Nyeem Young will lead a West Indies Men’s Academy squad for the upcoming home series against Ireland Academy. The two teams will play three List A matches (50 overs) and two four-day first-class matches from 17 November to 5 December at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua.
The West Indies squad is mainly comprised of the players in the West Indies Academy programme, who have just played in the CG United Super50 Cup as well as the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series earlier this year.
The CWI Selection Panel has included four new players - teenagers – Jordan Johnson, a left-handed middle-order batter and fast bowler Isai Thorne as well as Junior Sinclair, a right-handed spin bowling all-rounder and Kadeem Alleyne, a batting all-rounder.
Johnson was the stand-out player in the West Indies Rising Stars Men’s Under 19s tour to Sri Lanka in September when he made three centuries. Sinclair was impressive in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and was a member of the Guyana Amazon Warriors which won their first CPL title on home soil in September.
Alleyne, who will play the white ball series, was impressive batting at the top of the order for Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in the CG United Super50 Cup. Thorne, who will play the red ball fixtures, bowled with pace and penetration on the Rising Stars Under 19 tour to Sri Lanka.
“The Ireland Series has great significance to the CWI High Performance Pathway as it will be the first bilateral Series since the Academy programme was introduced in July 2022,” Graeme West, CWI’s High Performance Manager explained.
“Playing both 50-over and red-ball four-day series will provide the Academy squad with further opportunities to progress their skills following promising showings in the Headley-Weekes Series and more recently in the CG United Super50 Cup.”
West revealed that the players are eagerly anticipating the contest against the Irish team.
“The Academy squad really embraced the challenge that the CG United Super50 Cup provided, and it was encouraging to see the conversion of winning positions as this was a focus area coming out of 2022. We will look to see the learning over the past three weeks come through during the 50 over series against Ireland,” he said.
“The two four-day games will allow the players to gain more experience and reinforce the gameplan that worked so successfully during the Headley-Weekes Tri-Series. With Kirk McKenzie and Kevlon Anderson graduating to their respective franchises, the Series will provide Jordan Johnson with the platform to build on his exceptional performances for the West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 side in Sri Lanka.”
FULL SQUAD: Nyeem Young (captain), Ackeem Auguste, Joshua Bishop, Teddy Bishop, Carlon Bowen-Tuckett, McKenny Clarke, Jordan Johnson, Leonardo Julien, Johann Layne, Matthew Nandu, Ashmead Nedd, Kelvin Pitman, Junior Sinclair, Kevin Wickham, Kadeem Alleyne (white ball matches only), Isai and Thorne (red ball matches only).
MATCH SCHEDULE
17 November: 1st 50-Over match at SVRS
19 November: 2nd 50-Over match at CCG
21 November: 3rd 50-Over match at SVRS
25-28 November: 1st four-day match at CCG
2-5 December: 2nd four-day match at CCG
Motie's heroics lead West Indies A to victory over Nepal in T20 thriller: Series level at 1-1
In a thrilling encounter at Kirtipur, Gudakesh Motie emerged as the standout performer for West Indies A, propelling his team to a crucial victory over Nepal in the second T20 International to level the five-match series at 1-1. Motie's exceptional all-round display, featuring an unbeaten 33 off just eight balls and impactful bowling, played a pivotal role in securing the win.
Batting first, West Indies A faced early setbacks but rallied behind Andre Fletcher's resilient 43 and Captain Roston Chase's 23. However, wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the team in a precarious position at 115 for 7. When Fletcher departed, the onus fell on Motie to provide a late surge. With only 13 balls remaining, Motie unleashed a blitz, smashing two fours and four sixes to power his team to a competitive total of 160 for 7. Matthew Forde contributed with an unbeaten 11 as Sagar Dhakal and Kushal Bhurtel each picked up crucial wickets for Nepal.
In response, Nepal's captain Rohit Paudel led the charge with a magnificent 71 off 48 balls, keeping his team in contention. However, Nepal's batting struggled against the West Indies A bowling attack, with only Gulsan Jha offering notable support with 26 runs. Motie continued to make an impact with the ball, claiming 2 crucial wickets for 244 runs alongside Obed McCoy, who showed signs of returning to form with his 2 for 24.
Despite Paudel's heroics, Nepal fell short in their chase, ultimately conceding victory to West Indies A by 10 runs. Motie's exceptional performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
The third match in the series is set for Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
IPL: Royals extend lead at the top after Samson and Jurel see off LSG
Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel combined for an unbeaten partnership of 121 as Indian Premier League leaders Rajasthan Royals defeated Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday.
The Royals have now won eight of their nine matches in the 2024 campaign and are almost certain to be involved in the playoffs after chasing down their victory target of 197 with an over to spare in a seven-wicket triumph.
Another Royals win had looked unlikely when they fell to 78-3 in their run chase after Jos Buttler (34), Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) and Riyan Parag (14) all fell in quick succession shortly before the halfway mark.
But Rajasthan captain Samson fought back as he blasted 71 runs from 33 balls including seven fours and four maximums, while Jurel bounced back from a poor period of form to finish unbeaten on 52 from 34.
LSG reached 196-5 from their innings courtesy of a fine knock from their own skipper, KL Rahul. He reached 76 from 48 before eventually falling to Avesh Khan (1-42) in the 18th over.
Deepak Hooda made it to 50 as LSG rallied from 11-2, but ultimately their competitive total was within reach of the visiting Royals.
Data Debrief
This is the second time in as many home games Rahul has passed fifty, after he scored 82 against Chennai Super Kings last week.
Samson (385) and Rahul (378) are second and third respectively in the race to win this season’s orange cap, although RCB’s Virat Kohli continues to set the pace with 430 runs.
They also narrowly trail Kohli (40) when it comes to the most fours hit in this season’s competition, with Samson on 36 and Rahul just behind with 34.
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