The second T20I in St Kitts. Andrew Balbirnie contrives only to send his attempted slog off Romario Shepherd skywards. The sure-handed Dwayne John Bravo settles under it. The overly excited 25-year-old gets in the way. The chance goes a-begging. The Ireland skipper benefits from an early reprieve. Bravo’s bemused expression …
Read More »Best: The Old, the Young, the Unwanted; time for WI to kill the fatted calf
With the wicked stepfather now out of the picture, the prodigal sons are back in the fold. And recent results suggest that the West Indies cricket family is once again not doing too badly, thank you. But Dwayne John Bravo seems not entirely sanguine about the status quo. Bravo’s younger …
Read More »Scalp by scalp, Walsh steadily stakes claim for T20 World Cup selection
Despite being a player on the regional scene since the 2011-12 season, Hayden Walsh jr had never really knocked on the selection door before the middle of the 2019 CPL season. In the third game of his debut regional season, he had impressed with returns of 4 for 47 against …
Read More »Best: Boo not bravo, as ‘DJ’ makes wrong selection in pushing Gayle recall
Let me say it loud and clear, un-e-qui-vo-cal-ly, with no water in my mouth: as far as representative West Indies senior team cricket is concerned, Chris Gayle is not yet quite ancient history. He is nonetheless history! Make no mistake about that. And Dwayne ‘DJ’ Bravo can recommend Gayle’s recall until his …
Read More »Best: Lil pin does chook hard; Walsh jr settles question of WI size
Hayden Walsh jr stands only 5’7” in his socks. But since last October, he has been steadily rising to the challenge of being a West Indian cricketer at last. But no matter how high he climbs, even if he were a 6’4” Alzarri Joseph or a 6’7” Jason Holder or …
Read More »Antigua’s little hero Alzarri: Few words, plenty pace and a growing bag of Irish scalps
Hayden Walsh Jr came to the wicket with the West Indies, in pursuit of 238 for a long-awaited series win, in trouble at 148 for 7. When Sheldon Cottrell smashed Mark Adair for six over extra-cover to give Kieron Pollard’s soldiers a narrow one-wicket win with one ball left in …
Read More »Sir Frank’s lessons for Pollard; time for WI to have a word with Hetmyer
Until Tuesday, my cricketing new year was going reasonably well. Early in the day, Virat Kohli’s India had whipped Sri Lanka in the 1st T20I. But Ben Stokes’ bowling boots had, not for the first time, trampled all over my dream of a hard-earned draw for Faf Du Plessis’ men. …
Read More »Too early to promote Hetmyer? Too late to rethink bringing back DJ Bravo et al?
Blank Bravo. Drop white ball Holder. Hand Hetmyer a promotion. If the West Indies are serious about moving towards the top of international cricket anytime soon, now is certainly the time to make bold moves. And, thankfully, it looks to me as if that is the direction in which we …
Read More »Best: WI cyar find a West Indian batting coach? Ting really so bad in cricket?
Since taking over the Cricket West Indies reins last March, new boss Ricky Skerritt has added real value to the West Indies brand. So far, he has talked good West Indies talk and walked the West Indies walk. However, the long-hoped-for turnaround remains elusive—and I am not merely talking about …
Read More »Blessed are the ignorant WI for they shall not know what hit them
No reports have so far emerged to tell us just how Jason Holder’s West Indies spent the bonus off-day they got on Monday following their 318-run four-day defeat by Virat Kohli’s India. But you don’t have to be a sceptic to doubt that some significant fraction of the extra 24-hour …
Read More »A hello from Headingley; lasting lessons for WI to learn from Australia’s loss
There is never, I don’t think, a good time to lose a Test match—especially if you really don’t have what Viv Richards liked to call the winning habit. But if learning is the name of the game, then the management of Jason Holder’s West Indies side should be grateful that …
Read More »If WI-shes were horses, Holder wouldn’t have to worry about hurricanes
Buoyed by the recent receipt of awards and bestowal on him of new accolades, Jason Holder may well believe that the home side he leads can match the visitors in the two-Test series which starts in Antigua today. I honestly hope he does not. Named West Indies Test Player of …
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