Reece Topley admits he felt “alienated” from England’s T20 World Cup success after being ruled out on the eve of the tournament but he is now targeting a place in the 2023 World Cup squad.

The 29-year-old, who dislocated his shoulder in the field when playing in his inaugural Indian Premier League match for Royal Challengers Bangalore in April, missed England’s victory in Australia last November with an ankle injury.

The left-armer has been affected by fitness setbacks throughout a career which was briefly under threat due to a series of serious back issues.

“There’s a lot of cricket coming up and obviously an ODI World Cup and I missed the T20 World Cup,” Topley told the PA news agency.

“I was going really well and I was probably going to play in that T20 World Cup I missed – all I can say is hopefully I get my opportunity and I’m definitely going to make that opportunity count when it does come.”

Topley had fought his way back from injury to reclaim a place in England’s white-ball team, but he then damaged ankle ligaments on a boundary sponge just before last year’s T20 World Cup.

“I missed the 2019 (World Cup) – that was purely when I was injured,” he said.

“If I wasn’t injured, I think I would have been involved with that, similarly with this World Cup just gone, if I wasn’t injured I think I would have been – not just a part of it – I think I would have played a lot.

“I was in a really good space, the jersey was mine. Obviously, you’re happy the guys got the job done but I didn’t do anything to contribute.

“I feel almost alienated from it just because you’re used to being in the changing room and then you’re suddenly watching it as a fan.

“It’s not your win. So I’m desperate to contribute for England in a World Cup when the opportunity comes.

“I know there’s a lot coming up in the future and it just makes me want to grab the chances even more to be honest and obviously be a part of the team that’s successful for England.”

Despite having shoulder surgery and spending time with a sling on his arm, Topley insisted he will not change his fielding approach, despite the two most recent setbacks.

“My knee got stuck in the turf and I kind of put all my pressure onto my shoulder. It was similar to the injury in the World Cup,” he said.

“It’s not anything to do with my body – it’s not something I can improve on – it’s just incidents.

“I was fielding and was sprinting and I twisted my ankle on the boundary rope, and similarly I was fielding and my knee got stuck in the soft turf.

“You leave scratching your head like ‘what can I do?’ but you don’t come up with any answers – there’s no recipe for avoiding these kind of things.

“The only thing you can do is not go for the balls which isn’t the way you want to play cricket really.”

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Following their comprehensive review of matters related to the performance of the West Indies Men’s team, and their early exit from at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia last year, the independent three-member group appointed by Cricket West Indies (CWI) has submitted their report to CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

The group was chaired by Justice Patrick Thompson Jr., a High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and included Brian Lara, the West Indies batting legend and current IPL T20 Head Coach, and South African international cricket coach, Mickey Arthur.

Commenting on the report, CWI President Ricky Skerritt said: “The quality of this report lends itself to becoming the foundation of the learning and planning culture that we have envisaged for the sustainable improvement of all our cricket teams. It brings great promise and direction after the grave disappointment of our T20 World Cup results. I am extremely grateful for the panel’s commitment to lend so much of their valuable time to this important review project, including carefully interviewing more than 30 players, coaches, administrators, directors, and other stakeholders who I am told spoke so willingly and frankly to the panel. The independent group’s report has been circulated to CWI’s Board of Directors and I look forward to the Board agreeing to implement the 34 recommendations as soon as possible.”

 

As the fallout begins regarding the West Indies’ disastrous performance at the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, Phil Simmons, head coach of the two-time world champions, has reportedly tendered his resignation, Sportsmax.TV sources have indicated. Members of the CWI board are said to have convened an emergency meeting over the matter.

Simmons tendered his resignation on Saturday, sources said, and it is expected to take effect in January 2023 as his contract requires that he give his employers 12 weeks’ notice.

The timing of the resignation comes at an inopportune time as the West Indies are scheduled to Australia for two Tests in late November. The team begins with a four-day pink-ball match from November 23-26. The first Test bowls off on November 30.

Simmons was appointed head coach in 2019 shortly after Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow came to power at Cricket West Indies Annual General Meeting in Kingston. Since then, West Indies have fared poorly in international competition.

The team is currently ranked eighth in Tests, ninth in ODIs and seventh in T20I.

