and second matches in the CG United One Day International (ODI) series against England Women starting on 4 December at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
West Indies and England will contest three day/night CG United ODIs starting at 2pm local time/1pm Jamaica time. All three CG United ODIs in the series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua on 4, 6 and 9 December as part of the ICC Women's Championship.
Lead Selector Ann Browne-John said: “The return of Shemaine Campbelle and Kycia Knight to the ODI squad after missing the last series due to injury will bolster the team in the absence of the experienced Stafanie Taylor who is still recuperating from injury sustained during September’s series against New Zealand. The CG United ODI matches are vital as points earned will take us a step closer towards automatic qualification for the next ICC Women’s World Cup in 2025.”
She added: “This series against England comes on the heels of the New Zealand tour to the West Indies and continues our important preparation for the upcoming Tri Series against India and South Africa and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup to follow. It gives the players a great opportunity to develop and push for final selection for the Tri Series and World Cup.”
The CG United ODI Series is the second opportunity for the West Indies to gain points in the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC). The top five teams in the IWC will automatically book a berth for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in 2025. The remaining five teams in the IWC will have to go through the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The T20I Series which follows provides both teams with important preparation for the 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa which begins on 10 February 2023, with West Indies and England drawn to play each other in Group 2 of the tournament.
Tickets are available in advance for the first two CG United ODIs and the first T20I in Antigua from the Windies Tickets service, presented by Mastercard - tickets.windiestickets.com. Tickets are just US$9/EC$25. The third CG United ODI in Antigua will be free for local and visiting fans as it falls on V.C. Bird Day, a national holiday in Antigua and is being supported by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. Fans who purchase tickets will receive their tickets securely into their online Windies Tickets account to save to their mobile device or print out for presentation at the stadium, avoiding the need to queue at or travel to the stadium ticket offices. Ticket offices at each venue will be open on the day of each match.
All matches will be available to view in the West Indies live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel as well as on the ESPN Play app. Fans in the UK will be able to view on BT Sport with fans based in the USA able to watch live on ESPN+.
FULL SQUAD
(1st and 2nd CG United ODIs)
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook all made centuries as an electric and record-hungry England piled on the runs on day one of the first Test against Pakistan.
A virus in the tourist camp threatened to delay England's first five-day game on Pakistan soil since 2005 but by stumps it was Pakistan who were feeling sick at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as the visitors closed on 506-4.
Having reached 174-0 by lunch, the most runs scored in the first session of a Test, Crawley reached three figures early after the restart having overturned an lbw decision on review a few balls earlier.
His hundred came off just 86 balls, the fastest for an England opener, while Duckett – who returned at the top of the order for his first Test in six years – seized his opportunity to also reach three figures.
A missed sweep off Zahid Mahmood (2-160) sent Duckett (107) packing lbw and Crawley (122) soon became debutant Haris Rauf's (1-78) first Test victim.
Joe Root (23) fell cheaply after a swift half-century stand with Pope but that was Pakistan's only real spell on top as the latter piled on the runs with Brook.
Together, they made put on 176 for the fourth wicket as Pope (108) celebrated a third Test century prior to falling leg-before for Mohammad Ali's (1-96) maiden Test scalp.
Brook (101no) went on to make his first Test ton as England became the first team to make 500 runs on day one of a Test in what was a glorious display of what has become dubbed 'Bazball'.
CRAWLEY AND DUCKETT SET THE TONE
Crawley and Duckett were the perfect foil on admittedly ideal conditions for scoring, the former driving to the covers at will, while the latter swept with impeccable timing.
England have had well-documented issues at the top of the order and Duckett, playing in just his fifth Test, laid down a big marker on his return to the team.
POPE AND BROOK GO FOR THE JUGULAR
There was a very fleeting spell from Pakistan in the second session but all in all it was a day of toil for the hosts' bowling unit.
Pope was fluent throughout and Brook, who looks a star in the making, was rapid with his knock including six fours from as many balls off Saud Shakeel in the 68th over.
Brook had two maximums and 14 fours. He will return to the crease with captain Ben Stokes (34no) on Friday.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith made double centuries as Australia piled on the runs against West Indies at Perth Stadium, achieving a feat last witnessed over a decade ago.
Not since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke plundered double tons against India in January 2012 had any pair of batters made 200-plus scores in the same innings of a Test match.
