What a wonderful weekend it has been for West Indies cricket! First, the women secured their qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Then, to double the enjoyment, the men created history by securing a 1-0 series victory against England to become the first-ever holders of the newly minted Richards–Botham Trophy. …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: Mayers and Simmons must justify WI retention; kudos to Walsh and WI Women
“[…] At stake during the series will be the continuation of several careers—those of the coaches as well as of a few of the players. “[…] In 18 innings since Kyle Mayers’ outstanding double-century (210*) in the second innings of his debut Test against Bangladesh a year ago, he has …
Read More »‘He changed the landscape of contemporary cricket’; world cricket pays tribute to Shane Warne
Cricket West Indies president Ricky Skerritt and head coach Phil Simmons have joined iconic cricketers like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and the rest of the world in paying tribute to legendary former Australia cricket leg-spinner Shane Warne, who passed away from a suspected heart attack in Thailand today. Thai Police …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: Shake up WI white ball team, and Campbell over Solozano is a gamble
“[…] Taken altogether the overall series results as well as the unsatisfactory player performances [against India] must now surely raise further questions about the efficiency of the Phil Simmons-led West Indies coaching staff. “[…] As to the actual squad chosen for the first Test, we have absolutely no issues with …
Read More »Lawrence: The right and wrong way to develop WI batsmen, judging Phil Simmons, and the Da Silva example
“[…] The Guyana Cricket Board in conjunction with the Government of Guyana has had the foresight to acquire the services of former West Indies great Curtly Ambrose to conduct a fast bowling clinic, while, in T&T, the TTCB has launched a T10 cricket festival. “[…] When a regional board doesn’t …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: What will West Indies selectors do about abysmal batting, Bravo and Roach?
“[…] Jason Holder’s miserly 65-run aggregate was, incredibly, the highest among all the West Indies batsmen [in India]. “The aggregates and associated averages of the West Indies top five batsmen were far more in sync with numbers that would be called at a Bingo game than with those that would …
Read More »Media Monitor: Unamusing musings the morning after Holder’s WI miracle the night before
Although they may not admit it, people do not like to be wrong; certainly, nobody likes to be seen to be wrong. Sometimes, however, you rejoice that you did not get it right. And you are overjoyed that you resisted the temptation to rush into print to share the view …
Read More »Best: Regional rumblings rock CWI; mea culpa: me, mischief-makers and my big mouth
It was, I swear, a completely innocent comment. But the cricket coaches at Queen’s Royal College in the 1960s must take some of the blame. They taught us to try to see any cricket match through the eyes of the opposing captains. On 22 January in Wired868, this paragraph appeared …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: ‘Tapegate’s’ troubling threat to Dr Shallow; Guyana’s noble schools cricket initiative
“[…] We had intended to examine the probable damaging effects of ‘Tapegate’ on the reported future presidential aspirations of Cricket West Indies current vice-president, Dr Kishore Shallow. “Within the past month, Dr Shallow has been the mouthpiece for CWI’s highly unsatisfactory public explanations of the unfortunate, unsavoury and as yet …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: England T20 series is acid test for WI captain and team; Skerritt’s struggles
“[…] For West Indies cricket fans, an ODI series defeat to Ireland, following immediately as it would be on the team’s ignominious loss of the T20 series in Pakistan, would be incomprehensible. Even more so because the Pakistan series loss was preceded by the WI’s most embarrassing and highly forgettable …
Read More »Dear Editor: Arima was capital of east Trinidad; now it’s a ‘lost and forgotten borough’
“[…] Today, when we look at this cherished town that can boast of being the country’s only Royal Chartered Borough—a status granted by Queen Victoria in 1888—we see only a battered and bruised community which has lost all the facilities that made it so special and is now reduced to …
Read More »McWatt and ‘Reds’: Haynes, Sarwan inclusion a boost, but fitness issues, coaching doubts linger
“[…] The Sir Desmond Haynes-led panel should, as its very first order of business, announce the implementation of a new selection-related fitness policy. “Our suggested policy would require all CWI contracted players as well as those others who are in contention for immediate selection on West Indies teams to be …
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