With Jermaine Lawson the only bowler of any repute, a young and
raw Jamaican attack managed to bowl out England for 321 on the
first day of their three day match with the tourists. On a pitch
initially described as something "a blind goat had been let loose
on" by Jonathan Agnew, the full strength English lineup lost two
early wickets before stabilising to 204 for 3 and then lost their
last eight wickets for 157 runs. Wickets were shared amongst the
bowlers, with Bevon Brown taking 3 for 74.
England captain Michael Vaughan later commented that the wicket
"didn't really deviate much" and described it as a "good wicket,
not too dissimiliar to something you'd find on the subcontinent".
Noting that the as yet uncut Test strip had a lot more grass on it,
he remarked that the wicket had not been particularly helpful to
the seamers but had a bit of spin in it.
West Indies selectors have named West Indies 'B' bowler Dwight
Washington to the 16 man squad ahead of the first Test against
England . Playing in only his first domestic competition, the tall
Jamaican paceman has picked up 20 wickets at an average of 22.00
and featured with the bat when he top scored with 58 runs against
Guyana, batting at number 11. Washington has also been named to
Jamaica's 15 man squad against England in the 3 day tour match
starting on Monday.
Noticeably absent in the squad is Trinidadian fast bowler Mervyn
Dillon, who has struggled to live up to expectations recently and
missed taking part in Trinidad and Tobago's final match against
Jamaica.
Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, who is battling back from
injury and an illegal bowling action, has been named in the
University of the West Indies' Vice Chancellor's XI to face England
starting next Thursday.
Lawson will spearhead a bowling attack that includes Ryan Nurse,
Jason Bennett and Shawn Graham in the game, which is scheducled for
UWI, Mona in Jamaica. In-form all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Dave
Bernard Jr. were also included.
Former West Indies batsman Stuart Williams has had his little
finger on his right hand amputated, the Caribbean Media Corporation
(CMC) reported over the weekend.
Williams, 34, fractured his finger while fielding in the Leeward
Islands' Carib Beer Series fifth round game against the Windward
Islands in St. Maarten in early February and a decision was made to
amputate the finger after gangrene had set in.
Cecil Kippins, widely regarded as Guyana?s first top class
umpire, sat down with me to talk about one of his enduring passions
? the game of cricket.
In a wide ranging interview, he was candid about umpiring --
then and now; the laws of the game, favorite players, and a wide
variety of topics in cricket. He officiated in 10 Tests between
1958 and 1973 and retired from first class umpiring in 1974 when he
migrated to the U.S. Cecil Kippins remains devoted to cricket and
apart from following cricket on the internet and TV, he travels to
Barbados and England every year to watch cricket at the Kensington
Oval and at Foster?s Oval in London where he is a member of Surrey
Cricket Club.
