The Annual General Meeting of Cricket West Indies that was scheduled to be held today has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 11, 2021, after the representatives from Barbados and Guyana failed to show this morning.

The meeting therefore could not proceed to business as the CWI Articles of Association stipulate that nine representatives of the Full Members need to be present in-person to constitute a quorum.

All eight (8) representatives duly authorized to represent the Jamaica Cricket Association, Leeward Islands Cricket Board (LICB), Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) and the Windward Islands Cricket Board were present.

Despite having previously authorized their representatives to attend, when the roll was called there were no representatives present from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) nor the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA).

The Articles of Association provide that if there is no quorum within thirty minutes from the time appointed for the meeting, it shall stand adjourned to the next business day or to such other time and place as the Board of Directors may determine, and at the adjourned meeting no other business may be transacted.

Attempts to reach the representatives from the BCA and GCB were unsuccessful. The meeting was eventually adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

The CWI Board of Directors subsequently held an Emergency Board Meeting at midday today, Sunday 28th March 2021, and decided that the AGM will resume on Sunday 11th April 2021 at 10:00 am ECT/09:00am Jamaica Time.

Haiti kicked off the second day of the First Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022 with a 2-0 home victory against Belize.

The home side dominated the proceedings in Port-au-Prince in the first half but was unable to beat Belize goalkeeper Woodrow West until the 50th minute, with Ricardo Ade getting free in the box to head in a corner kick.

It was another corner kick that doubled Haiti’s lead, with Steven Seance taking advantage of some confusion in the box to knock in another in the 80th minute.

Belize now makes the quick trip to the Dominican Republic for a contest with the Turks and Caicos Islands, who also serve as Haiti’s next opponent when qualification resumes in June.

Meanwhile, the Guus Hiddink era got off to a strong start for Curacao, which beat Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 5-0.

Curacao applied a press from the opening window and forced a turnover that Juninho Bacuna was able to tap in for the opener. Anthony van den Hurk then scored in his debut in the 17th minute, with Bacuna adding his second of the night in the 35th minute.

Jarchino Antonio sent the teams into the Ergilio Hato Stadium locker rooms at 4-0 with a goal just before the halftime break, before Curacao capped things in the 87th minute with Leandro Bacuna spurring a counter-attack and Elson Hooi finishing the move.

Trinidad and Tobago also enjoyed a big win Thursday, getting past Guyana, 3-0. Levi Garcia got things started early with a lovely individual goal, squeezing past the defenders and the end line and then firing home in the seventh minute.

A free-kick from Ryan Telfer deflected off CB Sheldon Bateau’s thigh and into the goal in the 15th minute to extend the Trinidad and Tobago lead.

It was three when Telfer pounced on an error from Guyana GK Akel Clarke in the 44th minute, with the goalkeeper fumbling an attempt to collect and Telfer able to finish into the open net.

Canada kept pace with Suriname atop Group B, seeing off a challenge from Bermuda with a 5-1 win.

Alphonso Davies whipped in a free-kick from the right side in the 19th minute that found Cyle Larin and went in for the opening goal.

In the 27th minute, Davies came down the left side of Canada’s attack and beat Bermuda GK Dale Eve to a ball. He once again connected with Larin, who was able to power his finish into the net before Eve fully recovered.

Richie Laryea added to the lead, surging forward from left-back in the 53rd minute and scoring the first goal of his national team career.

Milan Borjan kept his net clean for more than an hour but dropped a ball that Kane Crichlow pounced on to bring one back. But Davies and Larin linked up once again in the 68th minute to complete Larin’s hat trick and Theo Corbeanu scored in his debut after his run took Bermuda by surprise and Liam Millar found him in the box.

Panama and Barbados looked destined for a scoreless draw with both teams getting opportunities but sending them wide of the goal or off the post.

Then, in the 82nd minute, Jair Catuy’s run into the box went unchecked and Jose Murillo found him for a diving header that put the 2018 FIFA World Cup participant in the lead.

Thomas Christiansen’s squad saw out the 1-0 result to open qualification with a victory.

