The West Indies Men’s team will start their 2023 international year with two Test matches against Zimbabwe. The visitors will play both matches at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) confirmed the schedule on Wednesday, with the first Test slated for 4-8 February, and the second Test match for 12-16 February. Ahead of the two-Test rubber West Indies will have a four-day warm-up match against a local side set for 28-31 January at Bulawayo Athletic Club.

All matches start at 10am local time (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).

“The tour to Zimbabwe early in 2023 will be an important part of our 2023 Test programme, which also includes series against South Africa and India," said CWI's Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams. "Having produced some good results early in 2022, the team will be eager to begin the year with strong performances in Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe’s last Test match was way back in July 2021 against Bangladesh in Harare and, according ZC Director of Cricket Hamilton Masakadza, they will be eager to make the most of the upcoming series.

“We are pleased to confirm the West Indies will be visiting us for two Test matches that will be played in Bulawayo,” Masakadza said.

“Although it’s been a while since we last played Test cricket, our boys will be hungry and ready for some red-ball action and I believe an exciting series against one of the game’s top sides is on the cards.”

The last Test Series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies was also played at Queens Sports Club in October 2017. West Indies clinched the two-match series having won the first game by 117 runs while the second match ended in a draw.

 MATCH SCHEDULE

28-31 January: four-day warm-up match at Bulawayo Athletic Club

4-8 February: 1st Test at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

12-16 February: 2nd Test at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo

 

 

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has congratulated Sir Clive Lloyd on being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Guyana.

The legendary former West Indies captain received the honour for being an exemplar in the field of sport, management and leadership during the university’s graduation ceremony in Georgetown on Friday.

“We want to congratulate Sir Clive on this well-deserved honor bestowed on him by the University of Guyana,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

“Sir Clive’s leadership style brought unity and pride to his team. His vision and passion on the game and his respect and trust for his colleagues were the driving forces behind his immense success as he drove the West Indies to become a sporting dynasty. We celebrate with Sir Clive as he receives this valued award for his service to Guyana and West Indies cricket.”

Sir Clive Lloyd was captain of the West Indies team during a period of unprecedented dominance, which included winning the Cricket World Cup in 1975 and 1979.

He played 110 Test matches between 1966 and 1985, where he scored 7,515 runs with 19 centuries. He also played 87 ODIs and made 1,977 runs with a best score of 102 in the 1975 World Cup final against Australia at Lord's.

Two members of the West Indies Women U19 squad have been included in a 14-member squad set to face England Women in the first two T20 Internationals at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on December 11 and at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on December 14.

Djenaba Joseph and Trishan Holder have been called up as replacements for Shakera Selman, who has been ruled out and Chedean Nation, who sustained injuries during in the CG United ODI series that the home side lost 3-0.

Joseph and Holder are currently in Antigua for a high-performance camp with the U19 Rising Stars ahead of the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in South Africa in January 2023.

Meanwhile, off-spinner Karishma Ramharack returns to the squad after missing the CG United ODI series due to injury.

“The upcoming T20 series is vitally important as the team continues its preparations for the World Cup in February 2023. With some of the senior players missing out through injury, it is an ideal opportunity for the other players to start cementing a place in the World Cup team,” said lead selector Ann Browne-John.

Full squad: Hayley Matthews (Captain), Shemaine Campbelle (Vice Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Trishan Holder, Djenaba Joseph, Kycia Knight, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz and Rashada Williams.

 

England Women completed a 151-run victory in the third CG United ODI against the West Indies women, to claim a 3-0 series clean sweep at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Head Coach Courtney Walsh told CWI Media,”It was a poor series by us, we didn’t play the type of cricket we wanted to play, England outplayed us. I know we can play better cricket than that, so I am disappointed. We bowled and fielded better in the last two matches; we have to focus everything now on the T20 series.”

