St. John’s, ANTIGUA- Cricket West Indies (CWI) is saddened by the death of former Regional Umpire Clyde Cumberbatch. CWI wishes to extend sincerest condolences to his family and friends.
Cumberbatch was a respected official in the cricketing fraternity, officiating in 12 Test Matches all involving the West Indies over a period of 14 years, from 1981-1995. He also officiated in 26 One Day International matches from 1984- 1997.
After retirement from International Umpiring duties, Cumberbatch served as Chairman of the West Indies Umpires Training and Examination Committee. He served in this position for 12 years, retiring last June and was replaced by Peter Nero. Cumberbatch was honoured with an Honourary Life Membership in this same committee after his retirement.
CWI and WINDIES fans have lost a truly knowledgeable gentleman, who stood out among the crowd, not only for his knowledge but his stature and personality. He has certainly left a lasting legacy throughout the region with the knowledge and support he has given to cricket officials and players alike.
Six matches, six losses - the sorry tale of West Indies' cricket during the ongoing tour of New Zealand. Let it be the traditional format, the 50-over version or the 20-over format, the visitors just haven't been able to able to plug the losing streak. The 20-over version was regarded as West Indies' best chance to mount a challenge. The tourists are the defending World T20 Champions and over a period of time, have gained a reputation for their big-hitting prowess. Unfortunately, the Caribbean side slipped to a 47-run loss in the first of the three-match T20I series in Nelson on Friday (December 29). West Indies' disappointing performance could be capsulised by the fact that no one scored more than 27 runs.
If it were possible for the eminent Dr Richard Allsopp to update his seminal Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage from beyond the grave, one could not be surprised if one turned to Page 216 and saw inscribed as an explanation to the word “embarrassing” – the current West Indies cricket team.
2017 for the West Indies might have started with great expectations. But this was no feel-good Dickensian prose. Shai Hope and Roston Chase might have momentarily conjured up images of Pip, but as December closed West Indies cricket was still deeply immersed in the reality of hard times. It became almost painful to listen to captain Jason Holder search for positives in defeat after defeat and repeat the same rhetoric that is synonymous with sporting failure.
The West Indies started their international campaign with a 0-3 One-Day International series loss to England in March in the Caribbean. They followed this up with losses to Pakistan in Tests (1-2), ODIs (1-2) and T20Is (1-3) between March and May in the Caribbean. They managed to defeat improving minnows Afghanistan 3-0 in a T20I series in June but the gap between the two sides was more accurately assessed when they drew the ODI series 1-1. In June the team – and the rest of the Caribbean – suffered the ignominy of participating in the Champions Trophy in England in front of their televisions after failing to qualify. By year-end, a similar cloud hung over the team’s participation in the 2019 ICC World Cup in England.
India visited the Caribbean for an ODI series in June and found, as other visitors have, that home advantage for the West Indies team had long become an aberration. The Indians duly won 3-1 with West Indies having the scant consolation of victory in a one-off T20I.
Windies' miseries on a largely forgettable tour of New Zealand showed no signs of abating as another insipid batting display condemned them to 47-run defeat in the T20I series opener at the Saxton Oval in Nelson. The visitors were left searching for the mojo that has seen them bag the World T20 title as a Williamson-less New Zealand helped themselves to 187 on the board backed up by a fine all-round bowling performance to bowl Windies out in 19 overs.
The defining momentum shift in the contest, one that saw Windies compete well with the ball for most parts, arrived in the final over of New Zealand's innings. Having pulled things back admirably after fifties from Glenn Phillips and Colin Munro, Windies conceded 25 off the final over with designated death bowler Keserick Williams bowling three no-balls as Mitchell Santner (23* off 11) carried his team's total from barely-par to highly competitive.
Even then, on a feather bed of a pitch, Windies possessed the batting muscle to hunt down 188. Seth Rance, one of New Zealand's two T20I debutants on the day, was on a hat-trick as early as the third over of the chase, after removing Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton off successive deliveries with key contributions from his fielders. Keeper Phillips sprinted backwards to chase down a top-edged offering from Gayle and completed the catch with a full-length dive. The other debutant, Anaru Kitchen, then took a sharp catch at extra cover to send back Walton.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Selection Panel of Cricket West Indies announced changes to the Windies squad for the three-match T20 International series on the tour of New Zealand.
These changes are due to injury and unavailability.
Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cotterell will replace pacer Ronsford Beaton, who has been forced to return home with a side strain.
Left-handed batsman Shimron Hetmyer will replace allrounder Kieron Pollard, who is unavailable due to personal reasons.
The series bowls off on Friday at Saxton Oval in Nelson. Frist ball is 3pm (10pm Thursday Eastern Caribbean/9pm Thursday Jamaica).
FULL SQUAD 1. Carlos Brathwaite (captain), 2.Samuel Badree, 3.Sheldon Cotterell, 4. Rayad Emrit 5. Andre Fletcher, 6.Chris Gayle, 7.Shimron Hetmyer, 8.Shai Hope 9. Jason Mohammed, 10.Ashley Nurse, 11.Rovman Powell, 12.Jerome Taylor 13. Chadwick Walton,14.Kesrick Williams
