The West Indies claimed their first home ODI series win over England since 1998 with a four-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the decisive third ODI at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.

In a match eventually reduced to 40 overs per side after rain interruptions before and during the match, England recovered from a horrific first ten overs to post 206-9 from their 40 overs after being put in to bat by West Indian skipper Shai Hope.

Debutant Matthew Forde got proceedings off to the best possible start for the West Indies with the wicket of Phil Salt for just four at the end of the first over.

Not long after, Forde was at it again, picking up the wickets of Zak Crawley (0) and Will Jacks (17) to leave England struggling at 45-3 at the start of the ninth over.

45-3 became 48-4 in the 10th over when Alzarri Joseph brilliantly ran out Harry Brook off his own bowling for one.

England captain Jos Buttler, fresh off a half-century in the last game, lasted only one ball on Saturday.

Joseph greeted Buttler with a well-directed short ball that he was unable to control, helping the ball out to Gudakesh Motie on the deep square leg boundary for a simple catch to leave England 49-5 after 10 overs of the rain-shortened 43 overs per side contest.

An 88-run sixth wicket partnership between Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone provided some stability to the English effort before Duckett fell for a well-played 73-ball 71 in the 26th over. His knock included six fours and one six.

Livingstone was next to go two overs later, caught by Sherfane Rutherford at mid-on off the bowling of Romario Shepherd for 45 to leave England 142-7.

With England 161-7 off 33 overs, the rains came once again. Soon after the restart, England lost their eighth wicket when Rehan Ahmed fell caught behind off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph for 15 to leave the score 166-8 in the 34th over.

Joseph picked up his third wicket when he had Sam Curran caught on the point boundary by Gudakesh Motie for 12 to leave England 171-9 in the 36th over.

In the end, a 35-run 10th wicket partnership between Gus Atkinson (20*) and Matthew Potts (15*) helped England reach 206-9.

Forde ended with 3-29 from his eight overs while Joseph was expensive, going for 61 from his eight overs with three wickets to his name.

A third rain delay during the innings break meant the West Indies had a revised target of 188 from 34 overs.

The chase got off to the worst possible start when Brandon King was caught at cover off the bowling of Gus Atkinson for just one in the second over.

Alick Athanaze and Keacy Carty then put together a solid 76-run second wicket partnership that ended when Atkinson trapped Athanaze in front for a 51-ball 45 in the 14th over.

Captain Shai Hope was next to go, caught brilliantly by Matthew Potts off the bowling of Rehan Ahmed for 15 to leave the West Indies 99-3 in the 17th over.

Then, with the West Indies cruising needing 72 from 78 balls, Shimron Hetmyer mistimed a ball straight into the hands of Phil Salt at point for 11 off the bowling of Will Jacks.

The West Indies quickly lost another one when Sherfane Rutherford held out to Zak Crawley at long on off Jacks’ bowling for three to leave the score at 122-5 after 23.2 overs leaving the hosts needing 66 runs from 64 balls.

Carty, two balls after bringing up an excellent half century, became Jacks’ third victim in quick succession caught and bowled to leave the West Indies 135-6 needing 53 runs from 50 balls.

The 31st proved to be the ultimate game changer for the West Indies. The over bowled by Gus Atkinson went for 24 to leave them needing just nine more to win from the final three overs.

In the end, Romario Shepherd (41*) and Matthew Forde (13*) steered the West Indies to 191-6 off 31.4 overs to seal the 2-1 series win.

Will Jacks tried his best for England with 3-22 from his seven overs while Gus Atkinson ended with 2058 from his six overs.

Full Scores:

England 206-9 off 40 overs (Ben Duckett 71, Liam Livingston 45, Matthew Forde 3-29, Alzarri Joseph 3-61, Romario Shepherd 2-50)

West Indies 191-6 off 31.4 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Alick Athanaze 45, Romario Shepherd 41*, Will Jacks 3-22, Gus Atkinson 2-58)

The Guyana Amazon Warriors are now at the top of the Caribbean Premier League points table after a dominant 98-run win over the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.

The Amazon Warriors first posted 186-6 from their 20 overs after the Patriots won the toss and chose to field first.

All-rounder Keemo Paul followed up his 56 in their last game with an unbeaten 41 off 31 balls including one four and three sixes.

Shimron Hetmyer (36), Dwayne Pretorius (27) and Romario Shepherd with a rapid seven-ball 26 provided excellent contributions to the Amazon Warriors total.

Oshane Thomas continued his return to form this season with 3-26 from three overs.

The Patriots, who are now winless after seven games, could then muster only 88 off 17.1 overs in another awful batting performance.

Corbin Bosch scored the bulk of the runs with a run-a-ball 27.

Dwayne Pretorius was the star with the ball with 3-17 from three overs while West Indies left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie took 2-15 from four overs.

The Amazon Warriors are now top of the table with seven points from four games.

 

Barbados Royals kicked off the 2023 Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) with a thrilling final over chase at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, the Amazon Warriors produced a record-breaking innings on their route to 166/2 from their 20 overs. 

