The West Indies hold a slight advantage against Zimbabwe at stumps on Sunday’s first day of the second Test at Bulawayo.

Gudakesh Motie took career-best Test figures on Sunday to help the West Indies dismiss Zimbabwe for 115 after lunch on the first day of the second Test at Bulawayo.

Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks and Jason Holder all got half-centuries on day one of the West Indies’ three-day tour match against a combined NSW and ACT XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra, Australia on Wednesday.

Brathwaite hit 10 fours on his way to a top-score of 75 from 114 balls while Brooks, who opened with Brathwaite because Tagenarine Chanderpaul was unwell, got 56 off 116 balls including five fours.

All-rounder Holder (50) and Jermaine Blackwood (42) are the not out batsmen as the tourists closed the day on 297-5 from 90 overs. The other batsmen dismissed were Raymon Reifer (21), Nkrumah Bonner (15) and Kyle Mayers (17).

West Indies have two tour matches before the Test series begins in Perth on November 30.

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder does not expect a hangover from a poor T20 World Cup campaign to impact the team for the upcoming Test series against Australia.

A shocking first-round exit from the tournament last month cast a long shadow over cricket in the Caribbean region, which remains in the process of searching for answers.

Despite the change in formats, some have suggested that the team could be negatively impacted heading into the series.  Holder, however, does not believe it will be the case.

“I think for me the World Cup is behind me, we just have to look forward to this series,” Holder told members of the media on Tuesday.

The Test unit, led by Kraigg Brathwaite has been in before form and has won the last two series.

“It’s a fresh group with different players a whole different dynamic. The prospects of this team have been really good, they’ve played some really good cricket this year and they have good leadership.  Kraigg has done an outstanding job and he’s led the boys really well, so we are looking forward to the prospects here.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad have released captain Kane Williamson on the back of a poor 2022 Indian Premier League season.

The New Zealand skipper scored just 216 runs from 13 innings at an average of 19.64 in the IPL this year.

Sunrisers on Tuesday announced that Williamson has not been retained by the franchise, who finished eighth last season.

Nicholas Pooran and Sean Abbott are among the other players who have not been kept on by Hyderabad.

It was also the end of an era for Mumbai Indians, with Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL playing days and taking over as the franchise's batting coach.

Kolkata Knight Riders will have to do without Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Sam Billings after the overseas trio opted out of the 2023 tournament.

Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan were among the players on the Chennai Super Kings' list of released players, while Jason Holder will not feature for Lucknow Super Giants.

Black Caps duo Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham will not return to Rajasthan Royals, while the same goes for South Africa batter Rassie Van Der Dussen.

Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of the great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, has been handed his first West Indies Test squad call-up for the upcoming tour of Australia.

The 26-year-old, who was a reserve batter for the series against Bangladesh earlier this year, could open the batting alongside captain Kraigg Brathwaite.

Chanderpaul scored the second-most runs in the 2021-22 West Indies four-day championship, hitting 439 across eight innings at an average of 73.16.

His father made 164 Test appearances for West Indies, scoring 11,867 runs at an average of 51.37, managing 30 centuries. Only Brian Lara has scored more in the team's history (11,912 runs).

"We have been playing good Test cricket and expect to do well against the Australians on their home turf," lead selector Desmond Haynes said.

"We have one newcomer to the team in Tagenarine Chanderpaul. He equipped himself very well in the West Indies Championship four-day matches and also did a very good job at the top of the order against Bangladesh A in Saint Lucia this summer.

"He has what it takes to do well at the highest level."

Meanwhile, Jason Holder, Roston Chase and Shamarh Brooks also return to the squad, with West Indies due to play two Test matches in Australia in November and December.

The tour will be the last for head coach Phil Simmons, who offered his resignation after West Indies suffered a humiliating first-round exit at the T20 World Cup.

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder has rejected claims the team is missing the impact of some of its most explosive players, following a shock opening-day loss to Scotland.

For the first time in decades the team heading into a tournament, without the likes of some of its most experienced T20 campaigners with the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, and Andre Russell no longer counted among their numbers.

Despite that fact, however, Holder insists the team has plenty of quality at its disposal.

“I don’t think we are missing anyone, I think we have every tool that we need in this dressing room,” Holder said.

In Sunday’s opening Group B encounter, the team suffered a shocking 42-run defeat at the hands of Scotland.  The match almost certainly put West Indies in a must-win situation against world number 11^th- ranked Zimbabwe, with only the top two teams from the group.

