Legendary West Indies batsman and former captain, Sir Vivian Richards, believes that a suitable replacement for Kraigg Brathwaite as captain of the men’s Test team will be hard to find.
Cricket West Indies, on March 31, announced that Brathwaite had stepped down as Test captain after three years in the role, adding that a replacement would be named in the weeks following the announcement.
Sir Viv questioned whether the board was prepared for the development, suggesting that the cupboard seems a bit empty.
“One of the things I believe is that and I don’t know if they had made enough preparations for that particular format. We see a lot of who has potential in the ODI and T20 format as captains but I don’t think they would have made enough preparations for someone taking over from Brathwaite and it has basically opened the doors. We have to look at individuals who can demand a place, I believe, and that’s very important,” he said.
Sir Viv led the West Indies in 50 Test matches from 1984 to 1991 and is the only West Indies captain never to lose a Test series. The Antiguan suggested that maybe it is time for special attention to be given to young players with the potential to lead.
“I think that’s maybe something we have to look at and look at the individuals with the potential and not just basically with batting skills but someone who is pretty astute with the game and someone who demands the respect of the individuals they are going to lead so all of these things are crucial,” he said.
Despite having not played a Test match for the West Indies in over three years, veteran cricket commentator Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira believes that ODI and T20 captain Shai Hope is the best man to captain the Test team.
Perreira, who has been commentating for over five decades, said with Daren Sammy appointed as all-format head coach, it would make sense for Cricket West Indies (CWI) to follow the same route with the captaincy.
The 31-year-old Hope was recently appointed captain of the T20 side, taking over from Rovman Powell.
“Throughout the Caribbean, people have been trying to work out who may be the best person to appoint as the red-ball captain.
“My own feeling is, keep it simple. If you have an all-format coach in Daren Sammy, both white-ball and red-ball, simplify it. Ask Hope to also be your Test captain. I think it will work in unison with the coach, I think it will work nicely with [director of cricket] Miles Bascombe,” Perreira said.
Chief Executive Officer of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Chris Dehring, met with Jamaica’s Sports Minister, the Honourable Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, on Monday, 7 April 2025, as part of his ongoing engagement with regional stakeholders.
The discussions with Minister Grange focused on the upcoming Test against Australia at Sabina Park and the preparations for a historic day/night Test match from 12–16 July this year. Key highlights from the discussion included plans to strengthen the cricket infrastructure and grassroots cricket for both boys and girls.
Hailing the discussions a success, especially with Australia set to play in Jamaica for the first time in a decade, Dehring said:
“I am extremely pleased with the intent shown by the Minister of Sport and by extension the Government of Jamaica to collaborate with Cricket West Indies ahead of the imminent Australia tour. In addition, I would like to thank the Minister for the recently announced support for the Jamaica Cricket Association to purchase and install the new lights at Sabina Park in time for the Australia Test and T20 matches. With this in view, we believe fans will enjoy the experience of what will be the first day/night, pink ball Test in Jamaica.”
ROLAND Butcher, the first Black player to play Test cricket for England has called for West Indies fans to get behind the Caribbean outfit when they play at Edgbaston next month.
They play each other in a one-day international (ODI) series which gets underway at Edgbaston in Birmingham the spiritual Midlands home for the Windies.
Butcher has fond memories of the ground and implored fans to witness the action live. Butcher, told Voice Online: “I would hope that they come out and support the game because that’s probably the only time we will get to see West Indies in that part of the world this year.
“It’s a one off, they should take the opportunity to come out and support the team and support the game.
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Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced that, following a recent meeting of the Code of Conduct and Disciplinary Tribunal on Friday, 04 April 2025, the four-match suspension previously imposed on Jamaica Scorpions captain John Campbell has been officially withdrawn.
The Tribunal was convened to hear the case involving Barbados Pride captain Raymon Reifer, in respect of a charge relating to his conduct at the CG United Super50 Final on 23 November 2024. During the proceedings, the Tribunal took the view that the procedure of bringing the charge was flawed and the matter therefore could not be heard. While the matter involving Campbell was not before the Tribunal, the issues raised during Reifer’s hearing informed CWI’s decision to withdraw the charges against Campbell. It is important to note, the view is not pertaining to the merit of the charge but rather the process of the charge being laid.
Notably, the Tribunal did not issue any ruling on the matter of prize money or match fees arising from the final. As such, CWI confirms that its previous decision to withhold all disbursements to both teams due to the final match not taking place, remain in place.
