The Melbourne Renegades’ horrific run of form in the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) continued on Saturday with a narrow four-run loss to the Melbourne Stars at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.

The Stars first posted 144-5 off their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Renegades.

Captain Meg Lanning, who recently retired from international cricket, top scored with 67 from 49 balls and got good support from Annabel Sutherland who hit 24 and Alice Capsey who made 23.

Sarah Coyte took 2-32 from four overs for the Renegades.

The Renegades then fell agonizingly short of their target reaching 140-6 off their 20 overs.

Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with 37 while Tammy Beaumont got 33 and Matthews got her highest score of the season with 32, just her second time going over 30.

Sutherland completed an excellent all-round game with 4-22 from her four overs to be named player of the match.

Nyeem Young will lead a West Indies Men’s Academy squad for the upcoming home series against Ireland Academy. The two teams will play three List A matches (50 overs) and two four-day first-class matches from 17 November to 5 December at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua.

The West Indies squad is mainly comprised of the players in the West Indies Academy programme, who have just played in the CG United Super50 Cup as well as the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series earlier this year.

The CWI Selection Panel has included four new players - teenagers – Jordan Johnson, a left-handed middle-order batter and fast bowler Isai Thorne as well as Junior Sinclair, a right-handed spin bowling all-rounder and Kadeem Alleyne, a batting all-rounder.

Johnson was the stand-out player in the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s tour to Sri Lanka in September when he made three centuries. Sinclair was impressive in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and was a member of the Guyana Amazon Warriors which won their first CPL title on home soil in September.

Alleyne, who will play the white ball series, was impressive batting at the top of the order for Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in the CG United Super50 Cup. Thorne, who will play the red ball fixtures, bowled with pace and penetration on the Rising Stars Under 19 tour to Sri Lanka.

“The Ireland Series has great significance to the CWI High Performance Pathway as it will be the first bilateral Series since the Academy programme was introduced in July 2022,” Graeme West, CWI’s High Performance Manager explained.

“Playing both 50-over and red-ball four-day series will provide the Academy squad with further opportunities to progress their skills following promising showings in the Headley-Weekes Series and more recently in the CG United Super50 Cup.”

West revealed that the players are eagerly anticipating the contest against the Irish team.

“The Academy squad really embraced the challenge that the CG United Super50 Cup provided, and it was encouraging to see the conversion of winning positions as this was a focus area coming out of 2022. We will look to see the learning over the past three weeks come through during the 50 over series against Ireland,” he said.

“The two four-day games will allow the players to gain more experience and reinforce the gameplan that worked so successfully during the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series. With Kirk McKenzie and Kevlon Anderson graduating to their respective franchises, the Series will provide Jordan Johnson with the platform to build on his exceptional performances for the West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 side in Sri Lanka.”

FULL SQUAD: Nyeem Young (captain), Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Bishop, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, McKenny Clarke, Jordan Johnson, Leonardo Julien, Johann Layne, Matthew Nandu, Ashmead Nedd, Kelvin Pitman, Junior Sinclair, Kevin Wickham, Kadeem Alleyne (white ball matches only), Isai and Thorne (red ball matches only).

MATCH SCHEDULE

 17 November: 1st 50-Over match at SVRS

19 November: 2nd 50-Over match at CCG

21 November: 3rd 50-Over match at SVRS

25-28 November: 1st four-day match at CCG

2-5 December: 2nd four-day match at CCG

Trinidadian wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua da Silva is to lead a West Indies “A” Team for the upcoming tour of South Africa where they will play three four-day “Test” matches against South Africa “A” from 21 November to 8 December.

Joshua Da Silva gets his second stint as ‘A’ team captain after leading West Indies “A”  to victory in the series in Bangladesh earlier this year. Tevin Imlach, the other wicket-keeper/batsman has been named as the vice-captain.

The 14-member squad includes five players with Test match experience: Da Silva, batsmen Kirk McKenzie, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul; along with fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Shermon Lewis.

The squad also includes three newcomers to the international level: Kevlon Anderson, the right-handed batsman; fast bowler Shamar Joseph, and all-rounder Abhijai Mansingh. All three made their first-class debuts earlier this year.

