West Indies senior Men’s head coach Phil Simmons says players must be more aware of situations ahead of the Betway T20 International Series against England.

“Each game has a situation. Every ball is a situation in the game, and we’ve got to be able to assess that situation and know how we have to play in that game. If you’re 20-3 you play differently than if you’re 40-0. These are the little situations that we need to highlight and win and that will take us to winning the game,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Simmons also explained that the return of the West Indies to the pinnacle of world cricket will only come with a focus on development at all levels.

“Definitely things need to be changed at different levels. You don’t become bad batsmen at this level,” he said.

He continued on, saying that responsibility lies with coaches at all levels to see to the development of players in the region.

“You come up here thinking you are able to play up here, but things are not going the way they should do so there must be some sort of responsibility taken from the levels before us and that’s something that has to be addressed, generally, as an organization,” Simmons added.

With that said, Simmons also acknowledged that once players get to the international level, they also have a part to play.

“In saying that, the guys, when they come up here, need to fight harder. They need to put more effort into wanting to be the best in the world when they come up here,” he added.

The West Indies will play five T20 Internationals against England in Barbados starting on January 22.

West Indies Under-19s defeated Scotland Under-19s by seven wickets at Warner Park to secure their first win in the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Monday.

West Indies Under-19s won the toss and bowled first.  That proved to be a good decision as the Scottish batsmen were unable to withstand a quality bowling performance from the West Indians, eventually being bowled out for 95 in 35.1 overs.

Opening bowler Shiva Sankar, who was voted man of the match, led the bowling for the home side with 3-17 from his seven overs.

Spinners Onaje Amory and Anderson Mahase took 2-26 off 10 overs and 2-16 off 5.1 overs, respectively.

The West Indies had a relatively easy chase, losing just three wickets in their pursuit of 96 for victory.

Openers Shaqkere Parris (26) and Matthew Nandu (8) as well as wicket-keeper/batsman Rivaldo Clarke (13) were the batsmen out.

Teddy Bishop and Jordan Johnson finished not out on 23 and 14, respectively, to help the West Indies successfully chase their target in 19.4 overs.

West Indies Under-19s, Australia Under-19s, and Sri Lanka Under-19s now all have two points with the West Indies leading the group on net run rate.

Sri Lanka Under-19s and Australia Under-19s were locked in battle in the other Group D match on the day with the Aussies being bowled out for 175 and Sri Lanka on 44-3, from nine overs, in pursuit of their target.

Inter Miami CF have signed Jamaica international defender Damion Lowe, the club announced Sunday.

The 28-year-old joins Inter Miami through to the 2023 MLS season with a re-sign option for 2024.

“Damion is a capable center back who has proven himself at the international level for Jamaica and we’re happy to welcome him at Inter Miami," chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said in a release.

 "I’ve known Damion for a long time and I’m sure he’ll welcome this challenge to break into MLS while helping us achieve our objectives. We’re looking forward to continuing to solidify our backline with this signing," Henderson added.

Lowe was selected No. 8 overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft by Seattle Sounders FC where he made 18 appearances with the then-USL Championship affiliate Seattle Sounders FC 2 and scored one goal.

He's had a well-travelled career ever since, making stops at Minnesota United FC, IK Start in Norway, Al Ittihad in Egypt, and Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising both USL Championship.

Lowe has become a regular with Jamaica, earning 41 senior caps while regularly serving as captain for the Reggae Boyz.

He was named to the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Best XI.

In 2019, Clarendon College suffered a heart-breaking 1-0 loss to Kingston College in the final of the ISSA Champions Cup.

Three years later, the Chapleton-based school have gone one better after scoring a 1-0 win over Dinthill Technical at Stadium East to win the ISSA Champions Cup.

In a back-and-forth affair, both teams traded chances throughout the first half before the deadlock was finally broken in the second half when a deflected shot from Jaheim Rose found its way to the feet of Kaheem Dixon who slotted home the decisive goal in the 53^rd minute.

Clarendon College are now the second rural-area school to win the Champions Cup joining Cornwall College who won the title in 2018.

In Group C, Zimbabwe U-19s achieved the biggest margin of victory so far in the tournament, a massive 228 run win over Papua New Guinea U-19s in Port of Spain.

