Kieron Pollard’s half-century was not sufficient to prevent the MI Emirates from going down to a four-wicket loss to Gulf Giants in Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on Friday.

With the win Gulf Giants booked a place in Sunday’s 2023 ILT20 final where they will face Desert Vipers.

Coming off their emphatic eight-wicket victory over Dubai Capitals on Thursday MI Emirates looked a jaded team, scoring 167-5 from their 20 overs.

Pollard scored an unbeaten 57 from 35 balls while Nicholas Pooran contributed with 29 and opener Mohammad Waseem, 31.

Chris Jordan took 2-25 and David Wiese 2-31.

In reply, James Vince played a gem of an innings, scoring unbeaten 83 including the winning runs, a four off Fazalhaq Farooqi as Gulf Giants scored 168-6 from 18.1 overs.

Farooqi took 2-27 and Rashid Khan, 2-40 in the losing cause. Dwayne Bravo took 1-27.

 

 

 

Half-centuries from Andre Fletcher and Nicholas Pooran spurred MI Emirates to a convincing eight-wicket win over the Dubai Capitals at Sharjah and a place in Qualifier 2 to face Gulf Giants on Friday.

Unbeaten half-centuries from Alex Hales and Sherfane Rutherford led the Desert Vipers to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the MI Emirates in their DP World IL T20 fixture at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

The Emirates’ innings got off to the worst possible start with openers Muhammad Wasim (5) and Vritiya Aravind (3) being removed within the first three overs after the Vipers won the toss and elected to field first.

Grenadian Andre Fletcher and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran then combined to put on 43 for the third wicket before Fletcher fell in the ninth over for 21 to leave them 53-3.

Captain Kieron Pollard then joined Pooran at the crease and the pair batted excellently, eventually bringing up their 100-run partnership in the 19th over, the same over which saw Pooran bring up a well-compiled 50.

Pollard brought up his 50, his second in a row, in the previous over with a trademark straight six.

The partnership reached 116 when Pooran was finally dismissed, bowled by Tom Curran in the final over for 57.

In the end, the Emirates closed their innings 169-5 off 20 overs with Pollard not out on 67 from 39 balls including one boundary and six sixes.

The Vipers chase was rocked early when Trent Boult removed Rohan Mustafa for one in the first over to bring captain Collin Munro to the crease.

Hales and Munro put on a partnership before Munro was removed by a spectacular catch from Kieron Pollard for 41 in the eighth over.

One brought two for the Emirates as Samit Patel got his second wicket in the over, removing Sam Billings for just one to leave the Vipers 76-3 bringing Sherfane Rutherford to the crease.

At the halfway stage of the chase, the Vipers were 101-3 with Hales (34) and Rutherford (18) going smoothly.

The pair continued along and Hales brought up his fifth score of 50+ in a row in the 15th over before a single in the 16th over brought up Rutherford’s 50 off just 26 balls.

The match was ended in the 17th over when Rutherford hit a boundary and then a single to lead the Vipers to their fourth win in five games.

Hales ended up unbeaten on 62 from 44 balls while Rutherford faced 29 balls for his 56. Hales’ knock included six fours and two sixes while Rutherford hit four fours and three sixes.

Scores: MI Emirates 169-5 from 20 overs, Desert Vipers 170-3 from 17.3 overs.

 

 

The preparations for the IPL 2023 are underway, and all ten franchises have completed their squads after buying their preferred players at the recently concluded IPL auction.

Sam Curran became the most expensive player in IPL’s history after Punjab Kings bought him for 18.50 crore. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes and Cameron Green also went big.

One surprising pick that went for big money was West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran. Lucknow Super Giants spent 16 crore (US$ 2 million) on the 27-year-old, which left many shocked.

Pooran has had his moments of fame in the IPL, but his overall stats are disappointing, which is why the fans felt that Pooran has been overpaid by the KL Rahul-led franchise.

In 47 matches in his IPL career, Pooran has scored just 912 runs, including four fifty-plus scores.

LSG’s global mentor, Gautam Gambhir, responded to the trolls and criticism for Pooran and justified the big spending on the Caribbean star.

Gambhir said that he does not judge a player by last year’s performance but looks at its impact on the game.

“I do not look at the last season. I look at a player’s ability and impact. Pooran can win us 2-3 matches, and with age on his side, we wanted him to build the team around him.”

Gambhir took an indirect dig on old-school players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who score fifty-plus runs but at an underwhelming strike rate.

“The tournament is not about scoring 500-600 runs in a season. It is about winning matches by scoring impactful runs.”

Nicholas Pooran has bounced back nicely from the disappointment of the 2022 ICC World Cup, leading Deccan Gladiators to the title following a 37-run victory over New York Strikers in the final of the Abu Dhabi T10 on Sunday.

