West Indies batsman Jermaine Blackwood admits he is over the moon to be back in the One Day International (ODI) set-up for the first time in almost 8 years.

The stylish 30-year-old batsman has evolved as a red ball specialist over the last few years but was called into the team after recently returning Shimron Hetmyer pulled out of the squad due to personal reasons and allrounder Keemo Paul was ruled out with an injury.

The aggressive batsman has only ever played two ODIs and has a high score of 11 but has long been proposed as an option for the format because of his aggressive scoring instincts.  In Test cricket, he averages 31.29 and has three half centuries.

Blackwood is ever to prove that he has improved much as a batsman since his previous two appearances.

“I was over the moon.  I’ve always been telling myself that I wanted to come back into the team and make a difference, so right now I have the opportunity to do just that,” Blackwood said.

“My game has developed a lot.  I haven’t played regional 50 over cricket in three years because of West Indies duties but in-between that I’ve played a bit and I’ve scored some 100s batting at the top of the order and at number three.  So, I have the experience batting the new ball and the old ball.”

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has admitted the absence of frontline spinner Gudakesh Motie will be a huge blow for the team ahead of a crucial upcoming One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand.

The 27-year-old spinner has not played since the first ODI against India where he fractured his thumb while fielding.  As a result, the player missed the second and third matches and the entire T20 series against India and New Zealand.   

With the three matches against New Zealand being the West Indies’ last remaining three fixtures in the ICC ODI Super League, and with the prospect to secure automatic qualification for the 2023 ICC World Cup in India on the line, Pooran would love to have all his best players available.  He has, however, expressed confidence that the team can make do with the available players.

“It’s a blow for us, especially looking at his performances in the Bangladesh series and how well he bowled in that first game against India,” Pooran told members of the media on Tuesday.

“I thought we were starting to get that chemistry between both him and Akeal (Hosein) they are two of the better spinners in the Caribbean but it is what it is,” he added.

“We hope he will recover and soon be available to us but having said that Kevin Sinclair is here, Yannic Cariah has gotten picked and we are backing them to deliver 100 percent.”

New Zealand batsman Glenn Phillips struck a magnificent half century to underpin a record 215 and series win against the West Indies at Sabina Park, in Jamaica, on Friday.

Phillips, who played several years for the country’s Jamaica Tallawahs franchise in the CPL, looked right at home as he blasted 76 from 31 deliveries.  The batsman was aided in the carnage by Daryl Mitchell who made 48 from 20 as the pair put on 83 for the fourth wicket.

No Windies bowler, in particular, did well against the onslaught with Obed McKoy claiming the best bowling figures with 3 for 40. 

In reply, the West Indies never looked like making a game of the run chase.  They managed just 125 for 9 in reply, lacking the partnerships that underpinned New Zealand's record innings, which was the most by a visiting team in the Caribbean.

With the top order vanishing in dizzying fashion, the Windies did not get a decent partnership until lower down the innings.  The best two were 35 for the seventh wicket between Romario Shepherd and Rovman Powell, but that came when the Windies were 40 for 6 and well out of the game. Hayden Walsh and Obed McCoy put on 38 in an unbroken stand for the last wicket.

Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell did the damage for New Zealand with the ball, both finishing with 3 for 15.

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran believes the team is improving despite a fourth straight T20 international loss to open the series against New Zealand.

Following a difficult 4-1 series loss to top team India, the team narrowly lost its opening match against the Kiwis by 13 runs, thanks in large part to the late-innings heroics of Romario Shepherd and Odean Smith.

Chasing a decent total of 185, the West Indies lost wickets in clusters in the middle overs but Shepherd and Smith added 58 for the seventh wicket.  Having cracked a score of 150 just once in the previous series, Pooran found some encouragement in the team’s opener, despite the result.

“I’m happy we are starting to find our template.  We know scores above 175, 180 can be tricky for us but we can see that we are actually starting to bat deep,” Pooran said, following the match.

“Guys are actually starting to play the situation a bit smarter.  Today Jason was in that position with Shamarh Brooks.  I thought both of them batted really well, they just never got that big over that was required, having said that, I think the template is coming nicely,” he added.

