Player of the Match Kevin Sinclair’s five-wicket haul and Brandon King’s half-century, his first useful score on tour so far, steered West Indies ‘A’ to a narrow three-wicket victory over Bangladesh ‘A’ at Syhlet International Stadium on Friday.
Resuming from their overnight score of 274-6, a lead of 166, the hosts only managed to add an additional 23 runs and were bowled out for 297 for a lead of 189. Chasing victory, The West Indies were in trouble at 70-5 before King scored a stabilizing 54 as the West Indies reached 191-7 in 49.5 overs.
Irfan Sukkur, 64 not out and Nayeem Hasan on 14 overnight extended their 65-run partnership to 78 which was broken when Jair McAllister had Hasan caught behind for 17. Sinclair then dismissed Tanzim Hasan Hakib and Sukkur in quick succession for four and 72, respectively, before McAllister ended the innings with the wicket of Khaled Ahmed for 0 with the score at 297.
Sinclair finished with the impressive figures of 5-79 to go with his first innings take of 2-44. McAllister, the Player of the Match in the first drawn unofficial Test, finished with 2-42 while Akeem Jordan took 2-38.
Chasing a target of 190 for victory, the West Indies were in danger of relinquishing their grip on the match, losing their first five wickets for just 70 runs. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Raymon Reifer each scoring 22 before losing their wickets to Saif Hasan. Kirk McKenzie made 12 and Keacy Carty and Alick Athanaze, four each, as the tourists’ run chase faltered.
However, Brandon King, who has had a terrible time of it so far with two consecutive ducks, found some form to help stage a West Indies recovery with a well-played 54 as he and Captain Joshua da Silva added a crucial 76 runs for the sixth wicket.
That stand was ended when King was dismissed by Tanvir Islam with the West Indies’ still 44 runs shy of their target. Things got worse when the bowler also had Sinclair caught behind for four. Da Silva and Akeem Jordan then combined to score the remaining runs. The captain scored an unbeaten 47 for the second time in the match and Akeem Jordan 22 from 20 balls as the West Indies ‘A’ secured victory at 191-7.
Tanvir Islam took 4-52 and Saif Hasan 2-24 in the losing cause.
Bangladesh ‘A’ staged a fight back against West Indies ‘A’ on the third day of their four-day unofficial Test at Syhlet International Stadium on Thursday.
After bowling the West Indies out for 345, Bangladesh ‘A’, trailing by 108 runs on first innings, reached 274-6 at stumps, for a lead of 166 runs heading into the final day of play on Friday.
The hosts owe their position to half-centuries from opener Shadlam Islam, Shahadat Hossain and Irfan Sukkur, the latter being unbeaten on 64 and who along with Nayeem Hasan have so far added 65 runs for the seventh wicket.
The West Indies ‘A’, resuming from their overnight score of 268-6 with Joshua da Silva on nine and Kevin Sinclair on one, took the score to 329, a stand of 63 for the seventh wicket that was broken when Sinclair was dismissed for 32 by Hasan Sakib, who would eventually take all four West Indies wickets.
Akeem Jordan, Anderson Phillip and Jair McAllister all fell cheaply leaving da Silva high and dry on 47. The West Indies ‘A’ captain was visibly irritated when McAllister went for an ill-advised pull shot and was out caught for a duck first ball of the 97th over, to be last man out thus denying his captain a chance to achieve another 50.
Hasan Sakib's four wickets came at a cost of 59 runs.
Trailing by 108 on first innings, opener Shadlam Islam made 74 while helping lay the foundation for the Bangladesh ‘A’ fightback. At 51-2 after losing the wickets of Zakir Hasan for 13 and Saif Hasan for 16, Islam featured in a 56-run third wicket partnership with Mohammad Naim, who was eventually dismissed by Sinclair for 28.
The loss of Naim’s wicket brought Shahadat Hossain to the crease and he and Islam further frustrated the West Indies bowlers while putting on 68 for the fourth wicket.
Sinclair eventually broke through trapping Islam for 74 before dismissing Afif Hossain for four as Bangladesh ‘A’ slipped to 180-5. Sinclair picked up his third wicket when he dismissed Shahadat Hossain 50 with the lead at 101.
That would be the last success for the West Indies bowlers for the day as Sukkur and Nayeem Hasan kept the tourists’ attack at bay until the close.
Sinclair’s three wickets cost 76 runs while Akeem Jordan has so far picked up 2-38.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men's Selection Panel has announced changes to the West Indies "A" Team squad currently in Bangladesh and the West Indies ODI squad set to play against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah.
