Newly appointed West Indies One-Day International (ODI) captain, Nicholas Pooran, has warned against complacency from his team ahead of Tuesday’s start of their three-match ODI series against the Netherlands in Amstelveen.
The West Indies will play matches on May 31, June 2 and June 4 in what will be their first-ever ODI series against the Dutch side and Pooran believes his players need to be in the correct frame of mind.
“Obviously, we don’t want to be complacent. We just saw the Netherlands play New Zealand and they did well,” said Pooran in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“They didn’t get a win but, as a team, they played really well. They have some good players.”
Pooran, who recently ended a stint for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, will be in charge in his first assignment as full-time West Indies ODI captain and provided some insight as to how he plans to lead.
“I’ll try to make the best decisions for the team. I’m very instinctive so a lot of my decisions you guys may not like but, hopefully, it will be the right decision for the team at that point in time. It’s similar to my batting so, hopefully, that goes well,” he said.
As for tomorrow’s game, Pooran says the team is prepared for battle.
“I believe that we’re ready to play. We’ve been here a couple days now and getting used to the weather. We came here to be successful and get some wins on under our belt to get some points so, hopefully, things can go our way and we can do the right things,” said Pooran.
The match is expected to begin at 4:00 am in Jamaica, 5:00 am ECT.
West Indies Captain Kieron Pollard is choosing to focus on the positives coming out of the Indian white-ball tour in which the Caribbean side was swept 3-0 in both the ODI and T20 series.
Speaking after the West Indies lost the final T20 by 17 runs on Sunday, Pollard said the tour was not a complete disaster.
“When you look at the games, it was definitely a close series but it just goes to show the fine line in international cricket in terms of the margins for error,” said Pollard.
“I thought the guys really put up their hands and gave a really good account of themselves so I don’t think we should feel disgraced by what has taken place.
"We’re not happy with losing but it is a work in progress. I’m very happy with the performances of some of the guys and we crack on. We have no international white-ball cricket for the next three months so we have time to find out what’s for the future.”
Among the players that Pollard was pleased with was his vice-captain Nicholas Pooran who starred with 184 runs in the three games.
“I thought Nicholas was outstanding. Three fifties in three games is fantastic for him and that’s the consistency that we ask for,” said Pollard.
Pollard’s Mumbai Indians teammate Suryakumar Yadav was India’s best batsman in the series with 107 runs in the three matches. The West Indies captain believes he is someone his batters should try to emulate.
“Surya is a world-class player. I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of years with him so it’s great to see that he has grown well and is doing great things for himself and great things for India. He’s a 360-degree player and that’s something that our batsmen could try to emulate,” Pollard said.
An important part of a successful T20 outfit is laying out specific roles for specific players and Pollard, while being aware of this, says it’s also important to rotate to give others opportunities.
“I think everyone is clear in their role. Once you get an opportunity to play, you know your role so it’s about getting the experience and understanding what is needed at the international level. We’re not just chopping and changing for the sake of it, guys came in and had specific roles to play. We’re in a position where we have to give guys opportunities,” he said.
The West Indies next white-ball assignment will a tour of the Netherlands in May-June where they will play three ODIs.
The West Indies just played three One-Day Internationals against India and failed to make 200 runs in any of them.
176, 193 and 169 were the scores the Caribbean side managed to put up during the series and Head Coach Phil Simmons, speaking in the post-series press conference on Friday, says this trend is concerning.
“It needs urgent attention. It cost us the last two games. If you bowl India out for 230 and 260, you expect to chase it,” he said.
The West Indies, not too long ago, showed improvement in their batting performances in ODIs, particularly in Sri Lanka’s tour of the West Indies in early 2021 which saw the regional side make scores of 236-2, 274-5 and 276-5 in the three matches.
“Just under a year ago, we were cruising to 280 and 290 against Sri Lanka who has similar spinners so the batting is a huge concern and people have got to stand up now as we go into our next set of ODIs in June,” Simmons added.