Against Scotland, the team put in a creditable performance with the ball as Alzarri Joseph and Holder himself each claimed two wickets.  With the bat, however, the team was once again found wanting.  As has often been the case it was spin that proved the undoing of the Windies at the crease.  With Mark Watt and Michael Leask leading the way for the Scots, the Windies were bundled out for 118, with only Holder again making an impact with 38 from 33.

For their part, Zimbabwe were impressive in their opener against Ireland, taking the encounter by 31 runs and Holder knows it will take a special effort. 

“We are just going to have to dig deep.  There is no other way to really put it, we just have to dig deep and bring it together,” Holder added.

The West Indies will face Zimbabwe at 3:00 am on Wednesday.

“There’s no doubt that we have what it takes” was the message from West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder ahead of his team’s must-win game against Zimbabwe at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia on Wednesday.

The Windies are in a must-win situation after suffering an embarrassing 42-run defeat at the hands of Scotland on Sunday, leaving them at the foot of Group B needing wins in their last two games to move on to the Super 12s.

“Obviously, we had a tough start yesterday,” said the former West Indies Test and ODI skipper in a pre-match press conference on Monday.

“We’re all disappointed with the performance we had but I think the most important thing we have to do now is to come together and try to find solutions. There’s no doubt that we have what it takes to turn it around and it’s all about hitting the ground running against Zimbabwe,” he added.

The Zimbabweans will enter the game on a high after getting a comprehensive 31-run win over Ireland in their first game, also on Sunday.

“They’re a very good cricket team. We’ve played against them quite a bit in the recent past and they’ve been more and more competitive. They’re on a bit of a win streak as well so we’re expecting a highly competitive game; one of the hardest games we’ll have in the competition.”

The first game saw the Caribbean team struggle with the bat, being bowled out for 118 in just 18.3 overs in pursuit 161.

Better situational awareness and the forming of partnerships were Holder's answers when asked about possible solutions for the team's batting struggles.

 “We’ve got to be a little more situationally aware and try to build partnerships. Partnerships are key in any cricket game.”

“The situation of the game will determine how we play. If that requires that we go for boundaries then we’ll go for boundaries but if it requires that we have to knock it around for a bit, we’ll make that adjustment.”

The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 am Jamaica Time (4:00 am ECT).

Johnson Charles of the St Lucia Kings and Kyle Mayers of the Barbados Royals were among the 12-man 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament released on Friday. Noticeably absent, however, is Brandon King of the Jamaica Tallawahs, who is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament and one of only three men who have scored hundreds in this year’s tournament.

The team that was picked by the Hero CPL commentary team – Ian Bishop, Samuel Badree, Daren Ganga, Simon Doull and Danny Morrison, also includes South Africa’s Faf Du Plessis, who captained the Kings and Tallawahs’ captain Rovman Powell.

 In fact, players from the Kings and Tallawahs dominated the selection with only Sunil  Narine of four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders among the selectees while other than Mayers, only Jason Holder was selected among the 11 from the Barbados Royals.

 However, the selection panel picked the Royals’ Ramon Simmonds as the 12^th man as a result of his impressive performances throughout the tournament.

 Simmonds is one of the 12 emerging players in the Hero CPL squads and has been an important part of the Barbados Royals team in 2022. 

 The 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament: Johnson Charles (Saint Lucia Kings), Kyle Mayers (Barbados Royals), Faf Du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings), Rovman Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Raymon Reifer (Jamaica Tallawahs), Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tallawahs), Jason Holder (Barbados Royals), David Wiese (Saint Lucia Kings), Alzarri Joseph (Saint Lucia Kings), Mohammad Amir (Jamaica Tallawahs) Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders) and 12^th man – Ramon Simmonds (Barbados Royals).

Barbadian All-rounder Jason Holder has warned his West Indian teammates against complacency in the qualifying round for the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled to commence October 15 in Australia.

The Windies, who won the tournament in 2012 and 2016, will face Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland in Group B with the top two teams advancing to the Super 12.

"We've got a task to uphold in terms of qualifying for the main round," Holder said.

"More or less, we have to focus on the qualifier. Ireland, Scotland and Zimbabwe by no means are pushovers. We've got to take it as seriously as we possibly can and just make sure we get into the next phase of the tournament."

Holder, entering his third T20 World Cup believes there are positives to playing in the qualifiers for the regional side.

"I think it's good in a way that we're playing the qualifiers," he said.

 "West Indies teams of the past have proved that we get better as we go along. To have the warm-up phase of the tournament and then to go into the actual group stage after qualification, I think it's going to be to our betterment in the sense we get more cricket. The talent we have got - depth in terms of resources and batting and bowling - we've always been pretty athletic in the field, so I'm looking forward to that challenge."