The West Indies and New Zealand will play the second match of the series on Friday.

West Indies coach Phil Simmons insists the team will have to make do with the players that are available as the unit continues to suffer the absence of a few high-profile players.

Chief among that group is Sunil Narine, who was once ranked as the world’s number one spinner and a regular feature in T20 leagues around the world.  Narine has not appeared in a match for the team since 2019.  Also missing are the likes of big-hitter Andre Russell and Evin Lewis who have not featured for the team since last year’s T20 World Cup.  Russell has been unavailable while Lewis has not taken the required fitness tests to be included in the team selections.

All three players have, however, continued to take part in the lucrative T20 leagues around the world, despite not playing for the regional team since last year's World cup debacle.  Simmons admits that not having all the players the team would love to have available is not the ideal scenario but expects the cricketers to be motivated to play for the West Indies.

“I’ve made it a point of duty, anywhere that I’ve gone, I don’t think you should be begging people to play for their country,” Simmons told members of the media on Tuesday.

“I think if you want to represent the West Indies, you make yourself available for West Indies cricket,” he added.

“Life has changed in that people have the opportunity to go to different places, if they pick that over the West Indies then that’s how it is, but it doesn’t make sense me going out there and begging you to play for the West Indies because I don’t know if you will come with as strong a heart as I want you to have.”

The West Indies are currently trailing New Zealand 1-0 in the ongoing T20 series.

Promising top-order batsman Evin Lewis continues to remain ineligible for selection to the West Indies squad after reportedly not taking the required fitness tests ahead of the New Zealand series.

Once considered a replacement built in the mold of T20 Chris Gayle for the shorter formats, the big-hitting left-hander has not appeared for the regional team since November of last year when they faced Australia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

The issues first began for the 30-year-old in 2020 when it was announced that Lewis along with another batsman Shimron Hetmyer had failed a fitness test ahead of the team’s tour of Sri Lanka.

Lewis, however, rebounded strongly to put in a strong performance against Sri Lanka in March of last year, scoring his fourth ODI century.  On that occasion, the player credited a renewed commitment to fitness and gym work as a key part of his success.  The player went on to score 432 runs in another 15 T20 matches with an average of 31 but has not been seen in the maroon colours since the team’s failed World Cup title defense.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors Desmond Haynes confirmed that that absence would continue as the player did not complete a test for the upcoming series against New Zealand, as has been the case for a number of recent series.

West Indies T20 opening batsman Brandon King is confident ahead of the team’s upcoming series against New Zealand and ready to draw on his previous experiences against the team.

The Windies will be eager to bounce back from a difficult loss in the previous series against India, but could also find the going tough against a full-strength New Zealand, the world’s 5^th ranked team.

New Zealand has won the last two series against the West Indies both taking place in New Zealand.  King took part in the last series but scored just 24 runs in the three matches.  Against India, however, the player tallied a decent 101 runs in three matches.

“They’re a world-renowned team, their bowling attack is very good, but I have played them before so I have that experience to draw on,” King told members of the press on Tuesday.

“I think my game has also improved.  I’m in a better place to face the challenges, so I back myself.”

A shot-filled half-century from Kyle Mayers was not enough to prevent a 7-wicket loss for the West Indies as India, pushed on by an equally forceful reply from Suryakumar Yadav, won the third T20 international with an over to spare.

After losing the toss and being put in to bat, Mayers and Brandon King got the team off to a solid start, in the power play, after a 57 partnership for the first wicket.  Although by taking 20 deliveries to make his 20, King somewhat slowed down the scoring rate.   

 Hardik Pandya got the breakthrough for India when King, deceived by a slower ball, dragged onto the stumps.  Mayers then joined forces with captain Nicholas Pooran for another 50 partnership pushing the team to 107.  Pooran was then undone by a delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which he miscued before being gobbled up by Pant.  The Windies captain used 23 balls for his 22 runs.

