West Indies' year began brightly with a trio of world titles, but then predictable bad blood between players and administrators affected results
The brilliant and the mediocre made for another unpredictable and challenging year in West Indies cricket.
The unprecedented and unexpected capture of three global limited-overs titles in the first half of the year was tempered by more off-field controversy that affected performances in the latter half. What the West Indies' men's and women's sides and their Under-19 side achieved between February and April is a collective feat that might never be repeated. It was a reminder of what the Caribbean region can still offer to world cricket.
First, the Under-19s impressed with their intelligent play, culminating in Keemo Paul and Keacy Carty steering them to a five-wicket victory over India in the 50-over World Cup final in Bangladesh, after pace find Alzarri Joseph had helped to limit India to 145. It was West Indies' first triumph at this level.
That was on February 14. Then came April 3, in India, when the senior men and women completed the hat-trick. Through 18-year-old opener Hayley Matthews and skipper Stafanie Taylor, the women's side coolly chased 149 to beat Australia and capture their first World T20 title.
Tony Becca has unsurprisingly come out strongly in favour of Jimmy Adams' appointment as Technical Director:
Adams is a good man, he was a good cricketer, and one who played with some good and great cricketers. He is bright, he was a student of the game before, during, and after his playing days, he broadened his knowledge of the game as coach of Jamaica and of country club Kent, and most important of all, he possesses a passion second to none for the development of the game.
In the editorial in the Jamaica Gleaner And Now, A New Technical Director Becca also cannot resist a thinly veiled parting shot at the outgoing Phil Simmons:
Simmons was and is a good coach, and his only mistake was that he mixed up the job as coach and that of a selector, or as the selector, and a very talkative one at that.
SACKED West Indies cricket coach Phil Simmons has been named as the coach of the St Kitts and Nevis (SKN) Patriots for the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season.
The announcement was made on Thursday in a press release issued by Peter Breen Head of Public Relations and Communications of the Hero CPL.
"We are happy to announce that Phil Simmons is the new head coach of the SKN Patriots”, said co-owner and principal, Uday Nayak.
“We expect that Phil's experience and local knowledge will help the Patriots achieve improved performances in our 2017 Hero CPL campaign, and will bring the ultimate success that our fans and sponsors deserve”, the release stated.
The Cricket Monthly looks back on three great modern players and one groundsman in search of cricket's best signature move. First on the list is Kamran Abbasi's ode to The Viv Richards leg-side flick:
"Forward and across, with power and poise, from straightened knees and mighty shoulders, he felled the world's best bowlers. They grovelled before him. If anybody else tried it, it looked like a slog, uncouth and uncultured. When Vivian Richards moved forward and across and flicked to leg, it was a shot of brutal beauty, a signature move to signal the demolition."