Walsh added, “We have to make sure we get something out of this series as we have a tri-series and World Cup early next year. What is pleasing to me is the bowling we were able to rally in the last two games. I am pleased with Hayley’s captaincy and her rotation of bowlers. The highlight was Rashada Williams have two good peformances with the bat. And the debut of Kaysia Schultz, she’s been around the team for a long time so we wanted to see how she performed so it was very pleasing to see her get the two early wickets, she will only get better from this exposure and experience.”

Scores: England Women 256 all out from 43.3 overs (Nat Sciver 85, Amy Jones 32, Shakera Selman 3-29, Hayley Matthews 3-56) West Indies Women 105-9 (Hayley Matthews 28, Sophie Ecclestone 3-9, Nat Sciver 2-16).

Sciver finished with 180 runs from three innings and was named player of the series.

The five-game T20I series bowls off on Sunday at the same venue.

West Indies Women’s coach Courtney Walsh has lamented another poor performance with the bat by the team that suffered another massive loss to England Women at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Tuesday.

After bowling England out for 260, the West Indies Women were skittled out for a 118 in just 31.3 overs to lose by 142 runs, a similar margin to the loss in the first ODI on Sunday in which England made 307-7 and then bowled the home side out for 165.

The result means England takes an unassailable 2-0 lead in the CG United One Day International series.

“In both games we haven’t batted well,” Walsh said after Tuesday’s humiliating defeat. “We were a lot better with the ball in this game on a good batting track and for the score where we had them at 260, I thought we would have batted better.”

Walsh reserved praise for Rashada Williams, who stood out among the batters.

“We lost those early wickets and just never recovered,” he said.

“The batters can take a lot from Rashada’s performance. I am pleased with how she went about it and showed that it can be done. We have a lot at stake with one game remaining and we need to get championship points. Our momentum is good but performance and execution, we have to try and get better.”

Batting first, England owed their competitive score to Amy Jones, who scored an unbeaten 70 and Sophia Dunkley’s unbeaten 57 as the local bowlers restricted England’s ability to build big partnerships.

Leading from the front Hayley Matthews took 3-50 and was supported by Afy Fletcher, who returned figures of 2-41 and Aaliyah Alleyne 2-47.

The West Indies Women’s reply got off to a disastrous start losing four wickets inside the first four overs with just eight runs on the board.

Williams offered the only real resistance with an unbeaten 54 that allowed the West Indies Women to push past 100 runs. Chedean Nation and Chinelle Henry with scores of 17 and 13, respectively, were the only other batters in double figures as Lauren Bell wreaked havoc taking 4-33.

Charlie Dean took 2-9 and there were also two wickets each for Sophie Ecclestone (2-25) and Kate Cross (2-35) in the rout.

The teams meet again on Friday, December 9 at the same venue.

Liberta Sports Club could be facing expulsion from Antigua and Barbuda’s Premier Division after failing to turn up for its first two matches this season in protest over concerns about the administration of that country’s football association.

The league resumed two weeks ago after a Covid-19 enforced two-and-a-half-year hiatus but the Rowan Benjamin-managed club has yet to show up for any of their two games against All Stars United and Ottos Rangers FC, respectively, which leaves it at the mercy of the ABFA Disciplinary Committee that will meet in the coming days.

According to Rohan Hector, the ABFA General Secretary, the teams that Liberta was scheduled to play will likely be awarded points and the club could face expulsion from the competition.

“Rule 5.11; if a team does not report for a match except in the case of force majeure recognized by the executive committee or if it refused to continue to play or leave the ground before the end of the match the team will be considered having lost the match and three points awarded to the opponent 3-0,” he said.

He added that the guilty team shall, as a general rule, be subjected to disciplinary action as recommended by the disciplinary committee, which may include exclusion from further participation in the competition.

Liberta, meanwhile, is sticking to its guns while expressing concern over issues which they say the administration has not addressed leading up to the start of the competition.

