West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews is adamant that the team must find a way to put more runs on the board after another disappointing showing at the crease, this time against South Africa in the tri-series on Saturday.

The loss marked the 9th match in a row for the regional team, who last tasted victory in a win over New Zealand in September.  Against South Africa, the team’s now familiar struggles at the crease came to the fore.

After holding the South Africans to 141 on a slow pitch, the West Indies could not get to triple digits as they were dismissed for 97.  Perhaps even more concerning was the team’s collapse from 32 without loss to 67 for 6.

“It’s clear we don’t score enough runs.  Not being able to put it together with big enough partnerships and get enough big scores, which is something we definitely need to win the big games that are crucial,” Matthews, who top scored for the team with 23 from 35 balls, said.  

“At the same time we have a lot of injuries, at the moment, with a lot of our key batters out but we are hoping we can get some more runs on the board in future games with the team that we have,” she added.

Ahead of the World Cup the team could be bolstered in the batting department by the return of star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor.  Taylor is close to returning from injury but not yet available for selection.

West Indies Women pace bowler Shamilia Connell grabbed two wickets on a productive return to the team’s line-up, but that did little to prevent a dominant 44-run win for South Africa in the women’s tri-series on Saturday. 

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, South Africa all-rounder Marizanne Kapp scored a shot-filled 55 from 43, a total that included 5 fours.  

Kapp who came into the line-up following the early dismal of opener Anneke Bosch, a set-back for the team at 27 for 1, went on to anchor the majority of the innings.

Following the dismissal of South Africa’s other opener Laura Wolvaardt, Kapp was joined by Sune Luus and the pair put together a key 63-run stand off 53 balls for the third wicket.  Luss made 30 from 26.

On a slow surface, a spin-heavy Windies did manage to restrict the South Africans to a competitive 141 for 5 but Connell, who recently returned from injury, was the pick of the Windies bowlers with 2 for 17.

In response, the Windies poor batting form, particularly of late, continued to be cause for concern.  They collapsed from 32 for 0 to 67 for 6.  Thanks in large part to Masabata Klaas who took three of those six wickets. The bowler, in fact, found herself on a hat-trick in the tenth over when she removed West Indies captain Hayley Matthews and Shabika Gajnabi in back-to-back deliveries.

Matthews, who made 23 from 35, Britney Cooper (15), Shemaine Campbelle (11) and Connell (15) were the batters to get into double figures but all failed to carry on.  Masabata ended with figures of 4 for 21.

The West Indies will look to break their T20 international losing streak when they face India Women on Monday.

West Indies Women captain Hayley Matthews is relieved to have the additional firepower of players returning from injury, heading into the team’s upcoming T20 series against South Africa and India. 

Ahead of its three-team series, the Windies Women will be bolstered by the return of former captain and star all-rounder Stafanie Taylor, bowler’s Shamilia Connell, Shakera Selman and Britney Cooper.  Cooper was not injured, but the experienced middle order batsman will be playing in the team for the first time since 2021.

Taylor, in the meantime, has not featured for the team since the second ODI against New Zealand in September.  It’s safe to say Matthews has noticed the absence of the team’s more experienced players.  

The Windies have struggled to make an impact at the crease, recently, losing 3-0 last month in their ODI series against England, and 5-0 in the T20 format.

“It’s really good to have a lot of our players back. We had a couple of injuries over the past couple months which at the same time would have given some of the younger players really good opportunity,” Matthews told members of the media.

“But to have the senior core back, really gives us a strong team coming into a series like this. We’re thankful to have her (Taylor) back and know she’s been the gel of this team for quite some time now and has so much experience and knowledge on the game,” she added.

“Hopefully she gets an opportunity to go out there and get things rolling before the World Cup comes up.”

With the Women’s T20 World Cup set to begin next month, the team will play at least four matches in the upcoming series, playing two matches each against South Africa and India. The two top teams will then play each other in the Tri-Series final on February 2.

