Cricket West Indies (CWI) today paid tribute to Hammond Allan Furlonge, the former Trinidad & Tobago and West Indies opening batter who passed on Tuesday. He was 90.
An unsung hero of Trinidad & Tobago cricket, Furlonge represented the West Indies between 1955 and 1956 in three Test matches. Furlonge made his first-class debut for Trinidad in 1954-55, opening the batting with Jeffrey Stollmeyer. He had a most memorable and eventful third match, against the touring Australians—scoring 57 and 150 not out—which forced him into the reckoning of the selectors. Furlonge was then included in the team for the fifth Test, opening with John Holt and making 4 and 28.
Additionally, he toured New Zealand with the West Indies team in 1955-56. He failed to score in the second test but returned for the fourth test where he top-scored in the first innings with 64 in a total of 145 all out in a low-scoring match.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) today unveiled an exciting and dynamic 15-member squad for three (3) One Day International (ODI) matches against Ireland from May 21-25 and three (3) against England from May 29 to June 3.
The squad has the nucleus of players who were successful during home series wins against England and Bangladesh to end 2024. The highly anticipated tour will be the first one of this year for the limited overs team and provides an opportunity for CWI to focus on building its ODI team ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.
Head Coach Daren Sammy welcomed the opportunity to build on recent momentum:
“These matches form a critical component towards the 2027 World Cup and there are signs of the team building consistency following the series sweep against Bangladesh and the win over England late last year.”
West Indies Women's captain Hayley Matthews turned out out for a men's club team in Barbados, scoring 60 in a low-scoring fixture in Bridgetown.
Matthews led the West Indies in the recent Women's ODI World Cup Qualifier, where they narrowly missed out on a qualification spot. The 27-year-old had smashed a 29-ball 70 during the West Indies' chase of 167, in 10.5 overs, against Thailand. They finished with a net run-rate just 0.013 short of Bangladesh.
Aside from averaging 60 with the bat (at a strike-rate of 116.5) in the tournament, Matthews was the leading wicket-taker as well, picking up 13 wickets at 15.84. In the opening game against Scotland, she'd battled through injury to hit a hundred after taking four wickets, but the West Indies narrowly lost that game.
Just over two weeks since their World Cup dreams extinguished, Matthews featured for ESA Field Pickwick against SigniaGlobe Financial BCA Youth in a three-day match of the Barbados Cricket Association's Elite Division League.
It's the same competition in which Jofra Archer played last year, for Wildey against Pickwick, claiming 5-7 as he stepped up his recovery from injury.
Batting at five in the first innings, Matthews was dismissed for 2 (5), as Pickwick folded for 62 all out in 25 overs.
As part of the strategic planning and development of the regional game, Cricket West Indies (CWI), has embarked on a journey to upskill data analysts during the ongoing West Indies Breakout League.
Avenesh Seetaram, the Performance Analyst with the senior men’s team is conducting a series of workshops along with seminars and one-on-one in-game training and support with the six (6) analysts assigned to franchises competing in the West Indies Breakout League which began on Friday April 25 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
The six regional analysts will go through several tutorial sessions which focus on enhancing their individual development, coordinating with their respective players and coaches as well as understanding what the role demands at the international level. This initiative is part of a wide scale push to combine data analytics with game strategy while creating a pathway for regional analysts to develop an appreciation for the modern game.
Cricket West Indies, CWI, made record earnings from the 2024 ICC World Cup, allowing it to clear all debts, according to its latest annual report.
Thinner margins are expected in the short term as no major tournaments are scheduled until 2026.
“The success of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup bolstered our financial position. This will help us navigate the next two years, which are expected to be leaner,” said CWI CEO Christopher Dehring.
Dehring, who rejoined CWI in February 2025, succeeding Johnny Grave as CEO, emphasised the need for strong financials but also “sustainable, vibrant cricketing ecosystem” to revive the sport at the ‘grassroots’ levels to build a stronger regional team.
Dehring was previously the managing director and CEO of the 2007 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
In 2024, revenue totalled US$88 million, a third higher than the previous year. The World Cup distribution deals and hosting rights accounted for half of the total revenue, with a further 20 per cent from ticket sales, 15 per cent from media rights, and the rest from sponsorship, licensing, and merchandise.
