“World Cup front-runners like England and New Zealand have counterbalanced their explosive hitters, Jos Buttler and Martin Guptill, for example, with conventional, steady-headed players like Joe Root and Kane Williamson. They know that batting out the full 50 overs is key to victory. “The West Indies team management does not. …
Read More »W/Cup addict comments: Are Windies taking a page from Mark Nicholas’ playbook?
Three years ago, England’s Mark Nicholas dismissed the title aspirations of the Darren Sammy-led West Indies T20 World Cup team. They, he said, ‘have no brains’. I’m pretty sure Nicholas expects all us natives of shithole countries to agree with his scathing assessment. Good luck to him with that. However, …
Read More »Holder misleads West Indies and Aussies escape with a win
When the Jason Holder-led West Indians took on Australia in Nottingham yesterday, the five-times World Cup winners emerged victorious by a margin of 15 runs. Recovering from 58 for 4 and then 79 for 5, Aaron Finch’s Aussies went on to post a challenging 288. In reply, the West Indies …
Read More »Short on length, long on luck, West Indies blow away hapless Pakistan; but Bravo’s woes continue
On another day, it might have gone another way; the boot might well have been on the opposition’s foot. Yesterday, however, Jason Holder’s West Indies kicked some butt, embarrassing Pakistan with a rapid, convincing seven-wicket defeat. On a lively pitch in not unhelpful conditions, the West Indian pace attack exploited …
Read More »Best sees WI World Cup squad as not looking world-class but asks: Who we go put?
Twok! Twok! Twok! Twok! Four remarkable, meaty blows that sent Ben Stokes’ balls sailing over the boundary and unexpectedly won the 2016 T20 World Cup for West Indies. So, heeding Ian Bishop’s order, I have remembered the name Carlos Brathwaite. Likewise, clearly, the selectors. Three years after that unforgettable April …
Read More »CPL 18: In defence of DJ Bravo (Part 3): Inside the mind of the TKR captain
Steve Smith had not bowled in a competitive match for at least two years before Barbados Tridents’ captain Jason Holder called him up to bowl in the August 22 game against the Jamaica Tallawahs. Smith claimed two crucial wickets, conceded a mere 19 runs in his three overs and thus …
Read More »CPL 18: In defence of DJ Bravo Pt 2; why Narine will still open and DJB will bowl at the death
With the exception of Tom Moody, who has been a high-level coach, I can’t say for certain that the television analysts quite understand the nuances of the T20 format. Since Andre Russell’s blitzkrieg at the Queen’s Park Oval, they have almost continually complained about the Tallawahs’ batting order. They keep …
Read More »CPL 18: Super display from Russell stuns Oval; champs TKR edged in record breaking affair
New Jamaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell had the performance of a lifetime last night, as he almost singlehandedly pulled his team to victory in an enthralling Caribbean Premier League (CPL) encounter against Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. TKR—the defending CPL champions and, …
Read More »Drugs, testosterone, invasion of privacy: The UWI’s Sports Law workshop addresses global sport issues
Former Jamaican Olympian Grace Jackson is not against the idea of legalising doping in track and field. Insisting that she is not an advocate for drug usage in the sport, she, nevertheless, floated the idea that the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) might work with the global governing bodies to achieve …
Read More »Polly puts the CPL mantle on as WI welcomes Bangladesh
Earl Best looks back at the 2014 Limacol CPL and forward to Bangladesh’s Caribbean tour: Congratulations are in order for Keiron Pollard and his victorious Barbados Tridents. The heavens had to intervene to hand them the 2014 Caribbean Premier League title but it wasn’t quite the miracle I had said …
Read More »Stabilising the West Indies cricket team
The West Indies cricket team’s 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) triumph against Zimbabwe marks the 16th time that the regional team has swept an opposing nation since a 1976 whitewash away to England under legendary captain Clive Lloyd. There is little similarity between those two emphatic series. Zimbabwe is clearly a minnow …
Read More »