I wish to leave veteran West Indies batsman Chris Gayle aside for the moment and turn my attention to a not unrelated issue. My interest in the fitness of West Indies players and the granting of medical exemptions has been further piqued with the recent injury struggles faced by the …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Jackman sees flawed logic in calls to drop Gayle and add Holder to WI squad
“[…] For years the destroyer of bowling attacks, Chris Gayle is but a shadow of the fearsome figure he once was. His run production rapidly declining in recent years, he has endured a near-barren 2021 for both WI and the Patriots. “[…] If, as the multitude insists, Gayle cannot be …
Read More »T2021 W/C: F Warner muses over CPL stars who forced their way into WI plans—and those who should have
“[…] In a T20 match, four tight overs are worth their weight in gold. In [Sunil] Narine’s two IPL games thus far, after he bowled a tight over during which the batsmen played him cautiously, the bowler at the other end got a wicket. The batsmen were forced to take …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Polls apart? CWI and Wired868 panels agree on Gayle, differ on Bravo, Holder
Allyuh tink dis selection ting easy? Allyuh know who Joshua Bishop is? No? Well, the 21-year-old Barbados Royals’ rookie left-arm spinner’s name somehow ended up on a list of three dozen West Indies players named by the 12 panellists asked to select their WI dream team for the 2021 T20 …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Gayle’s last dance: in defence of the West Indies’ pick for the ‘Universe Boss’
“Yes, I want to play for West Indies—that’s where my heart is,” veteran West Indies cricket star Chris Gayle told ESPN, during an interview in March 2021. “I am never going to turn down anything pertaining to West Indies cricket at this particular time. “[…] Hopefully I can perform, help …
Read More »T2021 W/C: ‘The best of the available candidates’, you say?! Best on differing value of the Bravos
Darren Bravo is a gifted left-hander who, for years, was the best batsman in the region and a clone of his cousin, Brian Charles Lara, the best batsman the country has produced. But that was once upon a time. Darren Bravo vintage 2021 is not vintage at all. On merit. …
Read More »CPL 2021: How a Champion and a ‘Dom’ gave the Patriots their champagne moment
“[…] Then came the finale, the most thrilling CPL final in the tournament’s nine-year existence. The home upstarts SKN Patriots, representing the Leeward Islands against the dominant St Lucia Kings, representing the Windward Islands. “[…] Videos were out, shade being thrown by all supporters. Memes galore. So much fun and …
Read More »CPL 2021: Anatomy of a cricketing coup; an insider details how the Patriots became kings
“[…] In these smaller islands, the level of insularity in cricket and other sports means that opportunities for our players and athletes are inherently less than those of our more endowed larger island nations of the archipelago. “I was always one to support the underdog against all odds so now …
Read More »CPL 2021: Drakes leads Patriots to last-ball win, as hosts keep St Lucia Kings off the throne
For a brief moment, it looked like the umpiring, less than stellar throughout this year’s CPL played entirely at Warner Park in St Kitts and Nevis, would steal Man-of-the-Match Dominic Drakes’ thunder. But, in the end, justice was done. Mere moments after the 23-year-old left-handed son of former West Indies …
Read More »CPL 2021: Evin Lewis spoils Hetmyer’s party; Patriots bid to stop Kings in first title battle
It was not even close. A no-contest. Shimron Hetmyer thumped a hat-trick of sixes in the final over to add substance to what would otherwise have been a very undaunting Guyana Amazon Warriors final score. And although it allowed Nicholas Pooran’s soldiers to troop off Warner Park in St Kitts …
Read More »CPL 2021: Pumped Shepherd, Pollard blast GAW and TKR into perfect semi match-ups
They left it late. But in the end, Kieron Pollard’s Trinbago Knight Riders reversed the result of Saturday evening’s match-up against Dwayne Bravo’s St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and finished on top of the 2021 CPL group stage table. The four-wicket victory they carved out at Warner Park in St …
Read More »T2021 W/C: From ‘Universe Boss’ to Walsh Jr; Best looks at ups and downs of Harper’s WI picks
West Indies lead selector Roger Harper is pleased with his and his selection panel’s handiwork. Good for him. Not I. “I expect the team to do very well,” he confidently declared during the media conference called to defend his and his fellow selectors’ work on Thursday. “I think we have …
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