Conventional wisdom holds that Stuart Broad’s Sunday evening new ball spell killed off the West Indies chances in the Second Test at Old Trafford. The truth, however, is that, had Jason Holder been at the top of his game on Monday morning, he might have found a pulse where the …
Read More »Best: Holder’s West Indies to win the Wisden Trophy? You bet!
I am willing to wager more than a few quid on a West Indies victory. Only a handful of England’s actors (skipper Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad) remain on the 2020 set. But Jason Holder has no fewer than seven of his 2017 West Indians, including …
Read More »Captaincy playbook: Worrell banned cards before Tests but would take players out
It was reported that during the 2019 ICC World Cup, the England team pulled up and did some soul searching. They revisited videos of sessions featuring themselves—not at play—but talking about their feelings. Their feelings. It takes a lot of courage to do that; courage and trust. I’m thinking here …
Read More »Music to WI ears: the Fat Lady prepares to sing for Windies coach, Richard Pybus
It didn’t take long, did it? Mouth open and ’tory jump out. Not one mouth, four mouth—not counting Dr Ralph Gonsalves who mouth cyar stay close when is West Indies cricket people talking bout. So first, it was Phil Simmons, who has never felt he wasn’t free to speak his …
Read More »Letter to the Editor: Why it is hard to care about West Indies cricket
“How has it come to this? A woeful revolving merry-go-around of mediocrity, where an average coach gets to ‘rehabilitate’ a struggling team… “No offence to Stuart Law—the third Aussie to try his hand at the role of head coach—but questionably short stints coaching Sri Lanka and Bangladesh don’t qualify you …
Read More »Windies captain Sammy: Thank God, the fans and Caricom… but not the WICB
The following is a transcript of West Indies captain Darren Sammy’s post-game comments, transcribed by ESPNCricInfo, after he led his team to a four wicket win over England in the 2016 World Twenty20 Cup in India: I want to thank the Almighty, because without him nothing is possible. We have …
Read More »TTCB: Narine being used by “unscrupulous individuals”; we support Sunil
The following is the full response from the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), published on its website, after accusations from cricket star Sunil Narine that the local board is trying to destroy his career. The TTCB response does not address the call by the National League Representatives (NLR) for …
Read More »Keithos, Fazeer, Machel: Live Wire reads T&T’s New Year Temperature gauge
Scene: Office of the Minister of Satire. The phone rings. Mr Live Wire: Hello? Caller (singing): Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind… Live Wire: I hope you referring to Kamla. Caller: What? No my brother. Auld Lang Syne means to ‘times gone past’. I am calling …
Read More »Straitjacket for Simmons, Fazeer Mohammed identified as WI’s problem
The good news is that the West Indies cricket team have finally made a defiant stance at a cricket pitch in Australia. The bad news is it is not against anyone in a “baggy green.” Coach Phil Simmons and his troops won’t be taming any Lyons this month from the …
Read More »Anatomy of a back-stabbing: Live Wire looks at WICB’s treatment of Simmons
If Phil Simmons didn’t care whether West Indies won or lost cricket matches, he would still be in a job today. But he did. So he isn’t. From the moment Simmons chose to retain the notion that, as West Indies cricket coach, he deserved the best players available to win matches, …
Read More »Chanderpaul’s axing: Has the WICB tamed a ‘toothless’ Tiger?
They call him Shiv, they call him Chanders, they call him ‘Tiger,’ they call him just plain old Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Whichever name you use for him, you will not see it on the 14-man list of players named by the West Indies selectors for the two-Test series against World Champions …
Read More »The Chanderpaul conundrum: Should ‘Tiger’ tail wag WI cricket dog?
Shivnarine Chanderpaul thinks, I am hearing, that West Indies cricket has not given him the send-off he deserved. I agree. 100%. Shivnarine Chanderpaul also thinks, I am hearing, that West Indies cricket has not given him the send-off he deserves. As does Brian Charles Lara. I disagree. 100%. Shivnarine Chanderpaul, …
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