Former captain Chris Gayle said fast bowling sensation Shamar Joseph should be fast-tracked into the West Indies squad for the home T20 World Cup in June.
Joseph burst onto the scene in his debut series in Australia earlier this year, scoring five wickets in his maiden test in Adelaide.
He followed that up with a magical display in Brisbane where, bowling with a broken toe, the pacer claimed 7-68 to help West Indies record their first Test win in Australia in 27 years.
The 24-year-old has played only two domestic T20 matches but Gayle says West Indies need Joseph’s firepower at the World Cup.
“He’s strong, he should be in the squad,” Gayle, who launched the T20 World Cup trophy tour in New York on Tuesday, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“We already have Alzarri Joseph, so to have the two Josephs there (will be great).
“Both might not play at the same time, but we would need him in this squad just in case anybody picks up an injury.
Congratulations to cricketers of both teams, TT Red Force (RF) and the Windward Islands Volcanoes (WIV), in their see-saw battle for domination during the just-concluded West Indies four-day championship game on March 16, which was the fourth round of the 2024 competition.
The game brought out the fighting spirit of both teams, neither one allowing their shoulders to drop, which would have given away any advantage they might have gained. From the toss, which RF won and decided to bowl first, to the close of play on the fourth and last day, the game zigzagged very interestingly to its conclusion.
The famous Queen’s Park Oval was the venue, although the dry and dusty outfield took away some of its pristine beauty, probably caused by the ravages of the dry season. Nonetheless, the ball ran smoothly and quickly without any awkward bounce.
On the first day, the promising Dominican left-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler Alick Athanaze scored 56, playing some attractive strokes. The young West Indian batsman has loads of talent, but he’s too impetuous. The pitch had a tinge of green, and maybe this persuaded the RF captain to field first and give his two experienced fast bowlers, Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip, the first chance to use the wicket for movement off the seam, expecting there would be pace and bounce. Alas! It was not to be.
ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA - The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Trophy Tour has been launched at New York’s Empire State Building, with two-time champion Chris Gayle and USA star Ali Khan lighting up the iconic skyscraper as fans count down to the biggest global T20 cricket event ever.
An official ceremony to launch the Trophy Tour was held at the Empire State Building, where the "Universe Boss" himself Chris Gayle had the honour of pulling the lever down to light up New York’s most iconic building in the navy and magenta colours of the event. Sitting atop the 381-metre skyscraper was the prize all 20 teams will be competing for across the West Indies and USA from 1-29 June, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy.
Following huge demand of more than 3 million ticket applications in the public ballot, additional tickets have been released to 51 of 55 matches, including fixtures where allocations were previously exhausted.
Tion Webster notched his third first-class century as TT Red Force stayed in control of their match against Windward Islands Volcanoes in round four of the 2024 West Indies Four-Day Championships at Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair yesterday.
Webster struck 107 not out to guide Red Force to 294 all out on day two in response to the Volcanoes first innings total of 191, a lead of 103 runs for the TT franchise. Webster played with his usual attacking flair, cracking 13 fours and two sixes in his 139-ball innings.
Webster was in danger of not getting to triple figures as Red Force were eight wickets down with the right-hander still in the nineties. Anderson Phillip stuck around long enough as a paddle sweep by Webster got him to the landmark.
Other batsmen did add to the competitive total set by Red Force as experienced Jason Mohammed made 56 and opener Vikash Mohan contributed 52. Kenneth Dember had a solid showing for Volcanoes as the off-spinner picked up the second five-wicket haul of the match when he took 5/63. Red Force pacer Phillip snatched 5/37 on Wednesday.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles have their talons firmly entrenched in the Barbados Pride.
West Indies Under-19 pacer Isai Thorne struck twice in his opening spell to leave Barbados on the back foot, after Veerasammy Permaul and new West Indies Test recruit Kevin Sinclair led strong lower-order batting for the defending champions on the second day of their West Indies Championship clash at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
After Guyana was dismissed for a formidable 436 in their first innings, Barbados ended the day in trouble on 59-3, some 377 runs behind.
The Harpy Eagles resumed the day with the match evenly poised at 231 for five, with Sinclair unbeaten on five.
Barbados would have had high hopes of wrapping up the tail after they reaped early success when Kemar Roach dismissed Rj Mohamed for just one.
