“[…] Shai Hope: batsman/wicketkeeper. My first surprise selection. Easily among the best batsmen in the West Indies at the moment; can accumulate without offering chances, stabilises the middle overs…” Ken Jaikaransingh, who rarely missed a day of Test cricket at the Oval when the WI were still the WINdies, selects …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Grant-Perez wants Chris Gayle, Khary Pierre and Sunil Narine in well-knit WI squad
“[…] Khary Pierre is perhaps my surprise pick. He’s never expensive and, like Chris Gayle, has the ability to stop the haemorrhaging of runs. “He could be the silent sniper with the wherewithal to take out the best teams in the world…” Anthea Grant-Perez, a recent graduate from the Ken …
Read More »T2021 W/C: With unselective six-seeking, Pollard’s ‘Fab Four’ musketeers can go wrong—Best’s WI dream team
Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D’Artagnan. Remember them? One for all and all for one? French figments of Alexandre Dumas’ fertile 19th Century imagination. How many of us have seen ourselves in these swashbuckling heroes? Sixty thousand Frenchmen cannot be wrong, right? Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell. …
Read More »T2021 W/C: ‘Fab Four’ (Pt 2)—Roneil picks Hetmyer, Pooran in dream WI’s XI to counter spin threat
Now that the West Indies’ ‘Fab Four’, the ‘Real McCoy’ and Fabian ‘Bucket Hands’ Allen are out of the way, let us take a close look at the composition of the rest of the WI T20I squad. Unlike in the Test arena, where WI seem to be on a never-ending …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Jackman calls for DJ Bravo as pinch-hitter, Ramdin in reserve and Gayle exit
“[…] Let me here recall the late Sir Alf Ramsey’s explanation of how he managed England to their only major football title, the 1966 World Cup. The former wing-back said he did not have the players to fit any existing system so he developed one to fit his players. “[…] …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Tino Singh names nine batsmen, including Gayle and Hetmyer, in his dream WI XI
“[…] I strongly feel the under-rated off-spin of the ‘Universe Boss’ will be a back-up weapon and will work in WI’ favour. “I am bold enough to predict that [Obed] McCoy will emerge as one of the leading wicket-takers in the tournament. He is one of the most improved bowlers …
Read More »T2021 W/C: F Warner names Narine, Hetmyer, Allen and Walsh in his dream WI XI
“[…] I am going to play chief chef and put together 18 ingredients that should make a mouth-watering dish come 17 October. My major challenge is whether I should include, for different reasons, Christopher Gayle and Sunil Narine: one is definitely available but should I? “If both are available, would …
Read More »T2021 W/C: A tale of two T20 catches and a jaw-dropping Allen flight
Fabian Allen doesn’t drop catches; everyone knows that. Dwayne Bravo doesn’t either; everyone knew that. Except, it seems, Fabian Allen. In the Third T20I at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia on Monday 12 July, those pieces all came together. In spectacular fashion. But that may not be so …
Read More »Starc, Carey blow Pollard’s hapless West Indies out of the water
Only three West Indies batsmen reached double figures, four failed to get off the mark at all and five fell to Mitchell Starc as Alex Carey’s Australians took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series at Kensington Oval on Tuesday. Captaining his country for the first time, Carey (67 …
Read More »Lewis slams 23-ball 50 to seal deal for Pooran’s West Indies against Australia
A magnificent, low, diving, one-handed catch by Fabian Allen stopped Aaron Finch’s Australians in their tracks as they sought to chase down an Evin Lewis-powered West Indies target of 199 runs. And unable to motor on, the tourists fell 16 runs short as the Nicholas Pooran-led home side closed out …
Read More »Marsh sets up Aussies with bat, Starc denies West Indies and Russell with ball
With 11 runs needed off the last over and Andre Russell on strike, there was not a West Indian in sight who did not see 4-0 coming. But although Mitchell Starc’s last ball went for four to the straight midwicket boundary, none of the first five—all clocked at over 140kph—had. …
Read More »Bravo, Hetmyer give West Indies 2-0 lead; Aussie bats fail again
A comprehensive 56-run triumph in Saturday’s second T20I at the Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia left West Indies with their noses still in front. And within one win of sealing victory in the five-match series against Aaron Finch’s Australia. After their exciting 18-run win in Friday’s opening encounter, it …
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