West Indies legend Clive Lloyd has pointed to a continued lack of inclusion of former players at the board level of regional cricket as being a significant hindrance to improving the fortunes of the struggling team.
Though typically the realm of lifelong administrators and businessmen, the cricket boards of the sport’s big three, England, India, and Australia have included former players at the top level of the game’s governance. Currently, India is the best example with former captain Sourav Ganguly serving as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, on a body that also included Brijesh Patel. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently added former captain Andrew Strauss as a non-voting member but also includes women’s player Lucy Pearson. For Cricket Australia, Michael Kasprowicz resigned from the board earlier this year but two-time women’s World Cup winner Mel Jones remains a member of the board.
“The board should have four ex-cricketers. Knowledgeable, intelligent people who want to take our cricket forward,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest radio program.
Legendary West Indies ball blaster Viv Richards has advocated for selectors of the regional team to consider T20 batsman Nicholas Pooran for the longest format of the sport.
“We could look at that and I think he could be a serious option down in the middle order, with the gloves on as well. These are some of the things they may have to look at because I think he has got a serious head on him in terms of the way he thinks. He looks pretty serious and the way he would have adapted so far at the highest level, I just think that could be another option,” Richards told the Good Morning Jojo radio program.
Former national cricket coach Junior Bennett says a holistic approach to women’s cricket in the region needs to be implemented urgently to improve the sport at the international level.
Bennett made the comments after the West Indies Women’s team recent 5-0 series whitewash by hosts England in Derby.
While admitting that the pandemic has posed a major problem regarding preparation, Bennett believes a longer-term approach needs to be put in place if the West Indies are to produce good female cricketers and move up the ladder at the international level.
“We need to pay more attention to female cricket at the grass-roots level and do more for the women,” he said. “I believe the same effort should be given to the women as the men’s team because the females are being short-changed.”
The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) was broadcast around the world thanks to TV production company Sunset+Vine and SportsMax Productions who provided the state-of-the-art equipment that was used for the telecast.
With months of planning and many late changes, adjustments and restrictions to both crew and equipment logistics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sunset + Vine and SportsMax teams executed and fulfilled their roles as broadcast, technical and production partners on the ground in Trinidad & Tobago. Over the four weeks of the tournament, an uninterrupted high definition signal was sent to viewers around the world.
The Sunset + Vine team have a track record of amazing sports broadcasting and viewers around the globe were provided with the best possible experience. Despite the challenging nature of producing high-class coverage during a pandemic, Sunset+Vine delivered a fantastic broadcast that was both innovative and engaging.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) today named Courtney Walsh as the new Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s team. The West Indies cricket legend will lead the preparation and development of the Women’s Team at least up until the end of 2022, including competing in the next International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricket World Cup (50 overs) and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
The former world-renowned fast bowler has served as an assistant coach with the Bangladesh Men’s team and subsequently worked on a short term contract with the West Indies Women’s team, including at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2020 held in Australia earlier this year.
Walsh is the leading wicket-taker in West Indies Test history with 519 wickets in 132 Test matches. A former Jamaica and West Indies captain, he took 227 wickets in One-Day Internationals, and also took 1807 wickets in 429 first-class matches. The 57-year-old is a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.
