Having sent the Irish home with the taste of defeat fresh in their mouths, Kieron Pollard’s victorious West Indies troops are preparing to fly out to Sri Lanka this weekend. After Afghanistan, India and Ireland, the resurgent Caribbean cavaliers must feel fairly confident of their chances of yet another victory …
Read More »Too early to promote Hetmyer? Too late to rethink bringing back DJ Bravo et al?
Blank Bravo. Drop white ball Holder. Hand Hetmyer a promotion. If the West Indies are serious about moving towards the top of international cricket anytime soon, now is certainly the time to make bold moves. And, thankfully, it looks to me as if that is the direction in which we …
Read More »MEDIA MONITOR: CPL cricket maths matter, mea culpa, ad nausea and missing Machel
People living in glass houses, we have heard over and over, have to careful bout pelting stone. As a long-time Wired868 contributor, I have made it a major mission of mine to monitor the media’s many mistakes. And my parents, teachers and multiple mentors—God rest all their souls—have made me …
Read More »Blessed are the ignorant WI for they shall not know what hit them
No reports have so far emerged to tell us just how Jason Holder’s West Indies spent the bonus off-day they got on Monday following their 318-run four-day defeat by Virat Kohli’s India. But you don’t have to be a sceptic to doubt that some significant fraction of the extra 24-hour …
Read More »A hello from Headingley; lasting lessons for WI to learn from Australia’s loss
There is never, I don’t think, a good time to lose a Test match—especially if you really don’t have what Viv Richards liked to call the winning habit. But if learning is the name of the game, then the management of Jason Holder’s West Indies side should be grateful that …
Read More »If WI-shes were horses, Holder wouldn’t have to worry about hurricanes
Buoyed by the recent receipt of awards and bestowal on him of new accolades, Jason Holder may well believe that the home side he leads can match the visitors in the two-Test series which starts in Antigua today. I honestly hope he does not. Named West Indies Test Player of …
Read More »W/Cup addict comments: Whither Windies? When will we write off witless ODI captain Holder?
Call it arrogance if you like; I really could not care less. Whether or not Phil Simmons, Michael “Whispering Death” Holding or anyone else agrees with me, I re-affirm that Jason Holder is not the man to lead West Indies out of the ODI doldrums. I have long been very …
Read More »W/Cup addict comments: Whither Windies: On DJ Bravo, Brathwaite, Holder and the “Universe Boss”
In a letter to the Wired868 editor last week, AJ writes that “the problems go way beyond the on-the-field representatives.” Hard to disagree, no? “Surely,” he ends, “those responsible for developing the strategy and hand-picking the players that produced these excruciating displays must also take responsibility for the resulting pain …
Read More »None so blind; flawed World Cup strategy makes WI look like amateurs
“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 »W/Cup addict comments: Captaincy under the microscope; see Jason Holder squirm
It’s Brutus’ dilemma: If Jason Holder is removed as West Indies short-format captain, there is a good chance that he will go nowhere in the One-day game. If Jason Holder continues as West Indies short-format captain, there is a good chance that WI will go nowhere in the One-day game. …
Read More »Injury question marks as England down WI to go second; Caribbean Cavaliers in trouble
England duly got past an off-colour West Indies by eight wickets at the Rose Bowl in Southampton yesterday to move to second in the standings on six points from four games. Joe Root hit his second century of the tournament and England lost only Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes in …
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