The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named 30 players for an estimated month-long West Indies Women’s high-performance camp to be held in Antigua starting on May 2.
This will be the second such month-long camp in 2021 assembled under the guidance of Head Coach Courtney Walsh and his support team.
With the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers now rescheduled for December, Coach Walsh has devised a programme to maximize team preparations ahead of international cricket and the qualifiers later in the year.
“The purpose of this camp is to work on consistency and game awareness. The last camp was more observational, and we got a pretty good idea of where the ladies are at. There are 30 players coming in and a few of them are coming in nursing injuries, so the coaching staff and medical team are ready to work with all of them,” he said.
“We are going to use this camp to see as much of the players as possible. I am most excited to see the younger ones coming into the camp because we’re trying to build the pool of players available. So, I think it’ll be a great opportunity for these youngsters and the other new players to grasp the chance before them.”
Among the 30 players called up for the camp are eight (8) uncapped players including teenagers Zaida James from St. Lucia and Jannillea Glasgow from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. James is a left-arm medium-pacer while Glasgow is a right-arm medium pacer.
The other uncapped players are Rashada Williams, Caneisha Isaac, Shanika Bruce, Mandy Mangru and Rachel Vincent. Making a return to the camp is left-handed wicket-keeper/batter Kycia Knight.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s cricket, Ann Browne-John was excited by the bigger pool of players for this camp.
“It is very important to have the West Indies players back in a training camp as the coaches can continue to help them hone their skills as we prepare for our next series. Most of the top international teams have now restarted playing and it is critical for the WI team to prepare as we anticipate more international cricket coming up this summer,” she said while indicating that the camp will also focus on specific areas for development.
“In an effort to continue to unearth talent, eight players have been included who were not in the January camp. It serves as an opportunity for the coaches and selectors to look at some of the young up and coming players. Due to the pandemic, a regional tournament has not been held yet, so the players haven’t had the opportunity to impress the selectors in competitive matches.
“Heavy emphasis has been placed on batters including first-timers Rachel Vincent, an opening batter from Trinidad and Tobago, and Mandy Mangru, a young player from Guyana who has been impressive in the Under-19 tournament. The camp also includes two young teenage medium pacers, Zaida James and Jannillea Glasgow.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Sport in Antigua & Barbuda to orchestrate logistics and agree on the safety protocols for the camp after the successful hosting of the first Women’s high-performance camp, the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and the West Indies Men’s International Home Series against Sri Lanka. All players and support staff were tested with negative COVID-19 results before their arrival in Antigua. The players and support staff will train and live in a bio-secure bubble for the duration of the camp.
Full squad: Aaliyah Alleyne, Reniece Boyce, Shanika Bruce, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Jannillea Glasgow, Sheneta Grimmond, Shawnisha Hector, Chinelle Henry, Caneisha Isaac, Zaida James, Japhina Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Anisa Mohammed, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Steffi Soogrim, Stafanie Taylor, Rachel Vincent and Rashada Williams.
The team-management unit comprises Courtney Walsh - Head Coach; Sheena Gooding - Team Manager; Ryan Austin - Assistant Coach; Corey Collymore - Assistant Coach; Steve Liburd - Assistant Coach; Samantha Lynch - Assistant Coach; Robert Samuels - Assistant Coach; Neil Barry – Physiotherapist; Shayne Cooper - Strength & Conditioning
Sunil Narine won't play for West Indies' T20 World Cup squad, confirms watching from home
Trinidad and Tobago’s Sunil Narine has made it clear that he will not be part of the West Indies squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean this June. Narine, who has not represented the West Indies since 2019, reiterated his decision after the Kolkata Knight Riders' emphatic victory over the Lucknow Super Giants at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Former West Indies cricketer turned commentator Samuel Badree asked Narine about his World Cup plans during a post-match interview, to which Narine responded, "I will be watching from home, Badree."
The 35-year-old Narine's absence from the West Indies setup has been notable since 2019, despite invitations to return to the team. Windies white-ball coach Darren Sammy recently indicated that the squad selection process for the World Cup was nearing completion, highlighting the exposure of over 22 players in preparation for the tournament.
“We’ve selected squads and exposed about 22 players over the last year in preparation for this main event that is coming," Sammy explained during a press briefing. "It’s based on the measures that we’ve taken and the strategic roles we have given players.”
While Narine has been a key player for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL since 2012, contributing significantly to the franchise's two title victories in 2012 and 2014, his focus remains on franchise cricket rather than international duties. He has played 51 T20 Internationals for the West Indies, showcasing his talent with 52 wickets at an economy rate of 6.01.
Narine made his debut for the West Indies in March 2012 against Australia and played his last match for the Caribbean side in August 2019 against India. Known for his mystery spin and explosive batting, Narine continues to be a vital asset for the Kolkata Knight Riders, as demonstrated by his recent impactful innings of 85 from 39 balls while opening the batting against the Delhi Capitals.
Despite his absence from international duty, Narine's contributions in franchise cricket underscore his prowess in the T20 format. As the T20 World Cup approaches, West Indies will proceed with a squad that reflects the strategic planning and player exposure outlined by Coach Sammy, with Narine choosing to focus on his IPL commitments while supporting the regional team from the sidelines.
Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack critical of distribution of ICC finances
India’s financial stranglehold on world cricket is the top target in the latest edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, as it once again ponders the health of a sport held down by a global postcode lottery.