The same pair, Kumar, and Pant, combined to finally account for Mayers, as well, as he top-edged to Pant from a slower ball.  Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer made brief cameos of 23 and 20, and briefly accelerated the scoring but were kept in check by India’s bowling line-up.

In pursuit, India got off to a flyer despite Rohit Sharma retiring hurt in the second over and Shreyas Iyer struggling after coming in next at the crease.  The innings was fueled by Yadav’s aggression with his 76 runs off 44 balls putting the match out of reach for the West Indies. India now leads the five-match series 2-1 after three games.

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran believes the team must be better at managing the game’s big moments following a 68-run loss to India in the first of five T20 internationals on Friday.

Despite switching formats, the Caribbean team failed to snap its losing streak against India after skipper Rohit Sharma's quickfire 64, from 44 deliveries, laid the platform for India to post a challenging 190.  The team was also boosted by an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls from Dinesh Karthik.

In pursuit of the target, the Windies failed to put any significant partnerships together and the highest individual total of 20 came from Shamarh Brooks.

Their struggles were in large part due to the efforts of India’s spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravi Bishnoi who combined to stifle the Windies at the crease.   In total, the trio picked up five wickets.

“We are going to have games like this where we are going to just get shut out. The batsmen did get starts but we didn’t capitalize on those starts.  We didn’t win the big moments today and it’s as simple as that,” Pooran said following the game.

The team also made changes to its typical batting order, with all-rounder Jason Holder promoted to three.  He was, however, dismissed without scoring by Ravindra Jadeja.

“It was good for us to come out here and experiment a bit.  The guys did show up but we need to hold our nerve in big moments, especially when the pressure is on, we need to embrace it,” he added.

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran insists the team will relish the challenge against India and is determined to be more successful as the tour shifts to the T20 format.

The regional team is coming off a difficult run of matches in the ODI format where it lost its last nine in a row.  Recent history suggests the Windies will, however, be far more competitive in the T20 format.  The team is in fact coming off a 3-0 sweep of Bangladesh in 20 overs, before experiencing a reversal of fortunes in the ODIs.

The team has also typically competed well against India in the format, but it is the Indians who have ended up with the lion's share of the victories in recent years.  Pooran is hoping that particular statistic will be changed. 

“The guys are always up for the challenge against India, they want to show the world what they are made of as well,” Pooran told members of the media on Thursday.

“For some reason, we just turn up and perform well, unfortunately, we haven’t been getting the series wins and that is something that we need to happen.  We don’t want to perform as players and the team is still losing.  So, the only thing on our mind is to find a way to be successful.”

The West Indies and India will square off for five matches beginning on Friday.

West Indies coach Phil Simmons has backed the One Day International (ODI) team to eventually pull things together after a number of discouraging recent results.

The ODI format has been the team’s least productive over the last few years, having won just 9 of 51 series played in the last 10 years, which amounts to a 17 percent win rate.  In the last three consecutive series, the regional team has failed to win a game after being swept aside 3-0 by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.

In three of the last four matches against Bangladesh and then India, however, the team at least managed to put in strong batting performances despite losing the match.

“The first two games we batted the 50 overs and looked like we understood what batting 50 overs was about.  I think that’s a step forward and we will just have to keep trying to move forward with that,” Simmons told members of the media on Wednesday.

“The bowlers have been doing it in a few games and not the batsmen.  Now it’s turned around.  So, we’ve got to get everything together.  The one plus is that the fielding keeps getting better and better, so we have to put everything together,” he added.

“Everything takes time, the guys have been playing together more and more and we are having a squad play together more and more.  That’s what happened with the Test team, the guys played together for a while and now we are seeing the fruits of that.  Let’s see what happens with the ODI team.”

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King each fell short of a half-century as the team failed to halt the momentum of India who completed a 3-0 ODI sweep over the West Indies on Wednesday.

In the rain-affected fixture, India triumphed by a massive 119-runs via the Duckworth Lewis method, after Shubman Gill’s 98 anchored the team’s first innings effort of 225 for 3, in a reduced 36 overs.

In pursuit, the West Indies never really got things out of first gear.  As early as the second over, Mohammed Siraj dealt the men in maroon an early blow, after getting rid of Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks in the same over, which left the team struggling at 0 for 2.

