West Indies pacer Kemar Roach continued his good form with Surrey in the County Championship Division One by taking eight wickets in total to help them secure a dominant nine-wicket win over Warwickshire inside three days at Edgbaston from April 27-29.
Firstly, Roach took 3-33 off 15 overs to help bowl Warwickshire out for a paltry 150 inside 56 overs. Australian pacer Daniel Worrall led the way with 4-38 from 17 overs. Youngster Dan Mousley made 55 for Warwickshire.
Surrey then built a 131-run first innings lead after being bowled out for 281 in 91.1 overs. Jamie Smith led the way with 88 while England Test keeper Ben Foakes (39) and Worrall (35) provided some handy contributions against pacers Chris Rushworth, Hasan Ali and Oliver Hannon-Dalby who all took three wickets, each.
Andre Russell has thrown Cricket West Indies under the bus in a recent interview claiming his Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders treats him better.
The 35-year-old all-rounder has played for KKR since 2014, when he helped them win the IPL title.
Since that time, Russell, who last played for the West Indies during the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, has declined several opportunities to represent the regional team often citing health issues relating to long-term knee injuries.
During a recent interview on Star Sports in India, Russell said KKR makes him feel special for everything that Kolkata-based franchise did for him to get treatment done on his knees.
“Where I was, a few years ago, KKR actually make things happen for me where they send me to get proper treatments on my knees,” Russell said.
Players from a number of leading countries have been involved in conversations with IPL franchises about the possibility of contracts which will see them play in multiple leagues for the franchise.
Though discussions have been informal, they do raise the prospect wherein the main employers for leading players could eventually be an IPL franchise, rather than a full-member board.
The Times reported on Tuesday that six English players, including some internationals, were approached by IPL franchise owners and asked whether they would be open to a deal in which the franchise owner, rather than the board or county, would be their main employer.
These conversations have taken place not just in England, but in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, according to Heath Mills, executive chairman of FICA, the global players’ body.
“There have been informal conversations between some franchises and players about being available to play in multiple tournaments,” Mills told ESPNcricinfo.
“That can take a different shape and form for different players. But it should come as no surprise to anyone in cricket that these conversations are happening and that players will have these sorts of options in the future.
“Without going into the specifics of individual conversations, they are about a player being available to play for a franchise in different T20 leagues. A franchise might have three or four teams globally, so they might want the player in multiple competitions – as opposed to just the IPL. It’s not necessarily about signing a player up for all competitions exclusively but rather additional ones to their IPL team.”
Rain interrupted several matches in the LV= Insurance County Championship but Kemar Roach still helped Surrey seize the upper hand against Warwickshire on the opening day.
While only 51 overs were played under gloomy skies at Edgbaston, Surrey, having asked their opponents to bat, reduced Warwickshire to 143 for eight as Roach took three for 31 in this Division One clash.
Daniel Worrall also chipped in with a couple of wickets as Warwickshire lurched to 93 for six but Dan Mousley burnished a growing reputation with 55 not out and found an ally in England’s Chris Woakes.
Jordan Clark ended Woakes’ fun on 27 and snared Hasan Ali next ball but, with the end of Warwickshire’s innings in sight, the heavens opened at the end of that over to end any hope of further action.
Kent are in similar trouble after falling to 113 for six in the 47 overs that were possible against Middlesex at Lord’s – although opener Ben Compton was able to offer some resistance with 38 not out.
After a glowing 170 against Essex last week, Zak Crawley was out for 11 when his stumps were rearranged by Tim Murtagh – the fourth time in six innings this season the under-fire England opener has been dismissed for less than 15.
West Indies white ball opener Brandon King was a significant contributor as Team Weekes ended day one of their Headley-Weekes four-day series fixture in a strong position against the West Indies Academy at Coolidge on Wednesday.
King made a 148-ball 92, supporting Zachary McCaskie’s 147-ball 93, as Team Weekes ended the day 365-7 off 90 overs. Jahmar Hamilton (57) and Kevin Sinclair (52*) also got fifties on day one.
Entering this contest, King had an average of 34.84 in 32 First-Class games including three hundreds and 12 fifties.
King's last four-day appearance came in March last year when he made an unbeaten 119 for the Jamaica Scorpions against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Stadium.
He spoke about his return to red-ball cricket after the day’s play.
“Very happy to be back playing red ball cricket. It’s been a little while. It was great fun batting out there with no time restrictions,” King said.