This first Test saw Australia follow up their opening-day dominance with more commanding batting to reach 598-4 on Thursday, before West Indies rallied to reach 74-0 at stumps, with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul closing in on a half-century.
Labuschagne had been 154no overnight, and Smith was with him on 59, and they went on to post 204 and 200no respectively, sharing in a third-wicket stand of 251 runs. It was a second Test double century for Labuschagne, and a fourth for Smith.
Australia declared when Travis Head was dismissed on 99, edging the 95th ball of his innings into his stumps to give West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite a second wicket, ending a 196-run alliance with Smith.
In reply, Chanderpaul, son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, powered to 47no as Brathwaite battled to 18no, offering hope the tourists may be able to show sufficient defiance to still take something from this match, the first of two in the series.
Smith joins Bradman
Smith's century, which became a double, was his 29th ton in Tests, moving him level with the great Don Bradman on the all-time list. He and Bradman share fourth place among Australia century-makers, behind Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).
Chanderpaul a chip off the old block
Facing the full assault of Australia's pace attack, Chanderpaul did not always look comfortable against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but he found a way to survive to the close.
Dad Shivnarine made 11,867 Test runs for West Indies, so Tagenarine is just 11,820 behind now. More relevantly, perhaps, Shivnarine made 62 in his first Test innings, against England in Georgetown in 1994. After this strong start, West Indies will hope his son can go significantly past that score on Friday.
Ben Stokes remained non-committal on his England future in ODI cricket but refused to rule out a possible return for the Cricket World Cup in 2023.
The 31-year-old called time on his 50-over international career in July as he cited an "unsustainable" workload alongside his Test captaincy commitments and T20 interests.
Stokes subsequently guided England to their second T20 World Cup title with a vital 52 not out to help Matthew Mott's side to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the November 13 final.
The star all-rounder will turn his attention to the first Test against Pakistan, which will start on either Thursday or Friday depending on England's fitness after a viral outbreak in the tourist's camp.
But Stokes, speaking on Wednesday, left the door open for a potential return to 50-over cricket – the format in which he powered England to Cricket World Cup glory in 2019.
"[Rob Key] pulled me to the side and as soon as he said '50-over World Cup' I just walked away," the England Test captain said.
"Who knows? At the moment, being out here, my focus is solely on this series.
"Going to a World Cup is an amazing thing to do, to represent your country. But at the moment I'm not even thinking about that."
Next year's schedule leaves the opportunity for Stokes to reverse his retirement decision, given a large portion of England's contests are loaded into the front half of 2023.
A two-Test tour of New Zealand in February follows after three red-ball outings against Pakistan before the start of the Indian Premier League, which Stokes has put himself forward for in the draft.
England then face Ireland in a four-day Test as a warm-up for The Ashes at home against Australia, which will be finished by the end of July, with four T20Is to follow against New Zealand.
Should Stokes have a change of heart on his decision, six ODIs split between the Black Caps and Ireland across September would serve as a perfect warm-up for October's Cricket World Cup in India.
Captain Nicholas Pooran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore combined to lead the Deccan Gladiators to a 10-wicket win over the Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The Tigers posted a respectable 108-7 from their 10 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Pakistani all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed starred with a 21-ball 54 including three fours and five sixes against his countryman Mohammad Hasnain’s 2-12 from two overs and David Wiese’s 2-15, also from two overs.
Pooran ‘s Gladiators then absolutely sprinted to their target thanks to an unbeaten 109-run opening stand between himself and Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
The pair needed just 6.1 overs to reach their target as Pooran hammered an even 50, his third half-century so far, off just 16 balls including seven sixes. Kohler-Cadmore had the same score off 21 balls and hit five fours and four sixes.
The Gladiators now lead the eight-team table with eight points from six games.
Marnus Labuschagne struck an unbeaten 154 to help Australia reach 293-2 on day one of their first Test with West Indies on Wednesday.
West Indies struggled to find answers at Optus Stadium in Perth, taking only the wickets of openers David Warner (5) and Usman Khawaja (65).
Australia, who have lost just one of their past eight Test series, were in trouble early on as Warner's lean streak in the longest format continued when he chopped on from Jayden Seales' wide delivery.
The home side were 9-1 when Labuschagne arrived at the crease, but he and Khawaja set about advancing their side to 72-1 by lunch and then kicked on.
Kyle Mayers gave West Indies a much-needed breakthrough when delivering a perfect ball that caught the edge of Khawaja's bat and was gathered by Joshua Da Silva.
