Legendary West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose has expressed surprise at the unusual circumstances that have led to the dropping of explosive batsman Shimron Hetmyer ahead of the team’s campaign for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
According to a release issued by Cricket West Indies (CWI), which roiled the cricketing world on Monday, the body opted to replace Hetmyer with Shamarh Brooks after the player missed a rescheduled flight, having been advised of the consequences of doing so.
The release stated that the player's original flight was changed from Saturday to Monday due to family reasons but did not mention if Hetmyer had given a reason for being unable to catch the second flight.
“I must say I am a bit surprised because who wouldn’t want to play in the World Cup tournament and who wouldn’t want to represent their country,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“What I heard in the media is that he had some family issues. So, I take it that if you are going to miss playing for your country, or playing at the World Cup then he has some serious issues to deal with. I reckon that if that’s the case, you want to ensure that whatever issues he has with his family are being sorted, so he has to miss the World Cup. I wish him well.”
South Africa “A” reach 266-6 at stumps on day one of second unofficial “Test” against West Indies “A”
South Africa “A” were 266-6 after 85 overs at stumps on day one of their second unofficial “Test” math against the West Indies “A” at Buffalo Park in East London on Tuesday.
Keegan Petersen (67) and Raynard Van Tonder (50) led the way for the South Africans after they were put in to bat by the West Indies “A.”
Tony De Zorzi (44) and Khaya Zondo (35) also batted well on Tuesday.
Shamar Joseph has, so far, taken 2-39 from his 17 overs while Kevin Sinclair and Jair McAllister also have two wickets, each.
The West Indies lead the series 1-0.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 266-6 from 85 overs (Keegan Petersen 67, Raynard Van Tonder 50, Tony De Zorzi 44, Khaya Zondo 35, Ruan De Swardt 25*, Shamar Joseph 2-39, Kevin Sinclair 2-53, Jair McCallister 2-64)
Defending champions Deccan Gladiators beat New York Strikers by 22 runs in Abu Dhabi T10 League opener
The Deccan Gladiators opened the seventh season of the Abu Dhabi T10 League with a 22-run win over the New York Strikers at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
The Gladiators, champions of the last two editions of the tournament, posted 118-8 from their ten overs after being put in to bat by the Strikers.
Englishman Tom Kohler-Cadmore led the way for the Gladiators with 68 off 33 balls including four fours and six sixes while Andre Russell hit 17 off nine balls in support. Captain Nicholas Pooran (1), Andre Fletcher (2) and Fabian Allen (0) all failed to make significant contributions with the bat.
Sri Lankan Chamika Karunaratne took 3-25 from his two overs.
The Strikers were then reduced to 96-6 from their ten overs in reply.
Muhammad Waseem (26) and Asif Ali (24) were the main scorers for New York as Zahoor Khan bowled beautifully to finish with 2-12 from his two overs.
Moody thinks Gambhir will be able to get the best out of Narine and Russell in 2024 IPL
Former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody has stated that Gautam Gambhir was pivotal in Kolkata Knight Riders retaining Andre Russell and Sunil Narine for the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League.
Gambhir has returned to the IPL franchise as a mentor for the 2024 IPL season.
KKR on Sunday retained Russell and Narine along with Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Venkatesh Iyer.
Russell joined KKR in 2014, while Narine joined in 2012 and both have been mainstays in the team since then.
“They both have been phenomenal cricketers for KKR. I feel that Gambhir has been quite pivotal in the retention of Russell and Narine. Gambhir understands them, he’s played with them, he’s captained them and he’ll be able to get the best out of them,” said Moody to ESPNCricinfo.
However, Moody also revealed their hesitation regarding Russell’s physical condition instead of his performance. Russell scored 227 runs in 14 matches while picking seven wickets for KKR in IPL 2023.
“I think we’ll see a different outcome in 2024 with regards to what Russell brings to the table. The only hesitation I have is not skill. It’s whether he can hold together physically because we’ve seen him break down on a couple of occasions over recent years and it’s been quite alarming. His bowling has been pretty limited as well, and they haven’t had the access to his full quota of overs,” Moody added.
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