At the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, the West Indies won one match before bowing out of the competition. Then just last week, at the 2022 competition, the West Indies put in an even more disappointing performance, failing to get to the Super 12 round for the first time ever having lost their opening match by 42 runs to Scotland before being dumped out of the competition following a humiliating nine-wicket loss to Ireland in the qualifying round.

Following the nine-wicket drubbing, the CWI boss laid the blame squarely at the feet at the batsmen while promising to conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons behind the poor showing.

"Untimely shot selections seem to be deeply embedded in the T20 batting culture of our senior team," the CWI president said.

Australian captain and great Ricky Ponting called the showing “embarrassing”.

 

The West Indies might have been dumped out of the ICC T20 World Cup but Carlos Brathwaite’s name will live on as a reminder of what his former team used to be.

Brathwaite’s incredible performance to win the 2016 World Cup for the West Indies has been voted the greatest T20 World Cup performance during a fan vote conducted by ESPNcricinfo.

The Barbadian allrounder turned commentator single-handedly carried the West Indies to glory in the 2016 final at Eden Gardens. With the West Indies needing 19 from the final over against England, Brathwaite struck four massive sixes off Ben Stokes to secure a second title for the Caribbean men. He finished unbeaten on 34 to go along with his impressive figures of 3-23 when England made 155 batting first.

When he came to the crease, the West Indies were in dire straits at 107-6 with 27 balls remaining.

Brathwaite's blitzkrieg garnered 58 per cent of the vote to beat India’s Yuvraj Singh's 70 in the 2007 World Cup semi-final against Australia. According to the cricket website, Brathwaite's performance also emerged top in an internal ESPNcricinfo staff poll, with Yuvraj in joint second alongside Marlon Samuels' 78 & 1-15 in the 2012 final against Sri Lanka.

As the ball sailed through the night sky over the boundary for the winning runs, West Indies commentator Ian Bishop declared "Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name!" The fans did.

An inspired spell of pace bowling from Alzarri Joseph jumpstarted a floundering ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign for the West Indies who registered a crucial 31-run win over Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Joseph ended the match with impressive figures of 4 for 16, but more than anything the innings will be remembered for the bowler's crucial breakthroughs when the Caribbean team’s tournament seemed destined to unravel.

Chasing a somewhat below-par total of 157, a surging Zimbabwe hammered 29 off the first two overs from the opening tandem of Kyle Mayers and Akeal Hosein.  Joseph, however, struck crucially to remove Wessely Madhevere for 9 to dent Zimbabwean invulnerability and return some hope to his team, who took the initiative and battled back into the game.

Joseph’s effort was well backed up by former West Indies captain Jason Holder who claimed 3 for 12 and played a key role in ensuring the plucky African unit was restricted to 122.

In their turn at the crease, the West Indies looked set for a big score, at one point,  cruising at 90 for 3, at the start of the 12th over, with a set Johnson Charles at the crease.  Once again, however, the team was, however, bogged down by spin and Sikandar Raza wove a magical web to end with 3 for 19 after curtailing the Windies' momentum.  At the back end of the innings, though, Rovman Powell and Hosein combined for a crucial 49 from 35 to give the Windies innings a much-needed lift.  Charles had earlier given the team a strong start at the top of the innings with a purposeful 45 from 36.

Scores:

West Indies 157/7 (20)

Johnson Charles 45 (36)

Rovman Powell 28 (21)

Akeal Hosein 23* (18)

Sinkadar Razza 3 /19 (4), Blessing Muzarabani 2/38 (4)

Zimbabwe 122 (18.2)

Luke Jongwe 29 (22)

Wesley Madhevere 27 (19)

Ryan Burl 17 (19)

Alzarri Joseph 4/16 (4) Jason Holder 3/12 (3.2)

 

Brandon King scored a half-century and Raymon Reifer claimed three wickets as the West Indies won their warm-up match against the United Arab Emirates at Junction Stadium by 17 runs on Sunday night.

It was not an easy win for the Caribbean men who would have suffered jitters when medium pacer Junaid Siddique took career-best figures of 5-13 to restrict West Indies to 152-9 from their 20 overs.

The West Indies owed their eventual match-winning score to a 95-run fourth wicket partnership between King and Captain Nicholas Pooran that spared the Caribbean men blushes after UAE won the toss and decided to bowl.

It seemed the right decision as the West Indies were struggling at 22-3 inside the Powerplay.