Among those issues of concern is the appointment of an interim president after the incumbent Everton Gonzales fell ill shortly after he was elected in April 2022. In a letter dated, November 6, 2022, obtained by Sportsmax.TV, President of Liberta Sports Club Kenny Benjamin raised the issue regarding Gonzales’ absence.

“On April 25th 2022 the Antigua and Barbuda FA held its elections where Mr Everton Gonzales was elected as president,” Benjamin stated in the letter.

“Within the same week it was learnt via a radio talk show host that the president had left the country to seek medical assistance. Even at this time of penning this letter there has not been any communique’ from the ABFA to member clubs as to the president’s illness or his whereabouts, the person deputizing for the president as stipulated in the constitution.

“This can be seen as gross disrespect to the clubs and largely, the general public.”

According to the former West Indies bowler, seeing that President Gonzales has been out of office for the last six months, the constitution dictates that if the president is absent or unavailable, the longest serving vice-president available shall deputize.

He continued stating that according to the constitution, if the president is permanently or temporarily prevented from performing his official functions, the longest serving vice-president shall represent him/her until the next Congress.

According to the Benjamin brothers, up to early last week, this matter has not been addressed and there has been no communication informing the clubs of the situation.

However, Hector explained that while President Gonzales is ailing, he is still functioning  in that capacity.

“The president, upon on recognizing his illness and was going away for treatment, issued instruction to his executive on how they were to proceed in his absence,” Hector said.

“So, the president was not incapacitated to the point where he is not aware or has not been involved or been in touch or nor kept apprised of things going on. He is constantly in contact.

“Secondly, there was an update that was sent out to the membership yesterday (Sunday, December 4), that completely deals with that issue has been addressed.”

Player insurance was another issue raised by the Liberta manager.

In a letter dated November 22, Liberta President Kenny Benjamin fired off a letter to the FA inquiring about insurance for players for the coming season.

“Liberta Sports Club is concerned about its members participating in the ABFA’s Premier Division and not been clear about insurance of the players,” the letter stated.

“We are therefore requesting all information and details about the insurance be available to the team manager Mrs. Diane Anthony before our team PIC Black Hawks participation.”

The club manager cited an incident from 2019 when a Liberta player lost a tooth during a match and the club was forced to spend approximately EC$12,000 or about USD$4000 in medical expenses, funds that took the FA some time to refund.

Hector debunked those assertions, stating that the FA paid directly for the cost of getting the player’s tooth repaired. In fact, the general secretary said, the invoice for the player’s dental care was generated on February 26, 2019 and the cheque for said amount was paid on March 3, 2019, less than a week later.

“The ABFA paid the dental surgeon directly to repair the young man’s injuries so this notion there was a reimbursement was completely untrue,” Hector said.

Regarding the wider issue of insurance for the players for the season, Hector explained that the FA has engaged a new insurance company that will provide even more robust coverage for players, coaches and team personnel for the 2022/2023 season.

In response, the FA sent out a form requesting individual  player contact information in a bid to speed up the process of getting everyone insured, Hector explained.

He said what would usually happen is that each club would forward each player’s name using their club’s contact information. However, with the new insurer, the coverage required contact information for each individual player. As such, the FA sent out forms to the clubs requesting said information for each individual player.

“We did not want to slow down the process,” said Hector, who noted that of 43 club teams playing football in Antigua, Liberta was the only club holding out at the start of the new season.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the other 42 teams for returning Antigua and Barbuda football after a lay-off of two and a half years, to not wonderful support from not only the clubs but also the fans who have turned out in massive numbers to support football in 2022/2023.”

Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed today that Nicholas Pooran has decided to relinquish the white ball captaincy of the West Indies Men’s team following the team’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 tournament just completed in Australia.

 “I have given the captaincy a great deal of thought since the enormous disappointment of the T20 World Cup," said Pooran. "I took on the role with great pride and dedication and have given it absolutely everything over the past year.

