After a 354-ball, nine-hour marathon that had yielded 123 runs at a strike rate of 34.64, Nkrumah Bonner found himself at bat with only 14 more deliveries left in the day’s play. All arms and legs, part-timer Dan Lawrence ran in and served up an off-spinner that spun down the …
Read More »“It’s evenly poised!” Brathwaite seeks bright WI start as Holder and Bonner defy England
Rain interrupted proceedings five times in the course of the second day of the First Apex Test match at the Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound in Antigua. But at the end of the kind of day that frustrates West Indian cricketers, thanks largely to an unbeaten 75-run partnership between …
Read More »Early Bird: Insularity’s alive and well and coming soon from a place near you in T&T
“[Joe] Root won the toss…” It was a joke, not meant to be taken seriously. It was. Bobby had clearly prepared himself for the eventuality. “Check the record, bro,” he hit back. “[Brian] Lara recaptured his record in the Fourth Test, not the First. And when a class batsman is …
Read More »Roach, Seales give West Indies quick start but Bairstow stops them in their tracks
Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales got Kraigg Brathwaite’s West Indies quickly out of the blocks on the first day of the first match of the Apex Three-Test Series. But it was the in-form who built three successive partnerships to ensure that Joe Root’s England endured to the last, recovering from …
Read More »Early Bird: Root’s record plus weak West Indies bowling put Lara’s record under threat
Sonny Ramadhin’s recent death reminded us that more than once MCC tinkered with the rules. The changes may have helped England in 1957 but they certainly haven’t really helped them do all that well in the Caribbean at any time. Their last away series win in the 20th Century came …
Read More »Sport will operate as ‘safe zone’; athletes and coaches must vaccinate or get medical exemption
Lionel Messi, Mohamed Salah, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and LeBron James are all vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus. And if you’d like to be involved in sport for the foreseeable future, you will have to follow suit. The Office of the Attorney General today published an updated Public Health [2019 …
Read More »Is sport now open to unvaccinated players and officials? Officials still in the dark
Can unvaccinated players, coaches and officials take part in team sport? Or is sport bound to remain within the boundaries of ‘safe zones’? The related questions have been on the lips of everyone from recreational athletes to formal players and officials since Friday 4 March, when Prime Minister Dr Keith …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: Mayers and Simmons must justify WI retention; kudos to Walsh and WI Women
“[…] At stake during the series will be the continuation of several careers—those of the coaches as well as of a few of the players. “[…] In 18 innings since Kyle Mayers’ outstanding double-century (210*) in the second innings of his debut Test against Bangladesh a year ago, he has …
Read More »‘He changed the landscape of contemporary cricket’; world cricket pays tribute to Shane Warne
Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt and head coach Phil Simmons have joined iconic cricketers like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the world in paying tribute to legendary former Australia cricket leg-spinner Shane Warne, who passed away from a suspected heart attack in Thailand today. Thai Police …
Read More »CWI and Sport Ministry honour late WI cricket pioneer, Sonny Ramadhin
Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt and Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe have paid tribute to iconic former West Indies spin bowler Sonny Ramadhin, who passed away yesterday at the age of 92. Ramadhin was the first cricketer of East Indian descent to …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: Shake up WI white ball team, and Campbell over Solozano is a gamble
“[…] Taken altogether the overall series results as well as the unsatisfactory player performances [against India] must now surely raise further questions about the efficiency of the Phil Simmons-led West Indies coaching staff. “[…] As to the actual squad chosen for the first Test, we have absolutely no issues with …
Read More »‘Reds’ Perreira: WI cricket commentators spent 2021 chasing Mason and Vibes Radio for payment
“[…] When Andrew Mason contacted me on behalf of Vibes Radio, the Dominica-based rights holder for West Indies cricket, I suggested several St Lucia commentators to him. Mason then requested their individual email and telephone number to deal with each person directly. “[…] It is certainly the feeling of the …
Read More »