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite expects major improvements from the team’s batsmen ahead of upcoming series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

With the exception of productive cameos from Brathwaite and his opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the team’s last series against Australia proved to be a chastening experience, especially at the crease.

Over the course of two matches and four innings only Brathwaite, Chanderpaul and Roston Chase managed a half century.  In addition, the Australians won the first Test by a massive 419 runs, where the Windies were embarrassingly bowled out for 77 in the second innings.

“We didn’t get the big scores, we didn’t get the big first innings scores that I would have liked.  Going into Zimbabwe, especially at home, we know it won’t be a rollover,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Thursday.

“I really look forward to the batters spending time to get runs on the board.  I think that will be crucial for us setting up the game to win it,” he added.

“We have to show our worth, I think the batters need to come and show more fight because Zimbabwe will not be easy at home.  It’s not like we are going to show up and just get runs against Zimbabwe.”

Despite expecting a difficult task, the team can head into the encounter with some confidence having never lost to Zimbabwe in 10 encounters to date. 

 The West Indies Rising Stars defeated Indonesia U-19 Women by 77 runs at the North-West University Oval, to remain unbeaten at the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup.

The result saw the Caribbean team move into second spot behind leader New Zealand in Group C, with 4 points and a Net run Rate of +2.100. The team will next be in action when they play New Zealand on Thursday at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom – 7:45am Eastern Caribbean/6:45am Jamaica. The top three teams from each group will move on to the Super12s.

In assessing the team’s performance head coach Steve Liburd was pleased to see the team’s hard work and planning bearing fruition.

"It's very pleasing to see us continuing to build on what we've learnt on the previous tours to the USA and India. The girls stuck to the processes and it's pleasing to see them reaping the rewards. Zaida (James) is reaping the rewards of the hardworking she's done at camps and over the holidays, it's good to seeing her put her hand up and taking charge of leading the innings."

James scored another half-century 55 from 37 balls and an unbeaten knock of 35 (14 balls) from Bajan batter Trishan Holder led the West Indies U-19s to 176 for 3 after 20 overs.

James also added a wicket in scores of 1 for 21, but it was TT’s Djenaba Joseph who was the standout performer with the ball. Joseph took 3 for 14 in four overs and effected one of three run-outs as Indonesia closed out their 20 overs on 99 for 9, still 77 runs short of the target.

"Each player understands their roles, that's why we've been having the contributions from the likes of Naijanni, Tristan, Shunelle and Zaida with the bat, Kudos to them. We have Jannillea Glasgow with her experience on the West Indies Women's Senior team, is taking the lead with the fast-bowling attack, so the bowlers are holding their own. Our captain is very inquisitive and intelligent, she commands the respects of her teammates and we have really good leadership discussions, which for is very comforting for us as coaches."

West Indies batting legend Gordon Greenidge has revealed that he no longer feels the pain of watching the regional team struggle.  His secret, turn off the television.

As one half one of a devastating batting duo, the other being Desmond Haynes, for a Windies team that rarely found itself on the losing end, it is completely understandable how the Caribbean team’s recent failures would be a cause of discomfort.  

The Windies' struggles now date back decades but recently things have seemed particularly grim. At the last two World Cups, the team failed to progress from the preliminary rounds, while in the Test arena, a recent demolition at the hands of Australia will hardly have inspired feelings of all-conquering nostalgia.

“It used to hurt me but it doesn’t hurt me anymore because I don’t watch cricket anymore. Only if it is Test cricket and only if it is about a young player, who I have heard about, I will try my best to go and watch that kid play and make my own judgment about what I feel about that player," Greenidge told SportStar.

The former batsman’s recent grievances, however, run deeper than just the poor performance of the West Indies team.  Greenidge has also expressed concern for the longest format of the sport, where he scored 7558 runs, and its continued relevance and longevity in the face of the blossoming of several T20 leagues around the globe 

“On a personal note, I would not like to see 50-over withdrawn and just T20 being played. I believe T20 is a spectator’s sport, and it is no anymore a cricketer’s sport. Yes, cricketers play, but T20, for me, is like fast food. Test cricket is real cricket. From Test cricket, we came to 50-over, then T20, and now we are going to 10-over, where will we go from here maybe one-over or two-over per side? Keep the cricket alive but don’t banish Test cricket, that is the real cricket we all are here for, we all grew up with.”

