Kirk McKenzie scored an unbeaten half-century for West Indies Academy, who are 89-2 at stumps on a rain-shortened second day of their four-day match against Weekes XI at Coolidge Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Chasing Weekes XI’s 401 all out, McKenzie and Keagan Simmons put on 27 in their opening stand before the latter was bowled by Jair McAllister for seven. The bowler would later dismiss Ackeem Auguste in similar fashion for 21 as West Indies Academy slipped to 57-2.
However, McKenzie and Kevlon Anderson, who scored 153 for West Indies Academy in the seven-wicket victory over Headley XI last week, added 30 without further loss when play ended. McKenzie has so far struck eight fours in his even 50 while Anderson is not out on seven.
McAllister has so far taken 2-21.
Earlier, Weekes XI resuming from their overnight score of 365-7 with Kevin Sinclair on 52 and Veerasammy Permaul on nought, lost Permaul for duck to make it 365-8. Realizing he was running out of partners, Sinclair attacked the bowling smashing 11 fours and three sixes in his score of 86 before he was bowled by Ramon Simmonds.
Simmonds bowled McAllister for a duck next ball to wrap up the innings leaving Nail Smith not out on two.
West Indies white ball opener Brandon King was a significant contributor as Team Weekes ended day one of their Headley-Weekes four-day series fixture in a strong position against the West Indies Academy at Coolidge on Wednesday.
King made a 148-ball 92, supporting Zachary McCaskie’s 147-ball 93, as Team Weekes ended the day 365-7 off 90 overs. Jahmar Hamilton (57) and Kevin Sinclair (52*) also got fifties on day one.
Entering this contest, King had an average of 34.84 in 32 First-Class games including three hundreds and 12 fifties.
King's last four-day appearance came in March last year when he made an unbeaten 119 for the Jamaica Scorpions against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Stadium.
He spoke about his return to red-ball cricket after the day’s play.
“Very happy to be back playing red ball cricket. It’s been a little while. It was great fun batting out there with no time restrictions,” King said.
The West Indies batsman opener got to the crease with his side 82-3 having lost the wickets of Keacy Carty for 12 and captain Alick Athanaze for a two-ball duck.
He then formed a crucial 136-run fourth wicket partnership with McCaskie.
“It’s 4-day cricket so you have time on your side and you want to try and build a partnership to put the team in a better position,” King said.
“We kept it simple. The pitch wasn’t doing a great deal so we just tried to take as little risk as possible while still putting the bowlers under pressure and it worked out for us,” he added.
Regarding the team’s plan going into the innings, King said it was simple.
“We know that the pitch is generally good for batting and that in the first session the bowlers would get something out of it. Our plan was always to try and bat through the first session with as little wickets as possible then bat the rest of the day,” King said.
“We weren’t too focussed on the number of runs but we knew that if we batted the whole day we’ll get a good score,” King added.
Day two takes place on Thursday.
Half-centuries Zachary McCaskie, Brandon King, Jahmar Hamilton and Kevin Sinclair have put Weekes XI in a strong position of 365-7 against West Indies Academy on the opening day of their Headley Weekes Tri-Series match at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Wednesday.
West Indies Academy fresh off their seven-wicket victory over Headley XI last week, won the toss and asked Weekes XI to bat. Tagenarine Chanderpaul and McCaskie laid a solid platform with an opening stand of 55.
However, Chanderpaul was then trapped leg before by Nyeem Young for 25, triggering a minor slide during which Kacey Carty was caught behind by Tevin Imlach for 12 off McKenny Clarke, who dismissed Alick Athanaze in similar fashion for a duck in his next over as Weekes XI slipped from 55 without loss to 82-3.
However, McCaskie and Brandon King put an end to the bloodletting with a fourth-wicket partnership of 136 in 35 overs that resurrected the innings. McCaskie would fall short of a deserved 100 when Kirk McKenzie had him caught by Ackeem Auguste for 93.
King continued on to 92 during a partnership of 39 with Jahmar Hamilton but then he became the third victim of the Imlach/Clarke combination to miss out on his century.
Hamilton than stitched together a stand of 74 with Kevin Sinclair but then was dismissed by Nyeem Young for 57. Sinclair soldiered on putting on 23 with Dominic Drakes who made 13 before he lost his wicket to Kevin Wickham for 13.
Sinclair will resume on 52 on Thursday with Veerasammy Permaul at the other end with the intention of taking Weekes XI past 400.
Clarke was the best bowler on the day with 3-91 while Young took 2-75.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles find themselves at the pinnacle of regional first-class cricket once again after completing a stunning comeback on the final day of their final round fixture against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes at Providence to secure their sixth hold on the West Indies Championship title in eight years.
The Hurricanes entered day four in the driver’s seat, being 81-1 needing just 62 more runs for victory with nine wickets in the shed. Kieran Powell and Keacy Carty were the batsmen at the crease on 47 and 17, respectively.
