Only 51 overs were possible as rain played a massive part on day one of the first Test between the West Indies and Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Saturday.

On a flat pitch, Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat first.

Brathwaite and opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul then both played typical patient knocks to end the day 112-0 after 51 overs when the heavens opened.

In the process, Brathwaite brought up his 29^th Test fifty while Chanderpaul, playing in just his third match, brought up his second half century in Tests.

Both batsmen ended the day not out on 55, with Brathwaite’s knock coming off 138 balls and including two fours and Chanderpaul’s coming off 170 balls and including eight boundaries.

After nearly two weeks of preparation in Bulawayo, West Indies interim head coach is eagerly awaiting the first ball of the series on Saturday morning. According to Andre Coley, the preparation has been sufficient, with numerous practice sessions and a dominant display in the three-day warm-up match against the Zimbabwe XI, across town at the Bulawayo Sports Club.

Now the attention switches the “big show” – the first Test against Zimbabwe, and the location moves to the Queens Sports Club, where the two teams will meet.

“We are confident that the areas that we wanted to address and spend some time on, we were able to do so. The facilities have generally been good and offered us enough to get through what we needed to,” Coley said.

He also expressed pleasure at the way the players have been responding to the training, noting that they have been putting in extra work in the nets and on fitness.

Regarding getting ahead and eventually winning the series, he is looking for consistency in all areas.

Wary that Zimbabwe are highly competitive at home, the West Indies will be eager to start the year right, having enjoyed some success in the longest format over the past 18 months and a series in South Africa to follow.

The first Test will begin on Saturday, February 4. First ball is 10am (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).

Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tagnarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Devon Thomas and Jomel Warrican

West Indies closed day three of their tour match against Zimbabwe XI in Bulawayo on 82-2, a lead of 477 as they continue to prepare for their upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe.

Resuming from their overnight score of 52-5, in reply to the West Indies' mammoth first innings total of 517, Zimbabwe XI were bowled out for 122.

Timycen Maruma, who was on 15 overnight was eventually dismissed by Motie for 37 while Milton Shumba, who was on nine added only four before he was bowled by Gabriel for 13.

Tafadzwa Tsiga scored an unbeaten 21 and number-11 batter Faraz Akram added 19 managing to get the score past 100 after Zimbabwe XI had slumped to 87-9.

Joseph took 2-12, while Motie returned figures of 2-24. Gabriel, who is returning from an extended break because of injury, finished with 2-21.

Choosing not to enforce a follow-on, West Indies opened with Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer, in an apparent bid to provide time in the middle for other batters in the squad. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored an unbeaten 116 in the West Indies first innings.

However, Reifer failed to take advantage of the opportunity when he got out caught behind off Akram's bowling for one having faced four balls.

Nkrumah Bonner’s poor run of form continued when he was dismissed caught behind off the bowling of William Mashinge for a mere 13.

Chanderpaul, who made 46 in the West Indies first innings, retired not out on 23. Meanwhile, Jermaine Blackwood, who only managed 17 in the West Indies first innings was unbeaten on 34 with Jason Holder not out on two at the other end as the match approaches its fourth and final day.

Akram has 1-4 from his four overs while Mashinge has so far taken 1-6 from the three overs he bowled.

West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua Da Silva says he is thankful for the opportunity to spend some time in the middle ahead of the side’s two Test matches against Zimbabwe beginning on February 4.

Da Silva made a well-compiled 100 off 149 balls as the Windies scored a massive 517 in their first innings of a tour match against a Zimbabwe XI in Bulawayo. The match was declared a draw on Monday after the West Indies reached 82-2 in their second innings after dismissing the hosts for 122.

“It’s always good when you get to spend some time in the middle in a practice game. I had fun out there,” the 24-year-old Trinidadian said.

“It is a decent pitch. Some balls are staying a bit low but I think the boys have really applied themselves and made the most of the opportunity to get into the middle. The goal set out by Kraigg (Brathwaite) was to bat a day and a half and we did that. Kraigg gave us a target of 450 an hour after lunch on the second day and we got that as well. We ticked all the boxes and, hopefully, we can transfer that into the Test series,” Da Silva added.

Brathwaite got a hundred of his own, stroking 116 off 170 deliveries, and Da Silva commented on his skipper’s form heading into the series.

“Everybody’s seen it. We know the kind of form he’s in and ever since he’s gotten the captaincy his form has taken an uphill climb. It’s been a joy to watch for me and I try to take little things from him and add it to my game,” he said.

Da Silva also commended his bowlers, especially Alzarri Joseph, who he said was able to extract some good pace out of a slow wicket.

“I think Alzarri’s pace opening up really surprised them. He was bowling quite fast on the pitch and it’s not a quick pitch by any means. To see him run in, give his full effort and bowl as fast as he could was really good.”

The West Indies Women ended the South Africa Women’s Tri-Series without a win after suffering an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of India at Buffalo Park on Monday.

