West Indies white-ball head coach, Daren Sammy is optimistic that the West Indies can produce a better showing against England than they did on their just-concluded tour of Sri Lanka.
The Windies lost both the T20I and ODI series against the home side 2-1 on the back of shoddy fielding, undisciplined bowling, and sub-par batting efforts.
They will return to Antigua today to prepare for England’s visit for the three-match ODI and five-match T20I series, which run from October 31 until November 17.
Sammy said while he was pleased the West Indies ended the tour on a winning note by registering an eight-wicket victory in the third and final ODI on Saturday, he said he was not satisfied with the team’s overall performance in Sri Lanka.
“We showed today (Saturday) what we can do when we put our minds to committing to a plan, especially with the bat, batting with intent.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has marked a groundbreaking milestone in West Indies cricket by awarding year-long annual contracts to fourteen female players across the region. This first-time initiative is a significant step forward in CWI’s strategic commitment to Elite and High Performance cricket and signals a continued investment in the growth of the women’s game in the Caribbean. This expansion brings the total of contracted regional players to 104 for the year and 164 in total including Senior and Academy players.
CWI Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe, noted the significance of this initiative:
Awarding contracts to these talented female players underscores CWI’s commitment to advancing cricket in the region. We are extremely proud of the Maroon Warriors, who are on their way back from an impressive semi-final showing at the Women’s T20 World Cup. The only way to ensure that West Indies teams, both men and women, have consistent showings at the international level is to ensure the development and growth at the regional level. CWI is dedicated to making this further investment in our regional talent and building a strong foundation for future success, which is in line with our strategic plan.
These contracts reinforce CWI’s goal of supporting players as they progress along the pathway to elite performance, creating a sustainable pipeline of talent that can perform on the global stage. Alongside the female contracts, CWI has also renewed annual contracts for 90 male players across six territories, maintaining its commitment to building regional strength across both men’s and women’s cricket.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of Cricket Hall of Fame, Micheal Chambers, strongly believes that the only person with the capacity to revive Jamaica and West Indies cricket is former Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dave Cameron.
Speaking at a function to recognise former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, who was inducted recently into the Cricket Hall of Fame, Chambers declared: “The only person who can resurrect Jamaica’s cricket, West Indies cricket, and I am going to get in trouble when I say this, is Dave Cameron.”
In 2020, Cameron threw his name in the hat for the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman but received no support from CWI or his national association, the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA).
However, Chambers believes that Cameron is still the best man for the job, both locally and regionally, and calls on the JCA and the CWI to mend fences with the former CWI boss and seek a way forward.
“For whatever reason, Jamaica did not support him when he was running (for ICC chairman), and he lost, but the ICC was willing to entertain him as chairman, but Jamaica’s board said they would not support him as chair for ICC.
Sherfane Rutherford and Gudakesh Motie put on a record-breaking 119-run ninth-wicket stand, before Motie and Alzarri Joseph struck once apiece inside the powerplay. Aside from these stretches of dominance though, Sri Lanka ran away with the game.
Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, and Asitha Fernando had sent West Indies crashing to 58 for 8, before that ninth-wicket resistance came. Then, after the loss of two early wickets, Sri Lanka recovered through a 62-run partnership between Sadeera Samarawickrama and Nishan Madushka, before the in-form Charith Asalanka came in to produce a fluent half-century, and take Sri Lanka to a substantial victory, and another series victory under his fledgling captaincy.
Though the pitch for this 44-over match - drizzle had delayed the start by two hours - was exceedingly spin friendly (it was the same track used for Sunday's game), 190 was always going to be a challenge to defend. Where Sri Lanka's spinners were able to be consistently menacing, often getting significant turn even off faster deliveries, West Indies' slow bowlers did not quite have the same impact.
Motie was their best slow bowler, conceding only 18 from his nine overs, and taking the wicket of Kusal Mendis. But legspinner Hayden Walsh was underwhelming, guilty of pitching far too short and being picked off - he went for 41 runs off his five overs. Roston Chase was also only moderately effective. In fact it was seamer Alzarri Joseph who collected the innings' best figures of 2 for 30.
Although Hasaranga would go on to get more wickets, it was Theekshana who was the best of Sri Lanka's slow bowlers, and Theekshana who set the collapse in motion with a gorgeous offbreak that beat the outside of left-hander Alick Athanaze's bat and clip off stump. The offbreak turned big on this surface, and he threatened both right-handers and left-handers with it, going to the carrom ball only occasionally. The lines Theekshana bowled were mostly impeccable.
The five teams who will be competing in the 2024 Global Super League (GSL) have been confirmed for the inaugural event that will take place from 26 November to 7 December in Guyana. There will be representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, England, Pakistan and West Indies competing for the US$1million prize fund.
The competing teams are as follows:
Hampshire Hawks – England Guyana Amazon Warriors – West Indies Lahore Qalandars – Pakistan Rangpur Riders – Bangladesh Victoria – Australia
Sir Clive Lloyd, Global Super League Chairman, said:
