Coley disappointed with curtailment of Windies Test coach stint
Fri, Dec 20, '24
Andre Coley says that while he is disappointed he wasn’t given a longer run as head coach of the West Indies Test team, he accepts that recent unfavourable results blighted his chances.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Monday that Coley’s tenure, which began in 2023, is to end with the two-Test tour of Pakistan in January 2025, months before his contract is set to expire in June.
Daren Sammy, the West Indies white-ball head coach and former two-time Twenty20 (T20) World Cup-winning captain, is to take over the red-ball team ahead of the three-Test home series against Australia in mid 2025.
The West Indies Test team — ranked eighth in the world — has been without many of the Caribbean’s more talented players in recent years, predominantly because they have opted to compete in lucrative T20 and T10 franchise leagues.
“I would have wanted to continue in the role but I’ll do whatever I need to do to get the boys motivated and ready for Pakistan,” Coley told the Jamaica Observer on Thursday, his first public comment on the impending coaching change.
“At this level it’s solely [about] performance; if coaches don’t do well it’s ultimately the coaches who are responsible.
Read more at Jamaica Observer
CWI/CARIBBEAN CAGE PARTNERSHIP PROJECTED TO GENERATE ALMOST $100 MILLION
Thu, Dec 19, '24
Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Caribbean CAGE have signed a historic long-term strategic alliance and contract to generate significant recurring revenue for cricket and cricket development in the Caribbean.
The long-term agreement, signed by the President of Cricket West Indies, Dr. Kishore Shallow, and the Co-Founder and Chairman of the CAGE Companies, Robert B. Washington, has been endorsed by eight CARICOM governments and will also ensure increased tax revenues for these participating governments.
“This partnership is the culmination of extensive dialogue and strategic planning to secure the future of West Indies Cricket. We have been deliberate in our approach, engaging stakeholders at various levels, including with the CARICOM Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Cricket, to ensure the broadest consultation on such a pivotal agreement.”
He further added,
Bangladesh beat Windies in 2nd T20I to claim series
Wed, Dec 18, '24
Bangladesh defended their modest score of 129 to clinch the T20I series with a 2-0 lead, beating West Indies by 27 runs in the second game at the Arnos Vale Ground in St Vincent.
It was Bangladesh's lowest total winning a game while batting first against West Indies. It was a combined effort from their quicks and spinners who took advantage of a pitch that offered a lot to the bowlers throughout the game.
Bangladesh were stretched to their total by Shamim Hossain's late blast, hitting an unbeaten 35 off 17 balls. The bowlers responded superbly thereafter, with Taskin Ahmed taking three wickets while Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain and Tanzim Hasan all taking two each.
Bangladesh's only concern was Soumya Sarkar suffering a finger injury when he dropped a catch in the slips in the seventh over of the chase. Otherwise, Bangladesh were all over West Indies, having reduced them to 42 for 6 in the ninth over.
Taskin Ahmed provided the first breakthrough in the third over when he had Brandon King caught behind for 8, with a beautiful delivery outside off. Four balls later, Taskin had Andre Fletcher caught behind too, for his second consecutive duck in the series. This one was wider but Fletcher got beaten by pace, under-edging to wicketkeeper Litton Das.
Hayley Matthews makes easy work of India in series-levelling win
Tue, Dec 17, '24
West Indies levelled the T20I series in style, with captain Hayley Matthews at the forefront of a robust batting performance in a nine-wicket thrashing. Matthews hit an unbeaten 85, courtesy 17 fours, just four less than India's 21, to help West Indies break a sequence of nine straight T20I losses to India.
Matthews' brilliance helped cover for a shoddy fielding display in which Qiana Joseph, who also fuelled the chase with 38, put down India's stand-in captain Smriti Mandhanaonce, one of three lives she got on the night. However, India's 159 for 9, in the face of dew and some serious batting muscle in the opposition, was never going to be enough.
India's inexperienced top order left them wobbling. Deandra Dottin castled Uma Chetry with an in-ducker for 4. Afy Fletcher, who went for 39 in her four overs two nights ago, had debutant Raghvi Bist lbw for 5. In between these two strikes, Jemimah Rodrigues fell attempting to get inside the line and paddle. At 48 for 3 in the ninth over, West Indies had India on the ropes.
India received a massive fillip thanks to some West Indian generosity; they dropped Mandhana three times - twice by Chinelle Henry - between overs 11 to 14. Mandhana would soon run out of luck, though, in the 14th over, but not before raising a second straight half-century, off 37 balls. Between those dropped catches, India hit six fours and a six in a two-over period that fetched 36, going from 72 for 3 in 12 overs to 108 for 4 in 14.
Sammy to take over as West Indies' all-format coach from April 2025
Mon, Dec 16, '24
Daren Sammy has been named head coach of the West Indies men's team across all formats. Sammy, who has been the coach of West Indies' T20I and ODI teams since last year, will take charge of the Test side from April 2025 replacing Andre Coley, the CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe announced in St Vincent.
"It's always an honour to represent West Indies in any format or any position. For me, this news is not something I was expecting," Sammy said at the press conference.
"Coaching was never something I saw myself doing but I must admit the way that it's been going, I've developed a much stronger passion and a love for the job... I believe in processes, something that we've been able to do in the white-ball formats and, with this new role, I've already mapped out some of the areas and some of the processes that we'll have to follow in order for us to be successful [in Test cricket]. I'm a patient man and once I trust that process and understand the requirement from the director of cricket, then the plan gets into action.
"So I'm really excited about the added responsibility and the new journey, one that I think myself and my team will be prepared for."