King and Shai Hope put on a 47-run stand to give the team a fighting chance.  Yuzvendra Chahal struck to end the partnership, however, after Hope was stumped for 22. King then partnered with Pooran to keep the recovery going, but that momentum was ended when Axar Patel's arm-ball bowled King for 42, leaving the team at 5-103.

With a climbing run rate the struggles of Keacy Carty, who was next at the crease, put pressure on Pooran to keep up with the run rate. Carty was put out of his misery after going down the pitch to Shardul and edging the ball onto the stumps, making a total of 5 from 17 balls.

With the rate needed climbing to 10 an over Pooran was dismissed for 42 when he was caught at mid-on off by Prasidh Krishna.  Chahal ended with the best figures for India after taking 4 for 17.

West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer is expected to return to the regional team in short order, having recently passed a fitness test.

The player has been practicing with the Windies team during its ongoing One Day International series against India, despite not being named as a member of the ODI squad.  The way will now be clear for Hetmyer to return to active duty having passed a fitness test on Tuesday.

The talented batsman's struggle with his fitness has been well documented over the last few years.  Hetmyer missed out on two series against Sri Lanka in the span of a year, and again in January of this year against Ireland and England.  He could now be on course to be selected for the upcoming five-match T20 series, which will get underway on Friday.  West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran is delighted with the player’s impending return to the fold.

“We hope to have him back soon, I think he passed the fitness test this morning, which is wonderful news, so we expect to have him back as soon as possible,” Pooran told members of the media on Tuesday.

Hetmyer has not represented the regional team since November of last year, against Australia.

West Indies batsman Brandon King believes there is plenty of encouragement to be drawn from the team’s batting performance despite a 3 runs loss to India in the first One Day International series on Friday.

King made a crucial 54 from 66 balls as the Windies attempted to chase down India’s total of 308.  Despite eventually falling short of the target, the performance was one of the team’s best in several ODIs,  particularly on the back of a poor showing against Bangladesh.

In addition to King, Kyle Mayers added a half-century, while the lower order pair of Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd added a valuable 53-run partnership, which got the team close.  King himself formed part of two half-century partnerships, the first with Shamarh Brooks, then Nicholas Pooran.

“We always believe that if we bring a game down to the final five overs we have guys that can chase down a total.  Shepherd and Akeal showed that today (Friday), we were always in the game.  We would have liked some of the early wickets not to fall so we could have some batsmen at the end but that’s part of cricket,” King said.

“It’s just our batting formula and how we want to play cricket.  I think bringing down the game to the last ball, chasing 300 plus, was very good for us, another day we would have gotten over the line.”

The West Indies will attempt to level the series when they play India in the second ODI on Sunday.

A late attacking onslaught from Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein proved to be inadequate as the West Indies came up short by 3 runs, against India, in a thrilling start to the One Day International series.

After a solid top order partnership of 117 from Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Mayers, following the loss of Shai Hope, the Windies found themselves needing 120 off the last 15 overs and with seven batsmen in reserve.

Shardul Thakur, however, checked that momentum after taking two wickets in two overs. The pacer removed both Brooks and Mayers.  Unlike the previous series, however, the Windies managed to keep putting partnerships together.  Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran then kept the score ticking over for the regional team with a 51-run stand.

Pooran was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj in the 36th over, and Yuzvendra Chahal lifted Indian spirits even higher when he removed Rovman Powell. King, Hosein, and Shepherd though, continued to take the fight to the India bowling line-up. King stitched together another fifty-run stand with Akeal Hosein before he was dismissed.

Hosein and Shepherd seemed determined to bring things over the line.  Hosein anchored from one end while Shepherd attacked from the other.  They kept going into the last three overs, hammering Siraj for 11 in the 48th and Prasidh for 12 in the 49th. The equation came down to 15 off Siraj’s last over but the bowler held his nerves, conceding 11 runs off and keeping Shepherd largely silent.  In pursuit of 308 for 6, the West Indies got to 305 for 6.