Andre Coley is the head coach for the tour with his assistant coaches being Jimmy Adams, the former West Indies Test captain and Shaun Tait, the former Australia fast bowler.

Lead Selector Desmond Haynes, stated that the panel believes they have picked a balanced team to give the players more exposure in overseas conditions, similarly to the previous “A” Team tour to Bangladesh earlier this year. The panel also outlined that with the overlap between the England Men’s white-ball tour of the West Indies and this tour, the squad was picked with the development of players’ red-ball skills in mind.

“We had a very good ‘A’ Team tour to Bangladesh earlier this year, when were saw a number of players improve and grow. That tour was great for development in the red ball format – we saw some excellent individual performances which led to the team’s overall success. Now with continued investment by CWI in our players, we want to see the same kind of progress on this trip to South Africa,” Haynes said.

 “Da Silva did an outstanding job as captain in the ‘Tests’ in Bangladesh and he is again the captain for this tour. Anderson is a young batsman who has ​ benefitted immensely from his time in the West Indies Academy, and we saw his quality of batsmanship in the Headley-Weekes Tri Series. Mansingh showed quality with bat and ball in the first-class competition and gets this opportunity to showcase his skills and progress. Joseph is a young fast bowler who has impressed everyone with his genuine pace, his tremendous fitness and a huge desire to gain more knowledge about the game. You can see he wants to learn and get better.”

 FULL SQUAD: Joshua Da Silva (captain), Tevin Imlach (vice-captain), Kevlon Anderson, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Kavem Hodge, Akeem Jordan, Shamar Joseph, Shermon Lewis, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Abhijai Mansingh, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair.

Team Management: Andre Coley (Head Coach), Dwain Gill (Team Manager), Jimmy Adams (Assistant Coach), Shaun Tait (Assistant Coach), Barrington Gayle (Physiotherapist), Asia Joseph (Strength & Conditioning Coach)

Match Schedule

21 to 24 November: vs South Africa “A” at Willowmoore Park, Benoni

28 November to 1 December: vs South Africa “A” at Buffalo Park, East London

5 to 8 December: vs South Africa “A” at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein

England have slowed down plans for Jofra Archer’s return after he experienced soreness in his troublesome right elbow.

Archer has suffered several years of injury trouble and has not played competitively since May, when he suffered a recurrence of a stress fracture in his bowling arm while at the Indian Premier League.

His recovery had been going well enough for England selector Luke Wright to identify him as a “travelling reserve” for the World Cup, but he ended up spending less than three days with the squad in Mumbai last month.

On his only day of training, at the Wankhede Stadium, he reported discomfort during a very brief bowling spell and was immediately sent for scans. They showed no new problems but he was immediately ruled out of replacing the injured Reece Topley and also taken out of contention for next month’s white-ball tour of his native West Indies.

That trip had looked ideal as a comeback for the 28-year-old but Rob Key, England’s director of men’s cricket, explained they are adopting a cautious approach with a player who has been more spoken about than seen on the pitch since his breakout year of 2019.

“He had his scans and it was all clear. Then he comes here, bowls, and felt pain in his elbow,” said Key.

“So then the view was this is going to be a risk too far; send him back rather than keep him hanging around. He might well be (in the West Indies) but until he’s ready and fit he won’t be in the squad. Even then he’ll need a period of building up.

“Elbows, from what everyone says, are a tricky part of the body that you don’t want to get wrong.”

Archer signed a new two-year central contract in the latest round of deals, having been offered three, and Key makes no apology for the continued investment in a player with such a troubling fitness record.

“We take a bet with Jofra, because of the upside. That’s what lures you in,” he said.

“Who’s the best with the new ball? Jofra Archer. Who’s the best in the middle? Jofra Archer. Who’s the best at the death? Jofra Archer.

“It’s the Ashes in two years, the T20 World Cup in the summer…you don’t want to risk rushing something and kibosh the rest of his career.”

Director of cricket Rob Key is ready to take his share of the blame for England’s World Cup downfall, insisting head coach Matthew Mott will be given “first opportunity” to put things right.

