The Jamaica Tallawahs will contest the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final following a 37-run victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday night.
The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and that seemed to be an excellent decision after they reduced the Tallawahs to 37-2 in the PowerPlay.
However, Shamarh Brooks produced one of the all-time great Hero CPL innings to guide the Tallawahs to a season-high 226-4. His unbeaten 109 came off 52 balls and along with Imad Wasim, the pair plundered 103 runs from the final five overs to take the game away from the Amazon Warriors.
The chase was always going to be hard for the Amazon Warriors, so it proved. Despite losing Mohammad Amir to injury the Tallawahs bowling unit produced a controlled performance that kept the Amazon Warriors in check throughout.
Although Keemo Paul produced a good innings of 54 from 37 balls, no one else was able to stay with him to pull off an unlikely heist.
Earlier, the Amazon Warriors had seemed to be in control of the game when Raymon Reifer was dismissed for 22 to leave the Tallawahs 123-4 with five overs to go. However, Brooks and Wasim launched an unbelievable assault at the back end.
Brooks hit a maiden T20 century whilst Wasim made an unbeaten 41 off 15 balls to secure the Tallawahs a place in the Hero CPL final.
If the Amazon Warriors were to chase the 227 to win, they needed a lightning start in the PowerPlay and they got that by putting up 62 runs. However, they lost three wickets in the process thereby handing the Tallawahs an advantage going forward.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals as the Tallawahs bowlers put the squeeze on the Amazon Warriors. Imad Wasim was the star turn leading the bowling unit with 2-25 in the absence of Amir.
The Tallawahs victory means they will now contest their third Hero CPL final and both themselves and the Barbados Royals will be looking to secure their third Hero CPL title.
Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 226-4 (Brooks 109*, Wasim 41*; Shepherd 2-43, Tahir 1-34) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 189-8 (Paul 56, Hope 31; Wasim 2-25, Green 2-40) by 37 runs
West Indies Women secured a thrilling one-run victory over New Zealand Women in the first T20 International at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The Windies lost the toss and batted first, posting 115-9 off their 20 overs thanks to 49 from Aaliyah Alleyne. Amelia Kerr starred with 3-16 for New Zealand.
Then, despite a fighting 27 not out from Hannah Rowe, New Zealand fell agonizingly short of their target reaching 114-9 off their 20 overs. Chinelle Henry led the way with the ball with 3-26 from her four overs.
Player of the Match Chinelle Henry said, “The coaches told us to go out there and be fearless. We wanted more than 115 but that didn’t happen, so we went out there as a bowling unit to get the job done. Going into the second game, we’re obviously looking to improve in both batting and bowling. To see Aaliyah going out at number three and almost getting her maiden T20I half-century showed that we have a lot of depth in the squad, so it’s just for us to keep up that team performance.”
Both teams meet on the weekend for the 2nd and 3rd T20Is, Saturday October 1 at 10:00am and Sunday October 2 at 1:00pm.
Jamaica Tallawahs captain Ravmon Powell insists the team must continue to target improvement ahead of a crucial match-up against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on Wednesday.
Mohammad Nabi slammed a crucial 31 and then took 3 for 10 as the Tallawahs secured a 33-run win over the St Lucia Kings, despite getting off to a slow start.
On Wednesday, the Tallawahs will look to add to that achievement when they face off against the hosts for a place in the final. The two-time champions have not reached the final in four seasons but Powell believes that could be set to change.
“We are ready, we are expecting a full house but we won’t pay any attention to that,” Powell said after the team’s win on Wednesday.
“We are not focused on that, all the guys need to do is to keep on improving. We need to keep improving batting in the first ten overs and I think if we do that we will be on our way.”
England stand-in captain Moeen Ali described his team's batting performance as "disappointing" after their six-run defeat to Pakistan, who now lead the seven-match T20I series 3-2.
Mark Wood (3-20) removed half of Pakistan's top six as England bowled out the hosts for 145 runs in 19 overs in Lahore, a reasonably low score considering Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 63 off 46 balls.
However, England were unable to chase Pakistan's total down despite Moeen making a half-century off just 35 balls, not aided by finding themselves 31-3 after five overs.