Captain Hayley Matthews made a top-score of 34 while under-19 player Zaida James made 21 not out as the Windies Women were restricted to just 94-6 off their 20 overs after India won the toss and chose to field first.

Off-spinner Deepti Sharma starred with the ball for India with 3-11 from her four overs while medium pacer Pooja Vastrakar took 2-19 from her four overs.

The Indians then needed just 13.5 overs to achieve victory, reaching 95-2 thanks to an unbeaten 53-run partnership between Jemimah Rodrigues (42 not out) and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (32 not out).

West Indies Women have now lost 10 T20 Internationals in a row. India will take on South Africa in the Tri-Series final on Thursday.

Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel and Gudakesh Motie each took two wickets for the West Indies who bowled out the Zimbabwe XI for 122 on Monday to establish a lead of 395 runs on first innings in their tour match in Bulawayo.

Batting a second time the West Indies were at the time of writing 18-1, a lead of 413. Raymon Reifer was the batter out for just one.

In response to the West Indies’ first innings score of 517, Zimbabwe XI, resuming from their overnight score of 52-5, added 70 more for the loss of their remaining five wickets.

Timycen Maruma, who was on 15 overnight was eventually dismissed by Motie for 37 while Milton Shumba, who was on nine added only four before he was bowled by Gabriel for 13.

Tafadzwa Tsiga scored an unbeaten 21 and number-11 batter Faraz Akram added 19 managing to get the score past 100 after Zimbabwe XI had slumped to 87-9.

Joseph took 2-12, while Motie returned figures of 2-24. Gabriel, who is returning from an extended break because of injury, finished with 2-21.

The match concludes on Tuesday.

Joshua Da Silva scored the second unbeaten century of the innings to leave the West Indies in total command against a Zimbabwe XI on Sunday’s second day of their three-day match at Bulawayo.

The Trinidadian wicketkeeper/batsman retired not out as the West Indies amassed 517 from 132.5 overs. The visiting bowlers then struck early and often to reduce the Zimbabwe XI to 52-5 at stumps.

Da Silva’s ton that came from 149 balls and included 13 fours followed that of Captain Kraigg Brathwaite retired on 116 on Saturday.

Resuming on his overnight score on nine and Devon Thomas on 42 with the score on 313-5, the pair added 23 to their partnership of 18 before Thomas was dismissed for 49.

Da Silva and Roston Chase then mounted a seventh-wicket stand of 158 before he retired leaving Chase unbeaten on 87 at the end after Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph were dismissed for four and 11, respectively.

Milton Shumba was the best of the Zimbabwe XI bowlers with 3-80. Donald Tiripano took 2-34.

Chasing the mammoth total, Zimbabwe XI were in early trouble when Joseph had opener Kudzai Maunze caught behind for a duck in the second over of the innings.

He later dismissed Joylord Gumbie in similar fashion for 11 in the sixth over to have Zimbabwe XI struggling on 12-2. Kyle Mayers got among the wickets when he dismissed Tanunurwa Makoni for 13 as the side slipped to 30-3.

Jason Holder made it 31-4 when he trapped Wessly Madhevere lbw for nought and Shannon Gabriel dismissed Tony Munyonga for one to make it 36-5.

Timycen Maruma (15*) and Shumba who is nine not out managed to inch towards the close of play without further loss.

Joseph has so far taken 2-14 for the West Indies while Holder has 1-2 from four overs.

West Indies Vice-Captain Jermaine Blackwood says he is looking to score big runs in their upcoming two-match series away to Zimbabwe.

“I’m feeling pretty good at the moment. I’m hitting the ball very well in the nets,” the 31-year-old told members of the media in a press conference on Friday.

“The way I’m feeling now, I feel like my old self from a few years ago so, hopefully, I can go out there and out in some good performances for the team,” he added.

Blackwood is coming off a modest tour of Australia where he scored 63 runs in four innings at an average of just 15.75. In those four innings he recorded scores of 36, 24, three and zero.

Despite the poor returns, Blackwood noted that the failures were not due to tough luck rather than poor form.

“I never really had any difficulties. I just didn’t get the scores I wanted,” he said.

“In the first game, I thought I got a hard decision in the first innings with the LBW against Mitchell Starc and then, in the second innings, I thought I was unfortunate when the ball hit my bat then my thigh pad and lobbed up to Labuschagne. In the second game I didn’t really get a start,” he added.

Nevertheless, Blackwood views the two matches against Zimbabwe as an opportunity to score some much-needed runs ahead of the team’s three-match tour of South Africa starting on February 28.

“My goal is to score as much runs as possible. In the last three series, I haven’t scored any centuries so I’m looking forward to scoring at least one in this series and get the form going for the South Africa series coming up shortly,” he said.

As he mentioned, his last Test hundred came in March 2022 against England at the Kensington Oval.

Since then, he’s scored 237 runs in eight innings at an average of 29.62 with one half century, 63 against Bangladesh in Antigua in June 2022.

