Nicholas Pooran has guided West Indies to a series-levelling One Day International victory despite a scare in the run chase against Australia in Bridgetown on Saturday.
Akeal Hosein (30-3) and Alzarri Joseph (39-3) were exceptional in reducing Australia to 45-6 before the tourists rallied to 187.
But the West Indies stumbled in their chase, slumping to 72-5 before Pooran (59* from 75) combined with Jason Holder (52) for a decisive 93-run sixth-wicket stand.
Player of the Match Pooran was crucially dropped by Moises Henriques off Adam Zampa on 26, before making his eighth ODI half-century.
Mitchell Starc, who finished with 26-3 from 10 overs, had dismissed Evin Lewis (1) and Darren Bravo (duck), before trapping Holder LBW but Pooran guided the hosts home.
Earlier, Australia struggled with the bat, with Hosein dismissing Henriques, stand-in captain Alex Carey and Ashton Turner in an excellent spell.
Matthew Wade (36) and Adam Zampa (36) rallied for Australia, before an excellent late cameo from second-gamer Wes Agar (41 from 36).
POLLARD HAILS 'SCRATCHY' POORAN
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said allowing Australia to reach 187 was disappointing but hailed Pooran's determination after a "scratchy" knock.
"What was good this time around was the fight by the guys, Nicholas Pooran getting that half-century and Jason Holder as well," Pollard said.
"Pooran has been looking like his old self again. He was a bit scratchy tonight but sometimes that's what you need in a game like this. You want someone to scrap and I think they both scrapped well for us to come through for a victory."
The West Indies avoided suffering back-to-back home defeats for the first time since August 2019.
Pooran's innings also took him past 1,000 ODI runs, becoming the 39th West Indian player to achieve the feat and the joint-third fastest for the side (Viv Richards – 21, Gordon Greenidge – 23, Ramnaresh Sarwan – 27).
AUSSIES STILL BULLISH AHEAD OF DECIDER
Australia are unbeaten in their past six ODI bilateral series (W4, D2) against West Indies and missed out on the opportunity to seal another victory but Carey remained bullish ahead of Monday's decider.
"Bring on game three," Carey said. "The batting group has a bit to prove to get a good score on the board for our quicks but our quicks and spinners are doing a great job."
The stand-in skipper bemoaned Australia's top-order batting, with none of the top six scoring more than 16.
"Obviously it doesn't help when you're five for not-a-lot," he said. "Wade and the bowlers did a great job to get us to a total and we were back in the game.
"We took some early wickets again and the belief was there. We created opportunities and we were in the game in the back end. Unfortunately we couldn't quite close it out and it proved we were 20 or 30 short."
Tottenham 2-1 Burnley: Clarets down as Van de Ven boosts Spurs' top-four hopes
Burnley's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed as a late Micky van de Ven winner clinched a 2-1 home win for Tottenham on Saturday.
Vincent Kompany's men had to win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to keep their survival hopes alive, and it looked possible when Jacob Bruun Larsen fired the Clarets ahead in the first half.
However, Pedro Porro struck to level, before Van de Ven rifled home with eight minutes to play to condemn Burnley to the second tier and boost Spurs' Champions League hopes.
It's a result that ends Spurs' run of four straight defeats and leaves them four points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with two games to play.
Burnley nearly got their noses in front after just five minutes, though Guglielmo Vicario was equal to Vitinho's header, while Brennan Johnson saw an effort well-saved by Arijanet Muric up the other end in a frenzied start.
The Clarets took the lead with 25 minutes played, persistent work from Sander Berge allowing Bruun Larsen to latch onto the Norway international's throughball before slotting past Vicario.
Burnley's lead didn't last long, though, Porro driving into the box before unleashing a powerful finish into the back of the net.
Wilson Odobert nearly restored his side's advantage after the break as his thunderous effort was tipped over by Vicario as Burnley looked for a lifeline.
Muric kept out James Maddison at the other end with a brilliant stop, before also denying Kulusevski with Spurs looking to turn up the heat.
The hosts did find a winner late on, Van de Ven taking the ball into the penalty area before coolly slotting home to send Burnley down and keep his side's slender top-four chances alive.
Burnley down despite late surge
A run of just one Premier League defeat in nine games across March and April had given Burnley some slender hopes of survival, but they were simply left with too much to do as defeat at Spurs ensured they would be playing second-tier football next season.
After romping to the Championship title last term, some had lofty pre-season hopes for Burnley, but the Clarets have won just five league games all season, not enough to keep them in the division.
Burnley's relegation is their fifth from the Premier League, and Kompany has work to do if they are to bounce back in similar one-season fashion as they did so impressively last term.
Van de Ven secures much-needed three points
Villa are floundering, winless in four in all competitions and losing three of those outings. However, Spurs had previously been unable to put any kind of pressure on Unai Emery's men as they endured a run of four straight defeats at an inopportune junction in the season.
It appeared Spurs would stumble further with a home draw against a bottom-three side, but Van de Ven's crucial late winner has somewhat turned the heat up on Villa ahead of their games against Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
Ange Postecoglou's men accumulated 2.5 xG (expected goals) to Burnley's 0.75, and Van de Ven's strike means Spurs have now won eight of their nine Premier League home meetings with Burnley. The result also ensures Postecoglou avoids becoming the first Spurs manager to lose five top-flight outings in a row since Osvaldo Ardiles in 1994 (seven).
West Indies to host South Africa, England and Bangladesh in busy year of cricket
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced an action-packed schedule for the West Indies Men, featuring three international home tours against South Africa, England and Bangladesh, from May to December 2024.