“The T20 World Cup is something that must not define us and I will readily get involved in the upcoming reviews. And whilst it will be several months until we reconvene as a squad, I want to give CWI plenty of time to prepare for the matches against South Africa in March and beyond.”

The Trinidadian middle-order batsman said relinquishing the captaincy is not an indicator that he was throwing in the towel.

 “This is not me giving up. I remain ambitious and still view the captaincy of West Indies cricket as an honour that is bestowed upon you. There is no doubt I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and I look forward to providing my services as a senior player in a supportive role," he said.

"By stepping down now as the West Indies white ball captain I believe it is in the best interests of the team and for me personally, as I need to concentrate on what I can deliver to the side as a player. I desperately want us to be successful and the most value I can give to the team is through fully focusing on the role of consistently scoring runs at crucial times.

“I am very thankful to CWI for the opportunity and faith shown in me and for the support that I have received by our devoted fans since taking the role, and to my teammates who have worked so hard as well. I know we have it in us to carry West Indies cricket forward and be proud.”

CWI Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams thanked Pooran for his time leading the two teams.

“On behalf of CWI I want to thank Nicholas for his time leading our white ball teams. Having spoken with him I know he remains fully committed to West Indies cricket and I am convinced he has a big role to play in our future,” Adams said.

Last year and earlier this year, Pooran led the West Indies in the absence of Kieron Pollard, enjoying a T20 International (T20I) Series win against Australia at home (4-1). He was officially appointed West Indies Men’s white ball captain in May this year when Pollard stepped down. Overall, Pooran led the team in 17 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 23 T20Is, recording Series wins against the Netherlands (ODI 3-0) and Bangladesh (T20I 2-0).

The West Indies Men’s next white ball series is against South Africa in March 2023 (directly after the two Test Match Series) and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.

 

The Jamaica Scorpions had two of the top three leading run scorers in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition that ended on Saturday night with the Jamaican franchise defeated the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force by three wickets in a tense encounter at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Captain Rovman Powell ended the tournament with the highest aggregate of 346 runs, just four more than Red Force captain Nicholas Pooran (342) and nine more than his teammate Brandon King (337). But it was success of his bowlers that led the Scorpions to their first regional 50-over title since 2012 when Tamar Lambert led Jamaica to victory.

Four Jamaican Scorpion bowlers are among the top 10 wicket takers in the tournament – Odean Smith and Nicholson Gordon each took 15 wickets and shared the prize of leading wicket taker with Red Force and former West Indies paceman Shannon Gabriel. Not far behind were spinner Dennis Bulli with 14 wickets and Jeavor Royal with 12.

Asked about the impact of Smith and Gordon, Powell said the two pace bowlers were key to the team’s success this season.

 “They were very, very important in the sense that every time I gave them the ball they delivered right throughout the tournament,” he said.

“As a captain, it is very good when you find bowlers that give you wickets in crucial times of the game and both of them have been fantastic throughout the entire tournament. Not the most fast-bowling friendly wickets to be honest but they have been very good.”

Smith took his 15 wickets at an average of 19.26 and economy of 5.25 wicket while Gordon was slightly more expensive at 21.26 and economy of 5.94.

Bulli snared wickets at an average of 18.64 and economy of 4.75 while Royal took his 12 wickets at an average of 21.91 and economy of 3.92.

Meanwhile, the team has been praised by the Jamaica Cricket Association on its triumphant season.

The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) congratulates our national senior men’s team “The Jamaica Scorpions” on winning the regional CG United Super 50 Championship. This achievement is the end product of teamwork, intense preparation and exemplary leadership,” said President Billy Heaven in a statement released on Sunday.

“Under the astute leadership of Captain Rovman Powell and guidance of Head Coach Andrew Richardson and Assistant Coach Nikita Miller, the world witnessed the Jamaica Scorpions win five games back to back. The collective performance of the entire team has made Jamaica proud.”