For the ongoing "A" Team Series in Bangladesh, left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul will travel to Sylhet as cover for fellow left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who has been ruled out of the remaining matches due to a lower back injury.
Motie, on the other hand, will travel to Dubai ahead of the West Indies' three-match One-Day International (ODI) Series against the UAE at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Although he will not participate in the matches, he will receive treatment from the medical staff with the aim of being available for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, starting on 18 June.
Off-spinner Kevin Sinclair, who is currently with the "A" Team in Bangladesh, will replace Motie in the 15-member ODI squad for the series in Sharjah. Additionally, experienced batter Johnson Charles has been called up as a replacement for Devon Thomas, who has been provisionally suspended from playing cricket due to charges brought by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit under the Anti-Corruption codes.
Lead Selector, The Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes, expressed his thoughts on the changes: "We were forced to make some changes to the squads, and this has presented opportunities for players to come in. Sinclair has been in good form all year and has taken that to the 'A Team' series in Bangladesh. Permaul and Charles are experienced players, and they will be able to quickly adapt to the conditions and fit into the environment in Sylhet and Sharjah."
Haynes further added, "Motie is a key part of our plans for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, so we are hopeful he will make a full recovery for that tournament. The decision was taken to have him remain with the squad in Sharjah so he will be closely monitored and receive the best treatment available."
Updated Squads:
West Indies "A" Squad vs Bangladesh "A": Joshua DaSilva (Captain), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan, Brandon King, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Kirk McKenzie, Anderson Phillip, Raymon Reifer, Kevin Sinclair, Veerasammy Permaul (cover for Gudakesh Motie)
West Indies ODI Squad vs United Arab Emirates: Shai Hope (captain), Brandon King (vice captain), Alick Athanaze, Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Kavem Hodge, Akeem Jordan, Keemo Paul, Raymon Reifer, Kevin Sinclair, Odean Smith.
Match Schedule:
West Indies "A" Team vs Bangladesh "A":
16-19 May: 1st "Test" at Sylhet International Stadium – Match drawn
23-26 May: 2nd "Test" at Sylhet International Stadium 2 – ongoing
30 May to 2 June: 3rd "Test" at Sylhet International Stadium
ODIs vs United Arab Emirates:
4 June: 1st ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
6 June: 2nd ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
9 June: 3rd ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE
West Indies ‘A’ was forced to settle with a draw against Bangladesh ‘A’ as the first unofficial Test concluded at the Syhlet International Stadium on Friday.
Bangladesh ‘A’, who were bowled out for 264 in their first innings, following on, resumed from their overnight score of five without loss still trailing the tourists’ score of 427-7 by 158 runs.
Opener Shadman Islam top scored with 64 and Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 20, but the hosts would eventually stare defeat in the face as the West Indies ‘A’ attack reduced them to 132-7, still 32 runs shy of making the tourists Indies bat again.
However, as has often been the case with West Indies teams in recent years, the attack seemed to run out of steam and was repelled by a late-innings rally that saw wicketkeeper Jaker Ali Anik, score an unbeaten 36 and Rishad Hossain, 20, in an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 55 that led Bangladesh ‘A’ to safety.
Gudakesh Motie took 2-13, Jair McAllister 2-48 and there was a wicket each for Raymon Reifer, Akeem Jordan and Kevin Sinclair.
Jair McAllister took five wickets as Bangladesh ‘A’ was bowled out for 264 runs on the third day of their four-day unofficial Test at Syhlet International Stadium on Thursday. Forced to follow-on trailing West Indies’ ‘A’ 427-7 declared by 163 runs, the home side were five without loss from the two overs faced in their second innings by close of play.
Bangladesh owed their first innings score to Saif Hasan’s 95 and an unbeaten 64 from wicketkeeper Jakir Ali Janik. Captain Afif Hossain Dhrubo also contributed with 45. However, they were unable to stop the onslaught of McAllister who finished with figures of 5-60 from his 15 overs.
Raymon Reifer (2-44) and Akeem Jordan (2-53) helped dismiss the home side that still trail by 158 runs.
The West Indies resumed from 417-6 with Captain Joshua da Silva on 73 and Kevin Sinclair on 47. The pair advanced the score to 427 when Da Silva was dismissed by Nayeem Hasan for 77. Sinclair remained unbeaten on 53 when the declaration came.
Nayeem Hasan who took da Silva’s wicket finished with 2-116 from 39.3 overs. Mushfik Hasan took 3-54.