The first Test against Zimbabwe bowls off on February 4.

West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite signalled his intent for the Caribbean side’s upcoming two Tests against Zimbabwe with an unbeaten 116 on the first day of their four-day tour match against a Zimbabwe XI in Bulawayo on Saturday.

The tourists ended day one on 313-5 in their 90 overs, led by the skipper who retired his innings after reaching 116 from 170 balls.

Brathwaite, a member of the ICC Test Team of the Year for 2022, shared in a 137-run opening stand with Tagenarine Chanderpaul after the hosts won the toss and elected to field first.

Their stand ended when Chanderpaul was dismissed for 46 by pacer Tanaka Chivanga in the 43^rd over.

The next man to go was Raymon Reifer for 23 before Nkrumah Bonner (3) and Jermaine Blackwood (17) followed soon after.

With the team at 240-4 in the 71^st over, Kyle Mayers and Devon Thomas combined to add another 55 runs to the Windies’ total before Mayers was dismissed for 46.

The day ended with Thomas and Joshua Da Silva at the crease on 42 and nine, respectively.

Chivanga, Donald Tiripano, Wessly Madhevere, Priveledge Chesa and Milton Shumba all took a wicket apiece.

Scores after Day One: West Indies 313-5 from 90 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 116, Kyle Mayers 46, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 46)

Former West Indies and Jamaica all-rounder Chris Gayle believes growing the domestic game is the way the region will return to the pinnacle of world cricket.

In an interview with OnlyCricket24.com, the 43-year-old acknowledged the deterioration of West Indies cricket in the last few years, due mostly to the emergence of a number of franchise leagues around the world.

“It’s something the board really and truly has to look at and I can see whatever part I can play in that as well. A lot of players are playing cricket in the United States now. The USA is an option for cricketers to go there and make a living, but we are struggling here in the Caribbean,” he said.

“I think cricket took a wrong turn, but hopefully we can actually develop the game. Club cricket is something to look into as well; we’re not seeing a lot of cricket. I’m speaking from a Jamaica point of view,” he added.

The Jamaica Cricket Association’s premier club competition, the two-day Senior Cup, gets underway on February 11 after a two-year absence.

Gayle also feels he has a part to play in the growth of the regional game, but when the time is right.

“I can help in a few departments, not in all. But first and foremost, I have to find time for myself. I still have a lot on my plate from a personal point of view, but when it comes on to West Indies cricket they will always have my support; when it comes on to Jamaica cricket they will always have my support as well,” he said.

“I have my academy, so we can get some younger players, search for new talent and just help kids on a whole, that’s my plan.” he added.

Gayle’s academy has been dormant since the coronavirus pandemic and he has since reiterated his desire to get it up and running again in 2023.

Cricket West Indies has paid tribute to Irving Shillingford, the former Dominica, Combined Islands and West Indies batsman who passed away on Thursday at the age of 78.

Following their comprehensive review of matters related to the performance of the West Indies Men’s team, and their early exit from at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia last year, the independent three-member group appointed by Cricket West Indies (CWI) has submitted their report to CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

The group was chaired by Justice Patrick Thompson Jr., a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and included Brian Lara, the West Indies batting legend and current IPL T20 Head Coach, and South African international cricket coach, Mickey Arthur.

Commenting on the report, CWI President Ricky Skerritt said: “The quality of this report lends itself to becoming the foundation of the learning and planning culture that we have envisaged for the sustainable improvement of all our cricket teams. It brings great promise and direction after the grave disappointment of our T20 World Cup results. I am extremely grateful for the panel’s commitment to lend so much of their valuable time to this important review project, including carefully interviewing more than 30 players, coaches, administrators, directors, and other stakeholders who I am told spoke so willingly and frankly to the panel. The independent group’s report has been circulated to CWI’s Board of Directors and I look forward to the Board agreeing to implement the 34 recommendations as soon as possible.”

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 believes his new opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul is well on the way to becoming a world class player, following an impressive debut last month.

The 26-year-old Chanderpaul, the son of legendary West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul, earned plenty of plaudits after beginning his senior career against top Test team Australia last month. 

On debut against the Aussies, Chanderpaul scored 160 runs, which was the second most behind the in-form Brathwaite, and had a top score of 51.  In addition to his scoring, however, the player's relative comfort against top-class bowling on a good pitch was also of note.

“I think he’s world class, when you even look at a thing like the ‘leave alone’ that he has,” Brathwaite told member of the media, ahead of the team's tour of Southern Africa.

“...I think he will be a world class Test batsman, obviously he has the patience and you can see he has still the shots also. On some good Australian pitches his strike rate was higher than normal, so I really think he has a bright future,” he added.

“He is a very focussed player and very determined, so for sure he will make many West Indian’s proud.”

Brathwaite and Chanderpaul will look to lead from the front, as the team looks to bounce back from a poor showing in Australia last month.

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.