Sophie Devine became the second New Zealander in as many days to hit a CPL century, following on from Martin Guptill’s knock with 103 not out from 64 balls, bringing up the landmark score on the final delivery of the innings with a six over long-off.

Facing a difficult task, the Royals appeared to lack power until Laura Harris took the 15th over for 24 to put the game in the balance. With 43 still required from five overs, Erin Burns and Chinelle Henry saw the hosts home with two balls to spare.

With Devine leading the way a day before her 35th birthday, the Warriors kept wickets in hand throughout their innings while maintaining a strong run rate as they ended an explosive PowerPlay 50/0.

Royals captain Hayley Matthews used 12 overs of spin consecutively in the innings in attempt to slow the visitors through the middle overs, before the Amazon Warriors blasted 62 from the final five overs to break the WCPL record for highest total.

Amanda-Jade Wellington should have had Devine out for 41 in the ninth over when a false shot brought a straightforward chance for Afy Fletcher at short cover which was dropped, while the score was still wicketless.

The Royals were facing an uphill battle chasing 167 in the early stages; Matthews’ dismissal for 23 was a setback after a steady powerplay at a-run-a-ball. Gaby Lewis played a superb 360-degree knock which brought hope for the Royals which was backed up by Harris’ spectacular 30 from just 12 balls. 

Shabnim Ismail produced a brilliant 19th over, conceding just three runs but with just nine runs to win from the final over, Suzie Bates couldn’t stop an in-form Erin Burns from closing out the chase.

Barbados Royals are in action again on Saturday as they face defending champions Trinbago Knight Riders.

The West Indies rebounded from an embarrassing defeat in the opening ODI against India on Thursday with a comfortable six-wicket win in the second ODI on Saturday at the Kensington Oval to tie the three-match series 1-1.

Despite things looking ominous with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill putting on 90 for the first wicket, the hosts produced an excellent bowling display to restrict them to 181 all out in 40.5 overs after winning the toss and electing to field.

Kishan followed up his fifty in the first match with a run-a-ball 55 to top score while Shubman Gill (34) and Suryakumar Yadav (24) were the only other batsmen to make any meaningful contributions to the Indian total.

Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie were the stars with the ball for the hosts. Shepherd took a career-best 3-37 off his eight overs while Motie bowled 9.5 overs for his 3-36. Alzarri Joseph chipped in with 2-35 off seven overs.

The Windies then needed just 36.4 overs to reach 182-4.

The successful chase was led by Captain, Shai Hope, who made an unbeaten 80-ball 63 including two fours and as many sixes. Keacy Carty provided good support for his skipper with 48* off 65 balls including four fours.

Shardul Thakur took 3-42 off eight overs for India.

The series decider is set for Tuesday at the Brian Lara Academy.

 

West Indies Women suffered an ugly eight-wicket defeat with 87 balls to spare to England Women, who swept the series 5-0 on Thursday.

A spirited effort by West Indies saw them push England in a keen contest on Saturday night but the visitors secured a victory and with it took an unassailable lead in the five-match rubber.

The Cricket West Indies Senior Men’s Selection Panel on Thursday announced the squad for the CG United One-Day International Series against New Zealand. All three matches will be day/night matches played under floodlights at Kensington Oval in Barbados on August 17, 19 and 21.

The three matches are West Indies’ last remaining three fixtures in the ICC ODI Super League as West Indies aim to automatically qualify for the 2023 ICC World Cup in India. West Indies will be seeking to win the CG United ODI Series to secure one of the automatic qualification places reserved for the top 7 teams in the ODI Super League table, excluding hosts India.

CWI’s Selection Panel named one newcomer to the squad in off-spinner Kevin Sinclair. He made his international debut in T20I cricket last year against Sri Lanka and has so far played six T20Is. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie has been named in the 14-member squad and will have to undergo a fitness assessment on the finger injury sustained against India in the CG United ODI Series in Trinidad last month.

Allrounder Roston Chase is unavailable for selection due to injury while fellow allrounder Fabien Allen is also unavailable for personal reasons.

Lead Selector, The Most Hon Dr Desmond Haynes said: “As we stated before, we are looking to broaden the pool of players and we have decided to give Sinclair an opportunity in the CG United ODI Series against New Zealand. He has been in the system for a while and was also in the ‘A Team’ to play against Bangladesh ‘A’ in the upcoming series. We believe with his calm approach and skills he will do well in the matches against New Zealand.”

“New Zealand is a very good cricketing nation, and this will be a very competitive series. We have the confidence in the players selected that they will do very well. This is the last series of the international season at home, and it would be good to end with some solid performances as we continue to build towards the ICC World Cup in India next year,” he added.

FULL SQUAD

Nicholas Pooran (Captain)

Shai Hope (Vice Captain)

Shamarh Brooks

Keacy Carty

Shimron Hetmyer

Jason Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Brandon King

Kyle Mayers

Gudakesh Motie (subject to fitness)

Keemo Paul

Jayden Seales

Kevin Sinclair

Kraigg Brathwaite scored an unbeaten century and Raymon Reifer took six wickets to lead a Barbados Pride fightback against the Jamaica Scorpions on day two of their West Indies Championships match at Kensington Oval.

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