The West Indies’ hunt for a semi-final spot in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is under threat, as the team gets set to face hosts England, on Friday morning. The Caribbean side will be boosted by the availability of all-rounder, Andre Russell, who the WINDIES camp says is fit enough to take part in the clash. Veteran opener, Chris Gayle, continues to fight his back problems, but he is also expected to feature. England, on the other hand, are confident of Jos Buttler’s involvement. Buttler is now said to be ready after suffering a hip injury. But, fast-bowler Mark Wood, who has an ankle issue, remains a doubt for the game.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua - Members of The Board of Cricket West Indies (CWI) gathered for their quarterly series of meetings at the Sandals Grande Resort in Antigua, last Saturday and Sunday.
At the two-day Directors’ Meeting, the following reports were received and decisions made:
ICC ODI Cricket World Cup 2019
An update was given by Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams, and CEO Johnny Grave, on various matters related to the preparation and operation of Team West Indies, including the pre World Cup tour to Ireland to participate in an ODI Tri-Series with Bangladesh and Ireland. Directors expressed overall pleasure at how the team and its management had been working together and performing. President Skerritt expressed pleasure in receiving positive feedback from numerous and varied stakeholders about the apparent commitment and aggressive style of play of our players. He said that fans and past players alike were relieved to see the team name had been rebranded as “West Indies”.
Women’s Cricket Update
Mr. Adams also reported on the Women’s team tour to Ireland and the UK. He said the Ladies had performed impressively in Ireland, but as expected were encountering much more of a challenge against the highly-ranked England women’s team. Directors expressed the need to find funding for further investment in Women’s cricket development so as to uncover and prepare a wider pool of competitive female cricket talent.
he West Indies camp is reporting that all-rounder Andre Russell will be fit for Friday's crucial ICC World Cup match against England at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. He missed the rained out game against South Africa on Monday and will be hoping to get into the swing of things against the English.
Veteran allrounder Chris Gayle, who suffered from stiffness in his back after scoring a half-century against Pakistan, meanwhile continues to fight with back issues but will also be available to open the batting.
West Indies head coach Floyd Reifer said that Russell was left out of the clash with the Proteas as a “precautionary measure”, with the view of getting him in the best shape to face the tournament hosts.
“Andre will be fit enough for the game on Friday. The game against England is a big game for us,” said Reifer.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – West Indies will begin their bid to become World Test champions during the India Tour of the West Indies which starts in August and will be sponsored by MyTeam11 and co-powered by Skoda and Kamla Pasand.
The WINDIES and India will play two Tests – from August 22 to 26 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and from August 30 to September 3 at Sabina Park in Jamaica – during the five-week Tour, which also includes three Twenty20 and three One-day Internationals.
The two Tests open the new ICC World Test Championship, which will be played over the next two years and has been introduced to give greater context and competition in the “Ultimate Test” of the game, combining strategy, skill and endurance.
England pace bowler Mark Wood believes the best way to tackle West Indies talisman Chris Gayle is with the raw pace of Barbadian-born speedster Jofra Archer.
The match-up between Archer and Gayle is likely to be one of the key ones when the Windies face the hosts at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground on Friday.