The dismissal of Evin Lewis (2), Johnson Charles (1) and Sharmarh Brooks (4) brought King and Pooran together in the fifth over and together they dragged the West Indies into a position of relative strength.

The West Indies captain hit five fours in his 31-ball 46 before he was bowled by Zahoor Khan, who had earlier dismissed Brooks. It was then 117-4 in the 15th over.

The loss of Pooran’s wicket saw the West Indies slip to 122-7 as Siddique, who had earlier removed Charles, scythed through the middle order with three wickets in four balls claiming Reifer for one, King for 64 and Akeal Hosein without scoring.

King's runs came from 45 balls and included seven fours and two sixes.

Siddique picked up his fifth wicket in the 18th over when he bowled Odean Smith for five.

Alzarri Joseph helped the West Indies past 150 with 15 well-needed runs from 11 balls before being the last man out, leaving Rovman Powell unbeaten on seven and Obed McCoy on four at the end.

Khan ended with 2-24.

Needing 153 for victory, UAE were 19-1 at the end of three when McCoy dismissed Chirag Suri for nine.

Muhammad Waseem and Vriityia Avarind took the score to 50 in the eighth when Reifer dismissed the latter for nine and CP Rizwan for one in the space of four balls as UAE slipped to 52-3 in the ninth.

The UAE ran into further trouble three balls later when Evin Lewis ran out Aayan Afzal Khan for a duck.

Waseem and Basil Hameed inched the score along to 66 by the 13th over when Reifer claimed his third after dismissing Hameed for five. It was soon 82 for 6 in the 16th when Odean Smith dismissed Kashif Daud for seven.

With nothing to lose UAE went for broke smashing 53 from the final 26 balls.

Waseem brought up his 50 with a six from the last ball of the 17th over bowled by McCoy that yielded 16 runs. The pair also took 15 from the 19th bowled by Alzarri Joseph, whose last ball was smashed for six by Zawar Farid, who ended unbeaten on 29 from the 14 balls he faced.

Waseem’s heroic unbeaten 69 came from 52 balls and included four fours and three sixes as UAE closed on 135-6.

Reifer took 3-13 while Odean Smith had figures of 1-20 from his four overs. McCoy gave up 49 runs from his four overs.

 

 

Shamarh Brooks has replaced Shimron Hetmyer in the West Indies squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, Cricket West Indies announced on Monday. CWI has advised the International Cricket Council (ICC) of the change after Hetmyer missed his re-scheduled flight to Australia.

The flight was rescheduled at the request of the player, who cited family reasons.

According to CWI, with flight availability a real challenge, a seat was found for him to leave Guyana today, Monday, October 3, meaning he would miss the first T20 International (T20I) against Australia on Wednesday, October 5 at the Metricon Stadium.

“This morning, Mr Hetmyer, informed the Director of Cricket that he would not be able to get to the airport in time for his flight this afternoon to New York,” CWI said.

“This afternoon we informed the CWI Board of Directors that the Selection Panel had unanimously decided to replace Shimron Hetmyer with Shamarh Brooks in our T20 World Cup squad,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“​ Whilst we changed Shimron’s flight from Saturday to Monday due to family reasons, it was made clear to him that if there were any further delays and issues with his travel to Australia then we would have no choice but to replace him in the squad, as we are not prepared to compromise the team’s ability to prepare for this extremely important global event.

“Shamarh has been a part of our recent T20 International squads and delivered strong performances in the latter stages of the recently concluded CPL. ​ He will fly out as soon as possible this week to Australia and I wish him and all the squad all the very best for the tournament.”

Brooks has been in good form scoring an unbeaten 109 from 52 balls against the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the semi-final of the 2022 Hero CPL. He scored 47 from 33 in the finals to help the Jamaica Tallawahs win their third title and their first since 2016 on Friday, September 30.

The squad will now be: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Yannic Cariah, Johnson Charles, Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Raymon Reifer, Odean Smith

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Nicholas Pooran as the West Indies Men’s One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) captain, following the international retirement of Kieron Pollard.

Pooran will take over the captaincy for the West Indies ODI and T20I teams after being Pollard’s deputy over the last year. The appointment will include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2022 and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October 2023.  Shai Hope has been recommended to stand as vice-captain of the ODI team.

