Following his team’s humiliating 419-run defeat to Australia in the second and final Test in Adelaide on Saturday night, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has lamented his team’s lack of fight.
Already trailing 1-0 in the series after going down by 164 runs to the home side in the lop-sided first Test, at Perth the West Indies once again found themselves behind the eight-ball on Saturday night (Caribbean time).
Their bowlers proved ineffective as Australia declared their first innings at 511-7. Their bowlers then dismissed the West Indies for 214.
“It was very disappointing. The first game, we fought to day five which was a decent effort. Coming here we didn't show any fight at all," said Brathwaite who had scores of 19 and three in the match.
ST.JOHN'S, Antigua- England Women took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20 International series against the West Indies Women, when they registered an 8-wicket victory at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Senior all-rounder Chinelle Henry said the team's batting never got going and the low total was just not enough, "To be 3,4 wickets down in the first 10 overs with no kind of runs on the board, that is where we fell short, since the ODI series we've been struggling with the bat. We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going. A couple of us got short partnerships going to get us to 100 but it wasn't enough. It was really good to see little Djenaba Joseph standing up against Katherine Brunt, facing her head on, and to have an Under-19 player in our squad so fearless is a move in a good direction for us."
Nathan Lyon became the outright most prolific Test wicket-taker at the Adelaide Oval, going past Shane Warne as Australia dominated day two of the second Test against West Indies.
Lyon, who served as a groundsman at the venue before his career took off, had Jermaine Blackwood caught and bowled for three in the evening session as Australia reduced West Indies to 102-4 at stumps, a world away from Australia's 511-7 total. It gave Lyon a 57th wicket in 12 Tests in Adelaide, beating Warne's haul of 56 from 13 matches.
Michael Neser, playing just his second Test match and first since facing England in Adelaide last year, took 2-20 after drawing edges from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (47no) was the only West Indies batter to have passed 20 by the close.
Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne advanced from his overnight 120 not out to 163 before edging Devon Thomas through to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel today named a 14-member squad for the third and final CG United One Day International (ODI) against England Women on 9 December at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. There is one change to the 14-member squad from the first two matches, as Karishma Ramharack has been replaced by Kyshona Knight.
Lead Selector Ann Browne-John said: “The 3rd and final ODI will be important in the overall landscape of the Series. Although England has already won the series, this final match will give the batters an opportunity to get some much-needed time at the crease before the start of the T20 International series on Sunday. The batting has not come through as we would want it but there are many experienced batters in the team, who with the right application can produce.”
Browne-John added: “It’s unfortunate that Karishma has missed out on this series as we believe she is a vital component in our bowling attack but the return of Kyshona Knight will help bolster our batting lineup, as we seek a win in this final match of the CG United ODI series.”
Phil Simmons enters his final days as West Indies coach believing he has given his all in the role and hopes the foundations are in place for a revival of their Test cricket.
Simmons' departure was announced after the team's early exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup when they failed to make it out of the first round. That was a continuation of some dire white-ball form - which is also likely to see them have to go through the qualifying tournament for next year's ODI World Cup - and led Cricket West Indies to initiate a review which includes Brian Lara and Mickey Arthur on the panel.
However, there have been some encouraging signs in their Test cricket. The 164-run defeat in Perth was their first loss in six matches this year, while there have been other notable high points in Simmons' second stint as a coach, which began in October 2019. They include the one-wicket victory over Pakistan in Jamaica and the 2-0 away victory against Bangladesh, where they chased 395 to win the opening Test and took the second by 17 runs.