According to Heaven, strategic planning by the JCA that places emphasis on a player centric approach built an ‘exceptional team’ that claimed the trophy in a year when Jamaica celebrates its 60th year of independence.

“Cricket is known as the Gentleman’s Sport and on November 19, 2022, as the world celebrated International Men’s Day, Jamaica Scorpions provided the perfect celebration of the day winning the CG United Super 50 Championship in fine cricketing style,” Heaven said.

“This year Jamaica celebrates its 60th year of independence and cricket has always been a rich part of our history and legacy. The JCA is therefore extremely proud that our senior men’s team provided this gift to a proud nation on its diamond jubilee. Gentlemen we raise our bats to you.”

 

 

Jamaica Scorpions Captain Rovman Powell said he hoped fans of the team enjoyed their winning the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 title on Saturday night which ended a decade-long wait for the Jamaicans, who had not won a regional title since 2012.

The Jamaica Scorpions are champions of the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 after a three-wicket win over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the final at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua on Saturday.

The Scorpions won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Red Force openers Kjorn Ottley and Amir Jangoo put on 46 before the latter was caught off the bowling of Scorpions skipper Rovman Powell for 23 in the 13th over.

Ottley was next to go four overs later for 33 off the bowling of Jeavor Royal to leave the Red Force 57-2.

One became two for Royal when he dismissed the experienced Jason Mohammed for just three in the 19th over to leave the Red Force 66-3.

Dennis Bulli then got into the action with the crucial wicket of Darren Bravo for 14 in the 22nd over to leave the score at 79-4.

The Red Force brought up their 100 in the 26th over but then found themselves in further trouble as 100-4 quickly became 101-5 as Odean Smith removed captain Nicholas Pooran for eight in the 27th over.

Yannic Cariah (39) and Akeal Hosein (20) brought the Red Force past 150 in the 36th over. One over later, the Red Force found themselves 157-6 after Cariah was dismissed hit wicket off the bowling of Nicholson Gordon for 43.

The Red Force lost their seventh wicket in the 41st over when Terrance Hinds was dismissed by Gordon for 17 with the score on 184.

A Sunil Narine six off Peat Salmon in the 45th over brought up the Red Force’s 200. In the same over, Salmon took the Scorpions’ eighth wicket, removing Akeal Hosein for 37 with the score on 206.

Gordon took his third wicket and the ninth overall when he dismissed Narine for 12 in the 46th over with the score on 208.

Shannon Gabriel was the last man to go for one as the Red Force were bowled out 217 in 47 overs, their lowest total in the tournament.

Nicholson Gordon ended with 3-51 from eight overs and got good support from Jeavor Royal (2-22 from four overs) and Odean Smith (2-29 from six overs).

Scorpions openers Brandon King and Chadwick Walton brought the score to 24 in the sixth over when King was dismissed by Shannon Gabriel for 12.

Walton (27) and Andre McCarthy (11) combined to bring up Jamaica’s 50 in the 11th over.

In the 20th over, Walton brought up his first fifty of the tournament off 60 balls.

The Scorpions’ 100 was brought up one over later through a boundary from Walton off Yannic Cariah.

McCarthy was next to bring up his first fifty of the tournament, and 13th in List A cricket, off 75 balls in the 30th over.

The final ball of the 32nd over saw Walton being dismissed by Cariah for a well-played 80 to leave the Scorpions 150-2 needing 68 to win from 108 balls.

McCarthy was next to go for 55 in the 35th over with the score on 155.  Four overs later, with the score on 172, Alwyn Williams became the fourth Scorpions batsman dismissed when he was caught on the boundary off the bowling of Kharry Pierre for three.

Captain Powell was next to go in the 44th over for 25 with the Scorpions only needing 18 more to win from 39 balls. With 344 runs in total, Powell finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer.

With the Scorpions needing 14 more runs from 29 balls, Dennis Bulli was bowled by Terrance Hinds for two. The next over saw Peat Salmon going for 11 with just eight runs needed to win from 23 balls.

