The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Selection Panel has named a 30-man squad for a three-week high-performance red-ball training camp in St Lucia, starting today in preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa.
The camp provides an opportunity for established Test and developing players alike to sharpen and enhance their red-ball skills in a high-performance environment after a month-long break after the Sri Lanka Series.
The camp will include two ‘best v best’ inter-squad matches, as the West Indies look ahead to their final series in the ICC World Test Championship with two Test Matches against the Proteas in June.
Most players attending have been involved in recent West Indies Test squads and high-performance camps.
A few players, however, will be receiving their first international training experience since the beginning of the pandemic including Guyanese fast bowler Nial Smith, Jamaican top-order batsman Paul Palmer, Vincentian leg-spinning all-rounder Keron Cottoy and St. Kitts & Nevis’ left-hand batter, Kieran Powell.
Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite and fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Alzarri Joseph will not be attending as they are currently competing in the English County Championship and will return to the West Indies for the Test Series if selected. Current world #1 ranked Test all-rounder Jason Holder is being rested due to his workload across all formats of the game and will arrive in St Lucia at the end of the month.
The squad will arrive in St. Lucia and complete the quarantine protocols established by the Ministry of Health for the bio-secure environment before they start training led by Head Coach, Phil Simmons and his team management unit. Coach Simmons said:
“This camp is very important for our preparation for the upcoming Test Series against South Africa and for the rest of our busy and exciting summer. We will continue the work which we begun last year in England, to further develop our Test team into a force to be reckoned with in world cricket.
We welcome the good news of a rise to sixth in the ICC Test Rankings, however, this is just the beginning of our journey and we know we have lots of hard work ahead of us.”
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CWI’s Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams, is looking forward to the camp as CWI continues its investment in and focus on building a high-performance environment:
“The pandemic has made it necessary to assemble larger squads during the pre-tour phase to allow our preparation to be facilitated within one bio-secure bubble.
This has turned into a positive for us by creating a much-needed level of focus and intensity leading into tours while also allowing for players to make a case for selection if they perform well in the warm-up games. Given the lack of regional 4-day cricket so far this year, these camps have taken on even greater importance in our test match preparations.”
Cricket West Indies (CWI), in partnership with the St. Lucia National Cricket Association, has been working closely with the Government and Ministry of Health to create a safe bio-secure bubble for the players and staff. Everyone entering the bio-secure bubble will undergo two COVID-19 PCR tests prior to their arrival in St. Lucia and throughout the duration of their stay.
The Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium (DSCG) will host both Test matches against South Africa, the first bilateral cricket that they have played in the Caribbean since 2010, with the first Test to be played from June 10-14 and the second from June 18-22.
CWI HIGH-PERFORMANCE TRAINING SQUAD: Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Keron Cottoy, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Keon Harding, Jahmar Hamilton, Kavem Hodge, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Paul Palmer, Veerasammy Permaul, Anderson Phillip, Kieran Powell, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales, Nial Smith, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr. and Jomel Warrican.
Defending champs England on the brink of T20 World Cup exit after loss to Australia
Australia defeated England by 36 runs to leave Jos Buttler's side staring down the brink of an early exit from the T20 World Cup.
With their opening match against Scotland having yielded no result, England needed to beat Australia on Saturday to propel themselves into a strong position to progress from Group B.
Yet instead they now find themselves fourth in the group and in need of big wins over Oman and Namibia to stand a chance, while also hoping for a capitulation from Scotland, who are second.
Chasing a target of 202, England were trundling along nicely until Adam Zampa (2-28) dismissed openers Phil Salt (37) and Buttler (42) in the space of two overs.
Will Jacks did not last long as Australia severely dented England's run rate, with the further quickfire dismissals of Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali all but ending England's chances.
And when Liam Livingstone was sent packing by Patrick Cummins late in the day, England knew their hopes of making it out of the group have suddenly turned bleak.
No player scored over 50 for either team, though David Warner (39), Mitchell Marsh (35) and Travis Head (34) were the leading lights for Australia with the bat.
Data Debrief: Aussies avoid four straight losses
Australia are now well placed to push on at the T20 World Cup, and getting one over their old rivals in the process is all the sweeter.
England had won six of their last seven completed T20Is against Australia, including their last three in a row, but Marsh's team pulled out the stops to avoid a fourth straight loss.
Zampa, meanwhile, just loves this tournament. He has taken at least one wicket in each of his last 12 innings at the T20 World Cup, including two in each of his last four innings.
Chris Jordan celebrated taking his 100th T20I wicket, but it proved fruitless.