The Leewards lost their first wicket of day four when Kevin Sinclair removed Carty for 21 before trapping Devon Thomas in front for a duck two balls later.
The Hurricanes then went on to lose their final seven wickets for just 17 runs as the Harpy Eagles completed a spectacular final day comeback.
Their efforts were led by Kevin Sinclair’s career-best figures of 6-33 off 16.5 overs while Veerasammy Permaul took 3-44 from his 15 overs.
The Harpy Eagles ended the campaign with 84 points, 9.8 points ahead of the Windward Islands Volcanoes in second.
Kevin Sinclair took 4-37 to lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles to a 228-run win over the Jamaica Scorpions on day four of their fourth-round fixture at Providence on Saturday.
The Scorpions started day four 176-1 off 43 overs with a glimmer of hope of pulling off a historic chase.
That hope was quickly dashed as Tevin Gilzene and Jermaine Blackwood, who entered the day on 81 and 66, respectively, were swiftly dismissed for 85 and 67. Paul Palmer Jr also went for a duck in between those wickets as the Scorpions were suddenly 207-4.
The wickets continued to tumble as the Scorpions were eventually bowled out for 229 in the 67th over.
Sinclair finished with figures of 4-37 off 18.2 overs while Ronsford Beaton took 3-85 off 17 and Veerasammy Permaul took 2-23 off 11.
Half centuries from Leon Johnson, Anthony and Kevin Sinclair were the foundation of the Guyana Harpy Eagles’ 324 against Trinidad and Tobago on the opening day of their third-round West Indies Championship match on Wednesday.
Johnson scored 62, Bramble 52 and Sinclair 69 for Guyana that also got useful contributions of 44 from Kemol Savory and 46 from Keemo Paul.
Guyana benefitted from solid middle-order batting that saw partnerships of 97 between Savory and Johnson before both were dismissed in quick succession after taking the score from 33-3.
A partnership of 79 between Bramble and Sinclair followed before Sinclair and Paul added 88 for the seventh wicket.
Imran Khan was the best of the Red Force bowlers taking 4-80 while Bryan Charkes snared 3-85 for Trinidad and Tobago who were seven without loss at stumps, 317 runs behind.
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair and pacer Ronsford Beaton were the heroes as they batted 17.1 overs to salvage a draw for the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday.
The day started with the Harpy Eagles 35-0 off 14.3 overs, needing a further 259 runs to win their second straight game with Matthew Nandu on 18 and Tevin Imlach on 13.
The pair brought the score up to 54 in the 23rd over before Preston McSween dismissed Imlach for 25.
Kemol Savory joined Nandu at the crease and lasted 35 balls before falling to Kenneth Dember for seven in the 31st over.
Captain Leon Johnson made his way to the middle to join Nandu and the pair put on 55 for the third wicket before Johnson was dismissed by Darius Martin for 40 in the 46th over.
The 47th over saw Nandu bring up his half century off 112 balls. The 19-year-old struck 126 in their first-round encounter with the Barbados Pride.
The 51st over saw the Harpy Eagles lose their fourth wicket as Anthony Bramble went caught behind off McSween for three.
Just two balls later, 140-4 became 141-5 as Nandu was bowled for a well-compiled 60 off 123 balls.
Akshya Persaud, who replaced Chandrapaul Hemraj who retired hurt on day three, then combined with Sinclair to form a crucial 64-run sixth-wicket partnership. The partnership ended when Persaud was dismissed by Justin Greaves for a 62-ball 24 to leave the Harpy Eagles 205-6 in 70th over.
Between the 73rd and 74th over, Veerasammy Permaul (4), Shamar Joseph (0) and Nial Smith (0) all fell, bringing Ronsford Beaton to the crease to join Sinclair and try to save the match.
Sinclair brought up his fifty off 82 balls in the 79th over and the pair put together a masterful display of grit to bat out the last 17.1 overs to finish 250-9 off 91 overs.
Sinclair ended up 77* off 138 balls while Beaton made just one but, more importantly, faced 24 balls.
Preston McSween ended up with 3-58 from 21 overs while Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge took two wickets, each.
Scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 294 off 80.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 141, Ryan John 51*, Sunil Ambris 47, Veerasammy Permaul 4-70, Ronsford Beaton 2-50, Kevin Sinclair 2-66) and 168 off 56.3 overs (Justin Greaves 27, Sunil Ambris 26, Preston McSween 25, Shamar Joseph 5-41, Ronsford Beaton 3-35)
Guyana Harpy Eagles 169 off 63.1 overs (Veerasammy Permaul 53, Kevin Sinclair 23, Justin Greaves 5-24, Ryan John 2-52) and 250-9 off 91 overs (Kevin Sinclair 77*, Matthew Nandu 60, Leon Johnson 40, Preston McSween 3-58, Justin Greaves 2-35, Kavem Hodge 2-36)
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and off-spinner Kevin Sinclair have been named in the match-day squad as replacements for Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy for the fourth and fifth matches of the CG Insurance T20 International (T20I) series against Australia.
