Top Windies batsman Chris Gayle believes the position of team captain is good for a player’s individual growth and insists he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the position.

The hard-hitting left-hander served as captain of the West Indies team from 2007 to 2010, with what can be described as mixed fortunes.  In One Day International’s Gayle led the team for 53 games, winning 17 and losing 30 for a 56 percent win ratio.  In Tests, he was in charge for 20 matches, winning 3 losing 9, and drawing 8.

Despite the record and a few controversies, Gayle believes his time in charge was well worth it.

“It made me a better person.  It grows you and you relate to people more.  You know who is for you.  It gives you a challenge and when the pressure is on that when you know who will fight for you and who is there for you.  It’s always a good thing to be a captain and a good thing to lead your country as well,” Gayle told Talksport Radio.

Gayle, in the meantime, has commended England for their choosing Ben Stokes as their new captain and tipped the all-rounder to excel in the role.

“I think it’s the best choice to have a guy like Ben Stokes, he’s been around world-class players and a proper all-rounder.  I think he’s the best choice to lead the England side.  It was tough for Joe Root to step down, but I’m sure he will get support from Root and the rest of the players.”

The West Indies recently made a new captaincy appointment of their own after Nicholas Pooran was appointed ODI captain following the recent retirement of Kieron Pollard.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Nicholas Pooran as the West Indies Men’s One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) captain, following the international retirement of Kieron Pollard.

Pooran will take over the captaincy for the West Indies ODI and T20I teams after being Pollard’s deputy over the last year. The appointment will include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October 2023.  Shai Hope has been recommended to stand as vice-captain of the ODI team.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said: “We believe Nicholas is ready for the challenge of leading our white ball teams given his experience, performances, and the respect he has within the playing group.  The Selection Panel believes that Nicholas has matured as a player and were impressed with his leadership of both teams when Kieron Pollard had been absent. The experience he has gathered playing in various franchise leagues around the world was also a factor in the decision to recommend him for the T20 captaincy.”

Pooran has already captained the West Indies Men in Pollard’s absence, leading them to a CG Insurance T20I Series win at home against Australia in 2021. 

The left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman has eight half-centuries and an ODI century to his name. He has also scored eight T20I half-centuries for the West Indies Senior Men’s team. He first burst onto the cricket scene representing the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2014 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, smashing 303 runs from six matches.

CWI President Ricky Skerritt congratulated Pooran on his appointment saying, “Nicholas Pooran is a specially gifted cricketer, and the right person to take over the white ball captaincy. We are confident that he will continue to climb the leadership learning curve speedily, and successfully. I appeal to all West Indies cricket stakeholders to give Nicholas the support and encouragement that he deserves.”

Pooran expressed his delight in his appointment saying, “I am truly honored to be appointed captain of the West Indies team. I am following the footsteps of several giants of the game who have created an amazing legacy for West Indies cricket. This is indeed a prestigious role, a pivotal position in the West Indian society, as cricket is the force that brings us all West Indians together. To be named captain is indeed the highlight of my career so far and I want to drive the team forward to accomplish great things on the field for our fans and loyal supporters.”

His first outing as captain will be the three away ODIs against The Netherlands in Amstelveen starting May 31 which form part of the ICC World Cup Super League.

The West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) extends sympathies to West Indies spinner Veerasammy Permaul and his family.

Waynmattie ‘Dataley’ Permaul, Veerasammy’s mother, had been missing for seven days when her son made the report of such to the Guyanese authorities on Thursday, April 28. Upon searching her Berbice home, her body was found lifeless in a shallow grave. She was 52 years old.  

WIPA President and CEO, Wavell Hinds expressed, “The WIPA family extends condolences to Veerasammy Permaul and his family during this stressful time. We regret the untimely passing of his mother and hope he will find the strength and courage to continue his lifelong journey. May her soul rest in peace and light perpetually shine upon her.” 

West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell has urged IPL franchise Delhi Capitals to quickly move past the recent no-ball controversy as the team looks to jostle for a position in the playoffs.

In their previous encounter, a 15-run loss to Rajasthan Royals on Friday, the team was left incensed by what they believe was a missed no-ball call in the final over.  Needing an improbable 36 off the final over, Powell kept things interesting when he blasted three straight 6s off international team Obed Mccoy.

The Capitals were convinced the third six was also a waist-high no-ball and as such would have been a free hit, which would have made things even more interesting.  The delivery was, however, not called by the umpires and Mccoy fought back to dismiss Powell.  The incident led to arguments between Delhi players and the umpire, and assistant coach Rajasthan Royals Pravin Amre came onto the field.  In the aftermath, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and Amre were slapped with heavy fines resulting from the incident, with Amre also given a one-match ban.  With a match upcoming against the Kolkata Knightriders on Wednesday, Powell is looking to move past the incident.