After Zimbabwe won the toss and batted first, captain Emmanuel Bawa scored one of two centuries on the day, an even 100 off 95 balls to help Zimbabwe post a formidable 321-9 off their 50 overs.

Papua New Guinea were no match for the Zimbabwean bowlers, being skittled out for 93 in 35 overs.

Victor Chirwa was the pick of the Zimbabwean bowlers with 2-11 from seven overs while Brian Bennett (2-20 from 6 overs) and Ngenyasha Zvinoera (2-25 from 6 overs) also had good spells.

In the lone Group A match on Saturday, UAE U-19s beat Canada U-19s by 49 runs in a competitive game in Basseterre.

UAE U-19s won the toss and batted first, making 284-7 off their 50 overs thanks to half-centuries from Punya Mehra (71) and Ali Naseer (73).

Gurnek Singh took 2-38 off seven overs for Canada U-19s.

A well-played 96 from captain Mihir Patel wasn’t enough for Canada U-19s to successfully chase their target, eventually finishing 235 all out off 46.4 overs.

Anoop Chima (46) and Kairav Sharma (43) also got runs for Canada U-19s against 2-32 from eight overs from Nilansh Keswani.

Adhitya Shetty, Jash Giyanani and Alishan Sharafu also got two wickets each for UAE U-19s.

In the first of two Group B matches on Saturday, Ireland U-19s Joshua Cox was the day’s second centurion as his 111 not out helped them secure a 39-run win over Uganda U-19s in Georgetown.

Uganda U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved costly in the end as Ireland were able to get a score of 236-9 off their 50 overs with Cox getting the most support from Phillipus le Roux who made 32.

Juma Miyaji, captain Pascal Muringi, Joseph Baguma and Matthew Musinguzi all took two wickets each for the Ugandans.

Murungi then top scored with 63 and Miyaji also contributed 38 but it wasn’t enough as Ireland restricted them to 197 all out off 48.1 overs to seal the win.

Matthew Humphreys was the pick of the Irish bowlers with 4-25 off his 10 overs.

India U-19s secured a 45-run win over South Africa U-19s in Georgetown in the other Group B clash.

South Africa U-19s won the toss and elected to field first, a decision which looked like the right one as they were able to pick up early wickets thanks to good bowling by left-arm pacer Aphiwe Mnyanda.

India got on the right track, however, and used innings from captain Yash Dhull (82), Kaushal Tambe (35) and Shaik Rasheed (31) to recover to 232 all out in 46.5 overs.

Matthew Boast led the South African bowlers with 3-40 off nine overs while Mnyanda took 2-29 from five.

A stroke-filled 65 from Dewald Brevis and a solid 36 from captain George Van Heerden proved to be insufficient as South Africa lost wickets in quick succession before eventually being bowled out for 187 in 45.4 overs.

Vicky Ostval was the chief destroyer for the Indians with a brilliant 5-28 off his 10 overs while Raj Bawa supported him with 4-47 from 6.4 overs.

The key to the West Indies winning their CG Insurance One-Day International series against Ireland will be the ability to maintain wickets in hand in order to launch at the back-end of the innings, according to opening batsman and vice-captain Shai Hope.

The West Indies top-order batsmen have experienced difficulties with the moisture on the Sabina Park pitch, in the first two games of the series, after losing the toss and being asked to bat by Ireland on both occasions.

“We all know that in the morning time, there’s a lot of moisture in the pitch and it’s just unfortunate that we didn’t get to win the toss in the first two games,” he said.

Still, Hope emphasized the importance of trying to battle through the conditions, regardless of the result of the toss.

“Whether we win the toss or not, we have to do whatever we do, first, to the best of our ability. The key is to make sure we do it better this game because we know it is a series decider,” Hope added.

When asked about the average batting performance in the series so far, Hope once again pointed to difficult conditions.

“I think anyone who understands cricket can see that conditions aren’t conducive to stroke-play. It’s not a free-flowing wicket, especially in the morning at Sabina Park. It’s just important for us as batters to adapt to that as fast as we can. It’s not easy but we still have to find a way,” Hope added.