Captain Joshua da Silva scored an unbeaten half-century as West Indies ‘A’ took command against Bangladesh ‘A’ on day two of the first unofficial Test between the two countries at Syhlet on Wednesday.
At close of play Da Silva was unbeaten on 73 and Kevin Sinclair not out on 47 with the West Indies 417-6.
Resuming from their overnight score of 220-2 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 70 and Alick Athanaze on 35, the West Indies ‘A’ pressed on to 281 when Chanderpaul was dismissed by Musfik Hasan for 83.
He had his seven fours in his 236-ball stay at the crease before Hasan had him caught behind. Four balls later Hasan caught and bowled Brandon King for a duck as the West Indies slipped from 281-2 to 281-4 after 83 overs.
Six balls and two runs later, Athanaze’s aggressive knock came to an end when he was trapped lbw by Ripon Modol for 85 and all of a sudden the West Indies were in danger of collapse at 283-5. Athanaze faced 98 balls during which he struck 12 fours and three sixes.
Da Silva and Yanick Cariah took the score past 300 during a partnership of 34 that ended when the latter was stumped off the bowling of Nayeem Hasan for 14.
The captain and Sinclair then put on an unbeaten partnership of 100 by close of play.
Musfik Hasan who took the wicket of Kirk McKenzie for 86 and Raymon Reifer for 26 on Wednesday’s opening day has been the best bowler so far taking 3-54 from the 20 overs he bowled.
Guyanese all-rounder Kevin Sinclair was the star of the day as Team Weekes secured an eight wicket win over Team Headley inside three days at the Coolidge Cricket Ground on Friday.
Beginning day three 67-2, Team Headley only managed to add a further 86 runs before being dismissed for 153 in 63.1 overs, leaving Team Weekes needing just 96 for victory.
Matthew Nandu carried on from his overnight 26 to top-score with 36 while Justin Greaves ended 25*.
Sinclair ripped through the Headley XI batting line-up on the way to grabbing 5-48 in his 21 overs. His countryman, Veerasammy Permaul, took 2-20 in 13.1 overs.
Team Weekes then needed 26.5 overs to reach 96-2. Openers Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Zachary McCaskie both made 33 while Raymon Reifer and Captain Alick Athanaze finished on 19* and 10*, respectively.
The West Indies Academy emerged as overall winners of the Tri-Series after a dominant win over Team Headley and a first-innings triumph over Team Weekes in their two games.
Kirk McKenzie scored an unbeaten half-century for West Indies Academy, who are 89-2 at stumps on a rain-shortened second day of their four-day match against Weekes XI at Coolidge Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Chasing Weekes XI’s 401 all out, McKenzie and Keagan Simmons put on 27 in their opening stand before the latter was bowled by Jair McAllister for seven. The bowler would later dismiss Ackeem Auguste in similar fashion for 21 as West Indies Academy slipped to 57-2.
However, McKenzie and Kevlon Anderson, who scored 153 for West Indies Academy in the seven-wicket victory over Headley XI last week, added 30 without further loss when play ended. McKenzie has so far struck eight fours in his even 50 while Anderson is not out on seven.
McAllister has so far taken 2-21.
Earlier, Weekes XI resuming from their overnight score of 365-7 with Kevin Sinclair on 52 and Veerasammy Permaul on nought, lost Permaul for duck to make it 365-8. Realizing he was running out of partners, Sinclair attacked the bowling smashing 11 fours and three sixes in his score of 86 before he was bowled by Ramon Simmonds.
Simmonds bowled McAllister for a duck next ball to wrap up the innings leaving Nail Smith not out on two.
West Indies white ball opener Brandon King was a significant contributor as Team Weekes ended day one of their Headley-Weekes four-day series fixture in a strong position against the West Indies Academy at Coolidge on Wednesday.
King made a 148-ball 92, supporting Zachary McCaskie’s 147-ball 93, as Team Weekes ended the day 365-7 off 90 overs. Jahmar Hamilton (57) and Kevin Sinclair (52*) also got fifties on day one.
Entering this contest, King had an average of 34.84 in 32 First-Class games including three hundreds and 12 fifties.
King's last four-day appearance came in March last year when he made an unbeaten 119 for the Jamaica Scorpions against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Stadium.
He spoke about his return to red-ball cricket after the day’s play.
“Very happy to be back playing red ball cricket. It’s been a little while. It was great fun batting out there with no time restrictions,” King said.
The West Indies batsman opener got to the crease with his side 82-3 having lost the wickets of Keacy Carty for 12 and captain Alick Athanaze for a two-ball duck.