Miller inspires South Africa to victory over Netherlands
South Africa maintained their unbeaten start to the T20 World Cup with a four-wicket triumph over the Netherlands at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.
David Miller was the Proteas' star with an unbeaten 59, as South Africa recovered from a dismal start in which they had slumped to 12-3.
The Netherlands had started poorly themselves with the bat, though Sybrand Engelbrecht steadied the ship with a 45-ball 40 before he was caught by Marco Jansen from Ottniel Baartman's delivery.
And with that, the Netherlands' scoring rate soon fizzled out, with the Dutch finishing on 103-9.
That lacklustre conclusion to their innings looked set to be swiftly forgotten as South Africa's top order disintegrated inside the first four overs, and the Netherlands seemed to be on their way to a famous win.
But a strong partnership of Tristan Stubbs (33) and Miller anchored South Africa's innings, and the Proteas emerged victorious with an over to spare.
Miller fittingly confirmed the victory with a six, smashing that shot through the leg side.
Sri Lanka remain bottom of Group D following their two-wicket defeat to Bangladesh earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan continued their excellent start at this year's tournament, beating New Zealand by 84 runs to move top of Group C.
Data Debrief: Dutch come unstuck
The defeat for the Netherlands ended their longest unbeaten streak in the competition, with the Dutch having won each of their last three matches at the T20 World Cup.
South Africa gained a measure of revenge, meanwhile, for their 13-run defeat to the Netherlands at the 2022 T20 World Cup.
USA beating Pakistan is massive for cricket – the World Cup has really started now
Like the rest of the cricketing world, I was gripped by USA’s victory over Pakistan. It is a huge result which is not only incredible for them but massive for cricket as a whole.
You always expect a few upsets at World Cups and having started well by beating Canada, USA put Pakistan under the pump for pretty much the whole game. The atmosphere in Texas looked great and I think it marks the day the World Cup really started.
USA look very well organised and the way they stood up to that Pakistan attack, one of the best bowling units at the World Cup, you have to give huge kudos to them.
They will now look to cash in on this result and they can absolutely reach the Super 8s – what a story that would be.
They have such talent in the team. Aaron Jones looks right at home on the big stage. For cricket to grow in any country, you need a hero and he is the USA hero. He scored 90-odd against Canada to see them home and now this in the Super Over – what an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup he has had already.
Andries Gous is also a very, very good player, I've watched him in a few tournaments in the US. He's a very good striker of the cricket ball and is very good against spin. Steven Taylor is a quality player, Nitish Kumar can bat as well and Corey Anderson brings the experience.
They know the conditions very well and these grounds do not have big boundaries, so if they get going, they can hurt you.
As for Pakistan, they have no time to waste. They have to re-group for the biggest game of the tournament against India in New York City – that’s just got even bigger.
Their backs are up against the wall and coming off a loss like that straight into playing a team like India, who traditionally have the upper hand in these games, is a huge challenge. India are in the driver's seat, definitely a more relaxed seat, but this is India versus Pakistan at a World Cup, so you can take nothing for granted.
Windies should also capitalize on home advantage
USA are making the most of home advantage so far and my hope is that the West Indies can do the same.
It's never easy playing home, especially in a big occasion like a World Cup, because the expectation is so high.
We know the conditions very well, so outsiders might think we should actually go all the way and win the tournament, but it’s never quite as simple as that.
It is actually quite rare for a home team to win a T20 World Cup but hopefully this year will be a change of fortune. We can lift the trophy on June 29 in Barbados, for sure.
Having not qualified for the last ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, this tournament is so important for cricket in the Caribbean. This is a huge thing for the players to step up and be counted.
We started with an edgy win over Papua New Guinea but sometimes an edgy win is a good win. It was important to start on a winning note and now they just need to kick on, make sure they get to the Super 8s and then look to take it further.
It’s up to the players now to entertain the fans and make sure we get some quality support in the stands, and fill it up.
Nicholas Pooran is going to be key in that respect and Brandon King has been batting superbly as well. I think we have a well balanced all-round team. Romario Shepherd and Andre Russell will have a big part to play at the back end, we have two quality spinners in Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein, and Alzarri Joseph is rapid and very steady.
Anything can happen in that first game, no matter who you are playing – just ask Pakistan – so the win was the most important thing. But if I was in that dressing room, I would be asking for more. I would be saying ‘look, that was our bad game but we still got a win. Now we must push on from here’.
Everyone should be hungrier to go out and deliver more with the bat and with the ball, and step up another level. We certainly have the players capable of doing that.
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