Finally, he offered possible solutions for the West Indies' batting woes.

“It’s just important for us to find a way, whether it’s putting the bowlers under more pressure or trying to run more singles in the middle period. I also think it’s important for us to maintain wickets in the middle so we can launch at the back-end because, at the end of the innings, the wicket tends to get a lot better,” Hope said.

The third and final CG Insurance ODI between The West Indies and Ireland takes place on Sunday at Sabina Park at 9:15 am Jamaica Time.

The series is currently locked at 1-1.

Jamaican sprinter, Briana Williams, equalled her indoor 60m personal best of 7.18 seconds to finish third at the 2022 LSU Purple Tiger Invitational on Friday.

After running 7.20 in her heat to advance, Williams finished third in the final behind the American pair of Aleia Hobbs who ran 7.10 for the win, and Mikiah Briscoe who ran 7.17 for second.

Williams had previously run 7.18 in New York in February 2020.

A double sprint world junior champion in 2018, Williams represented Jamaica as a senior for the first time last year at the Tokyo Olympics, running the opening leg on Jamaica's gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team.

The 19-year-old currently has personal bests of 10.97 in the 100m and 22.50 in the 200m.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s Selection Panel on Friday named an 18-member squad for the One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa Women, at the Imperial Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, from January 25 to February 7.

The touring squad sees a return for Afy Fletcher, the experienced leg-spinner and right-handed batter, who returns from maternity leave.

The squad also includes three uncapped players: Kaysia Schultz, a left arm orthodox bowler, Mandy Mangru, a right-handed batter, and Jannillea Glasgow, a right-arm medium pacer.

The three newcomers were members of the West Indies Women’s A team, which played against Pakistan Women’s A Team last year.

“The South Africa series comes at an opportune time as the team prepares for the upcoming World Cup. The squad has been preparing and building during the past year, even with the limitations caused by the pandemic and hopefully, they can put it all together. The return of the experienced Afy Fletcher brings added variety to the bowling particularly with the absence of Qiana Joseph who has been ruled out due to injury,” said Ann Browne-John, CWI Lead Selector for Women’s cricket.

“In our drive to continue the expansion of our player pool, the panel has included three young, uncapped players. They are Kaysia Schultz, Mandy Mangru as well as teenager Jannillea Glasgow. Exposure to international cricket at this time will most certainly give them the experience and match time needed to develop and grow their individual talents. The panel believes that this blend of youth and experience will work well as we continue our preparations for the World Cup,” Browne-John added.

The West Indies Women are due to arrive in South Africa on January 16, where they will have a training camp ahead of the warm-up and four-match ODI series against the Proteas Women.

Full squad:

Stafanie Taylor (Captain), Anisa Mohammed (Vice-Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shemaine Campbelle, Shamilia Connell, Deandra Dottin, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, Chinelle Henry, Kycia Knight, Mandy Mangru, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz, Shakera Selman, Rashada Williams.

Mona High and defending champions St. Catherine High will contest the 2022 Walker Cup final after securing semi-final wins at Stadium East today.

Mona High secured a comfortable 5-0 win over Kingston Technical to advance to the final.

Two long range strikes from Romario Thomas in the 27^th and 44^th minutes allowed Mona to go into halftime with a 2-0 lead.

In the second half, goals from Robinho Gordon in the 49^th, Kenaldo Brown in the 54^th, and Damoy Whitfield in the 73^rd propelled the St. Andrew-based school to the final.

St. Catherine High beat Excelsior High 2-1 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw to progress to the final.

Javauney Simms gave Excelsior the lead in the 36^th minute but St. Catherine equalized in the 46^th minute through a brilliant strike from Nickyle Ellis.

The two teams then endured a ridiculous penalty shootout, which saw them miss their first six combined penalties before St. Catherine held their nerve and scored their last two to advance.

Mona will be looking for their first Walker Cup title, while St. Catherine will be looking to become back-to-back winners of the knockout competition.

An unbeaten 86 from opener Teague Wyllie propelled Australia Under-19s to a comfortable six-wicket win over West Indies Under-19s in the opening game of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup at Providence today.

