A magnificent unbeaten century from West Indies white-ball opener Brandon King put his Jamaica Scorpions in a commanding position after day two of their third-round West Indies Championship fixture against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday.

The Scorpions started the day 118-4 with Paul Palmer Jr joining night watchman Marquino Mindley at the crease.

The pair put on just 13 before Mindley was dismissed by Preston McSween to leave the Scorpions 131-5, just six runs behind the Windwards first innings total of 137.

However, Brandon King joined Palmer Jr in the middle and the two put on an additional 30 runs before Palmer edged to second slip off the bowling of Josh Thomas for 15.

Derval Green came and went for a three-ball duck to leave the Scorpions 161-7 before wicketkeeper/batsman Aldane Thomas joined King in the middle.

The pair added some stability with a partnership of 58 before Thomas went caught at slip off the bowling of Sherman Lewis for 20 to leave the score 219-8 just after the lunch break.

Jamie Merchant and King then mounted a stand of 109 for the ninth wicket, taking the score to 328 when Merchant was dismissed for 58, his maiden first-class half-century.

King also scored his third first-class hundred during the stand and was 119 not out off 154 balls in the end.

The Scorpions eventually got to 346 all out, a commanding first innings lead of 209 runs.

Preston McSween was the pick of the Volcanoes bowlers with 4-96 off 25 overs while Josh Thomas supported well with 3-56 off 21 overs.

Kimani Melius and Devon Smith then began the task of overhauling the Scorpions' total with an opening partnership of 31 before Melius fell to Derval Green for 17.

Captain Kavem Hodge then joined Smith and the pair put on 36 before Smith was next to go, becoming Green’s second victim for a top score of 31.

Alick Athanaze was next to the crease and he and his captain looked comfortable, putting on 34 until the final over of the day which saw Jamie Merchant dismiss Athanaze for 17 to leave the Volcanoes 101-3 off 33.1 overs at stumps, still trailing by 108 runs.

Kavem Hodge is currently 30 not out while Derval Green has taken 2-35 off 10 overs for the Scorpions.

Rovman Powell is to assume a more involved role as captain for the Jamaica Tallawahs once the 2022 Hero CPL season gets underway in August.

Powell was appointed captain last season when the two-time CPL champions struggled to find consistency and missed the playoffs after only winning four of their 10 matches.

However, come next season, Tallawahs CEO Jeff Miller expects Powell to work more closely with the new coaching staff headed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

“I think that Chanderpaul along with the assistant coaches has expressed that to Rovman," Miller revealed in a recent interview with Sportsmax.TV.

"We have been having some great meetings and I think this year we will see that all-inclusive where the player, as the captain, is involved in all aspects of team management, selection, etcetera,” Miller told Sportsmax.TV.

“I think we will see a different side of him (Rovman) this year.”

Turning his attention to Brandon King, who has been brought in to open the batting, Miller said the former Amazon Warrior will be given the opportunity to express himself in the coming season.

“Brandon is another dynamic player and we believe that having Brandon at the top of the order with Kennar (Lewis) will produce some exciting games, and Brandon also wanted to come home and we gave him that opportunity to play for the Tallawahs and express himself and we know how Brandon can express himself,” Miller said.

The CEO also hinted that the international players who have been signed will be very suited for the potentially spin-friendly pitches in Guyana that will host several matches including the CPL finals for the next three years. 

"When you see our international players then you will see why we selected those players because they will make a difference in Guyana," said Miller, who also expressed confidence that the Tallawahs will give a good account of themselves in the 2022 season.

"I am confident about the team. Look, we have a dream team support staff - Chanderpaul, Sir Curtly Ambrose, we have Andre Coley. We have an announcement to make in the coming days pertaining to our manager and that will really cement our support staff."

Four-time Caribbean Premier League Champions Trinbago Knight Riders have signed Jamaican all-rounder Andre Russell and middle-order batsman Nicholas Pooran for the 2022 season.