The Khawaja-Labuschagne partnership may have ended at 142 runs, but the latter was not finished there as he struck 16 fours and a six en route to another huge score.
Steve Smith also chipped in with an unbeaten 59 while producing a 142-run stand of his own with Labuschagne, which they will look to build on when play resumes on Thursday.
Magical Marnus
Australia are undefeated in their past 11 Test series against West Indies, winning 10 of those and each of the past eight, and they already look great value to extend that streak.
Labuschagne was undoubtedly the star of the day with his eighth Test ton and he will now look to build on his unbeaten 154, which is the fourth-highest tally of his career.
Weak Warner
West Indies have won their past two Test series and they started well in Perth when sending Warner packing in the fourth over.
That was the Australia opener's fourth successive single figure dismissal in a home Test innings, and he will be grateful that Labuschagne in particular was able to bail him out.
Pakistan are in discussions with England over postponing the opening Test between the pair following illness in the tourists' camp.
The two are set to meet in their first red-ball match in Pakistan since 2005 this week, beginning a three-match series in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
But an infection has swept through England's party, disrupting their preparations, with only a handful of the squad training on Wednesday.
Now, the Pakistan Cricket Board is in dialogue with the England and Wales Cricket Board over delaying the fixture.
"The PCB and ECB are in discussions regarding the commencement of the first Test as some England players are down with [a] viral infection," said the PCB.
"The PCB continues to monitor the situation, is in contact with the ECB and will provide further updates in due course."
England batsman Joe Root, one of a handful of players who trained on Wednesday, suggested a postponement was the right decision to make, stating the tourists did not wish to shortchange the occasion.
"It's such a monumental tour and important series for so many reasons," he told BBC Sport. "We've waited 17 years to come to Pakistan to play a Test match.
"If it means waiting another day, is that the worst thing in the world? We're all desperate to play this game, and we know how important it is to the fans of Pakistan and their team as well."
Root was succeeded by Ben Stokes as captain earlier this year and ruled out leading the side if the latter was indisposed, suggesting Ollie Pope should instead deputise.
"I don't think that's going to be the case," he added when asked if he would skipper England. "Last week Popey did a great job in the warm-up game. I think that might be a better way for the group moving forward."
New Zealand won their ODI series against India after the sides' third and final match saw no result as rain stopped play once more in Christchurch.
The two teams had been hopeful of ensuring the decider would produce an outcome, with the tourists 219 all out at Hagley Oval as Washington Sundar posted 51 and Daryl Mitchell took 3-25.
But with just two more overs needed for the Black Caps to reach the DLS threshold of 20 overs in response, the heavens opened to ensure yet another washout and a 1-0 series win for Kane Williamson's side.
Finn Allen's 57 had helped New Zealand to 104-1, putting them in a strong position to go on and win the match regardless.
Across six limited-overs matches, it marks the fourth instance of rain significantly impacting proceedings, with three no results and a fourth decided by DLS.
India had benefited in the Twenty20 International series, themselves winning 1-0.
Babar Azam has put his success as Pakistan captain down to his attempts to replicate South Africa great AB de Villiers.
Azam will lead Pakistan in a three-match Test series against England, starting this week in Rawalpindi. It is the tourists' first red-ball match in the country since 2005.
The form of the skipper will be key to Pakistan's hopes of marking the occasion with a victory following another impressive year with the bat.
Azam is averaging 73.44 in Tests in 2022 after two centuries and four fifties in nine innings, and ahead of facing England, he revealed his inspiration in an interview with Sky Sports.
"To be honest, my role model is AB de Villiers because I love him and the way he is playing and the way he is playing all the shots," Azam said.
"When I see him on the TV, the next day I am trying every shot in the nets. I try to copy De Villiers and try to look and play like De Villiers because my ideal is everything he is."
De Villiers, who retired from all forms of international cricket in 2018, had a Test batting average of 50.66 and scored 22 hundreds in the longest format.
Meanwhile, Babar is relishing the chance to take on England on home soil, adding: "We are looking forward to a historic series, and first of all, welcome to the England team.
"I know a few of the boys already in T20 format and a few new faces, so I think they will enjoy it a lot. We are looking forward to the series and everyone is ready."
West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes maintaining discipline will be crucial for the unit if they are to pose any type of challenge to Australia in the upcoming series.