Australia’s opening pair of Wyllie and Corey Miller marched to the crease in pursuit of their target of 170.

Opening bowlers Johann Layne and Shiva Sankar started the innings with tight bowling and the pressure paid off when Layne removed Miller for a duck to leave the Aussies 5-1 in the third over.

Sankar then got in on the action by removing number three Isaac Higgins for nine to leave the Australians 21-2 off 7.5 overs.

After 11 overs, Australia was 45-2 with Wyllie (17) and captain Cooper Connolly (12) at the crease.

After Connolly and Willey put together a solid partnership, it was broken by Onaje Amory in the 18^th over when he removed Connolly for 23 to leave the Australians 74-3.

Australia after 20 overs were 77-3 with Wyllie on 36 and Nivethan Radhakrishnan on two.

Looking extremely comfortable at the crease, Wyllie (46) and Radhakrishnan (12) carried the Australian total past 100.

Soon after, Willey brought up his fifty, off 83 balls, in the 30^th over.

Australia lost their fourth wicket when Radhakrishnan was dismissed in the 39^th over by Matthew Nandu for 31 to leave the score at 139-4.

After 40 overs, Australia were 154-4 with Wyllie still batting on 79 and Campbell Kellaway on one.

The Aussies eventually got to 170-4 off 44.5 overs to register the six-wicket win.

Wyllie was voted man of the match.

Earlier, West Indies Under-19s were restricted to 169 all out in 40.1 overs, with captain Ackeem Auguste getting 57 and Rivaldo Clarke contributing 37 against three-wicket hauls from Tom Whitney (3-20 from 8.1 overs), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (3-48 from 10 overs) and captain Cooper Connolly (3-17 from 7 overs).

In the other Group D match today, Sri Lanka Under 19s (218 all out from 50 overs) beat Scotland Under-19s (178 all out from 48.4 overs) by 40 runs.

Both West Indies U-19s and Australia U-19s next games will be on Monday, January 17 against Scotland Under-19s and Sri Lanka Under-19s, respectively.

West Indies Under-19s were reduced to 169 all out off 40.1 overs, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first, in their opening ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup game against Australia Under-19s at Providence today.

Their innings got off to the worst possible start as opener Matthew Nandu was dismissed with the second ball of the innings by Tom Whitney to leave them 1-1.

The second wicket fell soon after as Whitney removed West Indies U-19s number three batsman Teddy Bishop for five, in the fifth over, to leave the score at 12-2.

Opener Shaqkere Parris became the third man to go in the very next over after being dismissed by William Salzmann for four to leave the young Windies 12-3.

Captain Ackeem Auguste (14) and Rivaldo Clarke (8) ensured that West Indies U19s lost no further wickets in the first 10 overs, carrying the score to 38-3.

Auguste and Clarke continued to look assured as they brought up 50 for the West Indies U19s after 13 overs.

After 20 overs, West Indies U-19s were 99-3 thanks to more quality batting from Auguste (46) and Clarke (37).

Auguste brought up two milestones with one shot in the 21^st over, bringing up a classy 50 off 54 balls and the West Indies 100.

Australia U-19s got a much-needed breakthrough when Clarke went off the bowling of Nivethan Radhakrishnan for 37 to leave the score at 107-4 after 21.5 overs.

Giovonte Depeiza joined Auguste at the crease but didn’t last long, being dismissed by Australian captain Cooper Connolly for a duck to leave the young Windies 109-5 off 23 overs.

Connolly got his second wicket at the start of the 25^th over, removing Auguste for a quality 56 to leave the score 112-6.

Radhakrishnan dismissed Anderson Mahase for six in the 28^th over to take his second wicket and continue Australia’s stranglehold on the West Indies U19 batting line-up to leave them on 124-7.

After 30 overs, West Indies Under-19s were 131-7 with Johann Layne on 12 and McKenny Clarke on two.

Layne became Radhakrishnan’s third wicket in the 32^nd over for 12 to leave the score at 131-8.

Connolly took his third wicket and Australia’s ninth when he removed Shiva Sankar for seven to leave West Indies U-19s 145-9.

Three McKenny Clarke sixes in the 38^th over brought the score past 150.

