Thu, Apr 16, '20
Like the fabled legend Heracles, Carlos Brathwaite dutifully completed the impossible labour of lifting a seemingly down and out West Indies to an unlikely triumph over England at the 2016 T20 World Cup final.
In its aftermath, much like the mythical Greek hero, he would soon after, however, happened upon a poisoned cloak of his own; unrealistic, heavy expectations which have so far proven to be his undoing.
Needing 19 off the last over and the ball in the hands of a capable Ben Stokes, few would have picked the Windies to be triumphant.
Four straight sixes later, however, the shrill blast of commentator Ian Bishop sang, “remember the name!” after the muscle-bound Brathwaite brutally battered Stokes, announcing a new West Indies star had been born. Gleefully looking on, fans secretly hoped perhaps the player was from the same mould as legends like Sir Viv Richards or Chris Gayle.
Read more at Barbados today
Wed, Apr 15, '20
Antiguan fast bowling legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose, has applauded Cricket West Indies for the efforts made in bringing a number of former players back into the fold following what he has called the previous board’s acrimonious relationship with a number of senior cricketers in the past.
The former West Indies and Leeward Islands player, pointed to a move by the Ricky Skerritt led administration to heal old wounds with senior players like Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo after taking office in 2019, as "a good thing."
Cricket West Indies before Ricky Skerritt’s tenure has had major issues with players and the board and a lot of players just didn’t want to represent the West Indies because of issues.
Read more at IRIE FM
Wed, Apr 15, '20
Richards scored more than 15,000 runs in 308 matches for West Indies, finishing his international career with 35 centuries and an average of more than 47 in both Test and ODI cricket.
The legendary Antiguan also scored 140 centuries in a remarkable domestic career that saw him make over 1,000 appearances in first-class and List A cricket.
Holding, one of the game’s great fast bowlers, played alongside Sir Viv Richards for over a decade and believes he is unsurpassed as a batsman.
'Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything,’ Holding told Sky Sports.
‘He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody.
Read more at Metro UK
Tue, Apr 14, '20
For West Indies cricket to get back to being a dominant force, Chairman of selectors and former West Indies bowler, Roger Harper believes changes need to be made from the ground up.
According to Harper, all the blame for West Indies’ performance woes cannot be put at the feet of Cricket West Indies and that individual territories need to take responsibility for the cricketers they produce.
"I think a lot of buck-passing has been done. We are very proud to say when a Brian Lara is breaking all those records that he is from Trinidad but when a player is not doing well, you say what the West Indies cricket board is doing,” said Harper.
The former off-spinner who ended his career with 100 ODI wickets from 105 games and 46 Test wickets from 25 matches, believes that when the Caribbean was in its hay day, the territories were much stronger on their own.
Read more at SportsMax
Tue, Apr 14, '20
Sir Vivian Richards, Legendary West Indian batsman and former captain, has had many instances when his greatness was on show for all the world to see, however, there was one, in particular, that stands out in my mind.
Apartheid South Africa had been banished from the world of sport and while the two, politics and sport, should never meet, it was widely agreed that those sanctions were the right thing to do.
South African cricket was decimated by the sanctions, which started in 1971, and they needed to revive it.
The country hashed a plan to play unsanctioned international cricket inside South Africa, which while frowned upon, could not be stopped.
In all, South Africa would host seven tours to the country, dubbed Rebel Tours, between 1982 and 1990.
A precedence had been set in 1981 with England’s Graham Gooch going to South Africa with eleven other players. They world wholeheartedly bashed them for their actions, labelling the group the “the Dirty Dozen” in England’s Houses of Parliament.
Read more at SportsMax