Having arrived in India among the favourites, the 2019 champions are set to depart on Sunday among the also-rans, having scrambled to a seventh-placed finish.

With six defeats from nine games, this goes down as the country’s worst ever performance at the event, leaving Mott under pressure after 18 months in the job.

Some read Key’s decision to jet out to Kolkata for the end of the tournament as a bad sign for the Australian, but he and captain Jos Buttler instead received the backing of their boss.

Rather than line either up as a blood sacrifice, Key focused on his own prioritisation of England’s Test fortunes, which have sparked to life under Brendon McCullum’s guidance.

“I look at what I’ve not done rather than blaming everyone else. I hold myself accountable for a lot,” he said.

“Since I’ve started this job, it’s very hard for me to be critical of Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott when I’m the one who, every single time a decision has been made around whether or not we focus on 50-over cricket, Test cricket or T20, I’ve always chosen Test cricket.

“When there was a choice in Pakistan over who got the best players, I’ve always said, ‘sorry, Test cricket gets that focus at the moment’. The same thing in South Africa. I’ve always chosen Test cricket. It’s not easy for coaches and captains when you haven’t got the ability to plan and have your best team.

“That’s not their fault. So I feel like it’s harsh if I turn around and blame the captain and coach. Really, I hold myself at the top of that list for what’s gone wrong on this trip.”

Key’s backing for Mott did come with a gentle reminder that the mandate was not open-ended, with next summer’s T20 World Cup an obvious barometer for improvement.

“As far as I’m concerned he gets my full backing. He’s the person to get the first opportunity to put that right,” said Key.

“But it’s certainly not a case of saying ‘carry on, let’s keep doing everything the same and get the same result’. You’re now the person charged with sorting this out – along with myself, along with Jos, along with everyone else who has any kind of decision-making authority in English cricket. It’s for everyone to be accountable for that.

“It’s pretty simple as a coach, your job is to make sure that every single player is improving and getting better and that’s what we haven’t done. He will accept that.

“I feel this actually should be the making of those two (Mott and Buttler) as a partnership. If it isn’t, it isn’t and you move on but we have to make sure some good comes out of what has been a very poor World Cup.”

Key suggested another decision he had got wrong was in not hiring somebody with greater knowledge of Indian conditions to their backroom team. When England won the T20 World Cup in Australia last year they not only had Mott’s expertise, but two other locals in David Saker and Michael Hussey as coaching consultants.

England have been guilty of picking the wrong teams, failing to judge a par score on particular pitches and made some poor calls at the toss. Most obviously, they opted to field first against South Africa in energy-sapping heat and humidity in Mumbai and were promptly run ragged.

“I set up a coaching team that had no local experience really,” he reflected.

“When you get to somewhere like Mumbai – and it all seems so simple now – you’re worried about dew and all of this other stuff. But someone who knows these conditions really well would say ‘it’s hotter than the sun out there; make sure you have a bat’.

“It was only in the last couple of games, have we actually understood the way that we went about things. We should have known this but we didn’t going into the competition.”

There will be more analysis in the coming days and weeks as England try to come to terms with going from all-conquering champions and 50-over trailblazers to a seventh-placed side feeding on the crumbs of Champions Trophy qualification.

But Ben Stokes may have said it best on the eve of England’s penultimate game against the Netherlands when he summed things by saying ‘the problem is we’ve been crap’.

Key, ultimately, could not put it better himself.

“I would agree,” he concluded.

Less than 12 hours after exiting the World Cup, England named new-look squads for next month’s white-ball tour of the West Indies with an emphasis on rest, rotation and renewal.

The limited-overs trip to the Caribbean, coming straight off the back of a gruelling six-week trawl of India, had already been highlighted as a time to look at fresh faces but the ODI party contains only six survivors from the unimpressive title defence.

Captain Jos Buttler remains in charge and is joined by Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone.

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root and Mark Wood have been rested ahead of January’s Test series in India and Test captain Ben Stokes is heading straight for an operation on his long-term knee injury.

But the omissions of Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes from the 50-over squad may prove to be more final.

Moeen and Woakes, together with Adil Rashid, are retained for the T20 leg, suggesting they still have a chance of next summer’s short-form World Cup, but Malan has been cut from both formats.

