THE non-inclusion of Trinidad and Tobago off-spinner Bryan Charles from the three-team Headley-Weekes triangular series to crown off the CWI regional four-day tournament has drawn a furious reaction from local cricket officials.
Five TT players – Joshua Da Silva, Anderson Phillip, Darren Bravo, Joshua James and Keagan Simmons – were named in the squads for the tournament, which gets under way from April 19 to May 6, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua.
Red Force coach David Furlonge said, “It is disappointing to say the least. There is no justifiable reason why Bryan Charles was not considered, especially after his consistent performance during the recent season where he picked up 21 wickets and finished fourth in the averages.”
He said the 27 year old who plays for Queen’s Park Cricket Club should have an automatic selection having been a regular in the West Indies “A” team set-up last year when he played against Bangladesh.
Instead Barbadian Chaim Holder, 29, with 18 scalps for Barbados including nine wickets in one match, appears to have been given the nod ahead of the Trinidadian by chief selector Desmond Haynes, and his compatriot Roland Butcher.
Furlonge on Wednesday said the selection policy was not consistent with the stated objective of the Headley-Weekes teams being picked “from the leading performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and those deemed to be on the fringe of the Test team.”
A brilliant half-century from Christian Lall led Trinidad and Tobago to the West Indies Rising Stars Under 15 Championship title, as they defeated the Leeward Islands by six wickets at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
The Leewards batting first posted 162 all out in 48 overs, with a half-century for skipper Matthew Miller. He shared in a 63-run partnership with Jaheem Clarke as the pair showed resistance to the spin of Yasir Deen and Alejandro Kassiram. Deen and Kassiram finished with figures of 3/34 and 3/9 respectively.
Lall and Dimitri Ramjattan then posted a 77-run opening partnership before Ramjattan was caught for 19. Trinidad and Tobago lost three more wickets in pursuit of victory, but Yasir Deen nudged the ball for the winning single in the last ball of the 35th over. Kunal Tilokani finished with figures of 2/45.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Sacked West Indies Women's Head Coach Courtney Walsh said that whilst he was disappointed with the timing and handling of his dismissal, he was nevertheless satisfied with the work he and the coaching team had put into the development of players.
Cricket West Indies on Tuesday announced its decision not to renew the contract of the former West Indies men's captain and record-breaking fast bowler, along with his assistant coaches, Robert Samuels and Corey Collymore.
"I was surprised at the time when I was told, but it was a job, and I was employed until the end of last month when I was told the contract won't be renewed," Walsh said from his native Jamaica on the Mason & Guest cricket talk show on Tuesday on VOB 92.9 FM in Barbados.
"The timing was very surprising. I would have much preferred to have known earlier, but that's not my call… I got a message to call him [CWI director of cricket Jimmy Adams] and I called him, and he told me the contract won't be renewed," Walsh said.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today named the squads for the upcoming Headley Weekes Tri-Series. Team Headley – named in honor of George Headley – will be captained by Joshua Da Silva, the wicket-keeper-batter. Team Weekes – named in honor of Sir Everton Weekes – will be led by Alick Athanaze, the left-handed top-order batter.
The two teams have been drawn from the leading performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and those deemed to be on the fringe of the Test team. Additionally, CWI named the teams to provide further first-class opportunities to the best performers from the West Indies Championship in a competitive and intense setting, as well as opportunities for players who the selectors believe would benefit from playing red-ball cricket as West Indies prepare for the upcoming “A” Team tour of Bangladesh and the two-Test Series against India at home.
Team Headley and Team Weekes will play against each other and against the West Indies Academy in the three-match series running from 19 April to 6 May, at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. All three matches have been awarded first-class status. The West Indies Academy was unveiled last year and played CG United Super50 tournament last November.
Team Weekes will feature Athanaze who was the leading batter in the West Indies Championship with 647 runs, which included two centuries; left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul the second-highest wicket-taker with 28 wickets; as well as Jahmar Hamilton who was the joint leading keeper with 19 dismissals.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua - Cricket West Indies (CWI) will shortly be starting the process to recruit a new West Indies Women’s team Head Coach after taking the decision not to renew the contract of Women’s Head Coach Courtney Walsh and Technical Assistant Coaches Robert Samuels and Corey Collymore. This follows a review of the senior Women’s team performances and programme.
During Walsh's tenure, which started in October 2020, he oversaw Home and Away Series wins to Pakistan and secured a semi-final spot in the 2022 ICC Women's 50-over Cricket World Cup.
CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said “We are very grateful for the contribution of Courtney and his technical team over the past two and a half years and we wish them all the best going forward. CWI remains committed to our international women's programme and will now be focusing on recruiting a new Head Coach and technical support team. An interim technical support team will be put in place during the recruitment period.”
Further information on the recruitment process will be provided in the coming weeks with the coaching roles being critical for the development of women’s cricket in the West Indies. In recent years, CWI has significantly increased investment into the women’s game at every level focusing on deepening the talent pool within the Caribbean and producing the next generation of West Indies Women’s players.
