DUBAI, UAE- The WINDIES Women defeated Pakistan Women by 146 runs in the 1st One Day International as part of the ICC Women’s Championship Round 4 at the Dubai International Stadium. This match was historic as it was the first women’s match ever to be played at the venue.
Captain Stafanie Taylor won the toss for the WINDIES Women and elected to bat first on a pitch that looked like it offered something for the team batting first. Openers Kycia Knight and Deandra Dottin looked set to go after the Pakistan bowlers. It was Dottin who took charge with her explosive batting, smashing 2-fours in third over to get the scoreboard ticking.
Knight was the first wicket to fall in the sixth over when she played on to Sana Mir. Stafanie Taylor joined Deandra Dottin in the middle and the top two T20 all-rounders in the world sought to rebuild the WINDIES innings. They fended off several overs without a single run being scored much to the delight of the Pakistan bowlers. This was a calculated play by the WINDIES two most prolific batters.
The pair bided their time at the crease, running quick singles and twos when boundaries were hard to get. Their quickness between the wickets caused the Pakistan team to fumble in the field, allowing overthrows. Dottin was the first to reach half-century, once this landmark was achieved, she turned up the tempo, showcasing some of the flare and West Indian- style batting.
Not to be out done, Taylor soon reached her half-century and joined Dottin in accelerating the scoring. The skipper struck a few beautiful boundaries, however, on 58 and going after another wide-ish delivery, was caught by Sidra Ameen who plucked the ball out the air. This second wicket pair of Taylor and Dottin posted a 143-run partnership before Taylor fel
GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia – Chris Gayle will make a return to WINDIES colours, while Nicholas Pooran has earned his maiden call-up in the 50-over format as CWI Selection Panel named the 14-member squad for the first and second One-Day Internationals against England.
The 39-year-old Gayle is the second most capped WINDIES player with 284 matches in his illustrious career. He is also the second leading runscorer with 9,727 runs in behind Brian Lara with 10,405 runs in 299 appearances. Gayle also has 165 wickets (average 35.3) with his clever off-spin bowling. The experienced left-hander has the most centuries by a West Indian in this format – 23 – as well as the highest score – 215 against Zimbabwe in the ICC Cricket World Cup four years ago.
Pooran is a 23-year-old left-hander who can also keep wicket. He has so far played eight T20 Internationals with a strike rate of 152.57 and a highest score of 53 not outChairman of Selectors, Courtney Browne said the upcoming five-match series is a vital part of the preparations for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup – to be played in England and Wales from May 31 to July 15. He explained that experienced batsman Marlon Samuels is unavailable due to treatment on a knee injury. “As we continue our Cricket World Cup preparations, the upcoming series against the top ranked ODI side is a great opportunity for us to gauge where we are as a team. This allows us to identify any areas that need addressing relating to selection and also helps the coaching staff to fine tune their game strategy,” Browne said.
“We welcome the return of Chris Gayle who missed the last two series and Ashley Nurse from injury. We are pleased to introduce Nicholas Pooran to the ODI cricket for the first time. He is clearly a young player with undoubted talent and we believe he can add value to our middle order. Shannon Gabriel remains very much in our World Cup plans but with a heavy workload expected in the Test series he will be considered for selection later in the ODI series.”
The matches will be played at Kensington Oval on Wednesday, February 20 and Friday, February 22.
FULL SQUAD
Jason Holder (Captain), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran,, Rovman Powell Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas
Windwards Volcanoes are in second place in the West Indies 4-day championships after their 8 wicket victory over Barbados Pride in the last round. Apart from Devon Smith’s 199, the Volcanoes were helped by Sunil Ambris scoring the next highest score of 79.
Ambris, the right handed batsman from St Vincent & the Grenadines, was coming off an impressive 94 runs against the Englishmen during the CWI XI. Having played 1 ODI and 6 Tests for the West Indies, he is looking to score runs consistently and keep himself fit in case he is called up again.
Trust the ICC to be a buzzkill. The decision to suspend Jason Holder in the wake of West Indies' stunning victory in the Antigua Test is one of those typically letter-of-the-law decisions that make any rational recipient scream with outrage. It's like being zapped by a speed camera while doing 38mph on a deserted stretch of A-road at 3 o'clock in the morning. Yes, I know rules are rules, and all that but .... AARGH!
It's time the governing body had a re-think about what purpose over rate requirements serve, and whether they are achieving the desired goal. It does feel a bit ridiculous when, as Miller sarcastically notes, "never mind the scorecard, the West Indies captain was a full two overs short of fulfilling his obligations to an entertainment-starved public."
ICC Media Release: Holder’s five wickets in the Antigua Test have lifted him four places to a career-best sixth position after the Windies scored an impressive 10-wicket win over England to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Holder, who last week became the first Windies player since ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sir Gary Sobers to top the list of Test all-rounders, added another feather to his cap by reaching a tally of 778 rating points, the highest by any Windies bowler since the retirement of Courtney Walsh in 2001.
The Player of the Match in Antigua though was Kemar Roach, who grabbed four wickets in each innings. He was rewarded with a jump of eight slots to 12th position, just one place behind his compatriot Shannon Gabriel, who advanced one slot.
The presence of three Windies bowlers in the top 12 is reminiscent of the dominance of their pace bowlers in the past, and the best since they had four in the top 12 in mid-1996 – Curtley Ambrose (first), Courtney Walsh (fifth), Ian Bishop (seventh) and Kenny Benjamin (12th).
The Windies batsmen to advance include Kraigg Brathwaite (up one place to 33rd), Shane Dowrich (up two places to 45th), Shai Hope (up five places to 46th) and Darren Bravo (up two places to 55th) after his determined 50 in 342 minutes.
Meanwhile, there has been no change in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, which are updated at the end of each series. Australia though have gained three points after winning the two Tests against Sri Lanka. They remain in fifth position with 104 points while Sri Lanka have lost two points but stay ahead of Pakistan with 89 points.