And Moeen was frustrated with his team's display, telling reporters: "Of all the games so far, this was the most disappointing, the way we batted in particular.
"Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't chase those runs. I feel we're a better team than that. You have to see the situation of the game, and the conditions.
"All we needed was one partnership, a 60-70 run partnership would have won the game. We want to play this brand that is attacking but you also have to see the situation of the game and the conditions, things like that."
Moeen also spoke of his admiration of Rizwan while also reserving praise for Pakistan's debutant seamer Aamir Jamal, who bowled superbly in the last over to restrict England to seven runs when 15 would have won them the match.
"He's [Rizwan] a brilliant player, so hard to stop and so busy. He's somebody we can learn a lot off," Moeen added.
"He saw the situation and adapted today. He took the risks when he needed to and played properly when he needed to.
"[Jamal] was on debut, nervous, but he bowled really well.
"Two big hits and you’re done. I got one but unfortunately couldn't manage to get the other one. Sometimes you've just got to give it to him, it was a good last over."
Former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray has questioned the selection of left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.
“His involvement in T20 cricket has been non-existent,” Gray said of Cariah on the Mason & Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Trinidadian made his One-Day International debut for the Windies in the recently concluded series against New Zealand in Barbados last month.
“With Cariah, I think the selectors are assessing him on the couple of games he played against New Zealand but those were 50-over games. Where are you going to bat Cariah? He’s a very intelligent player, hard-working. I had him at the Under-19 level and I had to stop him a few times because he would be the one that would over-train and put too much pressure on himself,” added Gray, who represented the region in five Tests and 25 ODIs from 1985-1991.
Cariah has played four T20 matches in his career, the last coming six years ago.
Regarding Cottrell, Gray pointed to his fitness as his main question mark heading into Australia.
“I don’t think Cottrell has been fit enough in recent times to warrant a place on the West Indies team. When you look at Cottrell in the last 50-over tournament, he was the player of the tournament for the West Indian people. When we look at Cottrell then, he was extremely fit. He was not only brilliant with the ball, but he was also brilliant in the field and took some stunning catches,” Gray said.
“The point I’m trying to make about Cottrell is that if he’s not playing consistently, I’m not sure that he’s going to fare well. We understand that he’s going to be playing on bouncier tracks in Australia and that he has different types of deliveries, but I’ve not seen him enough in recent times to make a determination on his fitness,” he added.
Cottrell has taken 48 wickets in 43 T20 Internationals since his debut in 2014. In the 2022 CPL, he took five wickets in six matches for the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots.
Debutant Aamir Jamal helped Pakistan to a six-run victory over England in an absorbing contest as the hosts opened up a 3-2 lead in the seven-match T20I series.
The hosts were all out for 145 in 19 overs in Lahore, with Mark Wood (3-20) leading the way for England, who fell just short despite Moeen Ali's half-century off 35 balls.
Jamal claimed his maiden international wicket on just the second ball of his career and, under immense pressure, the youngster held his nerve to steer Pakistan to a tense win.
Wood's fierce pace had put England in command as he removed half of Pakistan's top six, with Babar Azam (9), Haider Ali (4) and Asif Ali (5) failing to reach double figures.
Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with 63 from 46 – his fourth half-century this series – but David Willey (2-23) and Sam Curran (2-23) restricted the home side's total.
Chris Woakes, making his first appearance since March, wrapped things up thanks to a swipe from Haris Rauf (8) as England were set a more-than-gettable target of 146.
However, opener Alex Hales went inside five balls for just a single run and fellow opener Phil Salt (3) pulled a short ball straight into the hands of Rauf soon after.
The tourists struggled for momentum, with Harry Brook (4) and Dawid Malan (36) trapped lbw after Ben Duckett (10) spooned Mohammad Wasim's short ball to Shan Masood.
Curran (17) sliced Jamal's second ball to Wasim as England chased boundaries, with Woakes (10) close behind, but Moeen kept his side ticking along.
England required 15 from the final six balls and would have forced a super over had David Willey cleared the boundary off the last ball, but it was not to be as Jamal held his nerve.