Odean Smith was the hero in the end with a six and a single in the 47th over bring the score to 218-7 to give the Scorpions their first CG Insurance Super50 Cup title since 2012, when they also beat the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final.

Jamaica Scorpions captain Rovman Powell believes his unbeaten 105 against Guyana Harpy Eagles on Thursday night was one of the best he has played in his career.

Powell smashed seven fours and three sixes in a mature knock that steered the Scorpions to 322-7 in pursuit of the Harpy Eagles 318-9. It was the highest successful chase of the season and the best score by any team in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 competition.

He shared in a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 103 with Alwyn Williams who made 45 and then stands of 34 and 37 with Dennis Bulli (17) and Odean Smith (19), respectively before an unbroken 37-run eighth-wicket alliance with Jeavor Royal, who was on 18 at the end after hitting the match-winning six off Nail Smith.

In his post-match comments after his first List A century of the season and his fourth overall, the 29-year-old all-rounder rated his match-winning knock highly.

“I think it is one of my better 100s,” said Powell, who arrived at the crease with Jamaica 101-3 following the dismissal of Brandon King for a well-played 64.

“I got a very good start. It was a very good wicket to be honest and so once I paced the innings and stayed at the wicket we would win.”

He praised King for his half-century, his second of the season, that set up the victory for the Scorpions team that will face the star-studded defending champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in the final on Saturday.

“It was very important,” he said of King’s 64. “It was important that someone get us off to a flying start and I think Brandon did that. It was just unfortunate that he couldn’t go a little longer.

“We were looking to get to 100 in 15 or so overs for the middle order to settle in and push around the ball and I think Brandon’s innings really set that up nicely.”

Wary of the quality of their opponents in Saturday’s final, Powell said it was essential for the Scorpions to improve in all three areas – batting, bowling and fielding – if they are to have any chance of dethroning the Trinidadian unit.

“Trinidad plays the best 50-over cricket in the Caribbean for a while now so it’s important for us to play very good cricket and improve batting, bowling and fielding,” he said perhaps referring to King dropping Shimron Hetmyer early in his innings. The West Indies middle order batsman went into top score for the Harpy Eagles with 86.

“Today (Thursday) we dropped a few catches. In the final, we cannot drop Trinidad’s big players like that.”

 

A magnificent 105 not out from captain Rovman Powell led the Jamaica Scorpions to a three-wicket victory over the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the second semi-final of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday.

The Harpy Eagles won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Anthony Bramble and Kemol Savory put on 39 before Bramble was removed for 22 by Jeavor Royal in the 10th over.

Savory was next to go for 15, caught by Brandon King off the bowling of Nicholson Gordon at the end of the 11th over.

Tevin Imlach and captain Leon Johnson then put on a brief 33-run partnership before Imlach became Odean Smith’s first wicket for 20 to leave the Harpy Eagles 76-3 off 18.5 overs.

That wicket brought Shimron Hetmyer to the crease to join Johnson and the pair brought up the hundred for Guyana in the 24th over.

Johnson got a reprieve in the 23rd over when he was dropped by King on 22 with the score on 92-3 but his luck ran out when King made up for his earlier mistake to catch Johnson off Dennis Bulli for 30 to leave the Harpy Eagles 113-4 in the 26th over. The Scorpions could have removed new batsman Sherfane Rutherford in the same over but King dropped his second catch of the day at slip.

Hetmyer brought up his 10th List A fifty off 47 balls in the 31st over. The same over also saw him and Rutherford carry Guyana past 150.

The pair continued to pepper the Scorpions bowling and brought up Guyana’s 200 in the 38th over with Hetmyer cruising on 69 and Rutherford on 44. With a boundary off Odean Smith in the 40th over, Rutherford brought up his 50 off 41 balls and brought up the 100-partnership between himself and Hetmyer off 84 deliveries. Two balls later, Rutherford was dismissed for 56 to leave the Harpy Eagles 219-5.

