On many a Sunday, I realize that people have looked at the stories they have seen throughout the week with different lenses. I have my own personal take on some of these trending issues and I will share them with you. Welcome to #INCASEYOUMISSEDIT the 2021 edition with Mariah.
England is among the T20 World Cup favourites.
It is no secret that England has put a lot of focus on white-ball cricket in the last eight years. The results were clear when they trampled South Africa at the end of 2020 winning all three T20 games. It was at that point; they rose to the number one T20 team in the world.
Since then, they have dominated in this format of the game, having won their last five T20I and eight of their last T20I series overall. Despite struggles with their batting during the recently concluded Test series against India, it is evident that the English possess firepower in their T20 lineup.
In the ongoing T20I against India, opener Jason Roy appears to be in great form, having blasted 49 of 32 balls. David Malan, who averages an excellent average of 54 in T20I, is also an asset with 24 from 20 balls while remaining not out.
In this shorter format of the game, England’s rest and rotation policy has worked to their advantage and has been endorsed by England’s T20 captain Eoin Morgan.
One notable example of the benefit of their rotation policy is the performance of England’s pace bowler Jofra Archer. Having struggled with an elbow injury, the 25-year-old Archer missed two Tests in England’s 3-1 series defeat by India, he returned taking in 3 for 23 in the first T20I.
The England Cricket and Wales Cricket Board has also maximized the benefits of having their players in the Indian Premier League. The ECB has made provisions for 13 of their players in this year’s IPL even at the expense of missing the first Test of the summer.
“As a white-ball captain planning towards World Cups, certainly over the last five years, we’ve used it ( the IPL) and benefitted from it hugely in the development of our players and the confidence that we’ve built in the changing room in guys like Ben Stokes and Jos Butler going there and being MVP and bringing the knowledge they’ve learnt into our dressing room,” said Morgan is endorsing the move to allow their players the opportunity to play in the IPL.
A combination of all these factors places England among the favourites for the ICC T20 World Cup.
Welcome back Shai Hope
West Indies right-hand batsman Shai Hope announced his return to international last Wednesday with his 10th ODI century as West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Due to a lack of form, Hope was dropped for the West Indies tour of New Zealand. He missed the tour of Bangladesh after he was infected by the Covid-19 virus.
However, while his Test form has been poor, Hope has been among the best batsmen in the world in the 50-over version of the game.
In ODIs, he continues to stamp his authority, having amassed 3483 runs at an average of 53.58. The 27-year-old hit a brilliant century in the first T20 match against Sri Lanka and maintained that form in the second match ODI, scoring 84 from 104 balls.
His maturity opening the innings for the West Indies has helped his team and the fact that the West Indies have been winning recently and he has the backing of Captain Kieron Pollard, would have helped his confidence.
“For us in the white-ball cricket Hope is the guy. He has been given a role he gives us a foundation and others can bat around him. In one day, cricket, he’s been fantastic,” Pollard said after Hope’s century in the first ODI.
Hope will now be banking transferring his form to Test cricket where he could be a boon for the West Indies for the foreseeable future.
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.
Windies captain Shai Hope stresses need for efficient execution to clinch series decider against England
West Indies ODI captain Shai Hope has once again stressed the importance of executing efficiently in order to clinch the series decider against England in a crucial contest at the iconic Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday.
Scheduled for a 1:00 pm start, the day-night match has stirred excitement among fans, with Hope rallying his side to draw from their recent performances and focus on building momentum for a strong finish in the three-match series.
The series is currently locked at 1-1 after the West Indies won the opening contest by eight wickets, before England topped the second by five wickets.
“It’s the biggest game of the series because we unfortunately conceded the last game, but this is a great occasion for us; we understand that we have a lot in front of us and we understand that we have to play good cricket to get over the England team,” Hope said in a pre-game interview.
Reflecting on the second ODI, where he led by example with a brilliant 117, Hope underscored the significance of consistency in both batting and bowling.
His century, along with half-centuries from Sherfane Rutherford (54) and Keacy Carty (71), were standout moments in a match that tested the resilience and skill of the West Indies lineup. However, the bowling department failed to deliver as England’s captain, Liam Livingstone, struck an unbeaten 124 to get his team across the line.
“I’ll continue to preach that we need consistency in order for us to consider ourselves an elite team. We have to string performances together; it can’t always be one game or two games in a series; we have to seal it,” Hope said.
“We have to play good cricket all the way through, and it is important that we understand the condition, the times of the game that we are supposed to be pressing and supposed to be relaxed. So, we have to be more consistent disciplined with our skills and make sure when we get to those crucial points of the game we press on,” he stressed.
That said, Hope believes that his team is mentally primed for the challenge.
“We are always mentally ready; I think that these most recent months we have been playing some really good cricket. We’ve had our ups and downs yes, but we can definitely see some improvements in the different stages in the game. For us, we have to ensure that we always have that positive mindset regardless of what we do in the field,” the Barbadian said.
“We have to believe in our skills both inside and outside to ensure we have all the capable assets to go out there and perform for the West Indies. But the feeling is always good; the guys are raring and ready to go; we understand what is at stake, and this is basically a final for us,” Hope added, emphasizing that while the rivalry adds an edge to the contest, they are not letting it overshadow their approach.
