Wed, Jun 3, '20
Reports have emerged that the West Indies selectors have chosen a squad to play against England in a three-Test series in July. However, the squad will not include Darren Bravo, Keemo Paul or Shimron Hetmeyer who have all opted out of the three-Test match tour.
The squad is expected to depart from the Caribbean on June 8.
According to cricket commentator and talk show host Andrew Mason, the selectors had a hard time selecting a squad but in the end, came up with a squad that includes the recalled Jermaine Blackwood and Shannon Gabriel.
The names of the others who were selected include Captain Jason Holder, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shai Hope, Shane Dowrich, Roston Chase, Shemarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Nkrumah Bonner, Alzarri Joseph, Chemar Holder, John Campbell, Raymon Reifer and Kemar Roach.
The West Indies will be in the United Kingdom for about four weeks and will be housed in a bio-secure environment while they get up to speed before the start of the first Test.
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Tue, Jun 2, '20
England have announced the dates and venues for three closed-door Tests against West Indies starting 8 July, but are awaiting approval from the UK government to go ahead with the schedule.
If the series does go ahead, it will mark the resumption of men's international cricket, which has been on hold since March 13 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
England have listed out key bio-safety measures, which include putting the teams up in accommodations close to the venue as well as a venue perimeter.
The first game is scheduled to be held at Hampshire from July 8. The following two Tests will be played at Old Trafford, starting July 16 and July 24 respectively.
The West Indies outfit is expected to arrive in the UK on June 9 and their first base will be Lancashire's Old Trafford, where they will undergo training for three weeks.
View the full series schedule at ICC
Tue, Jun 2, '20
Rohan Kanhai enjoyed a career in which he played on great teams from start to finish.
Maybe it is a testament to his ability that he was a mainstay for the West Indies during this period since the cluster of nations had been seeing a swell in the number of talented batsmen it had been producing.
Names like Sir Garfield Sobers, Joe Solomon, and Basil Butcher were just some of the talents in the West Indies line-up when Kanhai started his sojourn in Test cricket, and when that sojourn ended 17 years later, the Guyanese batsman had been joined by the likes of Roy Fredericks, Lawrence Rowe, Alvin Kallicharan, Clive Lloyd and of course, Sobers was still around.
Despite spending 17 years at the top, Kanhai’s start to Test cricket was not as convincing as his career would eventually turn out to be.
on New year’s Eve in 1958, more than a year after his debut for the West Indies, Kanhai had yet to make his mark, had yet to prove why the selectors had kept persevering with him.
In truth, he hadn’t done badly, scoring three half-centuries in his first 23 innings. But he had never notched three figures, getting as close as 96 in February of 1958.
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Tue, Jun 2, '20
Carol Henry, president of the St Lucia Cricket Association said there is much interest in the T10 cricket tournament his association has planned for later this month.
The competition that will feature St Lucia’s local players and professional cricketers will be played in the Darren Sammy Cricket Grounds in Gros Islet and with the population starved for live sports, Henry said the prospects of success are quite positive.
“Much interest has been piqued based on enquiries and the response from our affiliates and local media,” he told Sportsmax.TV. “There is eager anticipation as this heralds and is seen as the new norm, reopening of cricket in tandem with Saint Lucia Government's phased re-opening plans.”
Henry said a schedule for the tournament will be set as soon as the draft is finalised and that will be based on the level of sponsorship the association can generate for the tournament.
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Mon, Jun 1, '20
Former West Indies middle-order batsman turned youth coach Keith Arthurton has urged the regional body to put more effort into making sure talented youth cricketers go on to transition into successful senior players.
Arthurton, the left-handed batsman who made 33 Test and 105 ODI appearances for the West Indies, was appointed as coach of the region’s under-15 squad in 2008. Having seen a lot of promising youth players during his time, he believes there is no doubt that the talent is abundant but too many players for one reason or the other are unable to take the next crucial step.
“Because we’re so gifted, we are naturally able to play the sport. At the youth level, you will always see the talent but for some reason, there is a transition [problem]. Based on the experience I have doing academy work and grassroots work and so on that transition is normally made at the age of 16 and it's a crucial transition that will either build you or break you,” Arthurton told the Good Morning Jojo radio program.
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