REPORTS have emerged suggesting Cricket West Indies (CWI) are initiating plans to remove current head coach, Richard Pybus, ahead of May’s 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
According to ESPN, as per a conversation with new president Ricky Skerritt, the axe will fall on Pybus just three months after overseeing a Test series victory against England. Pybus’ contract was due to last until the end of India’s visit to the Caribbean in July in the wake of the World Cup, but the report indicates Skerritt will host a board meeting next week in order to review the current coaching structure.
“A cricket review process is underway,” Skerritt said. “Announcements will be made following our board meeting on Tuesday.” Pybus signed on controversially as head coach in January, plugging the gap left by Stuart Law who moved to Middlesex. It created a major division in the Caribbean, with questions about the transparency of this hiring emerging, and also if it was the right move to mend player relations as his policies led to fallout with several Twenty20 (T20) superstars in the past.
Andre Russell produced fourth consecutive devastating innings, clubbing an unbeaten 13-ball 48 as Kolkata Knight Riders chased a steep total with five balls to spare. Chasing 206, Knight Riders needed 66 off 24 at one point, and then 53 off 18 with Russell having faced two balls.
From there, Royal Challengers Bangalore used four bowlers - Mohammed Siraj was suspended halfway through the 18th for a second beamer - all of whom were pumped to various corners of the ground by Russell who needed only eight scoring shots to score 46 of the 53 required.
It particularly soured the night for Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli, whose 84 and a 108-run stand with AB de Villiers seemed to have set up a win they desperately needed, having come into the game with four consecutive losses. The result told a familiar story - a long-standing deficit of quality death bowling, even on a night where they had seven bowling options.
Siraj had had a night to forget even before he was handed the ball for the 18th over. He had put down two catches - Chris Lynn and Nitish Rana's - and had bowled a beamer that was hit for six. With 53 required off 18, he started with two dot balls, fizzing past Russell's outside edge on both occasions. But just when he seemed to have redeemed himself, he bowled a bouncer that was called wide. From there, Royal Challengers lost control altogether.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana- Barbados swept aside Guyana to add the Cricket West Indies Women’s T20 Blaze title to the Colonial Medical Insurance Women’s Super50 title they won over a week ago.
Barbados showed no mercy to the home team Guyana and their supporters at the National Stadium in Providence, as Barbados restricted Guyana to 85/7 from their 20 overs. It took the Barbadians 16.1 overs to achieve victory by 8 wickets as Deandra Dottin once again led the team’s batting.
The Windward Islands notched their first win of the tournament when they defeated the Leeward Islands by 11 runs. Afy Fletcher and Swayline Williams with 24 runs each, ensured their team posted a defendable 115/8 from 20 overs. The Leeward Islands had a late charge at victory but it was not to be as the remaining overs were not enough to reach their target. Leewards finished on 104/9 from 20 overs.
In the first match of the day, Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago by 7 wickets, to open up the race for second place in the tournament. Trinidad and Tobago posted 145/6 in 20 overs but Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry tore apart the T&T bowling. In a 90-run partnership, the pair targeted T&T’s Karishma Ramharack, to keep well ahead of the required run-rate. The win resulted in Jamaica leapfrogging Guyana and T&T to finish the tournament in second place via a better net run-rate.
THE Jamaican women’s team paid the price for a dismal batting performance as they lost to their Guyanese counterparts by 20 runs in a thrilling third round Cricket West Indies Women’s T20 Blaze encounter yesterday at the National Stadium, Providence. The win, the second in three matches for the Guyanese, now put them in with a chance of winning the title. On the other hand, this second loss for Jamaica, the defending champions, has diminished their chances of retaining the title. At the outset of the match, the Guyanese, asked to bat first, set the Jamaicans a meagre 115-run target for the loss of eight wickets. However, the hosts’ bowlers, led by left-arm seamer and player-of-the-match, Erva Giddings (3-13), and Akaze Thomspon (3-16), bowled disciplined lines, claiming three wickets each, to restrict the visitors for just 94 in 18.4 overs. Sheneta Grimmond and Plaffiana Millington chipped in with 2-18, and 1-12 respectively.
As the hosts’ batters took to the pitch, openers Grimmond and Tremayne Smartt had a decent start, adding 61 for the first wicket in 9.4 overs.
Barbados had a late scare from tight bowling from the Windward Islands, thanks to the experience of their captain and leg-spinner Afy Fletcher. Windwards won the toss and elected to bat first, which saw them post 131/4 (20). Barbados lost the top 3 batters, which brought Deandra Dottin to the crease and she, together with Kyshona Knight saw their team home with 7 wickets in hand.
In the final match of the round, Trinidad and Tobago defeated the Leeward Islands by 9 wickets. Leewards were all out for 66 runs in 18 overs, thanks to spin attack of Felicia Walters who took 3/11. Stacy Ann King then led the T&T chase with a swashbuckling 43 from 25 deliveries.
LI 66 all out (18), Edwards 19, Liburd 14, Ramdeen 2/7 Walters 3/11
Former West Indies Cricket Coach Phil Simmons will be available to coach the West Indies team again if needed after July 15th, 2019. Speaking from overseas during the Isports radio programme on i95.5fm with host Andre Errol Baptiste on Saturday night, Simmons stated, "At the moment I am contracted to Afghanistan and there can be no talk about West Indies cricket. I'm focused on Afghanistan and how we get ready for the Cricket World Cup starting in May.”
He continued, “But after the Finals on July 15th, my contract is up with Afghanistan, but nobody knows the future, but my whole aim now is to win the World Cup so after 15th July, let us see what happens. But everyone who knows me understands how much I love the region and how hard it has been for me over the last three years dealing with that matter. I am just glad it is over and my name has been cleared. Most importantly, the apology from the new President Ricky Skerritt goes a long way in clearing up a lot of the talk under the previous administration. I believe that this shows that this new team is about the interest of cricket and not about themselves.”
Simmons, who made his Test debut in 1988 and played 26 Test matches for the West Indies, spoke about the many ills he experienced as West Indies coach and despite his success with the team winning the ICC World T20 final on April 3rd, 2016, recalled a number of situations he had to endure.
He said, “I remember the former president telling me that we could not pick certain players (named called Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard) because they passed him straight and did not say anything, how they had no manners, team selection was just too personal. In fact, he said unless they play for Trinidad and Tobago, they should not play for the West Indies. This was also echoed at the selector's meetings.”
