“[…] When the IPL started back in 2008, it was a six-week tournament. The BCCI has since increased the official time span to eight weeks, but the true time is closer to 10 to 12 weeks. “[…] Despite all of that, the compensation package for the player’s home board has …
Read More »Best: Will West Indies batsmen get IPL Easter resurrection lessons from mind coach Brian Lara?
Mid-April, the 53rd anniversary of the declaration by Dr Eric Williams’ embattled government of T&T’s first state of emergency, and two voices are in my head. One is real, the other imagined. Neither will go away. “Power alone will never make us strong. The heart must also sing the human …
Read More »Dear Editor: West Indies lack the variety of qualities necessary in a good cricket team
“[…] Whether or not we change Phil Simmons is irrelevant to me. Don’t get me wrong, I think he reached his peak and is unable to progress our players further… My point is there aren’t many coaches around the world who can mould our players into a cohesive unit. “[…] …
Read More »WI offer ray of Hope, but India swing the Ax to seal thrilling ODI series in record style
For the second successive One Day International (ODI) at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, the West Indies cricketers were pretty good. Unfortunately for the host team, India were better. Set a target of 312 runs to win—40 more than the Port of Spain venue’s record chase of …
Read More »Media Monitor: What is Akeal Hosein’s best potential pathway into the lucrative IPL?
Seventeen West Indies players will play in the 2022 Indian Premier League. Yet the Caribbean’s most dependable limited-overs bowler of recent years will not be among them. In spite of all he has done over the last year, Akeal Hosein went unsold at the IPL auction. That opening paragraph is …
Read More »Alzarri, Evin, Mayers, Odean and Rovman drafted as 17 West Indians get IPL deals
Seventeen regional cricketers will line up in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 competition this season—although almost one-third of them are not in the current West Indies squad. Jamaican bowling allrounder Odean Smith was today drafted by the Punjab Kings, coach Anil Kumble suggesting that he was suitably impressed …
Read More »Khan, Furlonge grumble as T&T Red Force stumble past Jamaica; Guyana and Barbados eke out wins
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force became the first team to win a fixture in the 2022 West Indies Championship, seeing off the Jamaica Scorpions today at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba. But, as the Red Force stumbled clumsily over the finishing line, it is anyone’s guess which …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Narine shows what WI will miss as post-CPL lessons continue in IPL play-offs
It would not be accurate to say that West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine almost single-handedly put the Kolkata Knight Riders into the IPL semi-final on Monday. Why? Because accuracy requires that we say ‘former West Indies off-spinner Sunil Narine’. Mr Roger Harper and his selection panel were well aware that, …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Fitness fears haunt WI fast men; should Gayle mirror India’s MS Dhoni?
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: A tale of two Gayles—veteran’s IPL exit might make Harper’s defenders blush
He was once the best of them. But don’t blush, baby! He may now be the worst of them. Or close to it… The day was 21 September 2021 and the self-proclaimed ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle was celebrating his 42nd birthday. It was the first game of the re-started IPL …
Read More »Ambrose: West Indies’ glory days will come not back; why iconic pacer bowled a googly
Former West Indies pacer Curtly Ambrose was in the news last week. Speaking on the Talk Sports Live show in Antigua, he poured scorn on the notion of a possible return of WI cricket to its former glory. “Yes, we can be competitive and climb up the ICC rankings and …
Read More »Cover Drive (video): DJ Bravo on why West Indies dominate T20 and his biggest cricketing regret
Trinbago Knight Riders captain Dwayne “DJ” Bravo discusses what it meant wear the maroon cap, why West Indies dominate at T20 level and his biggest regret as a cricketer, in the fifth episode of Wired868 series, Cover Drive: More from Wired868 TV6ME: Michael Johnson and Anton Corneal on How to …
Read More »