The Republic Bank National Youth League (RBNYFL) national semifinals will be held at the Republic Bank Sports Complex in Barataria and the Courland Recreation Ground in Black Rock, Courland on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May respectively. Which teams get bragging rights on their respective islands? There are four divisions …
Read More »1975 CWC: Clive Lloyd was the man for the big occasion
(Part nine.) Leader supreme. Clive Lloyd is automatically associated with the West Indies’ unprecedented period of dominance of world cricket: the era of invincibility in Test series from 1980 to 1995, via the fearsome foursomes and an array of world-class batsmen, including himself. However, the big Guyanese left-hander had already …
Read More »1975 CWC: Kanhai “manufactured his own shots”—40 years before T20 cricket
(Part eight.) Ultimate dasher. Garry Sobers’ untimely injury presented another recently-retired senior pro with the opportunity to appear at the 1975 World Cup. And with 43 days to go to the 50th anniversary of the West Indies’ triumph in the final at Lord’s, Rohan Kanhai takes centre stage. Initially the …
Read More »1975 CWC: Three cheers for Sir Garry; cricket’s greatest ever allrounder
(Part seven.) Hail the King! Injury ruled him out of the tournament but it would be a travesty, with 44 days to go to the West Indies’ triumph at the 1975 World Cup, not to devote one day of this series to Sir Garfield Sobers: the greatest all-round cricketer of …
Read More »1975 CWC: Windies make ODI debut at Leeds, as team transitions from Sobers era
(Part six.) A new era. Despite being partly driven by commercial concerns, cricket in the early 1970s was nothing like the environment 30 years later. The arrival of the T20 format and subsequently T20 Internationals triggered the franchise boom and, therefore, fixture congestion which remains one of the biggest challenges …
Read More »1975 CWC: An unforgettable accident—how bad weather led to the world’s first ODI
(Part five.) History by accident. Tuesday 5 January 1971 is one of cricket’s historic days, with the first-ever One-Day International being played. As with the first-ever Test match, which bowled off on 15 March 1877, the ODI was staged at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and matched hosts Australia against England. …
Read More »RBNYFL 25: Zaa’van, Micha’el lead Pro Series triple threat; but Premier, Hawks and QPCC pose strong challenges
At this rate, the 2025 Republic Bank National Youth Football League (RBNYFL) season is in danger of going down as the Year of the Pros. With one match day left in the Trinidad leg of the domestic youth competition, Pro Series are in the three of the RBNYFL’s four finals—having …
Read More »Jewel recalled to WI ODI team for England tour; Rampaul named bowling coach
West Indies coach Daren Sammy suggested that he is looking to build momentum with the regional One-Day International (ODI) team, as he unveiled only one change in his 15-member squad to face Ireland and England. The Maroon Men will play three ODIs against Ireland from 21-25 May and then another …
Read More »1975 CWC: “These were parlous times”—when limited-overs cricket hit England in 1960s
(Part four.) English abundance. Having established that the first limited-over cricket tournament was played in India in 1951, it was at the home of the inventors of the game, England, that the variation of the traditional format first took root more than a decade later, and eventually earned wider appeal …
Read More »Rampant Romario rescues RCB in IPL, moves the maroon up from half-mast
Take a bow, Romario Shepherd. At a time when the Caribbean front-runners aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory, the Guyanese allrounder has given the CWI contingent a boost. In case you missed it, Rajit Patidar’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings by two runs on Saturday. Without …
Read More »1975 CWC: From India to the world—how limited overs cricket bowled off
(Part three.) It started in India. Given the duration of the traditional game—in most cases spanning between three and five days—it was inevitable that at some time, someone would formalise the idea of a game of cricket played on a limited-over basis, starting and finishing on the same day. So, …
Read More »1975 CWC: Ladies first—how T&T and Jamaica women beat WI men to global limited-over stage
(Part two.) With 49 days to go to the 50th anniversary of West Indies’ triumph over Australia at Lord’s in the 1975 World Cup final, it is appropriate to acknowledge that this grand occasion was not the first global limited-over cricket tournament. That honour goes to the women’s game which …
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