CWI’s Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams said: “We believe Nicholas is ready for the challenge of leading our white ball teams given his experience, performances, and the respect he has within the playing group.  The Selection Panel believes that Nicholas has matured as a player and were impressed with his leadership of both teams when Kieron Pollard had been absent. The experience he has gathered playing in various franchise leagues around the world was also a factor in the decision to recommend him for the T20 captaincy.”

Pooran has already captained the West Indies Men in Pollard’s absence, leading them to a CG Insurance T20I Series win at home against Australia in 2021. 

The left-handed wicketkeeper/batsman has eight half-centuries and an ODI century to his name. He has also scored eight T20I half-centuries for the West Indies Senior Men’s team. He first burst onto the cricket scene representing the West Indies Under-19 team at the 2014 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, smashing 303 runs from six matches.

CWI President Ricky Skerritt congratulated Pooran on his appointment saying, “Nicholas Pooran is a specially gifted cricketer, and the right person to take over the white ball captaincy. We are confident that he will continue to climb the leadership learning curve speedily, and successfully. I appeal to all West Indies cricket stakeholders to give Nicholas the support and encouragement that he deserves.”

Pooran expressed his delight in his appointment saying, “I am truly honored to be appointed captain of the West Indies team. I am following the footsteps of several giants of the game who have created an amazing legacy for West Indies cricket. This is indeed a prestigious role, a pivotal position in the West Indian society, as cricket is the force that brings us all West Indians together. To be named captain is indeed the highlight of my career so far and I want to drive the team forward to accomplish great things on the field for our fans and loyal supporters.”

His first outing as captain will be the three away ODIs against The Netherlands in Amstelveen starting May 31 which form part of the ICC World Cup Super League.

 

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has officially announced his retirement from international cricket, following a disappointing title defense for the team at the T20 World Cup.

The West Indies still have one fixture remaining against Australia but have officially been eliminated after losing to Sri Lanka on Thursday.  Overall, the team lost three matches and won one.  The West Indies' lone win so far came against Bangladesh, after losing to England and South Africa to open the tournament.

Ahead of the World Cup, the 38-year-old Bravo had suggested that the tournament would be his last for the region, after a long and decorated career.

I think the time has come," Bravo to the ICC Cricket media channel.

 "I've had a very good career. To represent the West Indies for 18 years, had some ups and downs, but as I look back at it I'm very grateful to represent the region and the Caribbean people for so long,” he added.

Since making his debut in 2006, against New Zealand, Bravo went on to represent the West Indies 90 times in T20 internationals.  Overall, he has made 223 appearances for the Caribbean team in all formats.

"To win three ICC trophies, two with my captain [Daren Sammy] on the left here. One thing I am proud about is that the era of cricketers we had we were able to make a name for ourselves on the global stage and not only do that but have silverware to show for it,” he added.

As for the current campaign, Bravo admitted that it did not go the way the team wanted it to, but that he hoped to be able to still pass on his knowledge to the upcoming generation.

"For me now I want to try and pass on whatever experience and information I have with the younger players," he said. "I think in the white-ball formats West Indies cricket have a bright future and it's important for us to keep supporting the guys and keep encouraging them.

"It wasn't the World Cup we expected, it wasn't the World Cup we wanted as players. We shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves, it was a tough competition, we should keep our heads high."

 

 

 West Indies captain Kieron Pollard believes Thursday’s crucial T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka represents an opportunity for the team to break free from its shackles, so to speak, particularly as it relates to the batting line-up.

To say a West Indies line-up, filled with explosive batting talent, has struggled to ignite so far seems a bit of an understatement.  The team began the tournament being bowled out for 55 by England, then collapsing to 143 against South Africa after a promising start.  The team got 142 in a win against Bangladesh but have yet to put in a convincing display at the crease.

With a run rate of 1.598, the team has the worst run rate in Group I and the third poorest overall.  After three matches Evin Lewis is the team’s leading scorer with 68 runs but that total is not in the tournament’s top 15.  Having lost two of its first three games and low run rate the team is on the outside looking as it relates to their chances of staying in contention for the semi-finals.

“The guys are confident, we know exactly what’s needed from a run rate perspective and we’ll take all things into consideration when that match starts,” Pollard told members of the media on Wednesday.

“I believe it’s very important that we try to go through the process of trying to improve each and every game as a team and especially from a batting perspective,” he added.