In the day/night fixture, Captain Pooran scored a 23-ball 40 as Gladiators scored 128-4 from their 10 overs. Pooran’s incredible form with the bat continued in the final, hitting five fours and a six as he and David Weise put on 74 runs in 30 balls after the side reached 54-3 after five overs.

Akeal Hosein had the champions in early trouble after dismissing Suresh Raina and Tom Kohler-Cadmore for seven and 11, respectively, and Wahab Riaz dismissed Andre Russell for nine in the first five overs.

Weise was even more brutal on the New York Strikers smashing two fours and four sixes in his 43 runs that came from just 18 balls. Pollard dismissed Pooran off the last ball of the innings to finish with figures of 1-16 in the only over he bowled.

However, Hosein was the best of the bowlers with 2-16 from his two overs.

Chasing 129 for victory, New York Strikers slumped to 29-4 midway the fourth over and were never able to recover. They suffered another blow when Pollard was forced to retire hurt after scoring 23 from 15 balls.

Jordan Thompson remained unbeaten on 22 while Azam Kkan contributed 16 and was the only other batter in double figures as Strikers could only muster 91-5 from their allotment of overs.

Josh Little, who claimed the wickets of Mohammad Waseem for a duck and Rashid Khan for eight, had the remarkable figures of 2-4 from his two overs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Hasnain took 2-12.

Weise was named Player of the Match for his exciting cameo and taking two catches.

Pooran, who has had scores of 77*, 80, 34, 50 and 38 prior to Sunday's final, amassed 345 runs during the tournament and was named Player of the Series.

 

West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell smashed a 32-ball 63 to help the Deccan Gladiators beat the Morrisville Samp Army by eight wickets in Qualifier 2 and advance to the final of the Abu Dhabi T10 League in the UAE on Saturday.

The Samp Army posted 119-2 from their 10 overs after losing the toss. Captain Moeen Ali hit six fours and six sixes on his way to a top score of 78 not out off just 29 balls while South African David Miller ended not out on 16.

Russell, who opened the batting alongside Tom Kohler-Cadmore, then set the stage for a successful chase with seven fours and four sixes on his way to 63. Captain Nicholas Pooran then added the finishing touches with an unbeaten 38 off just 12 balls as the Gladiators reached 121-2 in 9.4 overs.

Earlier on Saturday, they defeated Team Abu Dhabi by five runs in the eliminator.

Their opponents in Sunday’s final will be Kieron Pollard’s New York Strikers who beat the Samp Army by four wickets in Qualifier 1.

Captain Nicholas Pooran and Tom Kohler-Cadmore combined to lead the Deccan Gladiators to a 10-wicket win over the Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

The Tigers posted a respectable 108-7 from their 10 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Pakistani all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed starred with a 21-ball 54 including three fours and five sixes against his countryman Mohammad Hasnain’s 2-12 from two overs and David Wiese’s 2-15, also from two overs.

Pooran ‘s Gladiators then absolutely sprinted to their target thanks to an unbeaten 109-run opening stand between himself and Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore.

The pair needed just 6.1 overs to reach their target as Pooran hammered an even 50, his third half-century so far, off just 16 balls including seven sixes. Kohler-Cadmore had the same score off 21 balls and hit five fours and four sixes.

The Gladiators now lead the eight-team table with eight points from six games.

 

Nicholas Pooran’s purple patch with the bat continued on Sunday as the Deccan Gladiators notched a close 18-run win over Delhi Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10.

Pooran, who came into the match with scores of 77 and 80, scored 34 from just 17 balls as Gladiators posted 140-2 from their 10 overs.

After losing Jason Roy for four in the first over, Pooran hit three fours and two sixes as he and opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore added 122 for the second wicket. Pooran was eventually dismissed in the ninth over by Waquas Maqsood, who took 1-21.

Meanwhile, Kohler-Cadmore blasted his way to an unbeaten 82 with eight fours and six sixes.

He and Andre Russell put on 12 in the final eight balls with the Jamaican scoring 10 that included a six over extra cover off Shimraz Ahmed, who conceded 11 in the over.

Imad Wasim had figures of 1-17.

Delhi Bulls made a good fist of it to score 122-4 from their 10 overs.

They owed their solid effort to a 24-ball 48 from Tim David and Rilee Rossouw, who scored 28 from 15. However, needing to score 14 an over proved too much for Delhi Bulls despite a gallant 14 not out from eight balls from Keemo Paul at the end.

David and Rossouw put on 79 for the third wicket after Tom Banton (12) and Rahkeem Cornwall (2) were back in the hutch in the third over with 26 runs on the board.

Russell got rid of the dangerous David in the ninth over effectively swinging the pendulum in Gladiators’ favour for the remaining 10 balls from which the Delhi Bulls could only muster 17 runs.