The 161st edition of the beloved yellow book takes a typically sober look at the state of the game, majoring on the distorting effects of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s latest grab of the purse strings.
In his 13th year at the helm, Lawrence Booth uses the influential platform of his editor’s notes to rail against last year’s decision to increase India’s share of central ICC funds from an already swollen 25 per cent to a bloated to 38.5 per cent. He brands the latest settlement “all the harder to stomach” when pitted against the money troubles of others like the West Indies, whose own take represents just 4.58 per cent.
Booth concludes that fear of upsetting those behind cricket’s biggest commercial market is poisoning the well that all nations drink from and calls for an urgent rethink.
“This is where cricket finds itself, in dreary thrall to the notion that market forces must be obeyed,” he writes.
“Is it really beyond the wit of the administrators to distribute it (cash) according to need, not greed?”
Wisden is critical of the BCCI’s conduct as hosts of the recent men’s World Cup, deeming the politicisation of the tournament “faintly Orwellian” and an example of “insidious nationalism”. Booth touches on the delay in granting England’s Shoaib Bashir a visa for the new year Test tour, the latest hold up to impact a player of Pakistani heritage, and the fact that a principled boycott by his team-mates never got off the ground.
“The answer to too many questions in cricket is now: because we mustn’t upset India. And don’t the BCCI know it,” he concludes.
On the field, there was a full-throated reprisal of the previous volume’s support for ‘Bazball’ and the revitalising effects of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum as stewards of the red-ball format.
Reflecting on the thrills and spills of a vintage Ashes summer, Booth decides: “For the first time since English cricket vanished behind a paywall, it felt like the people’s sport.”
The comparison with England’s fading fortunes in the white-ball arena is predictably grisly following the defending champions’ World Cup wipeout. There is an opportunity to right some of those wrongs close at hand, but Wisden’s warning over the stakes for the captain and coach is cold and clear: “(Jos) Buttler and (Matthew) Mott must mount a better defence of this year’s T20 World Cup if they are to keep their jobs.”
Elsewhere, Stuart Broad casts a long shadow. Not only does the retired seamer grace the cover for the second time, he also warrants special mention from Booth at the front of the book and a farewell essay from Jonathan Liew.
There is a joint tribute to two more departing greats of English seam bowling, with Katherine Sciver-Brunt and Anya Shrubsole receiving a send off from former team-mate Ebony Rainford-Brent.
The wider historical context of game is served by pieces on England’s 100th women’s Test, the first nation to reach the milestone, and a look back on 250 years of the lbw law, and there are entries from both ends of spectrum of seriousness.
Michael Collins, one of the co-authors of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket report, contributes a thoughtful and scholarly update covering the thorniest matters of discrimination. In it he reiterates many of the most difficult findings – chiefly the lingering presence of ingrained racism, classism and sexism within the sport at large – but strikes an optimistic tone about the chances of renewal.
“History need not make us prisoners of the past,” he writes.
“Recognising and understanding the weight of what has gone before is also a route to creating a new and different future.”
At the opposite pole is a healthy slice of playfulness, from Emma John’s appraisal of Wisden’s history on Desert Island Discs to the pleasingly irreverent social media review of the year and the enduring ‘index of unusual occurrences’.
:: The Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2024 is published by Bloomsbury on April 18.
Eight centuries, six five-wicket hauls recorded in round six of West Indies Championship
Big scores and wickets were the name of the game as both batsmen and bowlers thrived in round six of the 2024 West Indies Championship.
Across the four matches played from April 10-13 last week, eight centuries were scored and six five-wicket hauls were recorded.
The biggest knock came during the game between the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Combined Campuses & Colleges at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground where Amir Jangoo belted the CCC bowling all over the place on the way to a wonderful 218.
His knock, his first century in first-class cricket, came off 238 balls and included 15 fours and 10 sixes.
In that very same innings, 37-year-old Jason Mohammed recorded his 13th hundred in first-class cricket with 157 off 228 balls including 22 fours.
The game between the Barbados Pride and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at the Queen’s Park Oval saw the teams combine for four centuries between them.
West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored the biggest of the match with a marathon 400-ball 189 including 17 fours.
His opening partner Zachary McCaskie, who was a member of the most recent West Indies Test squad on their tour to Australia, hit 12 fours and two sixes on the way to 101 off 148 balls and shared in a 171-run first wicket partnership with his skipper in the first innings.
All-rounder Roston Chase was the third Bajan centurion of the game with an attacking 87-ball 127 including nine fours and seven sixes.
West Indies ODI team member Keacy Carty got the Hurricanes’ lone century in the game with 127 off 233 balls including 12 fours. Carty now has three first-class centuries to his name.
Kemol Savory and Captain Tevin Imlach both brought up centuries for the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Jamaica Scorpions at Sabina Park.
Savory made a career best 155 off 309 balls including 16 fours and three sixes while Imlach made 101* off 169 balls including 11 fours and two sixes.
In the bowling department, Roston Chase took 7-67 in the second innings for the Pride against the Hurricanes.
Pacer Gilon Tyson grabbed 5-50 for the Windward Islands Hurricanes in the first innings against the West Indies Academy.
Veerasammy Permaul spun a web against the Scorpions on his way to 5-55 in the first innings.
Pacers Anderson Phillip and Amari Goodridge picked up 5-71 and 5-92 for the Red Force and the CCC, respectively, while Rakheem Cornwall took 5-132 against the Pride.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