Despite being England’s top run-scorer over the last few weeks, finishing exactly 100 clear of his nearest challenger, at 36 he seems to have run out of road.

Three uncapped players make the cut in ODI side with Test vice-captain Ollie Pope joining seamers John Turner and Josh Tongue. The pace pair also feature in the 20-over squad.

Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed will also make the full trip, indicating they are all seen as important parts of England’s white-ball rebuild.

While Ahmed was handed a two-year central contract last month, it is notable that neither Jacks nor Salt were among the 29 names who did receive deals.

Malan, who appears to have played his final international, was signed up for a year.

ODI squad: J Buttler (c), R Ahmed, G Atkinson, H Brook, B Carse, Z Crawley, S Curran, B Duckett, T Hartley, W Jacks, L Livingstone, O Pope, P Salt, J Tongue, J Turner

T20I squad: J Buttler (c), R Ahmed, M Ali, G Atkinson, H Brook, S Curran, B Duckett, W Jacks, L Livingstone, T Mills, A Rashid, P Salt, J Tongue, R Topley, J Turner, C Woakes.

The Trinidad & Tobago Red Force are champions of the CG United Super50 Cup for the 14^th time after a dominant seven-wicket win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in the final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

The Leewards posted a subpar 135 all out from 41.5 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Important to note, the match was eventually reduced to 43 overs per side after a pair of rain delays during the Hurricanes innings.

The Leewards, who have depended heavily on the opening partnership of Kieran Powell and Justin Greaves, lost them both in quick time due to a poor shot and bad luck.

Powell was bowled all ends up by Shannon Gabriel for just eight in the fourth over before, just two overs later, Greaves, who entered this final on the back of four 50-plus scores in a row, was forced to retire hurt on 11 after suffering a hamstring injury while running a single.

This brought Keacy Carty and Jahmar Hamilton together in the middle and the pair brought the score to 40 in the 13^th over before Carty played an ill-advised slash at a ball outside the off stump which produced an edge that wicket-keeper Joshua Da Silva gladly snatched up off the bowling of Terrance Hinds for 12.

Things could have gotten even worse for the Leewards as Hamilton was dropped on two occasions in quick succession, first by Nicholas Pooran off the bowling of Sunil Narine in the 14^th over then in the very next over by Akeal Hosein off the bowling of Terrance Hinds.

The Red Force didn’t have to wait too long for their next wicket, however, as in that same 14^th over, Narine had Terrence Warde trapped in front for a duck.

It was soon 43-4 as Narine dismissed Rakheem Cornwall in a similar fashion. Hamilton and Kofi James then put together a 27-run fifth wicket partnership before James became Khary Pierre’s first victim for seven.

Hayden Walsh Jr was next to go for 20 to leave the Hurricanes 116-6 in the 36^th over. Captain Alzarri Joseph then came and went for 2 one over later to leave the score at 121-7.

Greaves then attempted to continue his innings and added just one run to his total before being the eighth wicket to fall, going caught off the bowling of Akeal Hosein for 12.

Hamilton was the ninth wicket to fall for a well-made top score of 62 from 102 balls, his fourth fifty of the tournament. His knock included just three fours and a six.

Daniel Doram was last to go for 5.

Narine, playing his last ever List A game, took 3-17 from nine overs while Terrance Hinds continued his excellent form this season with 3-16 from seven overs.

Narine ended the season as the tournament’s joint-leading wicket taker with 20. He also took home the Gus Logie Award as the tournament's best fielder with nine catches.

The Red Force then started their chase with a revised target of 138 from 43 overs.

Kjorn Ottley and Joshua Da Silva put on 45 for the first wicket before Da Silva fell in the ninth over for a run-a-ball 28.

Ottley was then joined by skipper Darren Bravo and the pair put on a further 39 before Ottley was dismissed for 23 in the 17^th over.

Bravo, who finished the tournament as the highest run-scorer with 416 runs at an average of 83, was next to go for a top score of 40.

Nicholas Pooran and Jason Mohammed then guided the Red Force to 141-3 after 23.4 overs.