In the nightcap at the Estadio Cuscatlan, El Salvador scored a goal in each half to claim a 2-0 win over Grenada.

Gerson Mayen brought a ball down in the box, used his left foot to move horizontally with the ball and then beat Grenada GK Jason Belfon.

Mayen turned provider on the second goal, as El Salvador scored just one minute into the second half on a break.

Mayen’s through ball found David Tony Rugamas, whose shot took a deflection and landed in the goal.

El Salvador now travels to meet Montserrat, while Grenada returns to St. George’s to welcome the U.S. Virgin Islands.

He might no longer by the captain of the West Indies but Jason Holder still has a lot to contribute to the success of the team going forward.

Ian Bradshaw was not impressed with the manner of the West Indies victory in the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka citing how poor the batsmen of the Caribbean were during the series.

The former West Indies bowler has suggested that if the West Indies was the win a third ICC T20 World Cup later this year, the coach and selectors need to have frank and honest discussions with the batsmen about their performances, especially about how and when they lose their wickets.

Going forward in a world cup year, he said, “this would be the time to have some honest words within the camp and I am sure that Coach Simmons and maybe Chief Selector Roger Harper will have to be brutally honest with the guys.

“Experienced or inexperienced, our match awareness will have to be a lot better.”

In the matches played at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua, the West Indies won the opening match by four wickets chasing 132 for victory. Chasing 160 in the second match, the home side lost badly by 43 runs. They eventually clinched the series by virtue of a three-wicket win, needing only 132.

Many of the West Indies batsmen did not live up to expectation. Lendl Simmons managed only 73 runs from the three matches; Evin Lewis, 55, Jason Holder, 52, Kieron Pollard 51, Nicholas Pooran, 31, Chris Gayle, 29, and Dwayne Bravo, 6.

Speaking on Mason & Guest with host Andrew Mason on Tuesday night, Bradshaw said when it comes to T20 matches, it comes down to more than just the number of runs scored. “It’s the manner of the dismissals,” said the 46-year-old Bradshaw, who represented the West Indies in five Tests and 62 ODI's between 2004 and 2007.
“Yes, we showed weakness and uncertainty to the spinners, but it is how collectively as a unit, we bat the spin,” he said, adding that several batsmen were also tentative against aggressive pace bowling.

Bradshaw insisted that the West Indies batsmen will have to show significant improvement as there was “nowhere to hide. There is too much video, too much analysis.”

The performances of the batsmen were so poor, Brathwaite said, the result could have easily been 3-0 in favour of Sri Lanka and with the world cup mere months away, there is a lot of work to be done.

“As we build towards the world cup, our performances will have to be a lot more clinical,” he said.

“Like so many series, we go into it and we believe our bowling is the weak link and when it comes out, it is the batting that struggles, and this has been the case in all three formats.

“In Test cricket, whenever we score over 500 runs over two innings we’ve won and whenever we score over 300 runs in an ODI we are very competitive but quite often it the batting that has let us down, and the batting in the T20 series showed a bit of irresponsibility.

“The shots that were played put us (under) undue pressure when we didn’t need to be.”

West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has signed with County Championship side Surrey for the first seven games of the season.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has delivered record value for the Caribbean during the 2020 season, with the tourist boards across the region receiving US$258million in media exposure.

Barbadian umpire Gregory Brathwaite is likely to stand in a Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka later this month, media reports say.

West Indies’ come-from-behind win over Bangladesh on Sunday was an emotional moment for many fans of the team across the globe. However, none would have been more emotional than Shirley Clarke, the father of double-centurion Kyle Mayers, whose remarkable innings took the West Indies to victory.

West Indies captain Jason Holder has lashed out at the former greats who constantly criticize the current team without providing solutions.

Fidel Edwards is harbouring ambitions of representing the West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.

The 2021 Carifta Swimming Championships that had been set to get underway from March 26 to April 7 has been postponed due to the recent spikes in the number of Covid-19 cases in Barbados.

Barbadian fast bowler Keon Harding has been selected to join the West Indies tour to Bangladesh later this month.