On a more positive note, Simmons praised the performance of his bowlers in the series.
“I think a positive is that the bowlers have done what we’ve asked of them. We’ve kept a strong India batting line-up to 230 and 260 and I think that’s a huge positive. The way how we’ve gone about our task on the field when bowling and fielding have been a huge positive all-round,” he added.
The West Indies will play India in three T20Is beginning on Wednesday while their next ODI assignment will be a three-match tour of the Netherlands in June.
The West Indies struggles in One-Day International cricket continue after suffering a 96-run loss in the third ODI against India, in Ahmedabad on Friday, suffering a 3-0 series sweep in the process.
The hosts, who won the toss and chose to bat first, suffered a poor start after losing captain Rohit Sharma (13), Shikhar Dhawan (10) and Virat Kohli (0) in the first 10 overs.
With the Indians teetering at 42-3, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant rescued the innings with a partnership of 110 before Pant was dismissed for 56 in the 30th over to leave the Indians 152-4.
Shreyas eventually got to a top score of 80 off 111 balls, including nine fours, before he was dismissed in the 38th over to leave India 187-6.
A crucial 53-run seventh-wicket partnership between Deepak Chahar (38) and Washington Sundar (33) ensured that India eventually posted a respectable 265 all out off their 50 overs, a score they would’ve been very happy with based on the start they had.
Jason Holder was outstanding for the West Indies with 4-34 off eight overs while Alzarri Joseph and Hayden Walsh supported well with two wickets each.
The Windies reply never got out of first gear with only Odean Smith (36) and captain Nicholas Pooran (34) managing to pass 30.
Alzarri Joseph also contributed 29 in a disappointing batting effort which saw the West Indies bowled out for 169 after 37.1 overs.
Prasidh Krishna (3-27 off 8.1 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (3-29 off 9 overs) led the way for the Indians with the ball.
The two teams will now turn their attention to the three-match T20 International series which begins on Wednesday.
West Indies all-rounder Akeal Hosein has enjoyed a brilliant start to his international career.
The Trinidadian left-arm spinner has so far taken 21 wickets in 13 One-Day Internationals and 15 wickets in 18 T20 Internationals.
Hosein is currently representing the regional side in an ongoing white-ball tour of India in which the team finds itself 1-0 down in the three-match ODI series.
He took 1-46 from nine overs in the game the West Indies lost by six wickets.
Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of the second ODI on Wednesday, Hosein, who is on his first tour of India, explained that figuring out the bowling in the conditions remains a work in progress.
“It's just about reading what type of pitch it is, what type of soil it is, and see what works on the day. Sometimes, you get information and it doesn’t really help you in the match so it’s definitely something that you have to go out there and feel for yourself and you can probably just keep that information at the back of your mind as well,” he said.
In their turn at the crease, in the first ODI, the West Indies batsmen were put into a blender by India’s spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, who took seven wickets between them. So the question remains, how do the Windies batsmen plan to manage the spin onslaught in the second ODI?
“I think more of that will be revealed tomorrow. We don’t know how the surface might play; it might play the same, it might play better, it might play worse. One game plan that we do have no matter what is to just be positive and get ourselves into proper positions. To play strong scoring shots and I think that’s something we’re going to stick with, no matter the surface and conditions. The more we’re able to do those things, we’ll be able to get through it,” Hosein added.
“The conversation after the game was generally about not getting our heads down. Yes, we’ve lost the match and it’s a short series with only three matches but more around the positives we took from the game. Although we lost, there were still positives and it’s just about how we plan to bounce back and come back stronger in the second game,” he added.
His performances this year have certainly caught the eye of the now 10 lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, with the auction for the 2022 season just a few days away but Hosein says his focus is on winning this series.
“These two games are very important for me because they will determine the series for us. I’m not really focused on the IPL. I’m focused on the task at hand right now. Yes, we know the IPL is the best league around but, having said that, I think once I do the right things and perform well for my team, other doors will open for me. The focus now is to try to win this ODI series,” he said.