The team will be looking to rebound from an abysmal 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE where they got just one win in five matches, failing to advance from the Super 12.

Guyana Amazon Warriors completed the perfect set of home victories in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comprehensive defeat of the table-topping Barbados Royals on Sunday night.

 The victory means the two teams will do it all again on Tuesday in the first qualifier. 

 The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first, and that proved to be an inspired decision. On a fresh surface, their seamers wreaked havoc taking three wickets inside the PowerPlay to leave the Royals in disarray.

Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and the 125 the Royals mustered was never likely to be enough on a track that offered good value for positive stroke play. 

The Royals were able to take two early wickets of their own when they had their turn to bowl restricting the Amazon Warriors to 18-2 but that was as good as it got. 

 Shakib Al-Hasan produced a scintillating half-century to put the Amazon Warriors on the cusp of victory and the remaining batters saw the chase home to win the game inside 15 overs.

 Earlier Guyana Amazon Warriors had utilised the movement on offer to unleash their cadre of seamers on the Royals. Romario Shepherd, Keemo Paul and Odean Smith all weighed in with wickets to leave the Royals 97-9 and it was only late cameos from Ramon Simmonds and Mujeeb Ur Rahman that enabled the Royals to post 125.

 Although the Amazon Warriors lost Chandrapaul Hemraj and Shai Hope in the PowerPlay, Shakib played an enterprising innings to take the drama out of the chase. His knock of 53 came off 30 balls and laid the foundation for the Amazon Warriors to win with five over to spare.

 The two sides will now do battle again in the first qualifier on Tuesday to determine who will earn the right to go straight to the Hero CPL final.

Scores: Guyana Amazon Warriors 126-5 (Shakib 53, Gurbaz 22; McCoy 2-22, Mayers 1-20) beat Barbados Royals 125 (Holder 42, Khan 20; Shepherd 3-14, Paul 2-9) by 5 wickets.

 West Indies and Barbados Royals’ pace bowler Obed McCoy has come in for high praise from teammate and Barbados Royals' bowling partner Jason Holder.

The two are the leading wicket-takers for the Barbados-based CPL franchise and both have been selected in the West Indies squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

The Barbados Royals lead the 2022 Hero CPL standings with 16 points having lost only one of the nine games played so far thanks in part to the bowling of Holder, who has so far taken 14 wickets in the tournament, second only to the St Lucia Kings’ Alzarri Joseph, who has 16.

McCoy has taken 13 wickets which puts him tied for third in the standings for most wickets. The former West Indies captain believes that the Vincentian’s bowling talent is among the best he has seen in recent times.

"He's probably one of the most skilled bowlers that we've produced in a very long time, and it is showing - he has been successful around the world,” said Holder of his Royals’ bowling partner in a recent interview with ESPNCricinfo.

“He has played in the IPL, county cricket, he has done well in the Caribbean as well. Again, if he continues to develop, and understands himself, then nobody can really stop him.”

Holder opined that McCoy has all the tools to be even better and he feels obliged to help the young bowler get to the lofty heights.

"He has got the talent and all the deliveries you could think of,” he said indicating that he wants to help as many of the upcoming bowlers as he can.

“So, it is important for me to continue to help them. Whatever they ask, just try to have answers for them. If I don't have answers at a particular time, try my best to find them and help them as much as I can. It's like being a parent.”

Barbados Royals confirmed their spot in the playoffs of the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) campaign with a commanding DLS victory against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on Sunday.

The Amazon Warriors won the toss and opted to field first and that appeared to be the right decision. 

Taking wickets at regular intervals the Amazon Warriors made it difficult for the Royals to negotiate the conditions and only a late order rally from Jason Holder and Mujeeb Ur Rahman ensured the Royals ended with a reasonable total of 107-6 from an innings shortened to 16 overs due to rain.

However, that total proved more than enough as the Royals' bowling attack offered no freebies when the Amazon Warriors came to bat.

Led by Mujeeb and Rahkeem Cornwall they ensured the run rate become untenable as the Royals cruised to victory. Guyana Amazon Warriors’ cadre of spinners imposed themselves on the game taking all six wickets to fall in the Barbados Royals innings.

 Having reduced the Royals to 62-5 when the rain delay came, Imran Tahir then removed David Miller immediately after the restart but Jason Holder and Mujeeb Ur Rahman compiled a 39-run partnership off 16 balls to give the Royals a total to defend.

