The Independent Voice of West Indies Cricket
When all else fails, look to old faithful. That appears to be the mantra of the West Indies team heading into the crucial third ODI against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
The tour selectors announced the inclusion of veteran wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs to take the place of understudy Carlton Baugh in a 12-man squad for the third game. Pacer Ravi Rampaul has also been omitted while Fidel Edwards and Merv Dillon have been included.
The majority of the West Indies 16-man squad to Zimbabwe -- including the most senior players -- failed the minimum pre-tour fitness requirements, according to well-placed sources.
During the one-week camp in Antigua that preceded the Zimbabwe leg of the tour, the squad was put through the standard 'Bleep' and '300 yard shuttle' runs to determine the players' endurance and maximum oxygen intake but only a handful of players passed the minimum requirements.
Brian Lara is the cricket equivalent of Manhattan, Manchester United or marzipan: it just isn't possible to be indifferent about him. Nor does he let you ignore him for long. Barely one calendar month after Matthew Hayden took his place as the scorer of the highest innings in Test cricket, Lara ensured his number of entries in the record books would remain the same by eclipsing Sir Viv Richards as West Indies' leading overall scorer, almost incidentally racking up 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the third time.
Former Australia captain Bobby Simpson has warned of "at least five bowlers" in Jamaica with illegal bowling actions.
Simpson, in Jamaica on a coaching stint with young players, said the names of the bowlers have been passed along to the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and he urged regional coaches to speak out when bowlers with suspect actions are identified.
(Jamaica Observer)
Jamaica will have a new captain for the Carib Beer sponsored first-class cricket season, starting January 9.
The Ruddy Williams-led Jamaica cricket selectors yesterday named a 26-man squad without former West Indies opener, Robert Samuels, who has led the national team with varying success over recent years.