WEST INDIES T20 superstar Andre Russell will join the Melbourne Stars for the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL), returning to the tournament for the first time in four years, the franchise announced on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old allrounder will join the Stars for a five-game stint, beginning with their first home game of the BBL when they host Sydney Thunder – which Russell previously played for – at the MCG tomorrow.
In the season opener on Sunday, the Stars suffered a competition-record 152-run defeat at the hands of Sydney Sixers and Russell, who is ranked fifth in the T20 Player Index, said he hoped to be an asset to the squad as the 11th edition of the tournament continues.
“The guys went down in the first game and I’m definitely here to give the guys a boost, and hopefully, I can contribute and help them cross the line,” he said during Channel 7’s broadcast of day one of the Ashes Test at the Gabba.
FORMER Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies cricket team manager Omar Khan expressed his disappointment in the display of the Test side during the recent tour of Sri Lanka, but is looking ahead, with anticipation, to the limited-overs series in Pakistan.
The West Indies and Sri Lanka featured in two Test matches at the Galle International Stadium, Galle, and the hosts triumphed in both games, by 187 runs and 164 runs respectively.
“We continue to be living in hope, and hoping that the West Indies team will continue to improve, but there is no sign of improvement. What was most disappointing is the lack of strategy, the lack of determination and fight,” said Khan, in an interview on Monday.
Former New Zealand bowler turned commentator, Danny Morrison has named West Indies captain Kieron Pollard as one of the most overrated players of the current generation.
The 35-year-old is typically one of the sport’s most widely regarded players, having amassed an impressive 11,326 runs in 573 matches. The tally is surpassed only by compatriot Chris Gayle who is the top runs scorer in the format.
In addition, the player, who has spent 11-years at India Premier League (IPL) club Mumbai Indians, has played for the franchise and played a key role in capturing five IPL titles. Recently, Mumbai Director of Cricket Operations Zaheer Khan hailed the player’s leadership and influence, also branding him as one of the strongest finishers in the game.
The West Indian was one of only one four players retained, along with Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Suryakumar Yadav. Speaking with Sportskeeda in a recent question and answer styled interview, the commentator singled out Pollard as a player he believed was overrated. In the same breath, Morrison listed Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan as one of the most underrated.
ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Cricket West Indies (CWI) and Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB) paid tribute to Franklyn Francis, who passed away on Monday. Known as “King Frank-I”, he was a respected cricket historian, broadcaster, journalist and social activist in Antigua and Barbuda. He was revered for his immense knowledge of the game, his insightful and informative commentary and analysis on local, regional and international matches for over four decades.
Enoch Lewis, President of LICB and Director of CWI, paid tribute:
FIRST, it was the T20 World Cup, then, before we cricket fans of the Caribbean could recover from being thoroughly crushed as defending champions, the Test cricketers succumbed meekly to the Sri Lankans at Galle.
In the second of a two-Test series, the Caribbean team collapsed to 132 in their second innings to lose by 164 runs.
Hence, WI bowed to their hosts in both matches by appreciable margins, leaving little doubt as to which was the stronger team.
Although the selectors were to be blamed for the T20 downfall, the players themselves have no excuses for losing the series. Their shortcomings as far as batting technique are concerned must be blamed on themselves to a great extent, and the coach.
