Roberts brands decision to omit Holder from final WC 15 'embarrassing'
Fri, Sep 17, '21
Legendary fast bowler WI Andy Roberts is convinced the Cricket West Indies panel of selectors made a grave error by omitting all-rounder Jason Holder from the final 15-man World Cup squad.
Despite being better known for his exploits in the red-ball format, Holder’s exclusion from the first-team squad and selection as a reserve for the tournament caused shock and dismay across the Caribbean following the announcement of the final squad next week.
In international T20 cricket to date, Holder has managed 27 matches with an average of 16.75 in 18 innings, added to that he has claimed 22 wickets. In the Indian Premier League last season, however, he put on several strong performances during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad and also had a strong showing against Sri Lanka in the series of practice games but struggled against Pakistan. Holder also struggled to make an impact in the CPL.
“I was shocked because he is the best cricketer we have in the region, bar none,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio show.
West Indies Women lose nail-biter in 4th CG Insurance ODI
Thu, Sep 16, '21
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua- West Indies Women lost a nail-biter in the 4th CG Insurance ODI against South Africa Women, losing by 35 runs at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground. Batting first, South Africa Women were restricted to 185/6 from their 50 overs, West Indies Women finished on 150/9 from their 50 overs.
Right-arm pacer Shakera Selman told CWI Media: "Honestly we just went wrong with the bat, again we lost 2 wickets in the powerplay. We've spoken a lot about that we still managed to do it again today, which gave South Africa the upper hand when they were bowling, but I still thought that we should have made that 186. At this stage perhaps it's mental because we've done all the preparations that we could possibly do. The coaches have prepared us well, they've worked really hard with us, unfortunately we just aren't executing. So we just have to show up bat properly."
The Caribbean Premier League 2021 season undertook a similar format to that of when its hosts, the Trinbago Knight Riders were crowned champions invincible, in its previous edition—in being hosted by a single territory. Therefore, most fans would have settled for the contrast of this season being the most competitive in the tournament’s history. Yet, something, somewhere decided the fans deserved to be spoiled. And so, the ‘Biggest Party in Sport’ also managed to cough up the most thrilling finale in its history, as icing on the cake.
As the Kings shattered the Patriots’ perfect record just beyond the halfway mark of this season’s league stage, we were provided a subtle reminder of why the Knight Riders’ unbeaten run to the championship in 2020 was so incredible. Still, with all the respect for what Kieron Pollard managed with his Knights, I say: thank Christ there was no repeat of that. After all, the idea is for the Caribbean Premier League to get as close as possible to the leading T20 leagues around the world. And competitive high run-chase last-ball thrillers are the perfect template.
BDS$1 million investment by Barbados Cricket Association questioned
Thu, Sep 16, '21
The recent announcement by the government of Barbados to invest BDS$1 million in the Barbados Cricket Association is being questioned at a time when other struggling sporting associations and federations are in dire need of funding.
National coach Alwyn Babb who has had a vested interest in Barbados’ sport for over 40-years, is querying if the recent announcement of the significant sum being injected into cricket is an olive branch being extended to the BCA for comments made by a former Barbados Labour Party member of parliament.
Babb said he was trying to wrap his brain around Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s reasoning for the investment into cricket at a time when the National Stadium badly needs to be fixed and athletes have been deprived of that facility for quite a while.
“I don’t know if it is an olive branch to a sport where it was said any idiot can play cricket. . . I am not envying cricket for getting a million dollars but other sports are making a significant contribution to Barbados at the Olympic level, that if cricket needs a million dollars, then the other sports need access to two or three million dollars more.
Ravi Rampaul: I have unfinished business with West Indies cricket
Thu, Sep 16, '21
AFTER a six-year hiatus Ravi Rampaul still has the passion and desire to represent West Indies just as he did when he made his senior debut way back in 2003, saying he has unfinished business to take care of.
Rampaul, who turns 37 in October, ended the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League T20 tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets in his debut season for the Trinbago Knight Riders.
Last week, Rampaul was announced as a member of the West Indies team for the T20 World Cup which bowls off next month in United Arab Emirates and Oman.
On making his return to the West Indies team, Rampaul told Newsday, “It feels like having a second dream come true, but this time I knew how hard I needed to work to get back into the West Indies team just by putting in performances and hopefully getting selected…I was very happy that I actually got a chance to represent the West Indies. I really had unfinished business and hopefully, I can perform well in this T20 tournament.”
18 comments