“It’s something that we have to put behind us and put behind us very fast.  We have a lot of upcoming matches and we have no time to sit down and dwell in the past,” Powell said of the incident.

“We have some important games coming up, important games that we have to win to get to the next round of the competition,” he added.

“We are about 6^th or 7^th in the table that is a good place to be. It’s just for us to climb the ladder and hopefully, we’ll reach our goal, which is the top four.”

West Indies head coach Phil Simmons insists he understands and respects the decision of recently retired captain Kieron Pollard but insists the player’s passion and desire will be sorely missed.

After nearly 16-years representing the regional team and three years in charge of both the One Day International (ODI) and T20 squads, the 34-year-old Pollard announced his decision to step away from international cricket last week.

“Skipper it is sad to see you retire from the maroon shirt so early…I completely understand,” Simmons said, addressing the issue via Facebook.

“Your ability to give players your backing and trust to deliver and your strong leadership both on and off the field was a joy to work with,” he added.

Pollard took charge of both squads in 2019 and experienced mixed fortunes during his tenure.  The T20 squad lost 21 of 39 matches and had a disastrous defense of its World Cup title.  The ODI squad on the other hand fared better, winning 13 and losing 11 of 21 matches played.  Still, Simmons hailed Pollard as a positive force for pushing players to reach their full potential and having a genuine desire to see the team do well.

“Your passion for pushing players to build on skills and knowledge of the game and more. Your unwillingness to settle for mediocrity was a pleasure to work with,” Simmons said.

“Your undoubted passion for the game and especially the Maroon Shirt together with your desire to bring success to the West Indies cricket team henceforth Cricket West Indies will be missed. You will be missed.”

Former India players Sunil Gavaskar and RP Singh are among those critical of all-rounder Krunal Pandya kissing former West Indian skipper Kieron Pollard during Sunday’s India Premier League (IPL) encounter between Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants.

So far this season, Mumbai, the many-time champions, have failed to gain any traction, losing all eight of the games played so far.  In Sunday’s loss, Pandya found himself at the centre of controversy after running to give Pollard a kiss on the head after dismissing the West Indian.

Despite it being generally known that the men are friends, Gavaskar believes the bowler went too far with his celebration and that his mockery could have provoked a negative reaction from the West Indian. 

“I know he is not going to like it, No! No! However good friends you are, that has to happen once the game is over. He is lucky that Pollard didn’t do anything,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.  Singh agreed, adding that the Lucknow player had gone too far.

“Nobody likes losing. When a player is not doing well, one should avoid such things. You don’t know what emotions he is going through. What if he (Pollard) had turned back and reacted. He was walking back disappointed at being unable to win matches and that reaction was definitely too much.”

Late fireworks from Windies all-rounder Andre Russell proved to be inadequate as Kolkata Knight Riders lost out to Gujarat Titans in a dramatic eight-run win in Mumbai on Saturday.

Chasing 157 for a win, KKR ended their innings at 148 for 8, with the run of the destructive Russell finally coming to an end with the second ball of the final over.

The batsman had entered the innings with the team needing 77, with just 8 overs remaining, and immediately smashed Yash Dayal for back-to-back sixes.  In total, Russell hammered six, sixes for a late 25-ball 48, which brought the team to needing 18 from the final over.  Facing international teammate Alzarri Joseph, he smashed the first ball for a six, but it was Joseph who had the last laugh when the rampaging batsman was gobbled up by Lockie Ferguson on the very next delivery.

Prior to that, Russell had put in an even more impressive cameo with the ball.  With the 20th to be bowled and the Titans potentially poised for a big score, on 151 for 5, KKR captain Iyer Shreyas turned to Russell for the first time in the match.

Russell's amazing last over brought the Knights right back into contention. The West Indies all-rounder conceded just five runs off that final over and picked up four wickets, with Rinku Singh picking up three of those catches.  The bowler’s 4 for 5 in 1 over was the best ever for one over in IPL history.

For the Titans, Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan, and Dayal took two wickets each, with Alzarri Joseph and Ferguson getting one each. Veteran India pacer Shami bowled a destructive opening spell, taking the wickets of new opening pair of Sam Billings (4) and Sunil Narine (5) to reduce KKR to 2 for 10 in the third over. 

Recently retired West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has faced his fair share of critics but ends his international career with one of the highest win percentages of any captain to lead the One Day International (ODI) team in the last 20 years.

The 34-year-old, who took charge of the ODI team in September 2019, called time on an international career that spanned some 16 years and a three-year spell in charge of two regional teams.  In ODI’s, Pollard led the team for 24 games, winning 13, losing 11, and drawing none for a win percentage of 54.17.

