RICKET superstar Andre Russell says he is willing to pass up some franchise league engagements to allow him to play for West Indies ahead of the Twenty20 (T20) World Cup next year.
The 35-year-old all-rounder, one of the most sought-after players in franchise cricket, last played for the West Indies during their disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in the United Arab Emirates and Oman in 2021.
Last summer, West Indies Lead Selector Desmond Haynes and former Head Coach Phil Simmons, in response to questions about absent elite players for series against Bangladesh, India and New Zealand, had noted that the lure of lucrative leagues at times creates a dilemma for the region's best players.
"I am available. I want to be a part of the next World Cup so that would be something special to me if they can add me to the squad," he told the Jamaica Observer.
Daren Ganga, Dinanath Ramnarine, and a group of other cricket administrators were dealt a major blow on Tuesday when the Trinidad and Tobago High Court ordered them to pay over TT$1 million to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB).
The administrators had been challenging the TTCB's constitution, arguing that it was unfair to incumbent officers. They specifically took issue with the fact that incumbent officers start with 12 votes in the election of executive officers, giving them a significant advantage over challengers.
However, the High Court ruled that the administrators' arguments were "fundamentally flawed" and that the TTCB's constitution was "not unfair." The court also ordered the administrators to pay the TTCB's legal costs, which amounted to over TT$1 million.
Laurie Evans has joined the Barbados Royals for the 2023 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League. Evans replaces Rassie van der Dussen who is no longer available due to international commitments.
An English top order batter, Evans has extensive experience of T20 leagues around the world and has also played at the CPL with the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. Evans has scored close to 6000 runs in T20 cricket along with three hundreds and 38 fifties.
The Royals have also confirmed that Afghanistan leg spinner Qais Ahmad will be a temporary replacement for Maheesh Theekshana who will be at the Asia Cup for the first part of the tournament.
Off-spinner Saurav Worrell was the star of the show with a brilliant six-wicket haul as Barbados handed Jamaica their only defeat of the West Indies Men’s Rising Stars Under-19 50-over Tournament in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
Worrell ripped through the Jamaican batting at Arnos Vale on Wednesday, finishing with figures of 6-28 off 20 overs, to restrict the Jamaicans to 106 all out to complete a 75-run win.
Captain, Nathan Sealy, also chipped in with 3-13 off 9.4 overs. Adrian Weir (33) and Brian Barnes (32) were the only Jamaican batsmen to score more than eight.
Earlier, Joshua Dorne hit 64 and Zion Brathwaite hit 40 as Barbados posted 181 all out off 45 overs.
Michael Clarke took 4-34 to lead the Jamaicans with the ball and got good support from Deshawn James who took 3-32 off eight overs.
Going forward winning a World Cup in men's or women's cricket will come with the same prize money. In a massive leg-up for the women's game, the ICC announced equal prize money for both men's and women's events today, following its annual conference in Durban. The decision includes Under-19 World Cups too.
"This is a significant moment in the history of our sport, and I am delighted that men's and women's cricketers competing at ICC global events will now be rewarded equally," ICC chair Greg Barclay said. "Since 2017, we have increased prize money at women's events every year with a clear focus on reaching equal prize money and from here on in, winning the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup will carry the same prize money as winning the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and the same for T20 World Cups and U-19s too."
Teams across men's and women's cricket will also receive the same amount for winning each game at corresponding World Cups, and finishing runners-up, making the semi-finals and so on.
Australia, the winners of the Women's T20 World Cup earlier this year, had received US$ 1 million in prize money. England, who'd taken the equivalent men's title in November 2022, had won US$ 1.6 million in prize money.