He then formed a crucial 136-run fourth wicket partnership with McCaskie.
“It’s 4-day cricket so you have time on your side and you want to try and build a partnership to put the team in a better position,” King said.
“We kept it simple. The pitch wasn’t doing a great deal so we just tried to take as little risk as possible while still putting the bowlers under pressure and it worked out for us,” he added.
Regarding the team’s plan going into the innings, King said it was simple.
“We know that the pitch is generally good for batting and that in the first session the bowlers would get something out of it. Our plan was always to try and bat through the first session with as little wickets as possible then bat the rest of the day,” King said.
“We weren’t too focussed on the number of runs but we knew that if we batted the whole day we’ll get a good score,” King added.
Day two takes place on Thursday.
Half-centuries Zachary McCaskie, Brandon King, Jahmar Hamilton and Kevin Sinclair have put Weekes XI in a strong position of 365-7 against West Indies Academy on the opening day of their Headley Weekes Tri-Series match at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Wednesday.
West Indies Academy fresh off their seven-wicket victory over Headley XI last week, won the toss and asked Weekes XI to bat. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and McCaskie laid a solid platform with an opening stand of 55.
However, Chanderpaul was then trapped leg before by Nyeem Young for 25, triggering a minor slide during which Kacey Carty was caught behind by Tevin Imlach for 12 off McKenny Clarke, who dismissed Alick Athanaze in similar fashion for a duck in his next over as Weekes XI slipped from 55 without loss to 82-3.
However, McCaskie and Brandon King put an end to the bloodletting with a fourth-wicket partnership of 136 in 35 overs that resurrected the innings. McCaskie would fall short of a deserved 100 when Kirk McKenzie had him caught by Ackeem Auguste for 93.
King continued on to 92 during a partnership of 39 with Jahmar Hamilton but then he became the third victim of the Imlach/Clarke combination to miss out on his century.
Hamilton than stitched together a stand of 74 with Kevin Sinclair but then was dismissed by Nyeem Young for 57. Sinclair soldiered on putting on 23 with Dominic Drakes who made 13 before he lost his wicket to Kevin Wickham for 13.
Sinclair will resume on 52 on Thursday with Veerasammy Permaul at the other end with the intention of taking Weekes XI past 400.
Clarke was the best bowler on the day with 3-91 while Young took 2-75.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles find themselves at the pinnacle of regional first-class cricket once again after completing a stunning comeback on the final day of their final round fixture against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Providence to secure their sixth hold on the West Indies Championship title in eight years.
The Hurricanes entered day four in the driver’s seat, being 81-1 needing just 62 more runs for victory with nine wickets in the shed. Kieran Powell and Keacy Carty were the batsmen at the crease on 47 and 17, respectively.
The Leewards lost their first wicket of day four when Kevin Sinclair removed Carty for 21 before trapping Devon Thomas in front for a duck two balls later.
The Hurricanes then went on to lose their final seven wickets for just 17 runs as the Harpy Eagles completed a spectacular final day comeback.
Their efforts were led by Kevin Sinclair’s career-best figures of 6-33 off 16.5 overs while Veerasammy Permaul took 3-44 from his 15 overs.
The Harpy Eagles ended the campaign with 84 points, 9.8 points ahead of the Windward Islands Volcanoes in second.
Kevin Sinclair took 4-37 to lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles to a 228-run win over the Jamaica Scorpions on day four of their fourth-round fixture at Providence on Saturday.
The Scorpions started day four 176-1 off 43 overs with a glimmer of hope of pulling off a historic chase.
That hope was quickly dashed as Tevin Gilzene and Jermaine Blackwood, who entered the day on 81 and 66, respectively, were swiftly dismissed for 85 and 67. Paul Palmer Jr also went for a duck in between those wickets as the Scorpions were suddenly 207-4.
The wickets continued to tumble as the Scorpions were eventually bowled out for 229 in the 67th over.
Sinclair finished with figures of 4-37 off 18.2 overs while Ronsford Beaton took 3-85 off 17 and Veerasammy Permaul took 2-23 off 11.
Half centuries from Leon Johnson, Anthony and Kevin Sinclair were the foundation of the Guyana Harpy Eagles’ 324 against Trinidad and Tobago on the opening day of their third-round West Indies Championship match on Wednesday.
Johnson scored 62, Bramble 52 and Sinclair 69 for Guyana that also got useful contributions of 44 from Kemol Savory and 46 from Keemo Paul.
