DUNEDIN, New Zealand - New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the first cricket test against the West Indies starting Tuesday, allowing Aaron Redmond to revive a test career which stalled five years ago.
Captain Brendon McCullum said Monday it has been decided not to risk Williamson, who was forced out of New Zealand's recent tour to Bangladesh with a broken thumb.
Williamson was last week was given a 95 per cent chance of playing in the test at University Oval by selection manager Bruce Edgar.
McCullum says Williamson, who bats at No. 3, "probably could have played" but it had been decided not to rush his return. The decision means a recall for Redmond, who played the most-recent of his seven tests against Australia in 2008.
Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, is optimistic that Shane Shillingford and Marlon Samuels will receive positive news on their bowling actions following tests conducted in Perth, but it is not yet certain whether Shillingford will play in the opening Test against New Zealand after what Gibson conceded had been a tough time for the pair.
Samuels is all but certain to line up in the middle order as his primary role is with bat rather than ball, but Gibson wants more time to assess Shillingford's mindset before making the final decision over which frontline spin option to go for in Dunedin.
CHASE Fund chief executive officer, Wilford 'Billy' Heaven, was elected president of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) in a landslide victory over outgoing vice-president Milton Henry at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston yesterday.
Heaven, who will replace outgoing president Lyndel 'Muddy' Wright, polled 75 votes to Henry's 21.
In his campaign, the CHASE CEO kept the focus on changing the fortune of Jamaica's cricket via inspired leadership, strengthening of governing structures, and on increasing the association's revenue base. He said he was delighted with the win
In street cricket, the best player is chosen as the captain. However, as the grades and level of cricket improves, the role of the captain changes from being the best player to being the best manager of individual egos; one who can stand up for his team, make them play as a unit and strategise.
In international cricket, on most occasions, each player is worth his weight in the squad and is a quality player who is expected to contribute to the success of his team. It doesn’t need a captain each time to lead the side to victory with his performance. There, may or may not be, better players than the captain in the side. The skipper is not necessarily the best player and the success of the team does not depend on his performance solely.
The above statement comes in the wake of the recent call for the axing of Darren Sammy as the skipper of the West Indies Test side following the thrashing they received during the series against India. read more at the cricket country
St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board today announced that off-spinner Sunil Narine has been added to the West Indies squad for the three Tests against New Zealand to be played next month.
Narine has played five Tests, including two against the New Zealanders.
Meanwhile Shane Shillingford and Marlon Samuels are headed to Perth, Australia with West Indies Head Coach Ottis Gibson for independent testing after both players were reported for suspected illegal bowling actions during the second Test against India earlier this month.
