A stature of Barbados and West Indies iconic fast bowler Sir Wes Hall was unveiled at Kensington Oval on Sunday night on the eve of the country’s 54^th year of independence.

 The eight-foot tall statue created by 42-year-old fine artist Jason Hope was erected next to that of another Barbados and West Indies legend, Sir Garry Sobers.

The statue was unveiled by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley during a ceremony attended by about 200 persons from Barbadian society including retired cricketers Ian Bradshaw, Vasbert Drakes, and Floyd Reifer as well as Barbados Cricket Association President Conde Riley and Roland Butcher.

Sir Wesley Hall’s children, Dr Kerry Hall, Sean Hall and Remi Hall were also in attendance.

“I want on behalf of the Government and the people of Barbados to salute you and to say to all of the others who helped to create that moment, that we will do all in our power as a government to continue to ensure that you will not only be honoured but that the legends of Barbados will not just remain as a cricketing legacy,” Prime Minister Mottley said.

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New Zealand ‘A’ were 45 without loss at stumps on day two of their warm-up match with the West Indies in Queenstown.

Chasing the Caribbean side’s mammoth 571 all out, the home side batted through the final 15 overs of the day without much trouble on another placid track. Henry Cooper 19 and Rachin Ravindra, 22, will resume batting on day three.

Earlier, Kraigg Brathwaite’s 246 was the foundation for the West Indies’ mammoth total. He was eventually out to a Michael Rae delivery after facing 400 balls in a knock that lasted almost 10 hours. He hit 17 fours and a six.

Resuming from his overnight 183 and the West Indies 353 for 3, Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood, 19, took the score to 429 when Blackwood bowled was bowled by Rachin Ravindra for 53.

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West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard blames his side’s erratic bowling for their five-wicket loss to New Zealand in Auckland on Friday.

After the West Indies made 180 for 7 from their reduced allotment of 16 overs due to rain, New Zealand replied with 179 for 5 off 15.2 overs to win by Duckworth/Lewis method.

Keemo Paul bowled five no-balls while conceding 39 runs from three overs while Kesrick Williams served up a steady diet of half-volleys going for 33 runs in two overs. Meanwhile Fabian Allen yielded 32 runs from two overs as New Zealand raced to a comfortable victory.

Notwithstanding the West Indies batsmen losing five wickets for one run after scoring 58 from the first 19 balls of their innings, Pollard’s comments suggested that had the bowlers done a better job, the outcome might have been different.

“It was an entertaining game of cricket for the fans and the general public, something that they haven’t got for a very long time. In terms of disciplines, in the bowling aspect of things, I thought we were a bit erratic, a bit indisciplined and in international cricket if you bowl so many no balls and if you are so inconsistent in your execution, you’re definitely going to end up on the losing side,” Pollard said.

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Kraigg Brathwaite produced an unbeaten hundred and Darren Bravo just missed out on his second of the tour as the West Indies compiled 353 for 3 against New Zealand ‘A’ on the opening day of the second warm-up match at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown on Thursday.

The Barbadian opener, who was on 183 at stumps shared an opening stand of 111 with John Campbell, who made a relatively brisk 45 from just 62 balls before he was bowled by Blair Tickner. The Jamaican struck eight boundaries during his 106-minute stay at the crease.

Bravo joined Brathwaite and together they mounted a 189-run stand that put New Zealand 'A' on the defensive. Brathwaite’s 100 came up in 139 balls during which he hit eight fours and a six. Bravo, picking up from where he left off in the first match, hit six fours while bringing up his 50 in 90 balls.

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