Russell’s two overs cost 26 runs but Josh Little proved much more effective with the wickets of Cornwall and Rossouw to return figures of 2-11.

Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King scored fifties while Carlos Brathwaite produced an excellent all-round display on day three of the Abu Dhabi T10 League in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday.

In the first game of Friday's triple-header, Nicholas Pooran carried on from his unbeaten 77 on the opening night and hit 80 off 32 deliveries to catapult Deccan Gladiators to 138 for 3 against the Northern Warriors- the highest score of the tournament so far. Pooran’s knock included 10 fours and three sixes.

Despite a half-century from Adam Lyth, the Warriors struggled to get close and finished 24 runs short. Rovman Powell's side remains without a win after two games.

The day’s second game between Brandon King’s Team Abu Dhabi and Dwayne Bravo’s Delhi Bulls ended in a tie.

After winning the toss, an unbeaten third-wicket 101-run stand between James Vince (26* off 20) and King (64* off 27) had earlier helped Abu Dhabi post 120 for 2.

The Bulls then reached 120-5 from their 10 overs in reply. Imad Wasim (21 not out) and Tim David (20) were the chief scorers while Keemo Paul also contributed a rapid 16 from seven balls.

The day’s third game saw Carlos Brathwaite help the Chennai Braves get on the board with a win over Bangla Tigers. 

His 44 not out off 19 balls saw them post 126 for 6 and with the ball, the West Indian picked up two wickets in two deliveries in his first over before returning in the last over to pick up two more and finish with figures of 4 for 3 as the Tigers stuttered to 93 and their second defeat in as many nights.

 

 

West Indies wicketkeeping great Jeffrey Dujon believes the decision taken by captain Nicholas Pooran to step down is the best one for the player at this point in time.

The 27-year-old, who took charge of the region’s white-ball teams earlier this year, made the surprise decision to step down as captain, after just 7 months on the job.

As captain of the team, Pooran had faced severe pressure following the team’s poor showing at the T20 World Cup.  The West Indies failed to advance from the first round of the competition, following losses to Scotland and Ireland.  The results led to the resignation of the team’s head coach Phil Simmons but having only just been appointed to the post, Pooran was widely expected to keep the position.

Dujon admitted to being surprised but believes the player has done the right thing given the circumstances.

“I think it’s a good thing for him.  As a young player, you have been given responsibility but things haven’t worked out for him,” Dujon told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“He still has a career ahead of him and shedding this responsibility might just help his cricket as time goes on,” he added.

Pooran captained the T20 team for 23 matches, winning 8 and losing 14 for a win ratio of 35 percent.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed today that Nicholas Pooran has decided to relinquish the white ball captaincy of the West Indies Men’s team following the team’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 tournament just completed in Australia.

 “I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup," said Pooran. "I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.

“The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.”

The Trinidadian middle-order batsman said relinquishing the captaincy is not an indicator that he was throwing in the towel.

 “This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role," he said.

"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.

“I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams thanked Pooran for his time leading the two teams.

“On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future,” Adams said.

Last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies in the absence of Kieron Pollard, enjoying a T20 International (T20I) Series win against Australia at home (4-1). He was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Pollard stepped down. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording Series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).

The West Indies Men’s next white ball series is against South Africa in March 2023 (directly after the two Test Match Series) and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.

 

A century from Nicholas Pooran and half-centuries from Amir Jangoo and Darren Bravo led Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to a thrilling 10-run victory over the Barbados Pride in the first semi-final of the GC Insurance Super50 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Wednesday.

Pooran hit five fours and eight sixes in his 111 that came from just 82 balls and was instrumental in getting the Red Force to 312-6, the highest score in the competition this season.

Chasing 313 for victory, Barbados were restricted to 302-8 despite an incredibly valiant 130 not out from 79 balls by Roshon Primus, his highest List A score.

The Pride were in early trouble at 13-2 in the fourth over after Shannon Gabriel had Zachary McCaskie caught at slip for one before returning to bowl Kyle Hope for four. The Pride slipped into further trouble at 45-3 when Sunil Narine had Shai Hope caught behind for 24.

Johnathan Carter and Nicholas Kirton got Barbados back on track with a 63-run partnership that got them to 108 when Shannon Gabriel picked up his third wicket, having Carter caught at deep backward point by Jason Mohammed for 45.

Kirton did not last much longer.

Fourteen balls and 10 runs later, he was caught by Narine off the bowling of Yanick Cariah for 35 leaving Barbados sinking fast at 118-5, still 195 runs behind.

When Shamar Springer was trapped lbw by Imran Khan for five, all seemed lost for Barbados, who at this point were 146-6.

