West Indies white ball captain Kieron Pollard will lead his troops in next month’s limited overs outings against the Republic of Ireland and Jamaica, after recovering from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the disastrous Homage Series in Pakistan. The Cricket West Indies (CWI) selection panel, now temporarily …
Read More »T2021 W/C: ‘Reds’ and McWatt call for WI selectors, coaches and captain to pay for disastrous campaign
“[…] Prior to the World Cup’s commencement, West Indies selection panel chairman Roger Harper expressed his belief that the chosen 15-member squad was good enough to successfully defend their title as reigning champions. The actual results have now, however, clearly demonstrated the absolute lunacy of Harper’s thinking. “[…] The West …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Pollard: ‘[WI] lacked cricket smarts’; Hetmyer hits 81 in vain as S/Lanka k.o. champs
Twenty-five year old Sri Lankan pacer Chamika Karunaratne tapped his temple and then tapped his heart, after dismissing West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell for two runs in today’s ICC T20 World Cup contest. And, just to be sure nobody missed it, Karunaratne repeated the gesture. By then, West Indies were …
Read More »T2021 W/C: ‘DreRuss’ delivers, Pooran, Holder shine as WI keep hope alive, after last-ball scare
With his team bidding to overhaul a West Indies total of 142 for 7 to win today’s do-or-die ICC T20 World Cup clash, Bangladesh captain Mohammad Mahmudullah needed four runs off the last ball of the innings. He swung at a full Andre Russell delivery just wide of off-stump. And …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Is West Indian mindlessness a mere figment of Mark Nicholas’ imagination?
Tuesday morning in the Caribbean. South Africa are on the verge of victory in the second of the West Indies five Super 12 games in the 2021 World Cup. England’s Mark Nicholas is saluting the pair at the wicket, whose 83-run partnership will soon steer the Proteas to their crushing …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Are Pollard’s men finally ready to change the tune, after ‘collapso’ mess?
At 25 for 1 in the fourth over of England’s pursuit of 55 in the West Indies’ opening match of the 2021 T20 World Cup campaign, Win Predictor gave Kieron Pollard’s side a 1% chance of victory. On commentary on television at the time, former England captain Michael Atherton questioned …
Read More »T2021 W/C: If WI ever needed you is now; Pooran makes Best change his tune
October, which sees the start of the 2021 T20 Cricket World Cup, is also Calypso History Month. So it makes sense to me, if we are going to be clear about what this is all about, to allow David Rudder to tell us. In his ‘Rally’, he has found just …
Read More »T2021 W/C: WI have explosive batsmen and wily death bowler, but large boundaries can be factor
“[…] No fewer than eight of the 15 players chosen, namely Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, captain Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and Fabian Allen, have repeatedly proven themselves to be fully capable of winning T20 matches on their own, with their very powerful, often destructive …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Simmons’ bonding concern, body blows and bruised egos, as WI prepare for T20 title defence
“Dive, boy, dive!” Many of the details which were reported here on Wired868 at the time escape me now. But who can forget Dwayne Bravo’s ringing exhortation to his younger brother to give 100%? Or forget the exasperated four-letter word that subsequently came through the stump mike when Darren Bravo …
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: 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 …
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