The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.
Following Sunday's six-wicket defeat to India, fast bowler Alzarri Joseph believes the West Indies need to do a better job at the crease.
After batting first and posting a paltry 176 all out in just 43.5 overs, India needed just 28 overs to get to 178-4 and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pace bowler Alzarri Joseph, who was the best bowler on the day for the Windies with 2-45 from seven overs, said the nature of the pitch made bowling difficult.
“It was a pretty difficult wicket. It was slow and spin-friendly so there wasn’t really much in it for me. We had our team meetings and we had specific plans for specific batsmen so I was just bowling towards the plans. I just tried to put in my effort and put my best foot forward for the team,” he said.
A common theme in the West Indies batting over the years, Joseph lamented the lack of application during their innings.
“I just think we need to assess a bit better and spend some more time at the crease. As you see, Fabian and Jason gave us a good partnership and partnerships will give us a better total. We needed to score a bit more," the Antiguan said.
"I think maybe 240 or 250 would have been a more challenging total on that wicket but it’s our first game out and we have two more games to get back in the series so we’ll just go back to the drawing board and put our plans in. We have two days to go back and plan so we’ll have our post-match meetings and come up with plans to get to where we need to get.”
Joseph has had an excellent start to his ODI career with 66 wickets in 41 matches and his goal is to just keep improving.
“My goals are just improving as a cricketer every time I go out on the field. Year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, I try to improve myself and be better than I was yesterday,” he said.
The second ODI takes place on Wednesday.
In any form of cricket, you can’t score runs off the deliveries you don’t face. This rings true whether it’s Test, ODI or T20 cricket.
For the West Indies in the One-Day International format, a main problem over the last few years has been an inability to bat for their full 50 overs.
Speaking on Saturday ahead of the start of the regional team’s limited-overs tour of India, Captain Kieron Pollard says the main focus will be to rectify that.
“For this series against India, I think one of the things we need to take forward is how we bat 50 overs. We haven’t batted 50 overs for the last couple series against Ireland and Australia so that’s something that we need to look at. As a team, we need to follow the template and follow the plans that are put out there so we can be successful,” said Pollard.
“It’s another opportunity for us to test our skills and see where we are, coming up against a formidable Indian team in Indian conditions. If my memory serves me correctly, I think the last time we were down here, we did pretty well. We didn’t win the series but we pushed them so now we’re looking to push that one step further,” he added.
His memory does serve him correctly as the last time the West Indies toured India in 2019, they suffered 2-1 series defeats in both the ODIs and T20Is.
Asked about where he is mentally going into this series, Pollard said: "I’m in a good space, you know. I didn’t tour Pakistan so I got some much-needed time off to refresh the mind and body. Coming back in the Ireland series was difficult and the England series was tough as well but these things happen.
"Once you have intentions of playing sports; emotions, mental space, physical capabilities, all these things are tested and, for me, I’ve played my entire career with a lot of things riding on it and I’ve come through it with a smile on my face and that’s how I’m going to finish my career as well.”
The West Indies will oppose India in three ODIs and three T20Is, with the first ODI taking place on Sunday.
South Africa have levelled their Women’s One-Day International series with the West Indies at 1-1 after securing a 96-run win in the third ODI at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg Thursday.
After winning the toss and batting first, South Africa put the West Indian bowlers to the sword to post their best total of the series, 299-8 off their 50 overs.
Opener Laura Wolvaardt dazzled with 117 off 123 balls including 11 fours and a six and captain Sune Luus contributed 56 off 93 balls.
Chloe Tryon provided some big hitting late in the innings with 42 from 24 balls including two fours and three sixes.
Shamilia Connell was the only bowler to have a good day for the West Indies with 4-54 off her 10 overs.
West Indies had to attempt their chase one batsman short as Chedean Nation, who got 35 in the second ODI, was unable to bat after picking up an injury in the field.