Despite a relatively solid year in the red ball format, the Windies will start as massive underdogs against the top-ranked Australians on Sunday. In addition to the fact that West Indies has not secured a win against Australia at home since 1993 the team has won just games in the last 8 Test series.
Having managed solid wins against England and Bangladesh in their last two series, however, Brathwaite will be hoping to spring a surprise. For that, keeping focus will be crucial.
“We have 10 days of hard Test cricket to play. We know Australia are a very, very good team, especially at home. So, the main thing for us is to focus on our discipline,” Brathwaite of the media on Tuesday.
“When we are batting, we want to bat 100 overs plus, when we are bowling, we are looking to get 20 wickets. So that obviously is to help the team win a game. We know Australia is a superior team. We have to play 10 days of hard cricket that’s the focus.”
The West Indies will play Australia in two Test matches. The first will bowl off in Perth on December 4th, followed by a trip to Adelaide from December 7th-12th.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes Tagenarine Chanderpaul can make an immediate impact on his Test debut against Australia in Perth.
The 26-year-old son of Windies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul will make his bow in the five-day game on Wednesday, and Brathwaite suggests he could soon be setting the standards.
Chanderpaul made a century and a fifty against a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra as West Indies prepared for this series, leaving no doubt he will open the innings as the two-Test series begins.
"I think it was great to see. He'll do extremely well at this higher level," Brathwaite said. "He has a lot of patience, he has good defence, and in Test cricket that's the basics you want, and from there you can always branch off and play a few shots.
"He was an example for us in the first game, and if we take a leaf out of his book for this series I think we'll be in good stead as batsmen.
"I didn't open with [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul, but I played with him. Obviously he was a great, so it's not shocking he had a son that's playing. I think 'Tage' will do a fantastic job and let's hope he could even do greater things, like his father would have done."
Australia's men have not lost any of their last 11 Test series against West Indies (W10, D1) and have won their last eight in succession, last suffering a defeat in the format in 1993 against the Caribbean opposition.
Brathwaite appreciates the scale of the challenge this time, saying: "We know Australia is a superior team. We've got to play 10 days of hard cricket, that is the main focus."
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has taken a standout 14 wickets at an average of 15.5 at Perth Stadium in Tests against India and New Zealand, and now he gets a third outing at the venue.
Lyon told cricket.com.au: "I'm pretty excited to be honest. There's something about the ground. I used to enjoy bowling at the WACA as well, where you're able to use the breeze to your advantage and get some drift. Drift and bounce are the big things over here, and they are my biggest weapons."
Recent form provides hope for Windies
While Australia have dominated this rivalry of late, the current year has been a strong one for West Indies in Tests, with the team winning series against England and Bangladesh without losing a match.
The successive series wins followed a run that saw them win only one of their eight series prior (D2, L5), and West Indies have not won three in succession since a run of success from August 2012 to March 2013.
Cummins closing in
Home captain Pat Cummins (199) is one away from becoming the 19th player to take 200 wickets for Australia in men's Tests. This will be his 44th Test, and if he takes that wicket in Perth it will mean Cummins becomes the fifth-fastest player to reach 200 for Australia (Clarrie Grimmett – 36 matches, Dennis Lillee – 38, Stuart MacGill – 41, Shane Warne – 42).
Carlos Brathwaite produced another fine all-round effort to help the Chennai Braves get a six-wicket win over the Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in the UAE on Tuesday.
The former West Indies T20 captain took 1-25 from his two overs with the ball to help restrict the Gladiators to 108-3 from their 10 overs after the Braves won the toss and bowled first. Englishmen Jason Roy (57) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (40) top-scored for the Gladiators.
With the bat, Brathwaite hammered 27 from just seven balls, including four sixes from an Andre Russell over, to help propel the Braves to 109-4 from 9.3 overs.
Dan Lawrence (40) top-scored as the Braves got their second win of the season.
Cricket fans in Victoria were treated to the full Chris Gayle experience at a T20 exhibition between Endeavour Hills and Queensland team Western Districts at Shepley Oval in Dandenong on Sunday.
Gayle was one of several headliners to line up for Endeavour Hills with former Pakistan international Shoaib Malik and ex-Sri Lankan star Tillakaratne Dilshan.
The West Indies legend rolled back the years, batting the entire 20 overs on his way to an unbeaten 95 runs from 65 balls, with eight sixes to guide Endeavour Hills to a total of 4-167.