Pooran finished 39* off just 20 balls and brought up the victory with three consecutive sixes off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph.

Hayden Walsh Jr picked up 2-19 from four overs for the Hurricanes. He ended the season with 20 wickets, tied with Sunil Narine as the highest wicket taker for the tournament. He was also name as the tournament's best all rounder.

Shai Hope took home the award for best wicket-keeper.

Final Scores: Leeward Islands Hurricanes 135 off 41.5 overs (Jahmar Hamilton 62, Terrance Hinds 3-16, Sunil Narine 3-17) Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 141-3 off 23.4 overs (Darren Bravo 40, Nicholas Pooran 39*, Joshua Da Silva 28, Hayden Walsh Jr 2-19)

England bowed out of the World Cup and ushered in the end of an era as their old stagers mustered one last victory over Pakistan.

The defending champions of 2019 were making their final stand in India, their timid departure from the tournament long confirmed and the break-up of a decorated team already in motion, but managed to sign off with a 93-run win at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

David Willey is the only member of the current squad to have formally announced his retirement – a direct consequence of being the only one without a central contract – but this is an old group, past its prime in the 50-over format and ripe for renewal.

That process will start on Sunday morning, when squads are announced for next month’s white-ball tour of the West Indies, but there was a final opportunity for this band of thirtysomething trailblazers to get over the line together and guarantee a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Ben Stokes took a familiar leading role in proceedings, following up his century against the Netherlands by top-scoring with 84 – a coincidental mirror image of his score in the World Cup final four years ago – with Joe Root making 60 in a final score 337 for nine.

Pakistan were 244 all out in reply, Willey writing his own farewell as figures of three for 56 left him with exactly 100 ODI wickets. The finishing touch was applied by Chris Woakes, who made Haris Rauf his 31st victim at World Cups, breaking Sir Ian Botham’s English record.

Stokes and Root have been standard bearers for this generation and they took the chance to put on 132 in what will probably be their last partnership together outside of Test cricket.

Returning to the scene of his personal heartbreak in 2016, when Carlos Brathwaite hit him for four consecutive sixes to snatch the T20 World Cup from England’s grasp, Stokes managed to bank a few good memories of his own at the famous old ground.

After being handed a life on 10, when Shaheen Afridi spilled a return catch, he reeled off 11 boundaries and two maximums of his own. One was reminiscent of the Brathwaite assault, clubbed over long-on, but the other was a work of even greater skill and imagination.

Switching his hands against Agha Salman, he slogged a reverse-lap all the way over the ropes at deep third and tumbled the floor as he followed through.

Root’s innings was a more workmanlike affair, but after a six-game lean streak he made sure to get a score on the board. His first 58 deliveries contained only one boundary – off a wayward full toss – but he kept Stokes company and caught up a little as he went on.

In the process he became the first England batter to pass 1,000 runs in World Cup cricket and levelled former captain Eoin Morgan’s record of 55 half-centuries.

Shaheen returned to dismiss both of them before further damage was done, Stokes losing his off stump to a yorker and Root miscuing a slower ball.

Earlier, England had enjoyed their most productive powerplay of the tournament as Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow piled on 72 without loss. Malan’s 31 took his tally for the tournament to 404 – a hundred clear of his nearest challenger – and Bairstow’s 59 was his best of the trip. But amid the clamour for change it is hard to see either man with a long-term role in the ODI setup.

Change is coming and neither 36-year-old Malan nor 34-year-old Bairstow, with a Test career to serve and a major leg break in his recent past, may be able to resist.

The last 10 overs there were suitably chaotic, with 97 runs scored, seven wickets falling and five sixes peppering the stands. Jos Buttler (27 in 18 balls), Harry Brook (30 in 17) and Willey (15 off five) were among those to play their part.

Pakistan had arrived with a tiny chance of reaching the semi-finals but needed to bat first to keep it even faintly realistic. By the time they began their chase all hope had gone.

But there was still time for Willey, who has enjoyed an unlikely lap of honour since announcing his retirement in the midst of England’s losing streak, to produce on his last turn with the new ball.

He had Abdullah Shafique lbw with an inswinger in his first over and the dangerous power-hitter Fakhar Zaman caught on the charge in his second.

