Five World Cup Questions for West Indies after CPL 2018
Fri, Sep 21, '18
Ever since the announcement that discussions between Cricket West Indies and the Bravo brothers, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine had opened the door for them to possibly feature in the 2019 World Cup, their performances in the just-concluded Caribbean Premier League took on extra significance.
Although the plan was for the quartet to play in the full domestic 50-over tournament and push for an ODI recall via their performances, circumstances on and off the field could have altered those plans.
The 2-1 ODI series loss to Bangladesh in July meant that West Indies have not won a 50-over series under Jason Holder's captaincy, leaving the one-day side in further disarray. India announced their tour dates for the West Indies' visit in October with the first ODI beginning on October 21. With the Super50 back home scheduled to run between October 3 and 28, the West Indies selectors will not be able to pick their squad based on meaningful domestic form.
Hence the added importance of the CPL, in which all of the four aforementioned senior players performed. Pollard and the Bravo brothers all made it into both Cricbuzz's and the official CPL tournament XI. With officially 13 one-day games to go before the World Cup - starting with India, then against Bangladesh and England - here are five questions the Windies need to answer in the wake of CPL 2018.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A match that promised much for WINDIES Women, following a tidy performance in the field led by Deandra Dottin, ended in a no-result, when rain forced an early end to the second ICC Women’s One-day International of the Sandals International Home Series against South Africa Women today here.
Dottin grabbed 3-29 from her allotted eight overs to be the pick of the home team’s bowlers, as the South Africans were restricted to 177 for eight from their rain-reduced allocation of 38 overs, after they were put in to bat.
Overnight and early morning rain had caused a two-hour delay to the start of play, seeing the match reduced to 43 overs-a-side before it was further reduced after another hour was lost after 10 overs of the visitors’ innings.
The Caribbean side never got a chance to bat, as another shower soon after the innings break started, forced umpires Johnathan Blades and Leslie Reifer, Jr to bring an early close.
The result left the WINDIES Women still trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, following a 40-run defeat in the first ODI three days earlier at the same venue, where the series concludes on Saturday.
The outcome also means that two teams remained locked in a tense battle in the bottom half of the Championship table on seven points and sets up an intriguing finale in three days’ time.
Dottin had removed opener Lizelle Lee and Suné Luus, as the South Africans wobbled to 85 for four in the 22nd over.
But the WINDIES Women’s attack were put on their heels, when Chloe Tryon came to the crease and shared 67 for the fifth wicket with her captain Dané van Niekerk, whose 53 from 66 balls was the top score.
Once Stafanie Taylor, the home team’s captain, combined with wicketkeeper Merissa Aguilleira to run out van Niekerk, the visitors lost four cheap wickets for 25 in the space of 29 balls in the hunt for quick runs in the closing overs.
The ICC Women’s Championship is played between the eight leading sides – Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and WINDIES – taking on each other in series of three ODIs on a home or away basis.
Hosts New Zealand and the three other top teams from the Championship will gain direct qualification for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup.
The remaining four sides will get a second chance through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier event in which they will be joined by six teams from four regions – Africa, Asia, East Asia Pacific and Europe.
Sherman Lewis replaces Alzarri for India Test Squad to India
Tue, Sep 18, '18
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Right-arm fast bowler, Shermon Lewis will replace Alzarri Joseph in the 15-man squad for the Test Tour of India which starts Thursday, October 4 in Rajkot.
Lewis made his debut at the first-class level for the Windward Islands in March 2017 and took 30 wickets at an average of 21.66 in the 2017/18 West Indies 4Day Championship. He recently toured England as part of the WINDIES A squad where they played against India A and England Lions.
Joseph, in the last week, underwent two fitness assessment procedures and a CWI medical panel has recommended that he be “allowed to continue his rehabilitation to full fitness for international competitions.”
Joseph suffered a stress fracture last November and has since been in intense programmes to get him back to full strength. Since then, he has also played in an international home series against Bangladesh and the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Joseph will continue his rehabilitation programme under the monitoring of medical officials at the High-Performance Centre at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
In the meantime, some members of the Test squad are already in Dubai and have begun training sessions at the ICC Academy as they continue their preparation for the Test series in India.
The sixth season of Caribbean Premier League concluded with Trinbago Knight Riders being crowned champions for a record third time, after beating Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final by eight wickets. This was Amazon Warriors' fourth appearance in the final in six years, and they ended up being bridesmaid every single time.
Despite labelled as "the biggest party in sport", CPL has over the years established a reputation as being a tournament played on low, slow tracks of the Caribbean where spinners come into play often. The slower nature of tracks has impeded the innate stroke-making capabilities of home-grown players and the average rate hovered around 7.5 an over in most seasons. This year, flatter tracks were on offer, ensuring that high totals were posted.
Resolute batting from Shemaine Campbelle failed to inspire Windies Women as South Africa Women cruised to a 40-run victory in the first ICC Women's one-day international (ODI) of the Sandals International Home Series here yesterday.
The 25-year-old Campbelle, playing her first ODI in almost two years, hit the top score of 46 from 71 balls, but Windies Women failed to successfully chase 202 for victory and were bowled out with 24 balls remaining.
Left-handed opener Kycia Knight made a painstaking 23 from 57 balls and vice-captain Anisa Mohammed made the same score from 36 balls, but the rest of the batting failed to fire, as the Proteas' Women bowled purposefully to restrict scoring.
The result left Windies Women trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, which continues on Wednesday at the same venue, where it concludes next Saturday, and meant that the two teams are now tied on six points in the ICC Women's Championship table.
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