Legendary West Indies fast bowler, Curtly Ambrose, believes the team could have been more aggressive in going for the win against Sri Lanka in the second and final Test but admitted to being pleased with the strides the team had made.
In the end, West Indies and Sri Lanka played to a 0-0 Test series draw with neither team really able to press home advantages at various stages in both matches. In a reversal of fortunes, it was the West Indies who had headed into the final day of the final Test with a big lead and looking to put the pressure on the visitors. The team, however, managed to take two wickets as Sri Lanka closed the day on 193 for 2. Ambrose, however, believes the West Indies did not give themselves enough time to win the game.
“I think that we didn’t show enough intent to try and win that game. We batted too long in my opinion, we took too long to score the runs which means we didn’t have enough time to bowl out Sri Lanka on a very placid surface and I thought that the urgency in getting those quick runs wasn’t there. We batted too long,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
West Indies chief of selectors, Roger Harper, has revealed that the panel remains in the dark regarding the future of spinner Sunil Narine who remains unavailable for selection.
The 32-year-old Narine is widely regarded as one of the best spinners in the world but has not appeared for the West Indies since 2019. In total, Narine has played 6 Test matches, where he claimed 21 wickets, 65 One Day Internationals, where he has claimed 92 wickets and 51 T20 Internationals where he has taken 52.
According to Harper, at this point, the bowler does not seem comfortable enough with his technique to return to international cricket.
“Sunil Narine has indicated to us that he is not yet ready for the international scene,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio program.
Chief executive Johnny Grave has defended Cricket West Indies’ treatment of territorial boards, contending the governing body had been “equitable” in its allocation of international fixtures and financial resources.
Noting CWI were ever cognisant about accusations of partiality towards certain territories, Grave said it was the board’s stated philosophy by way of policy, to ensure insularity was removed from the regional game.
“It’s a philosophy that we try to have, that’s why we took the view, certainly pre-COVID, to ensure that every international ground or every territory that had international cricket would have at least had a Test match or two white-ball games, and we would spread our cricket around the region trying to take any accusation of politics out of how we play cricket,” the Englishman explained.
“I think we, certainly on an equitable basis, fund all the franchises and fund all the territorial boards so there’s no favour shown or discrepancies between how we now allocate cricket or fund the territorial boards so I think in that respect, I think we’re doing as much as we can do.”.
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Former West Indies captains, Sir Clive Lloyd, Jimmy Adams and Merissa Aguilleira were identified among a group of former internationals that will be part of a mentorship initiative organized by the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).
The regional players’ body launched the initiative on Tuesday and said it strongly believes that the rich knowledge and wealth of experience that endures in West Indies cricket is crucial to the development of present and future players.
“I am excited about the opportunities that this initiative brings,” WIPA president Wavell Hinds said in a media release.
“I would like to thank all the former players who have agreed to partner with us, and I encourage our present players to make the most of the access being made available to them.”
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Phil Simmons has brushed aside concern over the form of some members of the West Indies batting group in the just-concluded two-Test series against Sri Lanka.
Though West Indies produced solid batting performances throughout the series, opener John Campbell struggled with a mere 68 runs from four innings while Vice-Captain Jermaine Blackwood garnered only 42 runs from his four appearances.
But Head Coach Simmons said it was unrealistic to expect every batsman to strike form in every series, stressing the more important element was the overall batting success of the unit.
“In every series, you're not going to get every batsman firing,” Simmons pointed out.
“In one series you'll get two or three and in the next series you may get a different two or three, so the important thing is that the team is batting as a team and that every Test match, somebody is standing up, every Test match somebody is looking to get a hundred or a big score.
