At his best, the fluid stroke play of Shimron Hetmyer typifies everything we love about West Indies cricket, but should any of us truly be surprised that he has not been offered an international retainer contract?
If the contracts were offered on talent alone then Hetmyer would always be close to the front of the line-up. When it comes to recent performances, however, things are not so clear-cut.
In Test cricket, where he has not played for the team since 2019, he averages 27.93 having played 16 matches. In One Day International cricket, where he last played in January of last year, he averages 36.66. In T20 international cricket, he averages 18.95 with a strike rate of 116.97.
A quick analysis of the above will tell you that except for T20I cricket, where he last played in November, Hetmyer will have missed the majority of Test and ODI matches the team played over the last year. In addition, during the period, the player has failed not one, but two fitness tests. The first ahead of the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka last year and the second this year when Sri Lanka toured the Caribbean.
In both cases, he missed out on selection due to falling below a well-established fitness requirement. As such, with all that has been stated above, it is not hard to imagine Cricket West Indies deciding the player has not done enough to merit a retainer. He must surely take some responsibility, in at least some respects, for the way he is grooming and developing his own talent.
Leeward Islands Hurricanes on the verge of victory over Guyana Harpy Eagles at Providence
Tournament leaders the Guyana Harpy Eagles are on the verge of a crushing defeat at the hands of the Leeward Islands Volcanoes in their final round game at Providence.
Kemol Savory and Veerasammy both scored half-centuries to help the Harpy Eagles, who started day three 48-1 trailing by 77 runs, post 267 in 79 overs in their second innings.
Savory finished 66* off 157 balls while Permaul made 65. Earlier, Kevlon Anderson and Kevin Sinclair both made 31.
Rakheem Cornwall finished with 4-58 off 22 overs for the Hurricanes.
Chasing just 143 for victory, the Hurricanes ended day three 81-1 with Kieran Powell on 47 and Keacy Carty on 17.
The Harpy Eagles entered the round with a 10.2-point lead over the Windward Islands Volcanoes, who are currently in the driver’s seat against the Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval.
Windwards Volcanoes restrict Barbados Pride to 28-3 at stumps on day three chasing 236 for victory at Queen’s Park Oval
The Windward Islands Volcanoes will enter Saturday’s day four of their final round fixture against the Barbados Pride seven wickets away from a possible title-clinching win after restricting the Pride to 28-3 chasing 236 for victory at the Queen’s Park Oval.
The Volcanoes recovered excellently to make 225 off 73.2 overs after starting the day 14-4 with Kavem Hodge and Sunil Ambris at the wicket on four and zero, respectively.
The recovery effort was led by Ambris thanks to a crucial 141-ball 79 including nine fours and a six while pacer Ryan John and wicketkeeper Tevyn Walcott made valuable contributions of 37* and 35, respectively.
Jomel Warrican took 4-58 for the Pride while Akeem Jordan and Jair McAllister took two wickets, each.
Chasing 236 for victory, the Pride were 28-3 off 17 overs at stumps with Jonathan Drakes (9) and Chaim Holder (0) at the crease.
If the Windwards Volcanoes win and the Guyana Harpy Eagles lose to the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, the Volcanoes could lift the title.
T&T Red Force crush Jamaica Scorpions by nine wickets at Torouba
In the battle between bottom-placed teams, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force crushed Jamaica Scorpions by nine wickets with more than a day to spare in their West Indies Championships match at Torouba on Friday.
Needing 99 for victory, after dismissing the Scorpions for 275, TT Red Force cruised to 102-1 in 24.2 overs. Vikash Mohan was unbeaten on 44 and Darren Bravo 14 when victory was achieved. Kamil Pooran was the batsman dismissed for 39 by Jermaine Blackwood.
Bottom-of-the-table Jamaica had resumed from their overnight score of 199-5 with Abhijai Mansingh on 10 and Aldane Thomas seven when play began. The pair would add a further 53 to their overnight stand of eight but were dismissed in quick succession by Shannon Gabriel for 32 and 39, respectively.
The dismissals triggered a slide that saw the hapless Scorpions lose their last four wickets for just 23 runs slipping from 252-6 to 275 all out.
Gabriel ended with figures of 2-52. Imran Khan claimed the last three wickets - Jeavor Royal, Ojay Shields and Marquino Mindley - to finish with 4-47. Anderson Phillip took 2-46 and Bryan Charles 2-75.
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