 The West Indies Rising Stars opened their ICC Women’s U19 World Cup campaign with a 7-run win over Ireland Women’s U19 at the North-West University Oval.

Zaida James told CWI Media, “It’s certainly a great feeling to have an all-round performance like this and even better that we had a team victory. Our focus is one game at a time and to finish the group stage strong, then we will look at the remaining stages of the tournament.”

The victory sees the West Indies move to the top of the table in Group C, with 2 points and a Net Run Rate of +0.350. They play Indonesia on Tuesday January 17 at North-West University Oval, Potchefstroom – 7:45am Eastern Caribbean/6:45am Jamaica.

West Indies Rising Stars

125/3 (20 overs)

Zaida James 52 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

​ ​ Freya Sargent 4-0-9-2

Naijanni Cumberbatch 21

Ireland Women's U19

118/7 (20 overs)

Annabel Squires 42 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

​ Zaida James 4-0-20-4

Amy Hunter 21

Interim West Indies coach Andre Coley insists he is eager to embrace the challenge of coaching the regional cricket team, despite the numerous challenges associated with it.

Former all-rounder Phil Simmons became the latest casualty in a long line of coaches tasked with pushing the Caribbean team back among global cricket’s elites and failing to achieve that elusive target.

Coley, who has had stints with the region’s High-Performance Centre, women’s team and also served as an assistant coach for the men’s team, was appointed to fill the role, while Cricket West Indies (CWI) contemplates its next moves.

CWI announced that Coley would oversee the two-Test tour of Zimbabwe from the 28th January to 16th February, as well as the multi-format tour of South Africa, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from the 21rd February to 28th March.

Despite finding himself placed under the microscope, in light of some of the team’s recent poor performances, he remains motivated and enthused to take up the role.

“Every coaching opportunity bring a different challenge and I have never been one to back away from a challenge,” Coley told the SportsMax Zone.

“If offered generally I look to take them on.  It’s just about assessing working with staff working with the players and coming up with the right strategy,” he added.

The 48-year-old has had a few stints with the senior, first joining the coaching ranks under Otis Gibson and serving spells under Stuart Law and briefly Simmons.  In his estimation, communication will be a crucial part of his plans for success.

“In this case communication is going to be very crucial, so working out what that communication strategy is going to be.”

Jamaica's Reggae Girls will kick off the Cup of Nations tournament in Australia on February 16 against one of the top women's teams in world football, Spain. They will then play two other powerhouses; the Czech Republic and Australia, respectively.

Football Australia announced today, that with the support of the New South Wales Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, they will host the four-nations Cup of Nations comprising three double-header matchdays in Gosford, Sydney, and Newcastle.

The six-match tournament will kick-off at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford on Thursday, 16 February with FIFA number seven rank Spain playing Jamaica (44th) followed by the CommBank Matildas (12th) against Czech Republic (27th).

Three days later, the tournament will shift to Sydney as Jamaica and the Czech Republic go head-to-head at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, followed by a blockbuster clash between the CommBank Matildas and Spain on match day two on Sunday, 19 February.
Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium will play host to match day 3 of the Cup of Nations on Wednesday, February 22, where Czech Republic will take on Spain, and the CommBank Matildas will meet Jamaica in the last game of the competition.

The highest-placed nation following the completion of all three match days will be crowned the Cup of Nations champion on 22 February in Newcastle. 

Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson said he is delighted with these opportunities for the Australian public to experience world-class football and cheer on the CommBank Matildas and their football heroes in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.

“In 2022 we have seen the drawing power of the CommBank Matildas with matches in Townsville, Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Gosford, and Melbourne drawing over 109,000 spectators as we took the CommBank Matildas to different parts of Australia,” said Johnson.

“February’s Cup of Nations will build on the success of the first tournament held in 2019 and be one of the final opportunities for fans to see the CommBank Matildas on home soil before the commencement of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.