The batting was further handicapped when Captain Stafanie Taylor had to retire hurt for the second time in three games after being struck on the helmet by South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk early in the innings.
Eventually, despite a career-best 69 from 94 balls from Kycia Knight, the West Indies fell comfortably short of their target, finishing 203-9 off 43.5 overs.
Shabnim Ismail was the pick of the South African bowlers with 4-37 from 8.4 overs while Ayabonga Khaka took 2-27 off nine.
The decisive fourth ODI will take place on Sunday.
West Indies Women secured a nine-run super over win over South Africa Women in the second ODI at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg Monday.
The tourists lead the four-match series 1-0 after the first ODI ended in a no result.
On Monday, the match was reduced to 41 overs per side after a rain delay.
After winning the toss and electing to field, West Indies women had a solid outing with the ball to restrict the hosts to 160 all out in 40.4 overs.
South African captain Sune Luus top-scored with 46 while openers Laura Volvaardt and Tazmin Brits got 25 each.
All five bowlers used by the West Indies got two wickets each with Hayley Matthews being the most economical with 2-21 from 7.4 overs.
In a chase that should have been simple, the West Indies made it complicated by losing wickets in bunches.
Deandra Dottin followed up her magnificent 150 not out in the first ODI with a top-score of 37 while Chadean Nation contributed 35.
Chinelle Henry (26) and captain Stafanie Taylor (21) were the other key contributors with the bat.
The Windies had a chance to win the match before the super over when Nation and Shakera Selman were at the crease in the 37th over needing just three runs to win.
Nation was then dismissed leaving Selman and new batter Karishma Ramharack needing three runs to win.
Ramharack and Selman each then got singles to leave just one run to win before Selman was trapped in front by pacer Shabnim Ismail for 11 to leave the Windies 160 all out from 37.4 overs.
Ayabonga Khaka was the pick of the South African bowlers with an excellent 5-26 from her eight overs while captain Luus supported well with 2-15 from seven overs.
West Indies batted first in the super over with Dottin and Matthews striding to the crease to face Ismail.
Some clean hitting from the pair meant the West Indies produced an intimidating 25 off their super over, leaving the hosts needing 26 to win.
Matthews then bowled the super over for the tourists and restricted the South African pair of Chloe Tryon and Tazmin Brits to 17 to secure a 9-run win and a 1-0 series lead.
The third ODI will take place on Thursday.
The First Women’s ODI between the West Indies and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg ended in a no result today.
South Africa won the toss and put the West Indies in to bat and at the time of the first rain delay, West Indies women were 234-3 from 45.3 overs.
Deandra Dottin was not out on a mammoth 150 off 158 balls, with 18 fours and four sixes, and Shemaine Campbelle was the other not-out batter with 7.
Earlier, Hayley Matthews made 51 from 63 balls.
Dottin’s 150 is her third ODI hundred and the second-highest individual score by a West Indian, in Women’s ODIs, after Stafanie Taylor’s 171 off 137 balls against Sri Lanka Women in Mumbai in 2013.
Due to lack of time, the West Indies innings was declared at the same score meaning South Africa had a target of 204 off 29 overs based on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
The South Africans got to 87-5 off 17.4 overs before the skies opened up once again and caused the match to be abandoned before 20 overs could be completed.
Tazmin Brits got 32 off 37 balls to top score for the South Africans.
The second ODI takes place on Monday.
West Indies women’s captain Stafanie Taylor will take no further part in the first ODI between the West Indies Women and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg after sustaining a sharp blow to the arm at the non-striker’s end.
Taylor was forced to retire hurt after scoring 12 off 17 balls.
According to the management, "Out of an abundance of caution, she will be rested for the remainder of the match unless needed in the field."
Hayley Matthews replaced Taylor and made 51, featuring in a partnership of 153 runs with Deandra Dottin who is 150 not out as the West Indies reached 234-3 off 45.3 overs when rain interrupted play.