Guyana benefitted from solid middle-order batting that saw partnerships of 97 between Savory and Johnson before both were dismissed in quick succession after taking the score from 33-3.
A partnership of 79 between Bramble and Sinclair followed before Sinclair and Paul added 88 for the seventh wicket.
Imran Khan was the best of the Red Force bowlers taking 4-80 while Bryan Charkes snared 3-85 for Trinidad and Tobago who were seven without loss at stumps, 317 runs behind.
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair and pacer Ronsford Beaton were the heroes as they batted 17.1 overs to salvage a draw for the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday.
The day started with the Harpy Eagles 35-0 off 14.3 overs, needing a further 259 runs to win their second straight game with Matthew Nandu on 18 and Tevin Imlach on 13.
The pair brought the score up to 54 in the 23rd over before Preston McSween dismissed Imlach for 25.
Kemol Savory joined Nandu at the crease and lasted 35 balls before falling to Kenneth Dember for seven in the 31st over.
Captain Leon Johnson made his way to the middle to join Nandu and the pair put on 55 for the third wicket before Johnson was dismissed by Darius Martin for 40 in the 46th over.
The 47th over saw Nandu bring up his half century off 112 balls. The 19-year-old struck 126 in their first-round encounter with the Barbados Pride.
The 51st over saw the Harpy Eagles lose their fourth wicket as Anthony Bramble went caught behind off McSween for three.
Just two balls later, 140-4 became 141-5 as Nandu was bowled for a well-compiled 60 off 123 balls.
Akshya Persaud, who replaced Chandrapaul Hemraj who retired hurt on day three, then combined with Sinclair to form a crucial 64-run sixth-wicket partnership. The partnership ended when Persaud was dismissed by Justin Greaves for a 62-ball 24 to leave the Harpy Eagles 205-6 in 70th over.
Between the 73rd and 74th over, Veerasammy Permaul (4), Shamar Joseph (0) and Nial Smith (0) all fell, bringing Ronsford Beaton to the crease to join Sinclair and try to save the match.
Sinclair brought up his fifty off 82 balls in the 79th over and the pair put together a masterful display of grit to bat out the last 17.1 overs to finish 250-9 off 91 overs.
Sinclair ended up 77* off 138 balls while Beaton made just one but, more importantly, faced 24 balls.
Preston McSween ended up with 3-58 from 21 overs while Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge took two wickets, each.
Scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 294 off 80.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 141, Ryan John 51*, Sunil Ambris 47, Veerasammy Permaul 4-70, Ronsford Beaton 2-50, Kevin Sinclair 2-66) and 168 off 56.3 overs (Justin Greaves 27, Sunil Ambris 26, Preston McSween 25, Shamar Joseph 5-41, Ronsford Beaton 3-35)
Guyana Harpy Eagles 169 off 63.1 overs (Veerasammy Permaul 53, Kevin Sinclair 23, Justin Greaves 5-24, Ryan John 2-52) and 250-9 off 91 overs (Kevin Sinclair 77*, Matthew Nandu 60, Leon Johnson 40, Preston McSween 3-58, Justin Greaves 2-35, Kavem Hodge 2-36)
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and off-spinner Kevin Sinclair have been named in the match-day squad as replacements for Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy for the fourth and fifth matches of the CG Insurance T20 International (T20I) series against Australia.
Hetmyer and McCoy are both nursing injuries and will be unavailable.
West Indies have already clinched the series following their six-wicket victory on Monday night that came after an 18-run victory last Friday night and an impressive 56-run triumph on Saturday night.
The next two matches will be played under lights at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium (DSCG) on Wednesday, July 14 and Friday, July 16 with the first ball at 7:30 pm (6:30 pm Jamaica Time).
“The team has played really well to win the first three matches and the CG Insurance Series – they have played good cricket in every department,” said CWI Chief Selector Roger Harper.
“The aim is to continue to build on the momentum created and strive to win the remaining games. Winning builds confidence from a team perspective and will give the players greater belief in the roles they are playing. So, it is important to keep winning. We took the decision to rest players who have picked up some niggles and give opportunities to other players in the squad.”
This CG Insurance T20I Series forms part of the West Indies T20 World Cup preparation. The defending champions have a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup which is being staged in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
Fully vaccinated patrons will be able to buy tickets for the series from the stadium ticket office at the East Gate on presentation of their vaccination documentation and their national ID, with tickets available at EC$50 per match.
The full squad comprises Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Akeal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Kevin Sinclair, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, and Hayden Walsh Jr
Fidel Edwards, Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy are the travelling reserves.
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