Hetmyer was finally dismissed by Odean Smith in the 44th over for a well-played 86 off 76 balls to leave Guyana 250-6.

Guyana was 296-6 off 47.1 overs when rain started. Kevin Sinclair (33) and Romario Shepherd (21) were the not out batsmen. After a break of about 20 minutes, the Harpy Eagles brought up their 300 off 47.5 overs, their first score of 300 in this year’s tournament.

Eventually, after the wickets of Shepherd (28), Gudakesh Motie (0) and Veerasammy Permaul (0), Guyana was able to post 318-9 from their 50 overs. Kevin Sinclair ended 45 not out from 32 balls. Odean Smith ended with 5-65 from his nine overs for the Scorpions while Nicholson Gordon provided some good bowling at the death to finish with 2-55 from his eight overs.

Jamaica’s reply did not get off to the best of starts as Chadwick Walton was removed for just 11 in the fourth over with the score on 23.

Brandon King and Andre McCarthy then combined and put the Guyana bowling to the sword, with King bringing up his second fifty of the tournament off just 34 balls as the pair brought the score up to 83-1 after 11 overs.

The partnership was broken in the 13th over when McCarthy was trapped in front by Gudakesh Motie for 22 to leave the Scorpions at 92-2.

The 15th over was then a bittersweet one for the Jamaicans as they brought up their 100 but, on the other hand, also lost Brandon King for 64 from just 49 balls to be left 101-3.

Alwyn Williams (24) and Rovman Powell (31) were the batsmen at the crease when the Scorpions brought up their 150 after 22 overs. Powell brought up his fifty off 38 balls with a boundary off Nial Smith in the 28th over to move the score up to 188-3.

The Scorpions brought up their 200 through an Alwyn Williams six off Kevin Sinclair in the 30th over. Similar to when the 100 was brought up, Williams was then dismissed off the very next ball for 45 to leave the score at 204-4 after 29.4 overs.

Jamaica lost their fifth wicket when Peat Salmon went caught behind off the bowling of Motie for eight with the score on 214 from 32.2 overs.

Powell and Dennis Bulli moved the Scorpions score up to 248-5 before Bulli was dismissed for 17 by Nial Smith in the 38th over. Powell then hit Smith for a boundary in the same over to move up to 77 and move the Scorpions past 250.

With the Scorpions needing 34 from 37 balls, Sherfane Rutherford dismissed Odean Smith for 19 to leave score at 285-7 after 44 overs.

A Jeavor Royal six in the 47th over brought up the 300 for the Scorpions, leaving them needing just 14 runs to win from 22 balls.

Captain Powell then brought up a magnificent 100 off just 89 balls including seven fours and three sixes, his fourth List A hundred, leaving Jamaica needing 10 more runs off the final three overs to advance to the final.

Needing only three runs to win from the last two overs, Jeavor Royal hit Nial Smith for a six to bring the Scorpions to 322-7 off 48.1 overs, sealing an excellent three-wicket win.

Powell ended 105 not out while Motie led the Harp Eagles bowling with 3-48 from his 10 overs.

The Jamaica Scorpions will now play the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in Saturday’s final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

 

 

 

 

West Indies batting great Brian Lara is among a three-member group of independent professionals named by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to conduct a comprehensive review of the early exit by the West Indies Men’s team from the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

CWI on Wednesday announced that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Review Group will undertake a holistic assessment of all aspects of the team’s preparation and performance at the global tournament. 

Along with Lara, who is also a current IPL T20 head coach, the panel also includes international cricket coach, South African Mickey Arthur and Justice Patrick Thompson Jr., a High Court Judge at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, who will serve as Chair of the group that has already begun their work.