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel has announced the 13-member squad for the first and second T20 Internationals (T20Is) against New Zealand Women to be played on Wednesday 28 September and Saturday 1 October at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
Sheneta Grimmond returns to the West Indies Women’s squad since last playing against South Africa Women in September 2021. The right-arm off-spinner comes into the squad to replace all-rounder Stafanie Taylor, who is ruled out of the first two T20I matches after retiring hurt in the third and final CG United ODI on Sunday 25 September. Grimmond had an impressive showing in the 6ixty and Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) with her team, the Trinbago Knight Riders, taking four wickets in the 6ixty and three wickets in the WCPL.
Lead Selector for Women’s Selection Panel, Ann Browne-John said: “In the CG United ODI series, there were some very promising performances. The victory in the final match showed a lot of grit and determination. Aaliyah Alleyne, who was included for the final match, shone both with bat and ball.”
Browne-John added: “The Panel is now able to build on this as we continue to develop players. This five match series forms part of the team’s preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Unfortunately, Stafanie Taylor has been ruled out of these two matches after being injured while batting in the third CG United ODI. This squad for the 1st and 2nd T20I sees the return of off-spinner Sheneta Grimmond who had a good WCPL performance, and we believe her off-spin will provide added support to the other off-spinners, Hayley Matthews and Karishma Ramharack.”
This five-match series serves as vital preparation for both teams in the leadup to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa from 9 to 26 February 2023.
West Indies squad for 1st and 2nd T20Is
The Jamaica Tallawahs will head to Qualifier 2 of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) following a comprehensive defeat of the Saint Lucia Kings in the Eliminator on Tuesday.
The Saint Lucia Kings won the toss and opted to field first, and they took full advantage of that decision with a disciplined bowling display.
The Tallawahs were never made to feel comfortable and but for some late order hitting from Mohammed Nabi they would have struggled to post a defendable total.
However, their 148 proved more than enough as the Tallawahs produced a fantastic display in the field.
Nabi followed up his fireworks with the bat with some exceptionally parsimonious bowling to lead the Tallawahs to victory.
Earlier, the Kings had restricted the Tallawahs to a paltry 29-2 in the PowerPlay as Matthew Forde and Alzarri Joseph bowled exceptional lengths.
The Kings continued to take wickets at regular intervals and when Kesrick Williams removed Chris Green for two the Tallawahs found themselves 115-/8. However, Nabi lead the counterattack following that dismissal and finished on 31 off 15 balls to ensure the Tallawahs had something to bowl at.
In reply, the Kings got off to a good start reaching 54-2 at the end of the PowerPlay but when Du Plessis was dismissed for 41 in the eighth over the Kings found themselves in a hole from which they couldn’t recover.
The Tallawahs bowling unit all played their part as the Kings folded for 115 and exited the competition.
The Tallawahs' victory now means that they will battle the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the second qualifier on Wednesday night to determine who will contest the Hero CPL final against the Barbados Royals.
Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 148-8 (Brooks 47, Nabi 31*; Wiese 3-19, Joseph 2-31) beat Saint Lucia Kings 115 (Du Plessis 41, Joseph 28*; Nabi 3-10, Allen 3-28) by 33 runs.
The Barbados Royals sealed a place in Friday's 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) final with a comprehensive 87 run win over Guyana Amazon Warriors at Providence Stadium, Guyana.
Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to field, but Barbados Royals would go on to score the joint-highest total of this season by reaching an imposing 195/5. Opener Rahkeem Cornwall starred in the innings, launching 11 sixes in his innings of 91, while Azam Khan supported with his own half-century.
The Warriors' hopes of a successful chase were derailed in the powerplay, as they lost four wickets, with Kyle Mayers and Ramon Simmonds proving effective with the ball. Despite the attempts of Shimron Hetmyer, it was not to be enough as the Warriors fell to 108 all out.
Barbados Royals had initially got off to a cautious start, but Cornwall would go on to play one of the most destructive innings seen this season, 91 runs from just 54 balls, to put the Royals into the ascendancy. After losing his wicket just nine runs short of a century to the bowling of Shakib Al Hasan, the responsibility of the innings fell on Khan, whose vital half-century would help his side to 195/5 by the end of the innings.