However, Roshon Primus and Akeem Jordan were not ready to give up. Together they put together a run-a-ball 93 runs for the seventh wicket before things unraveled for Barbados for the final time. Jordan was run out off the first ball of Gabriel's eighth over for 33. Gabriel then picked up his fourth wicket next ball when he bowled Jomel Warrican for a duck and suddenly Barbados, who were 239-6 had slipped to 239-8.

Primus continued to resist. Consecutive sixes and a boundary in the 45th over bowled by Terrance Hinds brought Primus his maiden List A century from just 61 balls.

With 17 needed from the final over being bowled by Shannon Gabriel, Primus hit the first ball for four but three dot balls followed, meaning Barbados needed 13 from two deliveries. Primus took two from the fifth and the match was over. Primus' unbeaten knock included 10 fours and nine sixes and with Camarie Boyce (13 not), he put on 63 for the ninth wicket but it was simply not enough.

Shannon Gabriel was the best of the Red Force bowlers finishing with 4-43.

 Batting first, T&T Red Force were in early trouble losing two wickets inside three overs after Akeem Jordan dismissed Kjorn Ottley for one and Jason Mohammed for a duck with consecutive deliveries. The early dismissals brought Jangoo and Bravo together and they put on 92 for the third wicket before Bravo was caught at fine leg by Jomel Warrican off the bowling of Springer for 54 in the 24th over.

His dismissal brought Pooran to the crease and he immediately went after the bowling playing some injudicious shots and was fortunate not be dismissed early on. However, as he settled into his innings, he pummeled the bowling racing to 50 in just 41 balls. He put on 147 with Jangoo before the latter was caught by Jordan off Springer for 81 in the 44th over. Pooran was eventually dismissed in the 46th trying to hit Springer for six.

With the score 256-5, 300 looked on the cards and the Red Force duly obliged thanks to a sparkling cameo from Akeal Hosein who smashed 42 from just 20 deliveries. He hit three fours and three sixes in a 53-run sixth-wicket stand with Terrance Hinds before he was caught by Jordan off Springer in the final over.

Hinds was not out on nine and Sunil Narine on two at the end.

Springer finished with 4-64 from nine overs while Jordan returned figures of 2-31 from his allotment of 10 overs.

 

 

 

 

West Indies ODI and T20I captain Nicholas Pooran and former West Indies captains Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were among several West Indians to be released by their Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises on Tuesday’s deadline day to retain and release players.

While Pooran, Pollard, who announced his IPL retirement earlier on Tuesday, and Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo were the most high-profile West Indians not retained, there were several other younger players from the Caribbean who were released by their teams.

Along with Pooran, Sunrisers Hyderabad let go of Romario Shepherd, Lucknow Super Giants released Jason Holder and Evin Lewis, Mumbai released Fabian Allen, Royal Challengers Bangalore let go of Sherfane Rutherford, Punjab released Odean Smith and Gujarat Titans did not retain Dominic Drakes.

On the flip side, several West Indians were retained by their franchises.

Obed McCoy and Shimron Hetmyer were retained by the Rajasthan Royals, Alzarri Joseph was retained by defending champions the Gujarat Titans, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will once again suit up for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Kyle Mayers was retained by Lucknow Super Giants and Rovman Powell was retained by the Delhi Capitals.

The released players will get their chance to be snapped up by another franchise at the IPL player auction which will be held on December 23 in Kochi.

Nicholas Pooran just missed out on a century but helped Trinidad and Tobago Red Force defeat Windward Islands Volcanoes by seven wickets with six balls to spare at Tarouba on Saturday. The win means the Red Force have advanced to the semi-finals of the CG Insurance Super 50 competition.

In match reduced by rain to 40 overs, Pooran scored an unbeaten 99 and Darren Bravo 67 not out sharing in an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 155 as TT Red Force cruised to 249-3 (D/L). The West Indies white-ball captain scored his runs from just 71 balls and hit 11 fours and two sixes along the way. Bravo hit nine fours in his 63-ball knock.

Opener Kjorn Ottley made 43 for the Trinidad franchise while partnering in a 49-run second-wicket stand with Jason Mohammed, who made 25. Ottley was eventually dismissed after putting on 13 for the third partnership of 13 with Bravo, who would find a match-winning partner in Pooran.

Justin Greaves was the best of the Windward bowlers with 2-55. Preston McSween took 1-57.

Earlier, the Windwards recovered from a precarious 36-4 in the seventh over after Akeal Hosein 2-37 and Shannon Gabriel 1-36 did the early damage.

The owed their recovery to an unbeaten knocks of 90 from Sunil Ambris and 68 from Andre Fletcher, who shared in an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 165 that took the team to 201-4 from their 40 overs.

Unfortunately, thanks to Pooran and company it proved not to be enough.

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