 111 to win suggested an advantage to Amazon Warriors but Mujeeb and Rahkeem Cornwall produced spell-binding bowling in the first four overs to restrict the Warriors to 12 runs for the loss of one wicket.

The Amazon Warriors couldn’t get going as a disciplined Royals bowling performance increased the pressure with a plethora of dot balls. 

 In the end, what should have been a tight game became an easy win for the Royals as they coasted to victory by 29 runs.

Scores: Barbados Royals 107-6 (Holder 40, Cornwall 20; Hemraj 3-15, Sinclair 2-12) beat Guyana Amazon Warriors 81-9 (Smith 15, Hetmyer 12; Cornwall 2-12, Simmonds 2-21) by 29 runs (DLS)

The Jamaica Tallawahs consolidated second place in the league table with a six-run (DLS) victory over Barbados Royals, inflicting their first loss of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season on Thursday.

The Jamaica Tallawahs won the toss and chose to field first, Imad Wasim getting them off to a spectacular start by bowling two maiden overs and taking three wickets in the powerplay to leave the Royals reeling at 17-3 after six overs.

It was South African internationals Quinton De Kock and David Miller who rebuilt the innings for the Royals with an 83-run partnership that took them to 146-6 at the end of their innings. 

Brandon King and Amir Jangoo got off to a flying start in the chase, scoring 50 runs by the fifth over to put the Tallawahs in a commanding position. Jason Holder would take three wickets as the Royals fought back, but it was not enough as the Royals reached 126-5 and won by five wickets (DLS), six runs ahead of the par score.   

Jamaica Tallawahs shocked the Royals early on in the innings with Wasim striking three times within the powerplay, removing Rahkeem Cornwall, Kyle Mayers and Corbin Bosch with his bamboozling deliveries. But it was de Kock, once again batting lower down the order at four, who led the way with a sublime 74 off just 43 balls, with support from David Miller as the Royals ended up finishing on 146/6.  

 Tallawahs had a dream start to their chase with King and Jangoo finding the boundary consistently in the PowerPlay. However, Obed McCoy would strike with two wickets, before Holder set up a tense finish by taking three wickets. In the end, a six from Rovman Powell just before the rain fell would prove critical, as it meant the Tallwahs finished ahead by six runs on DLS and picked up the win. 

Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 126-5 (King 46, Jangoo 29; Holder 3-33, McCoy 2/19) beat  Barbados Royals 146-6 (de Kock 74, Miller 34; Wasim 3-14, Allen 1-14) by six runs (DLS)

Despite an entertaining 58-run partnership from 26 balls between Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith, New Zealand took a 1-0 lead in their three-match T20 series on Wednesday after defeating the West Indies by 13 runs at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Chasing 186 for victory, West Indies slumped to yet another seemingly inevitable defeat characterized by poor shot-making and reckless play.

The West Indies slumped to 49-4 in the seventh over with Kyle Mayers (1), Nicholas Pooran (15), Devon Thomas (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) all back in the hutch.

Jason Holder and Rovman Powell tried to accelerate but were out for 25 and 18, respectively as the West Indies slumped to 114-7, needing 72 from the final 32 balls.

Holder’s dismissal brought together Shepherd and Smith whose partnership brought the West Indies within 13 runs of an unlikely victory.

Shepherd hit three sixes and a four in his 16-ball 31 while Smith made 27 from just 14 balls with four fours and a six, but the task proved too great as the West Indies innings closed at 172-7.

Mitchell Santer was the best of the New Zealand bowlers with 3-19 from his four overs.

After the visitors were invited to take the first strike, Martin Guptill and Devon Conway shared in an opening stand of 62 at almost eight runs an over.

It took a spectacular piece of fielding from Shimron Hetmyer to break the partnership in the eighth over when Guptill cut Odean Smith up and over deep point only to see the Guyanese snatch the ball out of the air just as it was about to clear the boundary.

Smith removed Conway next ball caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Devon Thomas for a 29-ball 43 that included four fours and two sixes.

Glen Phillips went for 17 caught at short fine leg off Holder and Daryl Mitchell was dismissed by Obed McCoy as the West Indies tried to fight back having New Zealand at 144-4 in the 17^th over.

At the other end, Kane Williamson bludgeoned the bowling making 47 from just 33 balls before he became Smith’s third victim with New Zealand 149-5 in the 18^th. The next 15 balls would prove costly, especially the last six bowled by Jason Holder, who was plundered for 23 runs that pushed New Zealand to 185-5. James Neesham's 33 from 15 balls with three fours and two sixes at the death, was instrumental in getting New Zealand to their winning total.

Smith ended with 3-32.