The key to the West Indies winning their CG Insurance One-Day International series against Ireland will be the ability to maintain wickets in hand in order to launch at the back-end of the innings, according to opening batsman and vice-captain Shai Hope.
The West Indies top-order batsmen have experienced difficulties with the moisture on the Sabina Park pitch, in the first two games of the series, after losing the toss and being asked to bat by Ireland on both occasions.
“We all know that in the morning time, there’s a lot of moisture in the pitch and it’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to win the toss in the first two games,” he said.
Still, Hope emphasized the importance of trying to battle through the conditions, regardless of the result of the toss.
“Whether we win the toss or not, we have to do whatever we do, first, to the best of our ability. The key is to make sure we do it better this game because we know it is a series decider,” Hope added.
When asked about the average batting performance in the series so far, Hope once again pointed to difficult conditions.
“I think anyone who understands cricket can see that conditions aren’t conducive to stroke-play. It’s not a free-flowing wicket, especially in the morning at Sabina Park. It’s just important for us as batters to adapt to that as fast as we can. It’s not easy but we still have to find a way,” Hope added.
Finally, he offered possible solutions for the West Indies' batting woes.
“It’s just important for us to find a way, whether it’s putting the bowlers under more pressure or trying to run more singles in the middle period. I also think it’s important for us to maintain wickets in the middle so we can launch at the back-end because, at the end of the innings, the wicket tends to get a lot better,” Hope said.
The third and final CG Insurance ODI between The West Indies and Ireland takes place on Sunday at Sabina Park at 9:15 am Jamaica Time.
The series is currently locked at 1-1.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Friday named an 18-member squad for the One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa Women, at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, from January 25 to February 7.
The touring squad sees a return for Afy Fletcher, the experienced leg-spinner and right-handed batter, who returns from maternity leave.
The squad also includes three uncapped players: Kaysia Schultz, a left arm orthodox bowler, Mandy Mangru, a right-handed batter, and Jannillea Glasgow, a right-arm medium pacer.
The three newcomers were members of the West Indies Women’s A team, which played against Pakistan Women’s A Team last year.
“The South Africa series comes at an opportune time as the team prepares for the upcoming World Cup. The squad has been preparing and building during the past year, even with the limitations caused by the pandemic and hopefully, they can put it all together. The return of the experienced Afy Fletcher brings added variety to the bowling particularly with the absence of Qiana Joseph who has been ruled out due to injury,” said Ann Browne-John, CWI Lead Selector for Women’s cricket.
“In our drive to continue the expansion of our player pool, the panel has included three young, uncapped players. They are Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru as well as teenager Jannillea Glasgow. Exposure to international cricket at this time will most certainly give them the experience and match time needed to develop and grow their individual talents. The panel believes that this blend of youth and experience will work well as we continue our preparations for the World Cup,” Browne-John added.
The West Indies Women are due to arrive in South Africa on January 16, where they will have a training camp ahead of the warm-up and four-match ODI series against the Proteas Women.
Full squad:
Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Anisa Mohammed (Vice-Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams.
Ireland secured a five-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to tie their 3-match One-Day International series with the West Indies 1-1 at Sabina Park on Thursday.
Ireland’s opening pair of William Porterfield and Paul Stirling got off to a strong start reaching 37 off 4.5 overs before Stirling was dismissed for 21 by Akeal Hosein.
Ireland brought up their 50 in the eighth over with Porterfield on 22 and Andy McBrine yet to score.
Roston Chase removed Porterfield with the final ball of the 10th over for 26 to leave the Irish on 60-2.
McBrine and Harry Tector formed a decent partnership and brought Ireland’s score past 100 before McBrine was dismissed by Romario Shepherd to become the third wicket to fall for a well-played 35, in the 20th over, to leave Ireland at 104-3.
Tector (46) and Curtis Campher (11) were the batsmen at the crease when Ireland brought up their 150 in the 29th over.
