A career-defining century by a cricket captain should be enough to win a game of cricket, according to Shai Hope. And he wasn’t talking about himself.
“Temba Bavuma – an innings like that deserves to be a victorious innings but it just so happened that we came out on top at the end. I must give him credit for the way he controlled the innings. He played the situation well and he really deserved to win the game but there can only be one winner,” Hope said after West Indies successfully defended 335 runs – their highest score against South Africa – in East London.
It’s something we speak about in the meetings. We are just trying to win more cricket games. We didn’t have a successful 2022 and we are trying everything to turn it around,” he said.
So how will he manage the many roles he has to play in what is a big ODI year for West Indies? “I am definitely going to take it on full speed. It’s about giving my all to the team,” Hope said. “I am getting support from all ends. I have got support from guys off the field and on the field. I’ve got to keep embracing the responsibility and when the time comes to shine, I’ll do so.”
Day two of the Guyana Harpy Eagles third-round West Indies Championship fixture against the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at the Brian Lara Stadium was a historic one for Harpy Eagles left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul.
The 33-year-old took three wickets in the Red Force’s first innings and, in the process, surpassed Jamaican Nikita Miller to become the leading wicket-taker in regional first-class cricket.
Miller ended his career in 2019 with 511 wickets and Permaul now has 512.
“I’m very happy to be the leading wicket-taker in the region,” Permaul told CWI in an interview after day two.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) named 15 players for a West Indies Women’s Emerging Player High-Performance camp which will be held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) from today, Thursday 16 March to Thursday, 30 March. The squad includes several players with international experience and they will work under the guidance of Steve Liburd, Head Coach of the West Indies Women’s Rising Stars Under 19s programme.
Among the players selected are teenagers Djenaba Joseph, Trishan Holder and Zaida James, who were part of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19 team at the recent ICC U19 T20 World Cup and were also selected in the West Indies Senior team at the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa. Other players with international experience who will be participating are allrounders Jannilea Glasgow, Kaysia Shultz, Sheneta Grimmond, Qiana Joseph and Shabika Gajnabi, while other members of the Rising Stars Under 19 team have been selected.
This High-Performance camp continues CWI’s increased investment into the women’s game and forms part of the overall High-Performance Pathway. CWI’s strategic plan has committed resources into developing the women’s cricket at every level. This High-Performance Camp at CCG plays a vital role in the strategy to develop the talent pool and produce the next generation of West Indies Women’s players.
The shame and embarrassment continue. The West Indies cricket team has been trounced by South Africa in a two-Test series which came to its conclusion last week.
It is not only the annihilation of the team that is a disgrace, but the non-performance of its batsmen that actually brings that sense of shame and ignominy to Caribbean people.
One cannot help but be reminded of the five-nil defeat suffered on the 1998/99 tour of that country when Brian Lara was captain.
It was the first time that WI, in their proud history, had ever suffered such a hiding.
There were many reasons for it, but the view that I’ve always held was the fact that the players thought they were greater than the game.
Hence there was no solid preparation before the tour, as that time was spent in a hotel room in London arguing for better wages. But that’s another story.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced that the role of Head Coach for the West Indies Senior Men’s Teams will be split into two separate positions.
Recruitment for both Head Coach roles will start immediately for a Red Ball Head Coach for Test and ‘A’ Team cricket, as well as a White Ball Head Coach for One-Day Internationals (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) cricket.
Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket said: "After recently completing an independent review of our 2022 ICC World Cup performance, which included a closer look at the roles of the current Head Coach position, we believe it is now necessary to split the role and engage separate coaches for red and white ball formats. The increased frequency of back-to-back multi-format tours combined with the specific demands of the respective formats no longer provides enough time for one individual to adequately plan, prepare and review across bilateral series and franchise itineraries that are so condensed.”