Hetmyer and McCoy are both nursing injuries and will be unavailable.
West Indies have already clinched the series following their six-wicket victory on Monday night that came after an 18-run victory last Friday night and an impressive 56-run triumph on Saturday night.
The next two matches will be played under lights at the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium (DSCG) on Wednesday, July 14 and Friday, July 16 with the first ball at 7:30 pm (6:30 pm Jamaica Time).
“The team has played really well to win the first three matches and the CG Insurance Series – they have played good cricket in every department,” said CWI Chief Selector Roger Harper.
“The aim is to continue to build on the momentum created and strive to win the remaining games. Winning builds confidence from a team perspective and will give the players greater belief in the roles they are playing. So, it is important to keep winning. We took the decision to rest players who have picked up some niggles and give opportunities to other players in the squad.”
This CG Insurance T20I Series forms part of the West Indies T20 World Cup preparation. The defending champions have a total of 15 T20Is to be played across three months in the build-up to the ICC T20 World Cup which is being staged in the United Arab Emirates and Oman from October 17 to November 14.
Fully vaccinated patrons will be able to buy tickets for the series from the stadium ticket office at the East Gate on presentation of their vaccination documentation and their national ID, with tickets available at EC$50 per match.
The full squad comprises Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Akeal Hosein, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Kevin Sinclair, Evin Lewis, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Oshane Thomas, and Hayden Walsh Jr
Fidel Edwards, Shimron Hetmyer and Obed McCoy are the travelling reserves.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) will continue to offer development opportunities to some of the best young West Indians during the ninth edition of the CPL, which takes place in St Kitts later this year.
Since 2019, and for the third consecutive season, 12 players have been drafted, retained or signed into the two mandatory Emerging Player positions in each of the six CPL franchises.
Each CPL franchise will have to field an Emerging Player a minimum of five times during the tournament, ensuring that these players get at least some competitive playing experience and the opportunity to train with some of the best players and coaches from across the Caribbean, and around the world.
The list of 12 retained and drafted players include recent West Indies Men’s Test and T20I debutants Joshua Da Silva and Kevin Sinclair who will feature for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors respectively. At relatively young ages, these two players have notably risen through the CWI development ranks in the last 18 months since featuring for the victorious West Indies Emerging team in the 2019 CG Insurance Super50 Cup.
Four of the Emerging Players will be experiencing the CPL for the first time: Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, Kadeem Alleyne and Leonardo Julien. McKenzie and James were members of the West Indies Under-19 side that featured in the last ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, held in South Africa in 2020, who now have a chance to develop their white ball skills with the Jamaica Tallawahs.
CWI’s Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams congratulated the selected players saying: “CWI is extremely happy for the 12 Emerging Players who will participate in this year’s CPL tournament. The Emerging Player programme is now a focal point of our elite player pathway and the CPL plays a critical role in exposing these young players to elite players and high level competition. We have no doubt that the experience gained by these young players will be a significant factor in establishing the next generation of international players within this format of the game.”
Reflecting on the third year of the CWI and CPL collaboration, CWI’s High-Performance Manager Graeme West said: “The Emerging Player Programme underlines the growth and strength of the CWI and CPL partnership. In a year where running high-performance activities for our talented young players has been challenging, CPL will provide the 12 emerging players a great learning and development opportunity.”
He continued: “With seven players retained from the 2020 CPL, this draft represents a reward for the performances and potential that the franchises saw from the Emerging Players in Trinidad last year. I’m delighted that three players from last year’s West Indies Under-19 squad have been drafted for the first time with McKenzie, James and Julian joining team-mates Nedd, Young and Seales who will look to build on their performances in 2020. The drafting of Kadeem Alleyne is really significant as it demonstrates to all young cricketers in the Caribbean that outstanding performances in local tournaments can be recognized and rewarded.”
The full list of drafted, retained and signed Emerging Players for their respective CPL teams is as follows:
Joshua Bishop (Barbados) - Retained by Barbados Tridents
Nyeem Young (Barbados) - Retained by Barbados Tridents
Ashmead Nedd (Guyana) - Retained by Guyana Warriors
Kevin Sinclair (Guyana) - Retained by Guyana Warriors
Joshua James* (Trinidad & Tobago) - Drafted by Jamaica Tallawahs
Kirk McKenzie* (Jamaica) - Drafted by Jamaica Tallawahs
Dominic Drakes (Barbados) - Retained by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
Joshua Da Silva (Trinidad & Tobago) - Retained by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
Kadeem Alleyne* (Barbados) - Drafted by St Lucia Zouks
Jeavor Royal (Jamaica) - Drafted by St Lucia Zouks
Leonardo Julien* (Trinidad & Tobago) - Signed by Trinbago Knight Riders
Jayden Seales (Trinidad & Tobago) - Retained by Trinbago Knight Riders
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.
Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards have been recalled to the West Indies squad for next month’s T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.
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