Tector brought up his sixth ODI 50 and second in the series off 69 balls in the 31st over but in the same over was bowled by Hosein. Curtis Campher was dismissed for 12 to leave the score on 157-4 with Ireland needing 73 more runs to win from 115 balls.
A long rain delay during the 32nd over meant that upon the resumption of the game, Ireland only needed 11 more runs to win off 28 balls after the overs were reduced from 50 to 36 by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
Kieron Pollard removed George Dockrell in the 33rd over for five, with the Irish needing just three more runs to win before Gareth Delaney hit the winning runs off Pollard to close the innings at 168-5.
Harry Tector finished 54 not out for the Irish against Akeal Hosein’s 2-51 off eight overs.
Earlier, the West Indies recovered from being 111-7 to be bowled out for 229 in 48 overs thanks to a well-made 50 from Romario Shepherd and an aggressive 46 off 19 balls from Odean Smith against a four-wicket haul from Andy McBrine, who was voted man of the match, and a three-wicket haul from Craig Young.
The third and final ODI will take place on Sunday at 9:15 AM Jamaica time at the same venue.
The West Indies have set Ireland 230 to win the second ODI at Sabina Park thanks to crucial late knocks from Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith.
West Indies played the same eleven as the first ODI for the second match, while Ireland made two changes with Paul Stirling and Neil Rock coming in for regular captain Andrew Balbirnie and wicketkeeper/batsman Lorcan Tucker who both returned positive COVID-19 tests on Tuesday.
Ireland won the toss and chose to field and the West Indies opening pair of Shai Hope and Justin Greaves battled difficult conditions on the Sabina Park pitch to still be at the crease in the 10th over before Hope was dismissed by Craig Young for 17 to leave the Windies at 38-1.
After the first powerplay, the West Indies were 39-1 with Greaves not out on eight and Nicholas Pooran yet to score.
Young got his second wicket in the 12th over with a beauty to remove Justin Greaves for 10 to leave the score on 42-2 off 11.2 overs.
The West Indies troubles escalated when Pooran became Young’s third victim in the 14th over, for one, to leave the home team on 43-3 off 13.5 overs.
After 20 overs, the West Indies were 58-3 with Roston Chase (6) and Shamarh Brooks (10) attempting to rebuild the innings.
Chase was next to go for 13 after a brilliant catch by acting captain Paul Stirling off the bowling of Andy McBrine to leave the West Indies on 91-4 after 26 overs.
The West Indies lost their fifth wicket soon after as captain Kieron Pollard was dismissed for one by McBrine to leave the score at 93-5 after 27.1 overs.
Shamarh Brooks (36) and Jason Holder (2) were the batsmen at the crease when the West Indies brought up their hundred in the 30th over, ending that over on 103-5.
Jason Holder became the sixth wicket to fall for three off the bowling of Josh Little in the 31st over to leave the score 104-6.
Brooks followed up his 93 from the first ODI with a well-played 43 before he was dismissed in the 34th over by George Dockrell, to leave the West Indies struggling at 111-7.
Akeal Hosein was the eighth wicket to fall, going caught on the boundary off the bowling of McBrine for 11 to leave the West Indies on 143-8 after 39.4 overs.
Smith came to the crease and hit back-to-back sixes off McBrine to help the West Indies get to 155-8 after 40 overs with Smith on 12 and Shepherd on 22.
A brilliant partnership from Smith (46) and Shepherd (28) allowed West Indies to bring up their 200 in the 44th over.
Smith’s innings came to an end at the start of the 45th over when he was dismissed by Josh Little for 46 off just 19 balls to leave the West Indies 201-9.
Shepherd brought up a wonderful 50 off 40 balls in the 48th over before he was dismissed off the very next ball to end the innings with the West Indies being bowled out for 229 in 48 overs.
Andy McBrine was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-36 off his 10 overs and he was well supported by Craig Young who took 3-42 off eight overs.
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