“The Cup of Nations will continue to take football to regional areas with the Central Coast, Greater Sydney, and the Hunter presented an opportunity to farewell the CommBank Matildas ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, as well as get a taste for the international football festival that awaits in 2023.

Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts, believes that the tournament is excellent preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2023.

"Engaging in tough games like these in World Cup venues in front of large audiences will help to prepare our team for their World Cup challenges in July. The atmosphere will be similar to what can be expected come summer, so the coaching staff will be able to assess the conditioning and mentality of the players at their disposal. We are extremely happy that Jamaica has been invited to this prestigious tournament and we anticipate some outstanding performances,"  said Ricketts.

Former West Indies batting coach, Toby Radford, is confident world-class former batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul would make a ‘solid’ pick for the role of Windies head coach.

The addition of the name of the former legendary batsman to the speculative list of potential replacement for Phil Simmons has garnered mixed reactions.  In opposition, some have pointed to Chanderpaul’s relative lack of experience, while others believe he would be more suited to a role in administration.

For Radford, who is well acquainted with the former player, there is no doubting the quality he would be able to bring to the role.  

“I’m a big fan, I’ve often talked about Shiv and what he brought to the game as a player.  He was a very hard worker and meticulous in preparation, a lot of the things I think he would instil as coach for the younger players,” Radford told the Mason and Guest show.

“He has been there and done it.  He was number one in the world for a period of time, a top Test player in the world.  He has played all round the world.  I think he would bring a huge amount to it,” he added.

“He is new to coaching and still finding his feet but he is having relative success and I think he would bring a lot to it,” he added.

Radford, however, believes the former batsman would have to be supported by a very capable team, which is always the case for head coaches as opposed to specialist coaches.  Chanderpaul, who retired from the sport six years ago, has already experienced some success as a coach, having led the Jamaica Tallawahs to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title last year.

Former West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell believes serious consideration should be given to attempting to retrieve the team's former coach Richard Pybus for the recently vacated position of head coach.

Pybus was sacked in controversial circumstances four years ago as part of a raft of changes made by the then-incoming Cricket West Indies administration of president Ricky Skerritt and his vice president Kishore Shallow.

The move had proven to be particularly unpopular at the time, given the fact that West Indies, under his leadership had only just put together an impressive performance in a Test series win against England and showed plenty of good qualities in a battling 2-2 tie in the ODI series between the teams.
In addition to that, several stakeholders and even some players advised the administration against making so many changes with the 2019 World Cup less than two months away.

 With the post once again vacant following the resignation of Phil Simmons, Powell believes the opportunity could exist to correct what many consider to have been a grave error in judgment.
As to whether the 54-year-old Pybus, who is reportedly shortlisted for the South Africa job, would be interested in returning after a departure in such acrimonious circumstances, or whether the CWI be willing to make such a drastic reversal is another thing entirely.
"Why can't we go back for him (Pybus) he was doing a good job and we have tried another way and it seems as if things didn't go down the right road," Powell told the Mason and Guest radio program.
As a part of their election platform, the Skerritt, Shallow administration had promised to give priority to Caribbean-born individuals for top leadership positions.
"If you look at Pybus and what he did with the West Indies, I would have been willing to cut off my nose to spite my face for him...how do you know why a man becomes a man when he can accept that he was wrong, apologize and move on," Powell added.
Prior to his appointment as coach of the team, Pybus endured somewhat of a rocky tenure, serving as High Performance director in February 2018, having previously served as West Indies director of cricket from 2013 to the end of 2016.

India star batsman Suryakumar Yadav has backed former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard to successfully adapt his leadership skills to the upcoming inaugural International League T20 (ILT20).

The 35-year-old swashbuckling batsman has been named as captain of the MI Emirates, the team owned by the executives of Mumbai Indians, ahead of the start of the competition on January 10. 

Pollard, who played for over a decade with Mumbai in the IPL before retiring last year, will bring plenty of experience to the position having, among other things, lifted 5 titles with the IPL franchise.

