Leeward Islands Hurricanes and Barbados Pride pulled off commanding wins on Wednesday when action continued in the Cricket West Indies’ CG United Super50 Cup in Trinidad.
At the Queen’s Park Oval, Hurricanes blew away West Indies Academy by 142 runs, while over at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Pride defeated Jamaica Scorpions by 24 runs via the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method.
Batting first in Port-of-Spain, Hurricanes got to 236-7 in a game reduced to 47 overs per side. Opener Justin Greaves batted through the innings to score an unbeaten 111, the first hundred of the 2024 competition.
The right-hander faced 117 balls and struck nine fours and a six. Dimitri Adams (26) and Jahmar Hamilton (20) were the only other batsmen to get to 20 or above, as Jediah Blades claimed 3-49 and Joshua Bishop 2-31.
In reply, West Indies Academy folded for 94 in 27.5 overs, with only players- Nimar Bolden (30), Teddy Bishop (21) and Carlon Bowen-Tuckett (21)- getting into double-figures.
Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall claimed 3-22, left-arm spinner Daniel Doram 3-34 and fast bowler Oshane Thomas 2-4.
Jason Holder, West Indies' former captain, says that England's third white-ball tour of the Caribbean in as many years is a "massive boost to their survival as an international team", and goes a long way towards repaying the ECB's debt to his team after they helped to save the finances of English cricket during the Covid summer of 2020.
Holder, 32, led the West Indies squad that played three Tests behind closed doors in Manchester and Southampton at the height of the Covid outbreak in July 2020, enduring weeks of lockdown in bio-secure surroundings to help "keep the lights on", in the words of the former ECB chief executive, Tom Harrison.
It was a tour that helped to mitigate the ECB's losses during the pandemic, which could have been upwards of £380 million had their entire summer schedule been cancelled. Each of those three Tests was worth approximately £20 million as they helped to fulfil the board's £1.1 billion rights deal with Sky Sports.
Speaking at the end of that tour, Holder had warned that the ECB would be obliged to reciprocate the favour to help out cricket's "smaller countries" who lacked the financial clout to stage matches during a global lockdown. Now, four years on, he believes that England have been fulfilling their side of the bargain.
"I think it's a fair way of putting it," Holder told ESPNcricinfo, ahead of an eight-match tour that will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK. "We've obviously had the English coming over for the last three years consecutively. And that has definitely boosted, not only our economy within the Caribbean, but it adds a massive boost to our survival in international cricket.
A brilliant spell of spin bowling from vice-captain Khary Pierre (four for eight) helped defending champions TT Red Force to a 60-run win in the first game of the 2024 CG United Regional Super50 tournament versus Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground at UWI, St Augustine on October 29.
In the build-up to the match, Red Force assistant coach Rayd Emrit, who's currently deputising for David Furlonge because of medical reasons, told Newsday he was dissatisfied with the pitch conditions at St Augustine. Emrit said the practice pitches were underprepared, while the pitch for the match looked to be of a similar nature.
With the batsmen faced with a turning wicket with inconsistent bounce for the Super50 opener, the bowlers had their way. Red Force were bowled out for a modest 194 from their 50 overs, but that score was made to look like a mammoth one as Pierre and leg-spinner Yannic Cariah (three for 31) combined to roll over CCC for just 134 in 38.1 overs.
In their pursuit of 195, CCC appeared to be cruising at 76 for one with the pair of Shaqkere Parris (57 off 68 balls) and TT batsman Kamil Pooran (18 off 61) in the midst of their 67-run stand for the second wicket. The game turned drastically on its head, though, as CCC lost their last nine wickets for just 58 runs.
Windward Volcanoes edged a sloppy Guyana Harpy Eagles for a stunning come-from-behind victory in their opening match of the Regional Super50 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago.
In pursuit of 275 for victory, the Volcanoes were 58-5 in 11.4 overs, and the writing was on the wall for a crushing defeat.
But it was not the case.
Battling the heavy dew, the Eagles dropped catches and made constant misfields, helping the Volcanoes recover to 139-6.
Shadrack Descarte and Dillon Douglas made a brilliant stand of 81.
Descrate was dismissed for 60 (7x4s:1×6) from 62, while the wicketkeeper-batsman, Douglas, in just his second List A, fell painstakingly short of a well-deserved century.
Douglas was crestfallen, run out for 90 (8x4s; 2x6s) from 100 balls, but his innings proved the pillar to a stunning victory.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) is pleased to announce the 15-man squad selected for the highly anticipated West Indies Men’s CG United One Day International (ODI) home series against England. Fans are gearing up for what promises to be an electric series, featuring both established stars and exciting new talent ready to take the field.
The three-match ODI series begins with two ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua on October 31 and November 2, aligning with Antigua’s Independence weekend celebrations, before the final showdown at Kensington Oval (KO) in Barbados on November 6.
Commenting on the upcoming encounter, freshly back in the Caribbean after an ODI tour of Sri Lanka, West Indies Men’s Head Coach Daren Sammy expressed his excitement about returning to action against England.