Guyana Amazon Warriors lost early wickets in their chase, in-form batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz departing in the first over, before a flurry of wickets fell that left the Warriors on 36-4 by the end of the powerplay. Simmonds excelled with his bowling, taking three key wickets, including that of captain Hetmyer, who was the Warriors highest scorer in the innings. In the end, the Warriors finished on 108 all out and will play in tomorrow night’s qualifier.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has risen to number one on the ICC’s latest women’s All-rounder rankings in One-Day Internationals.
The Barbadian most recently led the Windies in a home ODI series against New Zealand which they lost 2-1.
Matthews scored 88 runs in the three games, the most for West Indies, and also picked up five wickets, which took her to the No. 1 position on the allrounders' table, a jump of three positions past Australia’s Ellyse Perry, England’s Nat Sciver and South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp.
The 24-year-old Matthews has so far played 72 ODIs since her debut in 2014, scoring 1852 runs at an average of 27.23 with three hundreds and six fifties. She also has 83 wickets at an average of 24.27 with three four-wicket hauls.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) today named three “Rising Stars Team of the Tournament” from the recent Rising Stars Under-19, Under-17 and Under-15 Championships. The Leeward Islands won the Rising Stars Under-19 Championship presented by Winlott which was played in St Vincent. The Windward Islands won the Rising Stars Under-17 Championship held in Trinidad and Barbados captured the Rising Stars Under-15 Championship which was hosted by the Grenada Cricket Board.
Six players feature on both the Under-17 and Under-19 teams of the tournament. These are left-handed allrounder Nathan Edwards who led the Leewards to the Rising Stars Under-19 Championship title; openers Rampertab Ramnath and Stephan Pascal; as well as batters Jordan Johnson; Joshua Dorne, and Mavendra Dindyal.
Jordan and Edward were members of the West Indies Rising Stars U-19 team which played in the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, hosted in the Caribbean by CWI earlier this year. Other members of that West Indies World Cup squad: batter Ackeem Auguste; allrounder Johann Layne; wicket-keeper Carlon Bowen-Tuckett; fast bowler Isai Thorne and off-spinner Onaje Amory were also named in the Rising Stars Under-19 Championship team of the tournament.
Vice President of CWI, Dr Kishore Shallow, congratulated the players on their selection and also spoke of the importance of investment in the Rising Stars championships as part of CWI’s Future Stars cricket development programme across the region.
“On behalf of CWI, I want to congratulate all the players who have been named in the three Rising Stars Teams of the Tournament," Dr Shallow said.
"This is a project we have implemented to add an additional incentive to the players’ pursuit of excellence and to help grow their self-confidence. It rewards the leading performers who have emerged from what were three high-quality tournaments.
“At CWI, we have strengthened the development of young players, and we have increased investment in related programs. This year we welcomed the return of age-group red-ball and white-ball tournaments as part of our very busy Summer of Cricket.”
The Rising Stars age group Championships play a crucial role in the growth and development of the next generation of West Indian cricketers. The Championships are a key component in the system for identifying the West Indies U19 Men’s and Women’s teams. This provides the best opportunity to thrive and develop further with the goal of feeding into the West Indies Senior Men’s and Women’s teams.
Rising Stars Teams of the Tournament:
Rising Stars Under-15: Darrius Batoosingh, Navin Boodwah, Shem Sargeant, Kemar Dixon, Brendan Boodoo, Matthew Miller, Pajay Nelson, Akobi Crichlow-Byer, Arif Khan, R’Jai Gittens, Arun Gainda; 12th man: Jorden Charles
Rising Stars Under-17: Stephan Pascal, Rampertab Ramnath, Jordan Johnson, Joshua Dorne, Orlando James, Nathan Sealy, Divonie Joseph, Micah McKenzie, Nathan Edward, Solomon Bascombe, Jatario Prescod; 12th man: Mavendra Dindyal
Rising Stars Under-19: Stephan Pascal, Rampertab Ramnath, Jordan Johnson, Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Dorne, Tarrique Edward, Nathan Edward, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, Onaje Amory, Johann Layne, Isai Thorne; 12th man: Mavendra Dindyal
-ENDS-
Captain of the Jamaica Tallawahs said his team are rested and ready to go for the playoffs of the 2022 Hero CPL season.
