As many as 15 of the 74 players selected to play for West Indies in Tests since 2000 never got a second chance. If you’ve neither researched it nor given it too much thought, you might easily get the wrong impression. Bobby, my fo’daymorning walking pardnah, pretended not to care. …
Read More »Pollard, Holder and Allen return, but Gayle swansong nixed while Hetmyer, Russell and Oshane omitted
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: If the ‘Boss’ could play, why not the Prince? Why Lara was, inadvertently, right about Gayle
It is an intriguing idea. But I reject it. Out of hand. There is, as the Americans, no there there, dear. Writing in April 2007, just before Brian Lara’s final white ball game for the West Indies in the World Cup of that year, under the headline ‘The last king …
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: WI in trouble after 8-wkt loss to S/Africa despite de Kock pull-out after refusing ‘the knee’
South Africa star Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take the knee today in a now commonplace gesture against racism, even at the expense of his place in the squad, is likely to have a long-term effect on his team’s chances at the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Today, though, the …
Read More »T2021 W/C: F Warner muses over CPL stars who forced their way into WI plans—and those who should have
“[…] In a T20 match, four tight overs are worth their weight in gold. In [Sunil] Narine’s two IPL games thus far, after he bowled a tight over during which the batsmen played him cautiously, the bowler at the other end got a wicket. The batsmen were forced to take …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Polls apart? CWI and Wired868 panels agree on Gayle, differ on Bravo, Holder
Allyuh tink dis selection ting easy? Allyuh know who Joshua Bishop is? No? Well, the 21-year-old Barbados Royals’ rookie left-arm spinner’s name somehow ended up on a list of three dozen West Indies players named by the 12 panellists asked to select their WI dream team for the 2021 T20 …
Read More »CPL 2021: Pierre, Munro take Pollard’s TKR home; Holder’s Royals left out in the cold
Kieron Pollard’s Trinbago Knight Riders effortlessly disposed of the Barbados Royals by six wickets in Thursday’s morning match at Warner Park in St Kitts, leaving Jason Holder’s struggling side in a near hopeless situation in the 2021 CPL. Needing to win to stay in business, the Royals failed to bring …
Read More »Harper: WI can keep title with ‘rub of the green’; Rampaul, Roston, Gayle in 15-man squad—Holder in reserves
Thirty-six-year-old fast bowler Ravi Rampaul and 29-year-old all-rounder Roston Chase today both successfully forced their way into the 15-man West Indies squad for the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. West Indies are the defending champions and only two-time winners of the title—after triumphs …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Grant-Perez revisits dream WI team, as Simmons and Gayle make way for CPL stars
“[…] Another ‘king’ whose crown has slipped is Chris Gayle. I made the case for the former heavy-scoring, left-handed opener. Now, I see the light. “It was pure sentimentality that made me want this World Cup to be his swansong; he simply has not earned a place. It was almost …
Read More »T2021 W/C: Abdulah wants Chase, Akeal, Rampaul in his dream WI XI; Gayle, Ramdin get in 15
“[…] At number three, my choice is Roston Chase. He is showing that he can hold an innings together—which is crucial in a team of big hitters—and his run rate is not bad at all. He has good technique, which is crucial in all formats of cricket, T20 included, and …
Read More »