 Alone that would not seem so impressive, turns out that’s not so bad, as far as West Indies captains go.  Pollard’s win percentage puts him ahead of Dwayne Bravo (44.44), Darren Sammy (36.00), and Jason Holder (27.91).  The big-hitters win percentage also puts him above the like of legends Brian Lara, who won 47.20 percent of his games, and Chris Gayle who had a 32.08 win ratio.

His success rate for T20s has been much less than the ODI’s.  Pollard’s 33.33-win ratio puts him well behind Sammy at 59.57, Bravo at 50 percent, Gayle at 41.18 percent, and Carlos Braithwaite at 36.67.

Cricket West Indies has thanked Kieron Pollard for his service to the West Indies Men’s Team for the past fifteen years, including as captain of the One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) teams since September 2019.

England great James Anderson is "still trying to make sense" of being dropped for the West Indies tour and is disappointed with the manner in which he was informed.

Lancashire bowler Anderson was omitted by England as they opted for a new-look squad, led by interim coach Paul Collingwood, to the Caribbean for a three-Test series in March.

Fellow seamer Stuart Broad was also left out as Joe Root's tourists, without the pair that have 1,177 Test wickets between them, fell to a 1-0 series defeat against Kraigg Brathwaite's hosts.

Anderson, who is England's leading Test wicket-taker in history with 640 dismissals, remains confused by the decision, citing a lack of contact and feedback as his main issue.

"It's a bit strange because I am still centrally contracted but have not had too much feedback from them [England] so I have just been trying to work with the guys here at Lancashire," he said.

"I'm still trying to make sense of it [being dropped] and I've just put it to one side. It was completely out of my control. I've got to focus on what I can control and that is bowling as well as I possibly can.

"Firstly, that's here at Lancashire this next two months and take as many wickets as I can."

Chris Silverwood was dismissed in the wake of a 4-0 Ashes thrashing and the ECB are in search of a permanent coaching appointment, along with a new managing director.

Anderson understands England are going through a difficult period, but explained he expected more than a "five-minute call" from interim director Andrew Strauss.

"I would have loved a sit-down face-to-face. I would have loved more than a five-minute phone call," he continued.

"It is difficult because there is no one in those key positions [at England]. I would expect to hear something more once those positions are filled. There's no one in those positions permanently so I am assuming that is why I have not heard anything from them.

"It is what it is. Something like this for me is quite a big deal because it came out of the blue and I still feel like I am bowling well. I'm still in the top ten in the world rankings.

"I still feel like I am doing a job for the team. So I feel like I've got a lot to offer, not just on the field but off it, and I've really enjoyed working with the other bowlers that are coming through."

Anderson has not been permitted by England to play in Lancashire's first County Championship match against Kent, which starts on Thursday, due to his central contract.

However, the 39-year-old will be allowed to feature in the second red-ball fixture with Gloucestershire as he looks to again prove his worth to England ahead of their next Test series with New Zealand, which begins in June.

That meeting with Kane Williamson's tourists remains Anderson's sole aim for now.

"If I think of the build-up to a Test series, I want to be in as good a form as possible going into that series," he said.

"For me, the best way of doing that is performing for Lancashire, trying to win games of cricket, and hopefully will lead to a call-up."

West Indies great Curtly Ambrose says there’s still a lot of work to be done if the team wants to return to dominating world cricket.

The West Indies secured a 1-0 series win over England after a dominant 10-wicket win in the third Apex Test match in Grenada on Sunday.

The win extended the Windies’ home dominance over England in the past 50 years to eight wins and two draws in 11 series with England’s only series win coming in 2003-04.

“It means a lot not only for the team but for us as Caribbean people,” said Ambrose while working as a commentator for the series.

“We were spoiled, for many years we were the best team in the world, beating everybody. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he added.

The former fast bowler who ended his Test career with 405 wickets at an average of 20.99 while clearly delighted with the result, explained that the result doesn’t mean the West Indies have suddenly turned a corner.

“Winning one game convincingly doesn’t mean we’ve turned the corner but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ve seen times in the past when they get under pressure they tend to crumble. That didn’t happen in this series,” he said.

Michael Vaughan believes Joe Root should step down as England captain after another Test series defeat.

England's dismal 10-wicket defeat to West Indies in the third Test in Grenada meant a 1-0 series reverse, coming off the back of a 4-0 Ashes thrashing at the turn of the year.

Those are two of five consecutive Test series defeats for England, who had won four in a row before then. They have not endured a worse such run since six without a win between 1987 and 1990.

England are also winless in nine Test matches, their worst sequence since a barren stretch of 10 between 2013 and 2014.

Alastair Cook survived that spell as skipper, but Root – the only man to captain England in more Tests (64 for Root, 59 for Cook) – is now under intense pressure.

