Kraigg Brathwaite’s eighth-ranked West Indies now look more likely to go on to lose the series against seventh-rated Dimuth Karunaratne’s Sri Lanka than to win it. And whether or not they do, some serious questions have to be asked of lead selector Roger Harper and his panel. And answered, one …
Read More »The Good, the Bad and the Polly; why Harper chose Kraigg Brathwaite
God alone knows what Roger Harper’s proclivities are as far as religion and politics go. There are, however, enough clues around, I submit, for West Indies fans to reach tentative conclusions about how the CWI lead selector’s cricketing mind works. Faith, says the Good Book, is the substance of things …
Read More »Small margins, big hits, near misses, close calls and the trick S/Lanka spin played on WI
Outskilled! Thus did England Test captain Joe Root sum up the reason for his team’s 1-3 defeat in the recently concluded four-Test series at the hands of Virat Kohli’s India. West Indies white ball captain Kieron Pollard, whose team eked out a narrow 2-1 victory over Angelo Mathews’ Sri Lanka …
Read More »Pollard’s Reds attack with full force; toothless Jaguars prove easy game
Losing cricket teams have been out-thought, out-gunned, out-batted, out-bowled and generally out-played. But yesterday in the Super50 Cup final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, for the first time Kieron Pollard’s Red Force simply out-talented the Guyana Jaguars by 152 runs. The game was essentially over once Lendl Simmons …
Read More »Gayle, Fidel and Akeal named in WI’s limited overs team; no space for Hetmyer, Narine and Cottrell
Veteran batsman Chris Gayle, 41, will wear the maroon strip next month, as he was recalled to the West Indies limited overs team, which will face Sri Lanka from 3 March at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. Gayle joins experienced pacer Fidel Edwards, 39, as well as spinners Akeal Hosein, …
Read More »Dear Editor: How Hugh Brisse can help Hetmeyer; my Windies ODI Team for Sri Lanka
“[…] The selectors have no room for sentimentality; in order to qualify automatically for the October/November 2023 World Cup in India, we have to get the points against Sri Lanka. We must pick the best 18-man squad from among all the available players. “I would go with three openers: Evin …
Read More »Mayers? De Silva? Captain Holder or Brathwaite? Best muses over WI Test changes for S/Lanka Tigers
Nothing happened in ODI play in Bangladesh to warrant imminent adjustments to the pre-tour line-up. But that’s hardly the case with the Test unit where the successful second-string challenges to the incumbents are now being awaited with more than a little anticipation. And they will be welcomed. Why? Easy. Given …
Read More »Best: Happy with Harper? Emotions high, expectations low as WI head for Bangladesh
As the West Indies second-string cricketers prepare to fly out to Bangladesh for a three-ODI, two-Test tour, expectation levels are way, way down. Unsurprisingly, not too many people seem terribly optimistic about the account this depleted bunch will give of itself. And it’s not just the man-in-the-street who’s making little …
Read More »Pollard, Holder, Pooran among 12 withdrawals from Windies’ Bangladesh tour, amidst Covid concerns
West Indies Test captain Jason Holder and One-Day International captain Kieron Pollard are among 10 cricketers who rejected call-ups for next month’s tour of Bangladesh due to ‘Covid-19 related concerns or personal fears’. The other players who ‘declined the opportunity to tour’ for similar reasons are: Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston …
Read More »CPL: Tridents, Patriots outclassed as Pollard, Pooran provide virtual lessons at QP Oval
It is looking as if Kieron Pollard’s Trinbago Knight Riders will give the nation a belated but welcome Independence gift. As 2020 CPL action shifts back to the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba tomorrow, TKR are firmly in the driver’s seat. For those fans with short memories, that is precisely …
Read More »So whappen, WI is not Stokes too? Can Holder’s men find a hero to hol’ up de side?
CWI’s Interim Chairman of Selectors Robert Haynes and his merry men have named a minimally changed West Indies 13 for the Second Test against India, which starts in Jamaica tomorrow. I would say that the selected squad is nothing to write home about but is that really news? The squad …
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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