Pakistan’s most reliable duo held things up with a 51-run stand but Babar Azam dragged a Gus Atkinson bouncer straight to short midwicket and Mohammed Rizwan was clean bowled by sharp turn from Moeen Ali.

That was the first of four successive wickets to spin as Moeen and Adil Rashid played tricks on a wearing pitch. Willey and Woakes were both able to celebrate their landmarks as England secured seventh in the table, Stokes settling underneath the match-winning catch.

Hayley Matthews’ Melbourne Renegades suffered their seventh defeat in a row after being hammered by 10 wickets by the Perth Scorchers in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Saturday.

The Renegades were restricted to 133-5 off their 20 overs after the Scorchers won the toss and elected to field first.

Georgia Wareham led the way with 57* off 46 balls while Tammy Beaumont hit 24 against 2-14 off four overs from Amy Edgar.

Matthews made just eight from 15 balls.

The Scorchers then needed just 11.2 overs to reach 134-0 thanks to 70* off just 36 balls from captain Sophie Devine and 47* from Beth Mooney.

The Renegades remain at the foot of the table with just one win in nine games while the Scorchers are second with 12 points from their nine encounters.

Ben Stokes and Joe Root led England to 337 for nine against Pakistan as they attempted to end their World Cup – and their era – on a high in Kolkata.

England’s chaotic and unsuccessful title defence will not carry on to the semi-finals and it is widely expected that the core of the team that conquered this tournament in 2019 will now begin to break up after this game.

But two central pillars of the golden days came to the fore here, Stokes following up his century against Netherlands by crashing 84 and Root adding a workmanlike 60 as he became the first English batter to reach 1,000 World Cup runs.

Like many of their fellow thirtysomethings they face an uncertain future in ODI cricket, with a fresh-faced squad set to be announced on Sunday for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies, but they ensured their side did not slink meekly into the past tense.

Stokes will never forget Eden Gardens, where he was hammered for four successive sixes in the final, decisive over of the T20 World Cup in 2016, but he added a few happier memories this time with 11 fours and two maximums of his own.

The second was a staggering stroke, switching his hands and reverse-scooping Agha Salman over the ropes at deep third.

Stokes earlier saw a return catch put down by Shaheen Shah Afridi on 10 but knuckled down with Root to share a run-a-ball stand of 132 for the third wicket.

That gave the England innings its foundations before a flurry of action at the death.

In the last 10 overs there were nine fours, five sixes and seven wickets as the game accelerated into a highlights package.

Jos Buttler (27 off 18 balls), Harry Brook (30 off 17) and the retiring David Willey (15 off five) all hit out then got out as Pakistan played their part.

Haris Rauf had a busy time, carrying a catch into the boundary rope to spare Buttler only to make amends with a superb direct run-out, and finishing with three for 64.

Dawid Malan (31) and Jonny Bairstow (59) put on England’s most productive powerplay of the tournament in the first 10 overs, finally getting their tempo right at the same time.

In a candid conversation with Sportskeeda, West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder expressed his concern about the state of cricket pitches in the Caribbean, asserting that the quality of training facilities plays a crucial role in the development of players.

Currently in India at the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Centre, Holder couldn't help but draw a stark comparison between the training grounds in the Caribbean and the state-of-the-art facilities provided by the Royals.

Holder joined the Rajasthan Royals (RR) ahead of the IPL 2023 season and provided a much-needed balance to the side.

The Rajasthan Royals have set a benchmark in cricketing infrastructure, offering their players a diverse range of eight different pitch variations along with cutting-edge facilities. This stark contrast hasn't gone unnoticed by Holder, who believes that such facilities are essential for honing skills to a higher standard.

"It's brilliant. Unfortunately, in the Caribbean, we don't have facilities that are equivalent to this. We just have normal grounds. There's no training ground," Holder remarked, highlighting the dearth of specialized training facilities in the Caribbean.

Holder emphasized the significance of having a variety of pitches and additional support staff, indicating that the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Centre provides a more comprehensive and tailored training experience compared to the grounds in the Caribbean. The West Indies cricketer is eager to make the most of this opportunity and extract maximum benefits from the top-notch facilities at his disposal.