After 40 overs, the West Indies U19s were 168-9 with McKenny Clarke on 29 and Onaje Amory on zero.

The innings was finally ended when McKenny Clarke was dismissed by Tom Whitney in the 41^st over for 29.

Tom Whitney was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-20 off 8.1 overs and Nivethan Radhakrishnan supported him well with 3-48 off 10 overs.

Former West Indies head coach, Ottis Gibson, has decided not to renew his contract as Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach.

The 52-year-old completed his two-year contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) this month and is set to join Pakistan Super League side Multan Sultans for the start of their campaign on January 27.

BCB’s cricket operations committee chairman, Jalal Yunus, spoke about the situation in an interview with ESPNcricinfo.

“Ottis Gibson didn’t want to renew his contract which we accepted. Local coaches will look after the fast-bowling department temporarily. We hope to replace Gibson with another foreign coach shortly,” Yunus said.

Gibson, who played two tests and 15 ODIs for the West Indies between 1995 and 1999, joined Bangladesh in January 2020, replacing former South African fast-bowler Charl Langeveldt.

Gibson was the head coach of the West Indies Men’s senior team from 2010 to 2014.

Gibson’s best time with the Bangladesh team came earlier this month, in New Zealand, where Bangladesh’s pacers took 13 wickets on the way to a historic victory in the first Test against New Zealand at Mount Manganui.

Ireland secured a five-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method to tie their 3-match One-Day International series with the West Indies 1-1 at Sabina Park on Thursday.

Ireland’s opening pair of William Porterfield and Paul Stirling got off to a strong start reaching 37 off 4.5 overs before Stirling was dismissed for 21 by Akeal Hosein.

Ireland brought up their 50 in the eighth over with Porterfield on 22 and Andy McBrine yet to score.

Roston Chase removed Porterfield with the final ball of the 10^th over for 26 to leave the Irish on 60-2.

McBrine and Harry Tector formed a decent partnership and brought Ireland’s score past 100 before McBrine was dismissed by Romario Shepherd to become the third wicket to fall for a well-played 35, in the 20^th over, to leave Ireland at 104-3.

Tector (46) and Curtis Campher (11) were the batsmen at the crease when Ireland brought up their 150 in the 29^th over.

Tector brought up his sixth ODI 50 and second in the series off 69 balls in the 31^st over but in the same over was bowled by Hosein.  Curtis Campher was dismissed for 12 to leave the score on 157-4 with Ireland needing 73 more runs to win from 115 balls.

A long rain delay during the 32^nd over meant that upon the resumption of the game, Ireland only needed 11 more runs to win off 28 balls after the overs were reduced from 50 to 36 by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Kieron Pollard removed George Dockrell in the 33^rd over for five, with the Irish needing just three more runs to win before Gareth Delaney hit the winning runs off Pollard to close the innings at 168-5.

Harry Tector finished 54 not out for the Irish against Akeal Hosein’s 2-51 off eight overs.

Earlier, the West Indies recovered from being 111-7 to be bowled out for 229 in 48 overs thanks to a well-made 50 from Romario Shepherd and an aggressive 46 off 19 balls from Odean Smith against a four-wicket haul from Andy McBrine, who was voted man of the match, and a three-wicket haul from Craig Young.

The third and final ODI will take place on Sunday at 9:15 AM Jamaica time at the same venue.

West Indies Under-19 captain Ackeem Auguste says the team is confident ahead of the start of the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup on Friday.

West Indies U-19s will open their bid to capture their first title since the 2016 edition when they face Australia Under-19s at Providence Stadium in Guyana.

“I think we’re fairly confident. We’ve prepared very well as a unit and did our own personal training so I think going into the game, it’s important that we stick to the basics for as long as possible and just enjoy it,” Auguste said, speaking to the media on Thursday.

The captain also expressed the sentiment that the unity of the squad is good heading into the tournament.

“I think the camaraderie amongst the boys is very good. We’re gelling well as a unit,” he said.

When asked about the plans for the game against Australia on Friday, Auguste again emphasized sticking to the basics as much as possible.

“The plan is to just stick to the basics for as long as possible, encourage each other, pull each other along, and just play the game hard,” he added.