The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
West Indies superstar Kieron Pollard was involved in an incredible incident with Australian international Mitchell Starc during their IPL match.
Royal Challengers Bangalore strike bowler Starc was bowling to Mumbai Indians big-hitter Pollard in the opening innings of the match in Mumbai, and with Pollard going along well on 29 it seems frustration got the better of the Aussie.
Hundreds of people gathered at Clermont Seventh-day Adventist Church in Saint Mary, Jamaica to say goodbye to Maurice Clarke. A successful former manager of the Jamaican national team, Clarke had also served as president of the St Mary Cricket Association, and as assistant treasurer and board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association. He passed away at his home in Highgate on April 20, from motor neuron disease.
Fritz Harris, honorary secretary of the JCA, was among those paying tribute to him. "He was a board director for 12 years, assistant treasurer for two, and managed the Jamaica team, winning two trophies. He was known to be reliable, punctual and committed and was never too busy to address a concern of a player or official"
CaribbeanCricket.com's Michelle McDonald also recalled him fondly in an email, noting "Maurice was the Jamaica Team Manager during my gaddabout years and facilitated my first Jamaica interview (Andrew Richardson) and always facilitated my requests. He would also give me a ride to country matches (Alpart) if I needed it"
The Jamaica Observer carried a tribute to him on Monday.
Fast bowling has had some sort of resurgence lately, especially the kind that Mitchell Johnson has brought in. What is your take on what has happened in recent years?
It was refreshing to see Mitchell bowl the way he has done. Coming through the late '80s and the '90s, there were probably more than a handful of guys who would have touched that pace. Waqar [Younis] started at the end of the '80s and early '90s. [Allan] Donald, myself and a few other guys were going on before that. There were probably a few more as well. In the recent previous generation, we had Brett Lee, Shoaib Akhtar and then things sort of flattened out. We have Dale Steyn, but he is a combination of swing and pace rather than all-out pace. So it was nice to see Mitchell give guys some sleepless nights.
Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president, Wilford 'Billy' Heaven, says as far as he is aware, Jamaica are the 2014 West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Four-Day Tournament champions, not Barbados.
The tournament, which ended last week, saw Jamaica emerging as victors of the Headley/Weekes Trophy after defeating the Windward Islands in the final in St Lucia.
However, according to the WICB, Barbados, who amassed most points at the end of the first-round league stage of the tournament, are the official Four-Day kingpins.
Barbados, by virtue of the feat, took home the newly-instituted President's Cup.
"Right now, I am really not sure who the champions are at the moment, as we have in our possession a trophy that says 'Regional Four-Day champions'," Heaven told The Gleaner.
BRIDGETOWN—West Indies coach Ottis Gibson says several performances in the Regional first class season has offered hope the regional side can make amends for last year’s poor showing in New Zealand, when the Black Caps arrive in the Caribbean later this month.
The Windies were completely outplayed in the three Test series late last year to lose 2-0. They were also facing certain defeat in the opening Test before rain intervened, to force a draw.
Gibson said it was important the Windies turned the page on that series and showed what they were capable of as a batting unit.
“It’s good to see a lot of hundreds coming from a lot of places because that’s indicative of good batsmanship in the region and that’s what’s required at the next level,” Gibson said.