"I just found it necessary to get away from the Caribbean, do something away from the Caribbean and do a lot more specific into what I need to work on," Holder explained, underscoring his decision to seek a more advanced and structured training environment.

Holder also praised the familial atmosphere fostered by the Rajasthan Royals, stating, "It is a really good family that the Royals have here, and they portray that family image." This sense of belonging and the conducive training environment have contributed to Holder's positive experience at the High Performance Centre.

The West Indies cricketer is utilizing his time in India to not only focus on physical fitness but also to refine his tactical skills. The opportunity to train in different conditions, coupled with the structured approach adopted by the Rajasthan Royals, has reignited Holder's passion for the game and provided him with a valuable platform for improvement.

As the West Indies all-rounder strives to enhance his cricketing prowess, his insights shed light on the challenges faced by players in the Caribbean and underscore the importance of investing in advanced training facilities for the development of cricket talent worldwide.

Cricket fans will get the chance to see the final of the CG United Super50 Cup for free on Saturday November 11. Cricket West Indies (CWI) and sponsors CG United today announced there will be no charge for spectators attending the CG United Super50 Cup Final on Saturday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy between the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Leeward Islands Hurricanes. 

Fans will get the chance to see the two best teams in the tournament after Trinidad & Tobago Red Force beat Guyana Harpy Eagles and Leeward Islands Hurricanes beat Barbados Pride in the two semi-finals. To add to the excitement there is the incentive of seeing Sunil Narine in his final match in Trinidad & Tobago Red Force colors. Earlier this week the off-spinner announced that he will be retiring from List A and international cricket following the conclusion of the CG United Super50 Cup.

A number of West Indies internationals will feature in the final 50-over match before England arrive for the CG United ODI Series and T20I Series starting on 3 December. The Leeward Islands squad features captain Alzarri Joseph, Keacy Carty, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Justin Greaves, Kieran Powell, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr. Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are captained by batsman Darren Bravo and their squad includes: Yannic Carriah, Shannon Gabriel, Akeal Hosein, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Joshua Da Silva, Nicholas Pooran and Jayden Seales.

Dominic Warne, CWI’s Commercial Director said: “This is exciting news for our fans as we have opened the gates to have them enter for free and see the finale of the CG United Super50 Cup. We have seen three weeks of action on the field and we expect an exciting contest on Saturday to crown the CG United Super50 Champions. Also, this is a great opportunity for the home Trini supporters and fans of Sunil to see him in action in his Trinidad and Tobago Red Force jersey for the final time and give him a fitting send off.”

The day/night match starts at 1pm (12 noon Jamaica) and will be televised live on ESPN. Live ball-by-ball scoring will be available in the windiescricket.com Match Centre.

Iconic names in Caribbean cricket Rohan Kanhai and Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira are to receive honorary Doctorates from the University of Guyana (UG) in Berbice later this month.

Kanhai, the 87-year-old former world batting star and West Indies captain and Perreira, 84, will receive their awards at the UG Tain Campus on November 18.

Kanhai, who was part of the West Indian team that won the inaugural 1975 Cricket World Cup, scored 6,227 runs in Test cricket at an average of 47.53, with his highest score of 256 coming against India in a Test at Calcutta.

Perreira has over 50 years of service to sports broadcasting. He was on commentary for 151 Test matches and was also a popular voice on radio with Boxing, Football, Hockey, Table Tennis, Basketball, Netball and Motor Racing.

Perreira, also a former President of the Guyana Football and Basketball Associations, moved to St Lucia to establish and head the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) sports desk. He did the job for 12 years.

Dawid Malan knows that change is coming after England’s World Cup blowout and is realistic enough to accept that he could be swept away by the tide.

Malan has been one of the side’s strongest performers during a ragged title defence in India, scoring 373 runs at an average of 46.52, but at 36 years old looks vulnerable to a post-tournament cull.

A team loaded with thirty-somethings, including eight world champions from 2019, is likely to be broken up after one last outing against Pakistan at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Saturday, with the selectors set to look to the future.