West Indies are currently 3-2 ahead in the head-to-head of the last five ODI meetings between the two teams dating back to December 2023.
“You have an understanding of the history, but the past is the past because you have to go out there and play what is in front of you. You have to stay in the present, but we know what we are playing for. We know the amount of history that there is in our rivalry, so it is something that we have in the back of our minds, but not something we let get the better of us,” Hope ended.
Hope says Windies women's return to Test cricket a step in the right direction; Graves hopes Hayley Matthews gets to play format at home
With West Indies women set to make a return to Test cricket after a 20-year hiatus from the sport’s longest format, men’s ODI captain Shai Hope welcomed the move as a step in the right direction.
Hope’s comments came after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced its line-up for the Blockbuster Women’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2025-2029.
The Maroon women reignite the region’s Test status when they play host to Australia for one match in 2026, 50 years after the Caribbean team made its Test debut against the Australians in 1976.
England women play against the West Indies in 2027, and this will be the first meeting between the two teams in this format since 1979. It was also confirmed that the West Indies women will travel to South Africa for an away Test in 2028.
Shai Hope.
WI women have not played a Test match since 2004. Their short record from four Test series stands at three draws and one loss to England.
The Maroon team played Australia (0-0) in 1976, India in 1977 (1-1), lost to England (2-0) in 1979, and drew against Pakistan (0-0) in 2004. The 1976 match against Australia was the last time West Indies played a Test match at home.
“It is always a step in the right direction. Anytime you get opportunities to excel and improve,” Hope said on Tuesday ahead of his team’s decisive ODI clash against England in Barbados.
“I think it is going to be great for the women’s game because anytime you’re playing the longer format, it tests your skills in a different way, and you can always use what you learnt from that format into the other formats. So I think it is a step in the right direction, and I wish them all the best,” he added.
Johnny Grave, whose tenure as Cricket West Indies CEO ended last week, raised the prospect of the Windies playing a Test at the iconic Kensington Oval, Barbados.
“When you have an iconic player who will go down in history of our game, in Hayley Mathews (Barbados), it seems right she will have the opportunity to wear a maroon Test cap and lead her team out, hopefully at her home ground of the Kensington Oval at some point in a Test,” Graves told the Stumped podcast.
“Our philosophy has been that red-ball cricket is where you can build your technique, hone your defence and look to score all around the wicket. If that is what we believe for the men, then it has to be the case for the women,” he added.
Sammy lauds Hope’s knock but urges stronger bowling effort ahead of ODI decider against England
West Indies white-ball coach Darren Sammy was both encouraged and frustrated after his team’s five-wicket loss to England in the second ODI in North Sound, Antigua, on Saturday.
Despite a standout batting performance that saw West Indies post a formidable 328-6, Sammy believes missed opportunities in the bowling department ultimately handed England the edge. England chased down the total with relative ease, finishing on 329-5 with captain Liam Livingstone’s masterful unbeaten 124 leading the way.
“It is tough. Obviously, when you put 328 on the board, you expect to win. However, that is the beauty of international cricket; at the halfway stage, when one aspect of the job is done, you can never be complacent about it. Yes, Liam Livingstone played a brilliant innings to get his team home, but I thought as a bowling group our execution was really off, hence we lost a record chase here in Antigua,” Sammy said in a post-game interview.
While disappointed with the loss, Sammy found reasons for optimism, particularly in captain Shai Hope’s exceptional 117—his 17th ODI century—which was the highlight of the innings and pushed him to joint third on the all-time West Indies ODI century list.
Hope received ample support from Keacy Carty (71) and Sherfane Rutherford (54), whose solid contributions underscored the team’s depth in the middle order.
“I think we did some really good things; Shai Hope another 100, the joint fourth most by a West Indian, the way Keacy Carty batted, as well as Sherfane Rutherford making a fourth-consecutive 50. The way Matthew Forde bowled and the way Roston Chase came back after being put under pressure in the second over,” Sammy reasoned.
“So we were right in the game until the last 10 overs, where I think they scored 100 off seven overs; that is not good enough. But I think as a team, it is about understanding where we are at and the small steps that we have to take to improve,” he noted.
With Livingstone anchoring England’s chase alongside contributions from Phil Salt (59), Jacob Bethell (55), and Sam Curran (52), Sammy acknowledged that the West Indies bowling attack could have been more effective in applying pressure to seal the win after Hope’s brilliance.
“I think Shai will be the first one to tell you that it (his knock) doesn’t matter because it came off a losing cause. But, as I said before, Shai Hope is a class act and one of our icons in ODI cricket, but I know he would want nothing more than a win instead of a hundred.
“Again, it (the overall performance) shows that we are still far off but we are making little strides that will help us along our way with the goal that we have moving forward,” Sammy explained.
With the three-match series now tied 1-1, Sammy expressed hope that West Indies will bring their best game to the decider in Barbados on Wednesday.
“This is a rivalry, so we have all to play for at home. The last time we played in Barbados, we made history and won, so I am hoping we can again. It is two young teams looking to develop and get better in ODI cricket. Again, it is all to play for, so if the fans come out and support, in return, we have to give you guys something to smile about in Barbados,” Sammy ended.
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