West Indies Emerging Players celebrate winning the Colonial Super50 Cup.
West Indies Emerging Players captain Yannic Cariah has revealed that self-belief was key to the team unlikely triumph in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 competition on Sunday.
At the start of the tournament, few would have given the unit hastily stitched together by Cricket West Indies a shot to win the it all. In fact, the idea behind the Floyd Reifer-coached unit was to give player that had been rejected by their regional squads a chance to gain valuable experience. On Sunday, a 205 runs thrashing of the Leeward Islands in the final proved they were just as good as anyone else.
After several strong performances, the team’s run in the tournament seemed to be at an end following a crushing defeat to the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force just a week ago, however, another unlikely scenario, a loss for the Guyana Jaguars to the United States, put them squarely back in contention for the top prize.
“I told the guys once we got through the semifinals, we would win the tournament because I know the caliber of players that we have. We have a balanced team and the belief that everyone has is incredible,” Cariah said in a post-match interview.
“I have to thank the coaches, the staff who gave us the support that we needed. Men played with niggles, men played under the weather and we still came out on top, that a fantastic achievement,” he added.
Panel boots Ambrose, McGrath from Ultimate XI final consideration
When the SportsMax Zone and a panel of experts consider the monumental task of picking its four bowlers for SportsMax’s Ultimate XI One-Day International (ODI) team, there will be an omission of monstrous proportions.
The panel will not be considering the impressive ODI career of one of Australia’s greatest pace bowlers, Glenn McGrath.
Yesterday, the panel was asked to shortlist a shortlist of pace bowlers so they could discuss what the final list of bowlers looks like this evening. The results were shocking.
From a list of 12 fast bowlers, only six have remained for consideration by the panel.
The evening began with Dennis Lillee, Shane Bond, Shaun Pollock, Curtly Ambrose, Brett Lee, McGrath, Richard Hadlee, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Chaminda Vaas, Joel Garner, and Michael Holding.
The panel will consider no more, the cases of Lee, Bond, Pollock, Ambrose, McGrath, and Donald.
There wasn’t complete unison in the decision, however, as statistician and sports writer Zaheer Clarke believes McGrath’s figures over the years, in particular, his World Cup figures makes it absurd that he is not to be considered for the final three placings in SportsMax’s Ultimate XI ODI team.
Later this evening on the SportsMax Zone at 4:30 pm Eastern Standard Time and 5:30 pm in the Eastern Caribbean, the panel will discuss which three of Australia’s Lillee, Pakistan’s Akram and Younis, the West Indies’ Garner and Holding, and New Zealand’s Hadlee will take the three fast-bowling spots up for grabs.
At this point, like Clarke, Fanalysts believe the panel to be spewing hogwash with at least two of their decisions.
For the Fanalysts, Wasim Akram, Curtly Ambrose, and Glenn McGrath are the three best ODI pace bowlers the world has ever seen.
Remember, you can vote on what you want your Ultimate XI to look like by going to SportsMax.tv and clicking on the banner or clicking on the link here.
The Fanalyst vote counts for 40% of overall votes, while the panel of experts and the SportsMax Zone have 30% each.
To date, the Zone and panel have picked the same ODI Ultimate XI line-up, with that list looking like Rohit Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar as the openers, AB de Villiers, Viv Richards and Virat Kohli as the middle order batsmen 3-5, Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the wicketkeeper, and Imran Khan as the all-rounder.
The Fanalysts have differed regarding the middle-order and the all-rounder, going for Brian Lara to join de Villiers and Kohli, and Jacques Kallis to do all things cricket.
Cornwall satisfied with COVID preparations for England tour - but spinner could be in high-risk category
Recently recalled West Indies spinner Rahkeem Cornwall insists he is satisfied with precautions taken for the teams upcoming tour in England, in light of concerns related to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The West Indies will travel to England for a three-test series next month, which marks a long-awaited return to international cricket for both teams.
Due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic, however, the match will be played without fans and the players operate within a bio secure environment. The UK was the hardest hit country by the coronavirus, recently surpassing Italy with the highest death toll in Europe. Three players, batsmen Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo and all-rounder Keemo Paul opted out of a 25-man touring party because of coronavirus fears.
“Basically we are going to be quarantined and stay in an environment where you can’t leave. So, it’s basically you and your teammates that would have to communicate for the duration of the tour. So, I am satisfied that the precautions are in place,” Cornwall told the Antigua Observer.
“It’s a good feeling to be selected for the series. We just have to try and be protective in terms of what’s going on, but cricketing-wise, it’s a good feeling knowing that you are going to get some cricket under your belt. You just have to go and do what you have to do. It’s not spinner friendly but you never know what conditions will be like.”
Cornwall could, however, could have added concerns. According to the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), published in the UK last month, data has shown three-quarters of critically ill UK Covid-19 patients were overweight or obese. Weight was rated according to body mass index (BMI) - a BMI of under 25 is considered ‘healthy’ while 25 to 29 is classed as ‘overweight’ and 30 or above, ‘obese’. It is possible the spinner falls into a category associated with a higher risk of being badly impacted by the disease.
Ultimate XI ODI Profile: Richard Hadlee
Sir Richard Hadlee was a bowler of unparalleled skill. He moved the ball both ways, in the air and off the pitch and could hit any crack in a pitch from 17 yards with a consistency that was almost robotic.
Hadlee improved at everything he did. Initially he was not the best at the ODI game, but over time he would improve to the point where Only Joel Garner, Dennis Lillee and Michael Holding could boast better averages than he did.
At the 1983 World Cup, Hadlee’s last, the New Zealand paceman conceded just 2.88 runs per over in 13 matches.
In his first 34 ODIs Hadlee only took 38 wickets at an average of 27.89 and a woeful strike rate of 50.5.
But from January 1982 until the end of his career in 1990, the pacer bowled in 81 matches. Over that period he took 120 wickets at an average of 19.55 and with a strike rate of 35.5.
Full name: Richard John Hadlee
Born: July 3, 1951 (age 68), St Albans, Christchurch, Canterbury
Major teams: New Zealand, Canterbury, Marylebone Cricket Club, New Zealand Invitation XI, Nottinghamshire, Tasmania
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Right-arm fast
Height: 6 ft 1 in
ODI Career: New Zealand (1973-1990)
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10w
115 112 6182 3407 158 5/25 5/25 21.56 3.30 39.1 1 5 0
Career Highlights
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