It was a continuation from the night before, as Gayle revealed he was out on the town in Melbourne on Saturday night with Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt.
However, the festivities will be short-lived as the 43-year-old revealed he will only be in Australia for two games.
“It’s good to be here,” he told Australian newspaper The Age.
“I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I’m just here for two games and then that’s it.”
Gayle and some of his teammates’ involvement in the T20 exhibitions for Endeavour Hills has been shrouded in controversy after Victorian Police announced they charged a 35-year-old with 18 alleged theft and deception offences in relation to $250,000 stolen from a company with ties to the event.
Steve Waugh has backed Australia to enjoy a winning run in the final months of the year as they build up confidence ahead of the Ashes, where he is fearful of a returning Jofra Archer.
Three consecutive victories in ODIs against England have put Australia in a better spot heading into a series of Tests against the West Indies and South Africa either side of the new year.
The Ashes then follows in June, with the World Cup in India to close out the year, and former Australia captain Waugh is confident about his side's chances.
"We've got a good cricket side, there's no doubt about that. We got a really good bowling attack, so they're capable of winning matches," he told Stats Perform.
"I think we'll beat West Indies pretty convincingly. Then we've got three Tests against South Africa, an emerging test side with a really good bowling attack. But I think they're batting is not quite up to standard.
"I think Australia will win most Test matches. But then they've got some hard Test matches coming up overseas. It's a long difficult period. It's 12 months of non-stop cricket for Australia."
Waugh highlighted the importance in getting wins on the board now to build up momentum for the Ashes, where Australia are looking to retain the urn.
"The Ashes is a big tournament for Australian cricket that's coming up in about less than 12 months now. We're looking towards that," he added.
"But in the meantime, they've West Indies and South Africa. I think will win those series, then we've got India away, which is really hard, and then the Ashes.
"The Ashes is hard to win. It's a tough assignment, but the guys are capable of winning.
"It's a long way off, and it might come down to which sides have fewer injuries to key players. If England have Jofra Archer playing, they're going to have a chance of winning."
Waugh also sprung to the defence of captain Pat Cummins, who has been outspoken on climate change and has come under the spotlight for his stance.
"He's realising that captaincy can be a difficult assignment. One minute people love you, the next minute they don't like you and your opinions matter," he explained.
"He's bought into the climate change issues and sponsorship. And yes, there's a few issues that have been around the side. I guess he's realised that maybe he's got more power than he thought he has.
"Whatever he says carries a lot of weight. And sometimes you've gotta be pretty careful what you say. But I think he's done a very good job as a captain on the field.
"He's learning as he goes along, which is only natural. He's pretty young for a captain."
Steve Waugh is an ambassador for the Laureus Challenge 2022, presented by Sierra Space.
Nicholas Pooran’s purple patch with the bat continued on Sunday as the Deccan Gladiators notched a close 18-run win over Delhi Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10.
Pooran, who came into the match with scores of 77 and 80, scored 34 from just 17 balls as Gladiators posted 140-2 from their 10 overs.
After losing Jason Roy for four in the first over, Pooran hit three fours and two sixes as he and opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore added 122 for the second wicket. Pooran was eventually dismissed in the ninth over by Waquas Maqsood, who took 1-21.
Meanwhile, Kohler-Cadmore blasted his way to an unbeaten 82 with eight fours and six sixes.
He and Andre Russell put on 12 in the final eight balls with the Jamaican scoring 10 that included a six over extra cover off Shimraz Ahmed, who conceded 11 in the over.
Imad Wasim had figures of 1-17.
Delhi Bulls made a good fist of it to score 122-4 from their 10 overs.
They owed their solid effort to a 24-ball 48 from Tim David and Rilee Rossouw, who scored 28 from 15. However, needing to score 14 an over proved too much for Delhi Bulls despite a gallant 14 not out from eight balls from Keemo Paul at the end.
David and Rossouw put on 79 for the third wicket after Tom Banton (12) and Rahkeem Cornwall (2) were back in the hutch in the third over with 26 runs on the board.
Russell got rid of the dangerous David in the ninth over effectively swinging the pendulum in Gladiators’ favour for the remaining 10 balls from which the Delhi Bulls could only muster 17 runs.
Russell’s two overs cost 26 runs but Josh Little proved much more effective with the wickets of Cornwall and Rossouw to return figures of 2-11.
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