The home tours begin with a visit from South Africa, for three (3) T20 Internationals (T20Is) at Sabina Park, prior to the start of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The Proteas then return to the region, after the West Indies Test Tour to England in July, with a two (2) Test Match Series to be played in Trinidad and Guyana, followed by a second three (3) match T20I Series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, ahead of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Following a white ball tour away to Sri Lanka in October, the West Indies will welcome England to the Caribbean for a white-ball tour consisting of three (3) CG United One Day Internationals (ODIs) and five (5) T20Is. The series will be played across Antigua, Barbados and Saint Lucia with travel packages on sale from today from CWI’s Official Tour Operators.
Bangladesh then completes the action-packed year with an all-format tour before Christmas with two (2) Test Matches in Antigua and Jamaica, three (3) CG United ODIs in St. Kitts and three (3) T20Is in Saint Vincent.
CWI Chief Executive, Johnny Grave urge fans to rally around the West Indies team for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup, as well as for the three home series.
“West Indies will welcome South Africa, England and Bangladesh to eight of our host countries in the West Indies, including Saint Vincent for the first time since 2012. With significant improvements being made to the National Stadium in Grenada and Windsor Park in Dominica we were unable to host International cricket there this year, but we are already looking forward to returning to both venues in 2025," Grave said
"Fans can purchase tickets online from Friday for the first Series against South Africa in Jamaica and with our official travel partners for the England Tour later this year, with all other tickets expected to go on sale in July after the ICC Men’s T20 World. We urge fans to rally behind our Men in Maroon as we strive for a historic third T20 World Cup title and seek to secure all important points in the ICC World Test Championship," he added.
Full Schedule
South Africa Tour
May 23 – 1st T20I @ Sabina Park, Jamaica – 3 pm (Eastern Caribbean time)
May 25 – 2nd T20I @ Sabina Park, Jamaica – 3 pm
May 26 – 3rd T20I @ Sabina Park, Jamaica – 3 pm
July 31-August 4 – Four-Day warm-up @ Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad – 10 am
August 7-11 – 1st Test @ Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad – 10 am
August 15-19 – 2nd Test Match @ Guyana National Stadium – 10 am
August 23 – 1st T20I @ Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad – 3 pm
August 25 – 2nd T20I @ Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad – 3 pm
August 27 – 3rd T20I @ Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad – 3 pm
England Tour
October 31 – 1st ODI @ Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Antigua – 2 pm
November 2 – 2nd ODI @ Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Antigua – 9.30 am
November 6 – 3rd ODI @ Kensington Oval, Barbados – 2 pm
November 9 – 1st T20I @ Kensington Oval, Barbados – 4 pm
November 10 – 2nd T20I @ Kensington Oval, Barbados – 4 pm
November 14 – 3rd T20I @ Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia – 4 pm
November 16 – 4th T20I @ Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia – 4 pm
November 17 – 5th T20I @ Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, St Lucia – 4 pm
Bangladesh Tour
November 15-18 – Four-Day warm-up @ Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua – 10 am
November 22-26 – 1st Test @ Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Antigua – 10 am
November 30-December 4 – 2nd Test @ Sabina Park, Jamaica – 11 am (ECT)
December 8 – 1st ODI @ Warner Park, St. Kitts – 9.30 am
December 10 – 2nd ODI @ Warner Park, St. Kitts 9.30 am
December 12 – 3rd ODI @ Warner Park, St. Kitts – 9.30am
December 15 – 1st T20I @ Arnos Vale, St Vincent – 8 pm
December 17 – 2nd T20I @ Arnos Vale, St Vincent – 8 pm
December 19 – 3rd T20I @ Arnos Vale, St Vincent – 8 pm
Brathwaite among stars to support Cricket to Conquer Cancer initiative
Former West Indies Twenty20 captain Carlos Brathwaite expressed delight about being a part of the inaugural Princess Margaret Cricket to Conquer Cancer “dawn-to-dusk” street cricket event.
Brathwaite, who has in the past opened up about how cancer touched his life by way of his mother Jocelyn, a breast cancer survivor, will be among a host of Canadian and International cricket stars that will lend their support this new initiative, which is already being dubbed North America’s premier street cricket fundraiser.
By combining a global passion for street cricket with a desire to live in a world free from the fear of cancer, this inaugural event, scheduled for May 2025 in Mississauga, promises to not only generate critical funds for cancer research, but also foster a sense of community, and Brathwaite is eager to play his part.
“I am thrilled to witness cricket’s growing popularity in Canada – a testament to its welcoming and multicultural community. It truly is a global sport,” Brathwaite said during Thursday’s unveiling of the event.
“We all have a personal connection to cancer, me included. One thing that kept my mum going through her cancer treatment was her constant smile and positive outlook. I look forward to making this event a celebration for survivors and an inspiration for all those during their journey,” he added.
The fundraising initiative will support The Princess Margaret, one of the top 5 cancer centres in the world, and it will see dozens of co-ed teams made up of rookies, ringers, celebrities and players of all ages and skill levels taking part in the cricket tournament.
Meanwhile, Dr. Amit Oza, head of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, is expecting the event to have a lasting impact on cancer research and also the sport, as funds raised from this event will accelerate cancer research, education and clinical care happening at the centre.
“The effects from this fundraiser will know no bounds. Funds raised by our passionate community of participants help lead to the breakthroughs that will help patients here in Canada and around the world. I am delighted we can celebrate this amazing sport while creating a global impact on cancer research,” Oza shared.
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