Guyana respond with strong batting performance against WI Academy
Pride 262 for 9 (Boucher 80, Bishop 79*, Phillip 4-51) trail T&T 333 all out (Cooper 93, Da Silva 70; Springer 3-40) by 71 runs
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are closing in on a first-innings lead in their West Indies Championship playoff contest against Barbados Pride at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda. T&T restricted the Pride to 262 for nine at stumps on Day 2, still 71 runs adrift of their first-innings total of 333 all out.
The Red Force seamers had the Pride reeling at 47 for six early in the innings. It took significant contributions from the lower-order to bring Barbados back into the contest, with Leniko Boucher and Shamar Springer (51) sharing in an 88-run partnership for the seventh wicket before the former put on 103 runs in an eighth-wicket stand with Joshua Bishop (79*).
The Pride lost top-scorer Boucher (80) and Johann Layne (4) in the last half-hour of the day’s play to slip from 243 for seven.
T&T, starting the day at 298 for seven, lost their final three wickets for 35 runs and were dismissed in 111.2 overs.
Shamar Springer led Barbados’ attack with figures of 3 for 40, while there were two wickets apiece for Kyle Mayers (2/39), Johann Layne (2/58), and Roston Chase (2/66).
The Academy pile on the runs against Guyana in warm-up fixture
T&T 298 for 7 (Cooper 93, Da Silva 65*; Springer 2-31) vs Pride Yet to Bat
The West Indies Championship playoff contest, which will determine who will meet the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the final, is in the balance following Sunday’s first day of action, as Barbados Pride responded with late wickets to fight back against the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua and Barbuda.
Cephas Cooper’s patient knock had earlier laid the platform for the Red Force. The opener fell agonizingly short of a century, for 93, after seeing off the new ball in a 102-run second-wicket partnership with Jyd Goolie (33).
T&T then lost four wickets for 76 runs to be restricted to 194 for five, before captain Joshua Da Silva (65*) shared in a century-stand with Terrance Hinds, putting on 103 runs for the sixth wicket.
Kyle Mayers would eventually trap Hinds lbw for 51 in the penultimate over of the day before Shamar Springer (2/31) removed Khary Pierre for a duck with the final delivery of the day’s play as T&T closed on 298 for seven in 89.3 overs.
Johann Layne picked up 2 for 56 for the Pride, while Amir Jangoo contributed 41 for the Red Force.
All six eligible Caribbean Premier League franchises have confirmed their mandatory pre-draft Breakout Player retentions.
Under the CPL’s player draft and acquisition regulations for the 2026 season, each franchise, with the exception of the Jamaica Kingsmen, was permitted to retain one player ahead of the draft, who had to be selected from the team’s Breakout Player category.
President Dr. Kishore Shallow reflects on the West Indies' induction into Women's international cricket:
Today (May 7), we proudly commemorate the 50th anniversary of a defining moment in Caribbean cricket, the first international match played by the West Indies Women’s team in 1976. That historic encounter against Australia marked far more than the start of a series; it signalled the arrival of West Indies women on the global stage and the formal beginning of a journey that continues to inspire generations.
Led by the pioneering Louise Browne, who had the honour of captaining the side and facing the very first ball, that team embodied courage, resilience, and belief at a time when opportunities for women in cricket were limited.
The franchise acquired the trio via ‘special draft privileges.'
The Kingsmen franchise has guaranteed that the Caribbean Premier League will return to Jamaica this summer, studded with home stars, following the marquee acquisitions of Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, and Fabian Allen.
The trio was selected through special draft privileges granted by the CPL, allowing the new team the option to make the first three picks in the draft.
Russell, the former West Indies all-rounder, was a two-time winner in his eight years with the now-defunct Tallawahs. The 38-year-old makes the move from the Trinbago Knight Riders, where he’s spent the last four seasons.
