FORMER Jamaica and West Indies fast bowler Daren Powell has welcomed the move to appoint former teammate Daren Sammy as the new white ball coach for the West Indies team. Powell believes that despite the move being rather unorthodox from the West Indies cricket board, it is one that he believes will be rewarding for the team in the future as Sammy has the ability to motivate players far more than an experienced coach.
“It’s something unorthodox, but I think this time it is one that I support in the sense that we have so many other coaches that have all the different levels of coaching in the world but haven’t got the requisite skills to motivate players in order for them to perform well consistently,” Powell stated.
Sammy, who captained the West Indies T20 team to two World Cup victories in 2012 and 2016, retired from international cricket back in 2017 and has had coaching stints in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with the St Lucia Kings and in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with Peshawar Zalmi. Powell added that Sammy has in the past done well when appointed to leadership positions.
“When he (Daren Sammy) got the captaincy of the West Indies team, we all thought that he had gotten a role that he couldn’t manage, but he motivated and inspired players who were even older than him. So I think Sammy is the perfect person to work with these guys and lift them,” Powell said.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (CMC) — Captain Joshua Da Silva said West Indies A are focused on playing a results-oriented brand of cricket, as they prepared to face Bangladesh A in the first of three four-day "Tests" bowling off here today.
The senior side's first-choice gloveman said the Caribbean side has been hard at work since arriving last Thursday and are intent on using an approach which will guarantee them success.
"As a team, we just want to play a brand of cricket that we want to be proud of and that we can use to bring results because we want to win," Da Silva said ahead of the opening "Test" here at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
"Our strategy is just to play our game and play the [kind] of cricket we know how to play — and hopefully that will bring the results with the efforts that we're putting in."
The 15-man squad includes three other players with Test experience — opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, fast bowling all-rounder Raymon Reifer and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.
All three players featured in West Indies' last Test series against South Africa in March, when West Indies lost both to the hosts.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The West Indies Women’s and Men’s teams will both tour Australia during the Australian summer, with dates and venues confirmed by Cricket Australia (CA) today. The West Indies Women will tour in October 2023 for three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is), while the West Indies Men will tour in January and February 2024 for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is.
The Women’s ODIs form part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Women's Championship, while the Tests will be part of the 2023-2025 ICC Men’s World Test Championship.
The Women’s T20 International Series will bowl off at the North Sydney Oval with two matches scheduled for Sunday, October 1st, and Monday, October 2nd, culminating with the third match at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursday, October 5th.
Following the T20I Series, the West Indies Women will gear up for the ODI series, which commences on Sunday, October 8th, at Allan Border Field, before heading to Melbourne for the final two matches at the Junction Oval on Thursday, October 12th, and Monday, October 15th.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel today named the squad to participate in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The eight-team tournament will be played in Zimbabwe from 18 June, as the West Indies look to secure one of the two final places in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India later this year.
Ahead of the qualifiers, the West Indies will have a three-match One Day International (ODI) Series against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah for which the Selection Panel also named the squad for those matches to be played on 5, 7 and 9 of June. These matches will form part of the preparations for the qualifiers.
CWI has given permission to players participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to return to the Caribbean for a short break before arriving in Zimbabwe for the qualification tournament.
There are recalls for allrounder Keemo Paul and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who last played in ODIs last July against India in Trinidad. The squad for the three ODIs in Sharjah also includes four uncapped players – left-handed batter Alick Athanaze, as well as allrounders Kavem Hodge, Dominic Drakes, and Akeem Jordan.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced the appointments of the new Head Coaches for the West Indies Senior Men’s Teams. Andre Coley has been appointed Head Coach for the Test and ‘A’ Teams and Daren Sammy has been appointed the Head Coach for the white ball One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) Teams.
The new Head Coaches were selected following an open and transparent interview process, and the appointments were confirmed following the CWI Board of Directors meeting on Thursday 11 May.
Daren Sammy’s first assignment will be the three-match ODI Series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah in June, ahead of the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe. Andre Coley’s first assignment will be the two-match Test Series against India in the Caribbean in July.
