I use my Sundays to look back at what has been happening in the world of sport. On many a Sunday, I realize that people have looked at the stories they have seen throughout the week through different lenses. I have my own personal take on some of these issues and I will share them with you. Welcome to #INCASEYOUMISSEDIT.
Cricketers are feeling the brunt of Covid 19!
Steven Smith revealed he has no plans to participate in the Big Bash this summer due to the demands of being in a bio-secure bubble. The likes of David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins are also expected to follow suit. In Starc’s case, he has only been at his home in Sydney for 30 hours since August even though he did not go to the Indian Premier League.
Windies captain Jason Holder has voiced his personal struggles dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The 28-year-old Barbadian, who is currently playing in the IPL, revealed there were players in his West Indies team who were mentally "worn out" by the effort involved in playing the Test series against England in the COVID-19 era. The Windies lost the series 2-1 at Old Trafford.
Despite being happy to play the sport he loves in uncertain times, Holder, speaking at the end of the third Test, said: "It's been challenging, it's been really challenging. Mentally some of the guys are a bit worn out.
"It could be this way for a little while so we've got to find ways to make it work. Hopefully things could ease up throughout the world and probably guys can get out of the hotel a little bit more, but it has been challenging for sure.
“It's tough to constantly get up, you're here, you open your curtains and you just see the cricket ground. You're not hopping on the bus as you normally do."
As much as our cricketers are happy to play the sport they love one must not ignore that these are uncertain times and their mental health may be affected.
Windies star Gayle still a threat!
West Indies hard hitter Chris Gayle at the age the of 41 has been proving in the ongoing Indian Premier League that he still has what it takes. The Universe boss, who has been lighting up the T20 tournament in Abu Dhabi, currently holds the IPL record for most sixes hit.
This past week, the Kings XI Punjab batsman was fined 10 per cent of his match-fee for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Rajasthan Royals when he was bowled for 99. Gayle lost his cool and swung his bat which flew towards mid-wicket. Despite this unfortunate event, the ‘Universe boss’ wrote his name yet again into the history books becoming the first player to smash 1,000 T20 sixes.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Gayle, Edwards in but no place for Hetmyer or Chase as squads named for Sri Lanka series
Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards have been recalled to the West Indies squad for next month’s T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.
'No one questioned whether Kohli should come back as captain' - former batting coach labels calls to replace Holder overreaction
Former West Indies batting coach, Toby Radford, has suggested calls to replace all-rounder Jason Holder are an overreaction and would stick with the current captain, despite the success of Kraigg Brathwaite in Bangladesh.
Brathwaite was widely commended for his role in leading an understrength team to a 2-0 win away to Bangladesh earlier this month. Holder, on the other hand, was one of 12 players to pull out of the tour after citing health and safety concerns.
Holder had, however, also pointed to feeling some level of fatigue having had to deal with quarantine situations in both the West Indies prior tours of England and New Zealand. However, in addition, aspects of the team’s performance on those tours had also put Holder and his captaincy under the microscope.
While admitting that the team had performed exceptionally well in Bangladesh, Radford, however, sees no reason to replace Holder as the man in charge for the upcoming Sri Lanka series.
“I think they surprised everybody not least of all Bangladesh, probably their own supporters as well. They performed really well. But it’s very easy to get carried away, isn’t it? You have a couple of big wins like that and then suddenly we have done it because Kraigg Brathwaite is captain and Jason Holder wasn’t captain,” Radford told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Who’s to know if Jason was captain whether you would have had the two wins anyway,” he added.
“There were a lot of very good individual performances and because individuals play well and you win two matches, to me, that isn’t down to captaincy.”
In supporting his decision to stick with Holder, Radford pointed to the example of the incident with India captain Virat Kolhi, which occurred during the Asian team's big win over Australia.
“It was raised the other day, someone mentioned Virat Kohli. They (India) lost the game in Australia, he went home for the birth of his child. They went suddenly and won a couple of games. When they started the Test series against England, in India, nobody questioned whether Kohli should captain the team. He came back in because he was captain.”
Gayle to return to West Indies for Sri Lanka T20 series
West Indies star batsman, Chris Gayle, will return to the Caribbean to take part in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, interrupting his ongoing participation in the Pakistan Super League.
With the T20I World Cup just a few months away, the talismanic batsman, who has indicated a desire to suit up for the Caribbean team for the tournament, could return to the team for the first time in over a year. Gayle last played the West Indies in August of 2019, when he played an ODI against India.
On that occasion, the player had received a standing ovation as many had thought the game was his final in international cricket, after previously announcing his attention to retire.
The West Indies will play Sri Lanka in three T20 series, three One Day International (ODI) series, and a two-Test series. Gayle is expected to take part in the T20I series between March 3 and March 7 before returning to the PSL to compete for the Quetta Gladiators.
The arrangement was made prior to the season, with Faf du Plessis expected to replace Gayle for the matches in which he will be absent. The World Cup is due to take place in India in October-November. The Caribbean team won the last edition of the tournament, also in India, in 2016.
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