And Vaughan, fourth on the list of matches as England captain (51), suggests the time has come for one of the world's best batsmen to focus solely on his own game.

"He's taken it as far as he possibly can," Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"If he rings me in the next week and asks for some advice, I'll be dead honest: I'd tell him to step down.

"Will England be any worse off not having him as a captain? I don't think they would, because they are going to get his runs and a senior player.

"They'll get a great role model – I don't think there is a better role model in English cricket."

Root has averaged 46.4 with the bat as captain, down from 52.8 up to that point, with all 53 prior matches coming under Cook.

Only in 2013 (34.5) has his batting average been lower across a calendar year than his 35.8 so far in 2022.

Newcomers Nyeem Young and Keacy Carty have been named among 16 players selected by Cricket West Indies (CWI) for a white-ball camp to be held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground from Thursday, March 31 to Wednesday, April 13.

Young was a member of the West Indies Rising Stars squad at the 2020 ICC U19 World Cup and has also played for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Carty, meanwhile, has been a consistent member of the Leeward Islands Hurricanes squad for the last five years. He was Player of the Match in the final of the 2016 ICC U19 World Cup won by the West Indies.

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons outlined that the camp will focus on improving skill sets as the West Indies look ahead to two major global events over the next two years – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia later this year and the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India.

“The camp will be a chance for us to do some work with players in the white-ball formats, players who might have a chance to play in the coming white-ball teams later this year,” Simmons said.

“The most important thing is that we will be doing things in the camp that we have not been doing well, such as rotating strike, sweeping, and playing spin better. It’s about working on things that we’re not 100 per cent at yet. We have several players at IPL who will be working at their games as well, so we’re working with the players here to make sure they keep up the standard and improve.”

Simmons also weighed in on the selection of Carty and Young for the camp.

Keacy Carty was a reserve for the team which toured India in February. If there was any reason why players couldn’t go, he was the next batsman in line. He is one of the players we have looked at before,” Simmons revealed.

“Nyeem Young is one of the potentially good young all-rounders we have around the Caribbean, so we just want to bring them in and get them to understand what we expect of them if they get to that level.”

In late May, the West Indies travel to The Netherlands for the first-ever three-match One Day International Series between the two teams, to be followed by the rescheduled three-match ODI Series against Pakistan which was postponed in December.

These fixtures form part of the ICC ODI Super League, where teams will have the opportunity to secure points to try and secure one of the top seven places, excluding hosts India, to gain automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

West Indies will then be hosting tours by Bangladesh, India and New Zealand with all three series featuring white-ball matches. Details of these tours will be announced in the coming weeks.

Players for white-ball camp: Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Shai Hope, Brandon King, Kjorn Ottley, Keemo Paul, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Nial Smith, Devon Thomas and Nyeem Young.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has lauded the West Indies team on their win over England in the Apex Test Series.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite believes his team is just getting started after clinching a series win against England in Grenada.

Following two draws in the first couple of Tests, a superb performance from the hosts on day three and day four overwhelmed the tourists and led to a 10-wicket victory to take the series 1-0.

England recovered from 90-8 to 204 in the first innings of the third and final Test but were never ahead in the game as Brathwaite's side took a first-innings lead of 93, before bowling England out for just 120 in their second.

That left Brathwaite and opening partner John Campbell to secure victory as they required less than five overs to chase down 28 on Sunday, condemning England to a fifth consecutive series defeat.

England have won just one of their last 17 Tests and are winless in nine red-ball outings, their longest such streak in the format since a run of 10 between August 2013 and July 2014.

The West Indies have still lost only once to England at home in Test cricket since 1968, with that solitary defeat coming in 2004.

"Very proud," Brathwaite said of his players after sealing the win. "My first home series win, so very happy.

"It was a very, very good series for us. In two hard-fought draws in the first two games I thought England played extremely well and we had to show some fight in the last days of both of those games. But coming here, we ramped it up. It's been a remarkable effort."

The 29-year-old had a strong series, top scoring with 341 runs to his name at an average of 85.25.

It was a team effort, though, and notable how several of the younger players stepped up in key moments, with Brathwaite name-checking Joshua Da Silva, who hit a century on day three to rescue his side's innings; Jayden Seales, who took 11 wickets in the series (joint-most with Kemar Roach and England's Jack Leach); and Alzarri Joseph, the taker of 10 wickets.

"I believe this is the start," he said. "But we can't become complacent. We have got to keep learning, keep improving.

"That is one thing with the youngsters in the team – Joshua, Jayden, Alzarri – they are willing to listen. That is the only way to get better. Jason Holder and Kemar Roach and Jermaine Blackwood really leading the way, and the guys learnt a lot on the job.

"I think it's the start and we have to continue to work hard."