We’d love nine wins! But six wins and three losses would be enough; with that round robin tally, Jason Holder and his 14 acolytes can feed the millions of West Indian mouths which have long hungered for World Cup cricketing success. That would be a miracle, you say? And so? …
Read More »Holder in a monkey pants: West Indies is gouti, lappe or cockroach in fowl party?
When Jason Holder abandons the beaten track, it is to get back on to the main road. Conservative rather than adventurous, the West Indies all-formats captain opts for an oviparous style of captaincy, putting a premium on small gains and largely eschewing the daring that often yields success in shorter-format …
Read More »WI retooling? Holder finds only Allen key in bid to put spanner in Bangladesh works
“A man who took a wicket,” Richie asked, as West Indies captain Jason Holder summoned Fabian Allen to bowl over number 20 in Friday’s Tri-Nation Series final against Bangladesh, “to give himself a bowling average of 168 could be the key to Windies winning this?” “Crazy!!” he responded to his …
Read More »Holder’s men in Tri-Nation final: which WI will turn up, calypso or collapso?
Did you see Monday evening’s World Cup programme or last week’s promo for it? The one in which ex-WI captain Darren Sammy matter-of-factly asserts that ‘West Indies are winning the World Cup’? I mean, really matter-of-factly. As if he were saying ‘The sun rises in the east.’ Promo and programme …
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 »Media Monitor: Pitchoil on WI embers (Pt 2); Holder on high horse as Windies walloped again
Unlike his top batsmen, West Indies cricket captain Jason Holder appears to be quite upbeat; he’s feeling pretty good about himself, it seems. Not without reason, it has to be said. Tuesday’s Trinidad Express reports on Page 59 that he is “into bowlers’ top 10, third among all-rounders.” And twinned with …
Read More »Media Monitor: Indian press pours pitchoil on West Indies embers; Express fans the flames
Current West Indies captain Jason Holder was back in the headlines on Monday—not for the first time, for the wrong reasons! “Not Enough” the Express declared on its back page, with a strap saying “Holder blames the obvious as WI succumb in three days again.” Holder, cricket followers will remember, …
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 »Mind games: Why Holder’s Windies need men to lead them—on and off the field
If I didn’t so hate the taste of hair, I would recklessly have cocked a snook at Joel Garner and damblayed my much lamented, disastrous, so-far-off-the-mark post-First Test wager. At Lord’s, I was certain, Jason Holder’s West Indies were going once more to be blown out of the water. In …
Read More »Windies won, yes, we won! Best changes tune after 5-wkt win and a Brylcreem sandwich
Spflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflflfllflflflflllllllllllll! Oh, I beg your pardon; that was my last mouthful. Even with a liberal coating of Brylcreem, hair doesn’t taste too good—although, given a choice, I’d take it any day over KFC. And cold turkey. And boy, am I ever glad I got rid of my maroon Richie Richardson …
Read More »Can West Indies no-hopers spring a surprise? Not a chance, says Best
Glorious uncertainties notwithstanding, If Jason Holder’s West Indians save the Second Test against England currently in progress at Headingley, Leeds, I shall eat my hat and shave off all my hair. If WI win it, I shall eat all the hair as well. After the major cutarse the home side …
Read More »Media Monitor: Whoa, whoa, woe! West Indians wince as WI walloped
“The loudest sound in current West Indies cricket is the sigh people emit when they talk about the old days.” That’s a quote from Jarrod Kimber, whose 2,300-word story about the dark day/night test that the Cricket West Indies XI failed abjectly contains a kind word or two—although you might …
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