Uttamchandani (inset) believes the giant Antiguan deserves a place in the West Indies team.
International cricket commentator and SportsMax correspondent Nikhil Uttamchandani has questioned Rahkeem Cornwall’s continued omission from the West Indies Test team in light of his consistent performances at the regional level.
During a recent edition of the Sportsmax Zone, Uttamchandani, while reviewing the first round of the 2023 West Indies Championship, was asked about Cornwall’s performance against Jamaica.
Cornwall starred with bat and ball, registering scores of 29 and 85, and finished with ten wickets for just 95 runs against the Jamaica Scorpions.
The burly Antiguan also took a tournament-best 23 first-class wickets in the five matches last year but has not played a Test for the West Indies since November 2021.
There has not been much from Cricket West Indies with regards to Cornwall’s continued omission from the Test squad but Uttamchandani opined that fitness should not be a concern.
“If fitness is a problem, how is he able to play four days of cricket consistently?” he questioned.
“Why are there [fitness] concerns when we go to Test cricket, which is just one additional day to the four-day cricket he is used to playing and is excelling with both bat and ball?”
Uttamchandani is hopeful that if Cornwall continues to do well this season, he will get that deserved return to the West Indies team.
The 30-year-old took 34 test wickets in nine matches, including a 10-wicket haul against Afghanistan in 2019.
He has scored two Test fifties in his career and is known for his powerful hitting in T20 cricket and boasts a strike rate of 147.49, which is among the highest in the world.
This, according to Uttamchandani, could make him a valuable asset to the Windies.
“He brings a unique style of play with the bat as we saw in that game [against Jamaica]. He scored 85 from 95 deliveries. He is destructive as we have seen in the CPL for years,” he added.
“[When] you look at England and Australia, the [Test] game is going in the direction of having that flexibility of aggressive players in your middle to lower order.”
Ultimately for Uttamchandani, “Rahkeem Cornwall ticks all the boxes.”
Only Versammy Permaul has taken more wickets than the 63 that Cornwall has taken in the last three domestic seasons.
If he can stay up top of the wickets column in 2023, it will be interesting to see if he does get his opportunity later in the year when the Indians tour the Caribbean in July.
Andrew Flintoff’s son makes century for Lancashire second XI
Andrew Flintoff’s 16-year-old son, Rocky, has scored his maiden century for Lancashire’s second XI.
The teenager conjured up memories of his father’s flamboyant hitting as he peeled off 116 in 165 balls against Warwickshire’s second string, hitting 11 fours and three sixes at Edgbaston.
On the same ground where ‘Freddie’ Flintoff struck 167 – his best Test score – against the West Indies in 2004, Rocky made light of his rookie status with a series of punishing blows into the leg side.
Batting for long periods with Saqib Mahmood and sharing a stand of 39 with his 18-year-old brother Corey, the youngster put in an eye-catching display against an attack featuring highly-rated seamer Che Simmons and former England Lions spinner Jake Lintott.
Rocky Flintoff only made his second XI debut earlier this month, a matter of days after turning 16, and hit a half-century against Durham last week.
While his sons take their first steps in the game, Flintoff senior is stepping up his return to the sport and is set to travel to the T20 World Cup in June as part of England’s backroom team.
Flintoff will also act as head coach of Northern Superchargers this summer, furthering his reintegration into the cricketing fold following the major car crash he suffered while filming Top Gear in late 2022.
Matthews stars with 141 and 2-26 as West Indies Women complete 3-0 ODI series sweep over Pakistan in Karachi
Captain Hayley Matthews once again played a starring role to help the West Indies Women complete a 3-0 One-Day International (ODI) series sweep over hosts Pakistan on Tuesday.
The West Indies made an imposing 278-6 off their 50 overs after winning the toss and batting first at the Karachi National Stadium.
Captain Hayley Matthews continued her magnificent form shown throughout the series with 141 off 149 balls including 19 fours while Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbelle both made meaningful contributions with 47 and 38, respectively.
Matthews’ knock means she ends the three-match series with an impressive 325 runs.
Nashra Sandhu took 3-54 to lead the bowling for the hosts while Fatima Sana took 2-67 in support.
An excellent all-round bowling effort then allowed the West Indians to restrict Pakistan to 190 with three overs and one ball remaining.
Muneeba Ali and Aliya Riaz tried their best for the hosts with 38 and 36, respectively.
The West Indian bowling was led by Hayley Matthews, Aliyah Alleyne and Stafanie Taylor who took two wickets each.
Matthews was named player of the series with 325 runs and six wickets.
The teams will now turn their attention to the five-match T20 series which begins on Friday.
Full scores: West Indies Women 278-6 off 50 overs (Hayley Matthews 141, Stafanie Taylor 47, Shemaine Campbelle 38, Nashra Sandhu 3-54, Fatima Sana 2-67)
Pakistan Women 190 off 47.5 overs (Muneeba Ali 38, Aliya Riaz 36, Aaliyah Alleyne 2-10, Hayley Matthews 2-26, Stafanie Taylor 2-29).
England have mindset of champions – Adil Rashid confident ahead of T20 World Cup
Adil Rashid believes England’s World Cup blowout in India will have no impact on the defence of their T20 crown this summer, claiming they still have “the mindset of champions”.
Jos Buttler’s side surrendered their ODI title meekly last year, crashing out in the group stage after six defeats from nine games, but still hold the 20-over title they claimed in 2022.
Competition is likely to be fierce again in June when the T20 World Cup takes place in the West Indies and United States of America, but Rashid is confident there is no scarring from their tournament trouble last time around.
Instead, the leg-spinner trusts a change of format will help unlock his side’s winning mentality.
“We are not thinking of what has gone on in the past, we’re not thinking about the poor World Cup or people not being in form. That’s a completely different format,” he said.
“Yes, we had a poor run or whatever and we didn’t play well: bat, ball, as a team, as a unit, everything. But I think this is a completely different format where we’re currently world champions. You have the mindset of champions.
“We’re confident. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the mindset, we’ve got the players, we’ve got the experience. If we go out there having that same belief, I think we’ll hopefully go all the way.
“Prior to that we may not be playing well but as soon the tournament comes, people can turn up, teams can turn up and just switch on and win the World Cup.”
England have one warm-up series against Pakistan in May before they fly to the Caribbean and are expected to name a squad, as well as the provisional World Cup group, next week.
Jofra Archer is highly likely to be included, 14 months on from his last international appearance and with the usual lofty expectations, but captain Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott look set to rely on many of the same players who came crashing down in India.
Rashid held his head above water amid those poor results, leading the wicket charts with 15, and will once again be a central part of the plans. At 36, he may not have too many more World Cups left, but he is already doing his bit to help lay a line of succession.
Rashid funded the building of the cricket centre that carries his name in his native Bradford and can often be found mentoring aspiring players alongside a coaching staff led by brother Amar and including the likes of former England seamer Sajid Mahmood.
He was also on hand to help the England and Wales Cricket Board launch a new national tape ball competition in Birmingham last week, and is passionate about helping those in communities like his own prosper.
“It’s only 10 minutes from my house. When I’m at home, I pop in, see how things are, have a little train, have a little bowl myself with whoever’s there,” he said.
“There’s a lot of youngsters where we’re from in Bradford, a lot of people who want to play cricket with good talent. We’ve had many youngsters come through that are already playing for Yorkshire academy, playing under-11s, 13s, 15s, second XI.
“One of the main reasons for opening the cricket centre is to give that next generation of cricketers coming through the opportunity to potentially make it to professional cricket, but that’s just one part of it. The other part is to make sure you’re getting people off the streets and creating a community where people can come and play.”
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