Having played for many years at Mumbai with Pollard, Yadav is confident that MI Emirates could not be in safer hands.

“I feel as a leader Pollard has been very calm, composed and gives everyone a chance to express themselves on the field whether the team is under the pump or even if we are on top,” Yadav explained.

“We felt very comfortable when he led MI and I am sure he will do the same thing for the MI Emirates,” he added.

In addition to Pollard and Yadav, the team will be boosted by the likes of the West Indian duo of Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran, who himself stepped down as captain of the West Indies white-ball teams late last year.

Renowned former West Indies wicketkeeper, Deryck Murray, has commended the team’s coach Phil Simmons for stepping down from the post but insists he is far from the only one who should be doing so.

The regional team has endured a particularly wretched run of form across all formats in recent months.  A poor showing at the T20 World Cup saw the two-time champions embarrassingly eliminated in the first round of the competition after loses to Scotland and Ireland.

In the aftermath, Simmons, and, then later team captain Nicholas Pooran, resigned their positions.  The Test team then traveled to Australia to face the home team in a two-match series where they were badly outplayed.  In the second Test, for instance, the team lost by a massive 419 runs after being bowled out for 77.

In light of such performances, Murray believes there needs to be many more changes at the broader management level than just Simmons, if the team is to truly start moving forward. 

 “I want to commend Phil Simmons he has done the honourable thing. 
He was responsible for the team when we did not qualify for the T20 World cup and he did the hourrable thing,” Murray told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“We should not assume for one minute, however, that one man, Philip Simmons, is responsible for the decline, for the losses of West Indies cricket," he added.

“I keep looking to see others follow suite but nothing like that has happened…”

Murray went on to state that he believed the entire government system surrounding the sport in the region needed to change.

West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews bagged a three-for but could not prevent 16 run loss to England who took an overall 2-0 lead in the ongoing T20 series on Wednesday.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, England Women put up an average 141 for 6 in their stint at the crease.  The team was led by an enterprising 43 runs from 43 deliveries from opener Sophia Dunkley, who gave England a solid start with partner Danni Wyatt.

Dunkley and Wyatt put 36 on the board before Afy Fletcher broke the partnership, after bowling Wyatt for 20.  Following the dismissal of Lauren Winfield-Hill, Heather Knight became the first of Matthew’s wickets.  She was caught by Karishma Ramharack on 4. 

Matthews then also accounted for Dunkley, who was stumped by Knight.  A new-look England line-up then struggled to put together solid partnerships after that managing just 31 off the last five overs.

In pursuit of the target, the West Indies started out at 21 without loss but Lauren Bell and Charlie Dean were then introduced to the attack with great success. 

Davies got the breakthrough when she removed Aaliyah Alleyne, who made 16 from 14. Dean then the important wicket of Matthews to leave the team struggling at 23 for 2 after the first 4 over.  The Windies never recovered and eventually fell short at 125 for 8.  Dean ended with figures of 3 for 22, while Bell claimed 2 for 21.

Police are investigating an incident that saw shots fired at the home of former Reggae Boy Fitzroy Simpson in Swindon, England on Tuesday.

According to reports, the former Jamaica international's house was fired upon by a gunman who reportedly fled the scene before the police were called to the property at 8:15pm.

Upon arrival the police combed the area with a helicopter and a canine unit but the suspect was not located. The search was continued on Wednesday as the area was cordoned off in hopes of finding a weapon or other evidence but none was found.

According to the official Wiltshire police report; “Police were called to an address in Stratton shortly after 8.15pm yesterday evening, following reports of what was believed to be a firearm being discharged in the area.

Firearms officers attended and extensive area searches and house to house enquiries were conducted.

Enquiries remain ongoing. No firearms were located.”

Simpson who represented Manchester city in the Premier League from 1992-1995, also had spells at Bristol and Portsmouth.  He represented the Jamaica Reggae Boyz on 43 occasions, including in all matches during the team’s historic appearance at the 1998 World Cup.