West Indies will again be part of one of cricket’s great traditions on the upcoming Test tour of Australia. As part of the preparations for the two-match series the visitors will have a four-day pink ball match against the Australia Prime Minister’s XI.
This will be played at Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday 23 November to Saturday 26 November. The day/night match will be played under lights and will recognize the anniversary of the inaugural fixture in 1951, also against the West Indies.
The match will also form part of the team’s preparations for the series against the Aussies, which will feature the first pink ball Test between the two teams. It will be played on 8 to 12 December at the Adelaide Oval following the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth on 30 November to 4 December. The series will be contested for the prestigious Frank Worrell Trophy – named in honor of the legendary West Indies captain. It will also form part of the ICC World Test Championship.
2-0 in favour of the hosts. That was the scoreline of the recently concluded Australia-hosted T20I Series against the West Indies as a prelude to the Caribbean team’s participation in this year’s 2022 ICC T20 World Cup Final Qualification Tournament. Even more significantly it left West Indies with an entirely unflattering overall record of 7 wins, 16 losses, and 2 no results from its T20I matches played since last year’s World Cup. Not exactly the type of record that would create any real sense of confidence heading into as big a tournament as the World Cup!
Not surprisingly and as a direct reflection of the 0-2 loss score line there were very few positives to be discerned as takeaways from the West Indies’ performance during the series. By contrast, there were also far too many easily identifiable negatives!
Of the very few readily identifiable positives, by far the biggest would have to be the continuing emergence of Alzarri Joseph as a world-class fast bowler. Joseph had overall returns of 5/38-8 at the end of the two-match Series. Both his average (7.60) and economy rate 4.75 were the very best among all those who bowled at least five overs for either of the two teams. His series tally of five wickets was also second only to Australia’s Mitchell Starc who claimed six victims. As indicated, however, Starc’s 10.0 average and 7.50 economy rate were both much inferior to Joseph’s.
Ball-smashing T20 star Chris Gayle believes the West Indies could struggle at the upcoming World Cup, a tournament that they will head into with a new generation of players.
For the first time in decades, the likes of Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, and Andre Russell will not be a part of the team. While Bravo and Pollard have retired from international cricket, Russell was not selected for the squad after an indifferent run of form.
Instead, the unit will feature the likes of burgeoning T20 star Nicholas Pooran and a host of other talented players yet to prove themselves on the international stage for the Caribbean team.
"It will be very difficult for the West Indies team as the captain of the team is new and there is no Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Bravo in the team," Gayle told India daily Dainik Jagran.
West Indies Academy and Combined Campuses and Colleges join 8 team Tournament
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – The CG United Super50 Cup returns on 29 October, with the Caribbean’s 50-over cricket rivalries competing for the first time since February 2021. The West Indies Academy team and Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) will join the six regional franchise teams to contest the 2022 CG United Super50 Cup, to be played in Antigua and Trinidad from 29 October to 19 November.
The 2022 edition of the region’s pre-eminent 50-over white ball competition also marks the start of the countdown towards the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and an opportunity for players across the West Indies to push for consideration and selection for the West Indies ODI team.
Evin Lewis last played for the West Indies in November of 2021; due in part to positive COVID results, and what Cricket West Indies (CWI) described as personal reasons. He was then not considered for the Caribbean side’s trips to the Netherlands and Pakistan earlier this year. Unfit, CWI reasoned at the time, with Lead Selector, Desmond Haynes stating, “As a professional cricketer, there’s a level of fitness that is required, and all players should try to reach that.” [Jamaica Gleaner]
On the floor of these culminating bases, Lewis missed 26 T20 Internationals (T20Is) across seven series in the eleven months that followed. Though seemingly fit again and a part of the West Indies squad to contend for the title of 2022 T20 World Champions in Australia, the emergence of Kyle Mayers the T20 batter, along with the form of Brandon King hold firm a probability which was unimaginable a year ago: Lewis might not make the final XI.
Lewis’ History of Consistency
And here’s why it was unimaginable. Whether via a quick peek or through a detailed examination, Lewis’ T20I career tells a story of consistency. Yet, at the age of 30, his status on the International scene continues to be understated, regionally. I have gone from once speculating the rationale behind the subconscious abandon with which Caribbean fans dismiss Lewis’ body of work; to now observing the appreciation for the left-handed opener from the thinkers of the game, the detailed-oriented analysts, and the tactical geniuses.