 “CWI is fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and totally independent panel agree to serve West Indies Cricket under challenging circumstances. I am especially grateful for their commitment to lend some of their valuable time to this important review project," said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

"t is vital that players, coaches, administrators, and all of us who love West Indies cricket, recognize that creating a sustainable learning culture, throughout the organization, is a prerequisite for player growth and team improvement. Emotion-based and knee-jerk type decisions have failed CWI repeatedly in the past. I am confident that this independent World Cup review process will produce findings and learnings that should be of great benefit to our cricket system going forward.”

The West Indies team failed to qualify for the Super12s phase (second round) after losing unexpectedly to lower ranked teams, Scotland and Ireland. The losses caused great disappointment and frustration among all West Indies cricket stakeholders. The Group B qualifier round was played at Bellerive Oval in Tasmania where the team achieved their only victory over Zimbabwe, a team that qualified ahead of West Indies by defeating both Scotland and Ireland. 

 

All four semi-finalists have been confirmed in the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 Cup after the Jamaica Scorpions beat the West Indies Academy by six-wickets via the Duckworth-Lewis method in the tournament’s final group game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Monday.

The Scorpions won the toss and decided to bowl first in the match that was initially reduced to 48 overs per team after a late start due to rain. Another rain delay during the Academy innings meant they had only 43 overs to bat.

Opener Kirk McKenzie top-scored with 45 as the Academy struggled to 176 all out in 39.4 overs. With strike bowlers Dennis Bulli and Sheldon Cottrell missing out due to illness, off-spinner Jamie Merchant stepped up with 3-25 off his 10 overs for the Scorpions. Pacer Nicholson Gordon was expensive, going for 40 runs in 4.4 overs, but took three wickets as well.

Initially, the Scorpions had a target of 170 off 43 overs for victory but various stoppages for rain as well as a power outage meant that the target was eventually revised to 146 off 34 overs.

In the end, the Scorpions got to 125-4 off 26.2 overs when the heavens decided to open up again, this time causing no further play with the Scorpions comfortably ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score of 103.

Brandon King top-scored with 48 while captain Rovman Powell got 26 not out.

The Scorpions will now play last year’s beaten finalists, the Guyana Harpy Eagles, in the second semi-final on Thursday while the Barbados Pride will tackle defending champions the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in Wednesday’s first semi-final.

An excellent knock from Captain Shai Hope helped the Barbados Pride defeat the Leeward Islands Hurricanes by five wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in Antigua on Sunday and advance to the semi-finals of the CG Insurance Super50 Cup.

The Hurricanes lost the toss and were sent in to bat by the Pride and, propelled by a third consecutive half-century from captain Jahmar Hamilton, they made a competitive 273-7 from their 50 overs. Hamilton made 51 off 71 balls including three fours and two sixes and was supported well by all-rounder Rakheem Cornwall (46), Kieran Powell (40), Keacy Carty (36), Hayden Walsh Jr (33) and Karima Gore (33 not out).

Leg-spinner Javed Leacock took 4-48 from 10 overs for the Pride.

The Pride’s target was then revised to 268 from 48 overs due to bad light halting the start to their reply.

That did not matter as Hope played a masterful innings to lead his team to victory.

The West Indies ODI vice-captain made 88 off just 67 balls including six fours and four sixes and was well supported by Zachary McCaskie (49) and Kyle Hope (36) as the Bajans reached 271-5 with an over to spare. Off-spinner Kofi James continued his good form with the ball by taking 3-48 off 10 overs for the Leewards.

Despite both teams finishing the group stage with 14 points and the Hurricanes having a better net run rate, the Pride will move on to the semi-finals because the first tiebreaker is the head-to-head record between the two teams. The first game between the two ended in a no result.

The Hurricanes still have hope of advancing to the last four. If the West Indies Academy manage to defeat the Jamaica Scorpions for a second time in the tournament’s final preliminary game on Monday, the Hurricanes will advance. On the other hand, the Scorpions would advance as Zone B winners with a win.

 

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