Experienced fast bowler Kemar Roach, Nkrumah Bonner and Brandon King have been included in a West Indies squad named for their white-ball tour of India next month.

West Indies opener, Brandon King, is looking to keep things simple on his return to international cricket after recently returning to the team.

King was named as part of the Windies T20 squad who will play against England in the upcoming five-match series.  The batsman looked in solid form after returning to the team against Pakistan last month, after more than a year away from the team.  He scored 111 runs in three matches, with an average of 37 and a high score of 67.

On the back of another controlled showing against a BCA President's XI in a warm-up match at Kensington Oval, on Tuesday, King will be looking to provide solidity against the English for a Windies team that has struggled as of late.

“For me mentally, I play my best cricket when I am keeping things simple out there while I am batting.  I just try and play the situation as it is and that has really helped me to do better out there,” King said of his form since returning to the team.

Despite the World Cup coming up later this year, however, and the West Indies in rebuilding mode, he insists he is not looking too far ahead in terms of regular selection.

“I try to focus on the things that I can control.  For me, that is just every game that presents itself I just try and do my best and perform.  Selection and those other aspects I don’t have any control over it but I just try and put myself in a position to be in the conversation.”

Guyana Amazon Warriors moved back into the top four of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table with a 17-run victory over the Saint Lucia Kings.

The Amazon Warriors won the toss and elected to bat first, but they had to overcome an early wobble to post a competitive total led by Brandon King’s enterprising 77.

In reply, the Kings looked as if they were in cruise control when Roston Chase and Tim David put together a big partnership but excellent death bowling tightened the screws and the Kings succumbed to the pressure.

Having been supplanted in the top four by Jamaica Tallawahs earlier in the day, Guyana needed a win to reignite their competition. However, three early wickets in the PowerPlay put them on the backfoot as Wahab Riaz and Jeavor Royal made the early breakthroughs.

 King came to the Amazon Warriors rescue with his first Hero CPL 50 of the season but other than Nicholas Pooran’s 25 no batsmen was able to stick with King.

Once King fell for his sparkling 77, Odean Smith was able to add some maximums to take Guyana to a challenging total of 151.

Saint Lucia Kings were circumspect in their early reply and found themselves three wickets down with 43 runs on the board.  Gudakesh Motie’s parsimonious spin bowling saw him take 2 for 12 from his four overs to keep the Amazon Warriors well in the hunt.

Roston Chase and Tim David put together a boundary-laden partnership of 75 from 63 balls but just as it seemed they would take the Kings home, Naveen Ul-Haq and Odean Smith bowled four excellent overs to seal two crucial points for the Amazon Warriors.

Evin Lewis’ better than a run-a-ball century helped the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force romp to a five-wicket victory with 55 balls to spare over the Jamaica Scorpions at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium today.

West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, has hailed the role of big-hitting teammates Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard in inspiring a new generation of exciting batsmen.

For decades the Caribbean has created some of the world’s most exciting stroke players, with the likes of Everton Weekes, Gary Sobers, and, later on, Viv Richards and Brian Lara thrilling crowds with their incredible run-scoring ability.

The likes of Pollard, Gayle, and Andre Russell have fallen very much into that mold and a new generation that includes players like Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmeyer, and Brandon King have followed in their footsteps.

The 37-year-old all-rounder Bravo, one of the T20 cricket’s most devastating wicket-takers in his own right, was quick to commend Pollard and Gayle for passing the torch.

 “I think these young guys look up to players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, what these guys have done in white-ball cricket,” Bravo told Khaleej Times after leading the Delhi Bulls to a win in the Abu Dhabi T10 league on Friday.

“The players from the younger generation now aspire to be like them (Gayle, Pollard) you know. Before them, they had Sir Viv (Richards) or (Brian) Lara and (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul, these players and the likes of Gayle and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan. The young players were looking up to those players,” he added.

“But now because of Pollard, Andre Russell, Gayle, you know, you have seen the likes of Pooran, Heytmayer, Rutherford, and Brandon King.”