On many a Sunday, I realize that people have looked at the stories they've seen throughout the week with different lenses. I have my own personal take on some of these trending issues and I will share them with you. Welcome to #INCASEYOUMISSEDIT the 2021 edition with Mariah
Big names in Windies T20 and ODI squads; execution will be the key.
Last Friday, West Indies named T20I and ODI squads as they get ready for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka beginning on March 3 in Antigua. These matches will serve as preparation for the team that hopes to successfully defend the ICC T20 World Cup title in India later this year. On paper, the team looks strong. However, teamwork will be among the keys to success for Kieron Pollard’s men.
The recall of Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards did not come as a surprise as the selectors believe both still have a lot to offer. The 41-year-old Gayle last played for the Windies in 2019 when he scored 72 against India in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
The Universe Boss is heading into the series against Sri Lanka in good form. Before he returned to the Caribbean, Gayle had scores of 39 and 68, playing for the Quetta Gladiators against the Karachi Kings and Lahore Qualanders, respectively.
Gayle’s experience will prove invaluable to the West Indies having scored 13,691 runs in T20I with 22 hundreds. His influence in the dressing room is also expected to be a significant factor.
Edwards returns to the team after an absence of nine years but at 39, he is still able to generate 90mph deliveries that CWI will hope he uses to add to his 26 T20I scalps.
Experience aside, the selectors have included a number of younger players who are expecting to make their debuts during the series. Guyana’s Kevin Sinclair and Trinidad’s Akeal Hosein impressed with recent performances in Bangladesh and during the CG Insurance Super 50 competition.
Both players played in the finals of the Super 50 tournament on which the 21-year-old Sinclair picked up five wickets and scored 47 runs for the Guyana Jaguars. Hosein impressed for the Trinidad Red Force taking eight wickets at a miserly economy rate of 4.18.
The mixture of youth and experience will need a strong leader and the West Indies are blessed with that in the form of Kieron Pollard, who in recent months, won the CPL and the Super50 and had a leadership role in the Mumbai Indians winning the IPL late last year.
His wisdom, experience and will to win will be key to any success the Windies have against the Sri Lankans and future series.
“Winning is the only thing,” he said after claiming the Super50 title on Saturday. It is imperative his team believes that as well.
Red Force too hot to handle!
The Trinidad and Tobago Red Force won all seven of their matches to lift the Sir Clive Lloyd Trophy on Saturday after smashing the Guyana Jaguars by 152 runs in the final at the Coolidge Cricket Ground.
The aptly named Red Force scored an imposing 362-5 and then restricted Jaguars to 210 from 43.5 overs.
It was an all-around team effort that resulted in the domination of a strong Jaguars team.
Lendl Simmons saved his best performance with the bat for the final scoring 146, the highest score in a 50-over final and he was supported by Evin Lewis’ 57, 47 from Dwayne Bravo and a quick-fire 39 from Nicholas Pooran.
Their bowlers, led by Ravi Rampaul’s 4-52 and Jayden Seales, who picked up 3-40 and Anderson Phillip 2-40 decimated the opponent’s batting notwithstanding a courageous unbeaten 97 from Raymon Reifer.
The team’s dominance came down to the consistency of each member. Jason Mohammed was the highest run-scorer with 327. He scored a century (122) and averaged an excellent 81.75 for the tournament. Lewis, who had a high score of 107, was the second-highest run-scorer with 318 at an average of 45.42.
Simmons was also among the top-five run-scorer for the 2020 champions and was the only batsman with more than one century in the tournament.
The veteran Ravi Rampaul’s 14 wickets were the second-best haul for the tournament, just three behind fellow finalist Gudakesh Motie’s 17 for the Jaguars. However, all their bowlers contributed to the team’s success this season.
Leave the NBA logo as it is else change it to Michael Jordan!
The NBA logo is a timeless classic, a representation of love and respect for the game. It remains a silhouette of Lakers great Jerry West since 1969.
However, in recent times, Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has called for it to be changed to an image of late Laker great Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in January 2020, and whose contributions to the game cannot be accurately quantified.
“Gotta Happen, idc what anyone says,” Irving said on Instagram.