Malan has more reason than most to resist. He spent years fighting for his opportunity and has put together an exceptional set of statistics in just 29 caps – only India’s Shubman Gill has ever scored more ODI runs with a better average and strike-rate – but is phlegmatic about his fate.

“Tomorrow could be my last game of cricket for England or it could still be the start of another journey. Who knows? We’ll only find out when the dust settles,” he said.

“I’m the second oldest in the squad…you’re quite realistic when you get to a certain stage. I don’t know what my future holds.

“Playing for England means everything for me. I’ve made no secret of that, I’ve always wanted to be part of this team for as long as I can but ultimately you get to a stage where you have to look a little bit further ahead and what’s best for the team. I guess there’s decisions to be made over the next couple of days and we’ll see where we end up.”

Malan last month signed a new one-year central contract which covers next summer’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and United States. But England’s desire for a fresh direction could prompt action in the shorter format too, and Malan hopes to get a clearer idea of his position from director of cricket Rob Key, who has just linked back up with the squad.

He is overseeing squad selection for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and could also find himself in demand among players eager to find out where they stand.

“There could be a total overhaul for both (white-ball formats),” Malan said.

“I’ll probably have a chat with Rob in the next couple of days before I fly out, just to find out how he sees it and the direction he wants to go in. As long as people are honest, you can take that. And I’m pretty sure he will be. It’s been the hallmark of him since he’s taken over.”

When the fixtures were first released for the tournament, a final group game England versus Pakistan would have been highlighted as a contest with plenty of interest hanging on it ahead of the semi-finals.

Instead, it could prove a hollow excursion. England are only really playing for a place at the Champions Trophy in 18 months – which could be theirs even in defeat – while Pakistan need a historically ridiculous margin of victory to reach the knockouts.

“There’s massive regret from us all that we haven’t been able to perform as well as we would have liked,” Malan said of a campaign comprising six defeats and two wins.

“We’d have loved to be here at the business end, replicating what that fantastic team did in 2019 and what we did in the T20 World Cup in 2022, but it just hasn’t been like that and I think as a group reflecting on it, we’re extremely disappointed.”

England could hand Brydon Carse a first appearance of the tournament, with the Durham seamer one of those with a role to play in the rebuild, while Harry Brook should keep his place as a torch-bearer of the coming generation.

Malan is certain Brook is on course for a glittering future but urged against weighing his 24-year-old Yorkshire team-mate down with expectation.

“I feel like there’s been so much pressure put on Harry’s shoulders, almost as if he was the saviour of English cricket,” he said.

“The poor kid is still learning his way and he’s still trying to find his feet in international cricket and learn his game. Hopefully he learns from this as well and from all the pressure that’s been put on his shoulders, and he can find a way to keep getting better because I think he’s an exceptional talent.

“I can see him playing 100 games for England across all formats of the game and I hope he does. Harry is one of the quickest learners I’ve seen as a young player and hopefully he can keep learning and hit those heights that we all know he’s capable of achieving.”

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been rewarded for her superb recent form by being crowned the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for October 2023.

Matthews held off determined challenges from Bangladesh spinner Nahida Akter and New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr to claim the award, after a dominant period of play against Australia during the month.

The 25-year-old smashed scores of 99*, 132 and 79 in a Player of the Series performance during the T20I component of the West Indies' tour of Australia

Matthews also chipped in with an excellent spell of 3-36 during the second match of that three-game series to help the Caribbean side to a memorable victory.

The all-rounder then backed up those efforts with strong contributions during the ODI leg of the Australia tour, with scores of 20 and 23 during the two completed 50-over contests to cap off a huge month for the West Indies star.

Matthews remained Down Under following the series to compete in the domestic WBBL competition and was thrilled to accept her award from Australia.

“I’m very grateful to have received the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award for October," Matthews said.

"I love pulling on the West Indies jersey. Every time I do wear that maroon and gold, it definitely adds an extra layer where you can go out there and perform well, not only for yourself and for the team, but in knowing how much cricket means to the people of the Caribbean and how much it can bring people together.

“It was pretty special going out there in Australia and being able to perform the way that I did, but knowing how many people’s faces I was able to put a smile on back home in the Caribbean, that’s what means the most to me.”