St. Lucia Kings captain Faf Du Plessis hopes his team’s good form with the bat will carry over into their Eliminator against the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League in Guyana on Tuesday.
The Kings finished third in the league phase of the tournament with nine points from their 10 matches.
Their batting was led by their prolific opening combination of Du Plessis and Johnson Charles.
Charles, who was recently recalled to the West Indies squad for the T20 World Cup, finished the league phase as the leading run scorer with 342 runs from eight matches including four half centuries.
Du Plessis finished fourth on the runs chart with 291 runs in nine matches including three fifties and a magnificent 103 against the Guyana Amazon Warriors
“I think any batting team would say to you that form plays a big role. As a team I feel like, with myself and Johnson Charles up front, there’s some really good form in there. Some of the other guys are looking like they’re hitting the ball better as well so that’s a pleasing sign,” Du Plessis said.
“When guys are in form you want to cash in on that. Our start has basically been a weapon for us so, hopefully, we can get off to a good start again.”
Du Plessis also commented on the conditions of the Guyana pitch, saying “I’m really impressed with how the wicket has been playing. Based on my experience from the past here, it looks like a pretty good cricket wicket so it sets up nicely for what would be quarterfinals and semi-finals in the next two days.”
The Kings and Tallawahs will square off at 6:00pm Jamaica Time (7:00pm ECT) and the winner will advance to Qualifier 2 on Wednesday against the loser of Qualifier 1 between the Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors.
Barbados Royals captain Kyle Mayers and his Guyana Amazon Warriors counterpart Shimron Hetmyer both expressed confidence in their respective teams ahead of their clash in Qualifier 1 of the Caribbean Premier League in Guyana on Tuesday.
The Royals and Amazon Warriors finished first and second in the recently concluded league phase and will clash at Providence with the winner booking their spot in the final and the loser getting another chance in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday against the winner of the Eliminator between the St. Lucia Kings and the Jamaica Tallawahs.
The Royals have been in fine form, winning eight out of their ten matches in the league phase.
“Things have been great. Winning eight games out of ten, I think the boys have been playing some good cricket. We’re studying the game, very high-spirited and ready to go for tomorrow,” said Mayers in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
On the other hand, the Amazon Warriors had an abysmal start, winning just one of their first six matches before reeling off four straight wins after returning to Guyana.
“So far it’s been okay. The start wasn’t what we expected as a team but when we got back to Guyana, the guys spirits were much higher than I expected and they were ready to go, especially with the crowds. With the crowds here and knowing the conditions as much as we do, I think the guys are really up for the challenge. It’s just for us to continue,” Hetmyer said.
The Royals have lifted the CPL trophy on two occasions in 2014 and 2019 while the Amazon Warriors have never won it despite reaching five finals, something Hetmyer says is not on his team’s mind heading into the playoffs.
“Mentally, the guys are good. We can’t really think about what happened in the past because a lot of these guys were not here when we made it to the knockout rounds before. We just have to keep taking it one game at a time and focus as hard as we can on the game to come.”
The match will start at 9:00am Jamaican Time (10:00am ECT).
Barbadian All-rounder Jason Holder has warned his West Indian teammates against complacency in the qualifying round for the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to commence October 15 in Australia.
The Windies, who won the tournament in 2012 and 2016, will face Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland in Group B with the top two teams advancing to the Super 12.
"We've got a task to uphold in terms of qualifying for the main round," Holder said.
"More or less, we have to focus on the qualifier. Ireland, Scotland and Zimbabwe by no means are pushovers. We've got to take it as seriously as we possibly can and just make sure we get into the next phase of the tournament."
Holder, entering his third T20 World Cup believes there are positives to playing in the qualifiers for the regional side.
"I think it's good in a way that we're playing the qualifiers," he said.
"West Indies teams of the past have proved that we get better as we go along. To have the warm-up phase of the tournament and then to go into the actual group stage after qualification, I think it's going to be to our betterment in the sense we get more cricket. The talent we have got - depth in terms of resources and batting and bowling - we've always been pretty athletic in the field, so I'm looking forward to that challenge."
The team will be looking to rebound from an abysmal 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE where they got just one win in five matches, failing to advance from the Super 12.
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