“It’s an opportunity now, guys can kind of take off the shackles that have been kind of holding us back in terms of our batting performances, there’s no secret about that.  Having said that the first thing to think about is winning the cricket game.”

 

 

 

West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard suffered a muscle injury to his left thigh in the match against Bangladesh and will be assessed ahead of their crucial T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard is confident the team has done enough work to address concerns surrounding an inability to rotate the strike ahead of the start of the T20 World Cup.

The Caribbean side will open the tournament on Saturday against England but despite being defending champions will have several questions to answer.  One of those recurring issues has been the ratio of the team’s use of traditional hitting versus rotating the strike with singles.

In the past, the Windies have had success with their power-hitting game, winning the tournament twice in just such a fashion.  In recent years, however, the team has shown a propensity to get bogged down looking for boundaries.  Pollard, however, insists that the team has been looking to address the issue, but were at the same time not looking to get away from their style of play.

“A lot of work has been done behind the scenes.  The guys have worked tirelessly to get to where we are right now in terms of trying to cover our bases,” Pollard told members of the media on Friday.

“I’ve said before that we try to keep our strengths and work on our weaknesses.  We’ve accepted certain things and gone back behind the scenes and hopefully, we will see a difference,” he added.

“In terms of the two games that we played, guys didn’t show that intent and different things might have come out but we are confident that the guys have done what is needed and will look to hit the ground running come the first game.”

Babar Azam’s half-century for Pakistan helped condemn West Indies to a seven-wicket loss in their first warm-up match in Dubai on Monday.

West Indies T20 captain, Kieron Pollard, insists he remains unperturbed by the indifferent form of some players heading into the ICC T20 World Cup as there is still enough time to get things right.

With the start of the tournament just a few days away, there has been some concern raised regarding the form of a few of the team’s potential match-winners based on their performances in lead-up tournaments this year, most recently the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Indian Premier League (IPL).

Falling into that category and of primary concern would be the form of high-impact pair Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran, whose IPL form this season best illustrates the point.  The duo set the IPL alight for Punjab Kings XI last season and such form would have been welcome heading into next week.

In 2020, Pooran played 14 matches scoring 353 runs at an average of 35.30, by comparison, the player’s most recent campaign has ended with 85 runs at an average of 7.72, in 12 games.  For Gayle, 2020 saw him score 288 runs and average a healthy 41.14 in 7 games, however, this time around he could only manage 193 runs at an average of 21.44 in 10 games. 

Pollard, however, believes players who might not be in form still have plenty of time to kick into gear for the global showpiece, where they will start as defending champions.

“If we look too much into the past, then that is where sometimes we get ourselves into trouble,” Pollard told members of the media on Tuesday.

“Let’s deal with what we have in the present, the guys that have confidence, roll with them, the guys that don’t we try to get them into that zone with some practice sessions,” he added.

“We have a couple more games and then the big one, which is the World Cup, so from a perspective of being concerned, I know when it comes to the international stage it is about personal pride and individuals will want to show what they have to offer.”

 

      

 

As the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup draws ever closer, some observers are still in disbelief at the squad Cricket West Indies selectors have chosen to defend the title the West Indies won in 2016.

Among them is Sir Vivian Richards, a man considered by many to be the greatest batsman of all time and one of the most destructive.

Richards, who played on the West Indies teams that won the Prudential World Cup in 1975 and 1979, said he still cannot believe that former West Indies captain Jason Holder, was not among the 15-man squad named for the world cup.

Holder, who played well in the recent CPL and took 16 wickets for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this season, was only named among the four reserve players who will travel with the team to the United Arab Emirates where the West Indies will begin the defence of their title on October 23.

The decision by the selectors doesn’t sit well with the Master Blaster.

“I felt maybe it could have been a misprint and then hearing the news as well you think you were not hearing right at that particular time,” Sir Vivian told the Antigua Observer.

“We may have our issues with Jason when he was in charge as captain of the team, but we can never doubt the individual’s ability and his talent and I just felt sad that someone with such ability couldn’t make a West Indies T20, so that suggests to me that we must be seriously blessed with talented individuals the calibre of Jason Holder.”

Despite his misgivings, Richards urged fans to get behind the team as it goes for a third world title having won the tournament in 2012 and 2016.

West Indies open their defence against England in Dubai.

 

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