Irving’s call has been endorsed by Bryant’s widow Vanessa.
While I understand the call for the change, it must be noted the G.O.A.T discussion in the NBA starts and ends with Michael Jordan, a person who Kobe admired greatly. Having played 15 seasons and winning six championships with the Bulls, he should be considered as the logo replacement.
Apart from the statistics which are compelling - 11 All-Star teams, 5 MVP awards, 10 scoring titles – Jordan’s killer instinct and obsession with winning are qualities that embody the NBA.
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
England captain Stokes backs electric Wood to break 100mph
Ben Stokes would much rather play alongside Mark Wood than face his England team-mate as he backed the fast bowler to break 100mph soon.
The Durham quick clocked 97.1mph – the fastest delivery of his Test career – on the speed gun in the second red-ball encounter against the West Indies at Trent Bridge.
Indeed, none of the 34-year-old's balls registered lower than 90mph during an electrifying opening spell before Wood removed Kevin Sinclair with a vicious delivery on Sunday.
Sinclair could only fend into the air for a simple dismissal, with the Windies' off-spinner ruled out of the third Test at Edgbaston after that blow fractured his left forearm.
England captain Stokes believes there is more to come from Wood, which is a worrying warning to the visitors.
"He's got it in the tank," said Stokes. "He's been close a couple of times. Maybe one day."
Shoaib Akthar and Shaun Tait are the only Test bowlers to register a delivery at 100mph, with Wood's speed expected to be key for The Ashes in Australia across the end of next year and start of 2026.
"He seems to be getting closer and closer to that," Stokes added. "But I'm happy with what he's doing right now to be honest.
"Being able to sustain that pace is quite phenomenal. Look at his average speeds every time he plays a Test match – it's always above 90mph. That says a lot about his fitness.
"It's all fine and well trying to bowl one spell above 90. But every spell he bowls for England, he's clocking over 90mph, and that's a great thing to have as a captain.
"I don't know if he's actually too bothered about it. One day, everything might click, or the speed gun might be wrong.
"We probably wouldn't hear the end of it. Who knows, maybe one day."
Wood will be expected to unleash his pace once more after Stokes named an unchanged XI for the third and final Test at Edgbaston, where play starts on Friday.
Stokes confident that opportunities will come for England's fast bowlers
Ben Stokes has expressed confidence that opportunities for England's fast bowlers will emerge naturally ahead of their final Test against West Indies on Friday.
Stokes chose to name an unchanged team that beat West Indies by 241 runs last week ahead of their encounter at Edgbaston.
Despite having already secured the series with a 2-0 lead, England have chosen not to include both Durham's Matthew Potts or hand a debut to Dillon Pennington.
"At the moment we have stuck with the same team because we don't feel it's necessary to change," said Stokes.
England's sole adjustment this summer came when James Anderson, who retired after the first Test at Lord's, was replaced by Mark Wood.
Since Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum assumed leadership of the England team two years ago, they have aimed to minimise the rotation of their bowlers.
Wood took a wicket in each inning of the test at Trent Bridge, as Shoaib Bashir starred with figures of 5-41 to claim his third Test five-wicket haul.
Stokes emphasised that it is not difficult to continue to play their strongest team to allow bowlers an opportunity to shine.
"When you look at the guys we've got playing at the moment, with Woody being the standout because of how he bowls, it's very unlikely we'll get the remaining Tests out of him because of how hard it is on his body," said Stokes.
"Even though we've got a decent break to the next series, fast bowling is very hard so naturally we may see a change in the bowling line-up. It's not required yet.
"It's tough to not play, but for Pottsy and Dillon it's great for them to be in the squad."
The West Indies have been forced into one change, with Gudakesh Motie replacing Kevin Sinclair who suffered a fracture after taking a blow from Mark Wood.
Akeem Jordan, uncapped at Test level, has also been added to the squad as a precaution with Shamar Joseph currently suffering with flu.
"It's all about fighting," said West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite. "If we continue to create that sort of attitude around this team, there will be growth. That's what we're after."
Following the conclusion of the final Test at Edgbaston, England will enjoy an almost month-long break before another three-Test series against Sri Lanka on home soil.
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