Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the formation of a new Emerging Players Academy, aimed at supporting the development of world-class players from the Caribbean.
The Academy, which will run annually, will utilize the facilities at the Coolidge Cricket Ground – the new Home of West Indies Cricket - where the best young male and female cricketers will come to Antigua throughout the year for several High-Performance training and development camps.
“For some time, CWI has been looking at ways of bridging that critical gap between our junior and professional levels and this Academy initiative provides us with a great start towards achieving this,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.
“The programme will also play an important role in building regional capacity within High-Performance player support – technical, physical, mental, and personal development. The programme will also set a template for our Territories to mirror as they build out their individual High-Performance pathway programmes.”
The first intake for the CWI Emerging Players Academy will start in July 2022 and run for a year. Up to 30 players will be selected from both the Men’s and Women’s talent pool, aged between 19 and 25. The aim is to bridge the gap after the West Indies Under-19 level and assist their progression into one of the six Territorial Board Franchise squads, with the intention that they will graduate to earn one of the fifteen (15) retainer contracts available in each team.
Players selected for the CWI Emerging Players Academy will be first expected to meet the CWI minimum fitness requirements before they will be exposed to high-quality training programmes and camps in Antigua.
The programme will focus on developing the players holistically and include specific aspects of the game away from the pitch such as media engagements, financial management, personal development, and leadership.
Players will also enjoy playing opportunities through the CPL Emerging Players partnership with CWI and the Emerging Players team that participated in the annual CG Insurance Super50 Cup.
Matthews wins third ICC Women’s Player of the Month award
Hayley Matthews has been named as the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April after spearheading the West Indies’ success in Pakistan across both ODI and T20I series.
Matthews celebrates her third ICC Women’s Player of the Month award after previously winning in November 2021 and October 2023.
Her most recent success comes thanks to an array of eye-catching all-round performances resulting in 451 runs and 12 wickets across both shorter formats.
The West Indies began their tour of Pakistan with three ODIs, and skipper Matthews set the tone early with a dominant display in the opening encounter, blasting an unbeaten 140 from atop the order and following up with three wickets for 17.
More success followed with Matthews replicating her heroics in the third fixture, scoring 141 in 149 balls and taking two wickets for 26 in another comfortable victory to seal the ODI series sweep.
When the attention turned to the subsequent T20I series, the 26-year-old reinforced her position as the top-ranked Women’s T20I allrounder.
Back-to-back half-centuries in Karachi and six wickets at an average of 10.50 told the tale of her series, as she inspired the tourists to another emphatic 4-1 series triumph.
“I am really happy to win the award again. These performances resulted in the team’s success and that’s the most important thing for me as captain,” Matthews told ICC.
“To win in Pakistan was always a big goal. I wanted to perform well and contribute to the team’s success so to be able to have performances and get the results, that was really good and showed that the hard work and the concentration in Pakistan paid off.
“Being able to set some new records and achieve some new milestones as well was good for me so I’m extremely happy. We have confidence and we will take this with us going into the tour of Sri Lanka and look to secure more crucial points in the ICC Women’s Championship.”
Republic Bank CPL launches broadcast talent search
The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) have launched a region wide talent search to find a presenter for their broadcast of the 2024 season. The CPL Talent Search is open to all Caribbean residents and the prize for the winner will be a contract to be a pitch side presenter for this year’s event.
This groundbreaking initiative will be searching for the next sports presenting super star from within the region with training on offer for the winning participant so that they can hone their talent and use this amazing opportunity as a springboard to a career in broadcasting. This is one of the many CPL initiatives that look to develop the next generation of Caribbean talent, but this is the first time that the focus will be on the CPL broadcast which was watched by 853.5million viewers in 2023.
Those wanting to submit a performance into the contest can do so by sharing them in front of the camera presenting or interviewing someone on social media with the hashtag #CPLTALENTSEARCH.
Paul Pritchett-Brown, CPL’s Head of Production, said: “We are really looking forward to seeing the submissions from the next generation of broadcasting talent from across the region. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase your skills in front of the camera and we are hopeful that we will get a lot of submissions as we search for the next on screen talent.”
Babar relieved after Fakhar and Rizwan guide Pakistan past Ireland
Babar Azam was left relieved after Pakistan made light work of chasing 194 to keep their T20I series with Ireland alive and take it to a winner-takes-all-decider.
Andy Balbirnie's 77 helped Ireland to their first victory over Pakistan in this format on Friday, but Babar's side responded in style on Sunday with their own seven-wicket triumph.
Lorcan Tucker's 51 powered Ireland to an impressive 193-7 in Dublin as Shaheen Shah Afridi registered figures of 3-49 and Abbas Afridi managed 2-33.
Yet that total was far from imposing as Pakistan chased the target down with 19 balls to spare thanks to a remarkable partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.
The pair combined for a 140-run stand off only 78 balls for the third wicket as Fakhar smashed 78 from 40, while Rizwan was unbeaten on 75 after facing just 46.
"I'm relieved, credit to all batters," Babar said after the win. "We lost a few wickets early on but we kept the momentum going.
"Fakhar is very experienced and played according to situation which demanded positive intent. It's a good side, we got positives in this match and will look to give 100 per cent in the next match."
Rizwan added: "They played really well against us. It was not an easy chase because the Ireland bowlers knew their conditions better.
"They gave us a difficult time early on, but we decided that chasing 194, we have to attack. You're always under pressure when you lose especially with World Cup around the corner."
The two sides will meet again in Dublin on Tuesday to settle the three-match T20I series.
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