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CPL 2021: Varied armoury brings solidity to Trinbago Knight Riders unit
What could be the most difficult aspect of this game? Batting, bowling or fielding? Probably, yes but more than anything, it is sustaining to stay at the top. That pressure of defending your title in comparison to lifting the trophy for the first time is immense. But this doesn’t seem to be the case with Trinbago Knight Riders. Team manager Colin Borde has already said that the team is under “no pressure” whatsoever. Well, as they say, attack in the best defence. For TKR, this seems to be the basic plan as the side goes into the tournament to defend the title. The defending champions begin the competition against Guyana Amazon Warriors on August 26, 2021 which will also mark the start of CPL 2021 in St Kitts. All the matches will be played at the same venue. TKR have always invested in experience and they have continued to do the same as they picked up the squad for this edition of the CPL. From Kieron Pollard to Sunil Narine and from Yasir Shah to Colin Munro, the unit has a bunch of players with vast experience especially in the shorter format of the game who have played cricket all around the globe and probably under all sorts of conditions. Trinbago Knight Riders squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Yasir Shah, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Tim Seifert, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julien, Ali Khan. Team News Trinbago made a bold decision after they let go experienced all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and traded him to St Kitts/Nevis Patriots, with experienced wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin who made a return to the franchise. “Obviously, to any team, Dwayne is an asset,” Borde had said. “We have the requisite expertise and experience to forge ahead.” TKR retained as many 12 players and completed their squad of 16 after the conclusion of CPL draft. They attained the services of Ravi Rampaul, Isuru Udana, Sandeep Lamichchane and wicket keeper batsman Leonardo Julien. But Lamichhane and Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza were later replaced by Pakistan’s Yasir Shah and New Zealand keeper Tim Siefert respectively. Shah had featured in the CPL back in 2018 for the Knight Riders for a short span of time while Siefert was a part of it in the 2020 edition. Lamichhane would be busy with national duties during that time as Nepal would be battling it out against PNG in Oman. Let the willow talk Those who follow the Indian Premier League or are Kolkata Knight Riders fans would know what Sunil Narine brings to the table not just with the ball but with the bat too. Narine has opened the innings for the T20 franchises and the move has come as a success for his sides. The left-handed batsman can fetch runs at brisk pace in the power play overs that gives the side an edge and a basic foundation to post a big total. Apart from him, Darren Bravo and Lendl Simmons are the other two batters who can be lethal against any bowling attack on their day. Both the players have the ability to go after the opponents’ bowling line up and hammer them around the park. West Indies cricket fans would remember how Simmons hammered India in the semis to notch up a 51-ball 82. Interestingly, that was his first game of the tournament. So, if Simmons along with Bravo or Narine go all guns blazing, the bowling attacks would be in all sorts of trouble. Next in the list are some international recruits such as Colin Munro and Tim Seifert. Munro’s tally of 300 T20 matches speaks for itself. The left-hander has scored over 7000 runs in T20 format at a strike-rate of 143.87 which gives one an idea about how menacing he can be with the willow in his hands. Tim Seifert on the other hand, if gets a chance in the final XI can prove to be an asset. The right-hander too has a lot of T20 experience. Captain Kieron Pollard would play a vital role in creating a balance in the batting unit as he is capable enough to steady the ship for the side if and when required while can score runs quickly and increase the scoring-rate whenever needed. The TKR would want him to play that anchor’s role especially while chasing. The presence of wicket-keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin and Isuru Udana in the middle and lower middle-order also brings stability in the batting department for TKR. Variety in bowling Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah, Ravi Rampaul, Isuru Udana, Kieron Pollard and now Jayden Seales. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see such a bowling line up? Experience? Yes. Strength? Yes. But most importantly, it is the variety that these bowlers bring. Narine is probably one of the most successful bowlers when it comes to power play. He has the ability to keep a check on the run flow especially in the starting of the proceedings. Then comes another spinner, Yasir Shah. The leg-spinners are said to belong to that genre of bowling who are at the receiving end if the batsmen are on song but the leggies are the most lethal and dangerous too. From the wrong-uns to tossed up leg spin deliveries, they can deceive the batsmen with authority and rip through any line up. Moreover, the amount of cricket that Yasir Shah has played, he is a well-equipped bowler. A left-arm pacer has a lot on offer for his team. He can deceive the batsmen with the deliveries coming in or the ones moving away quite efficiently. There came a time in the 2019 World Cup in England where almost all the teams barring India had at least one left-arm pacer in the unit. Though, the conditions were pretty different then but the responsibility would be similar. Trinbago have Isuru Udana in their ranks. The Sri Lankan has played some franchise cricket and his international exposure would come as a boon for the side. TKR have a mix of young lads and experienced campaigners in their side. Someone like Ravi Rampaul would not just only be an important cog in the wheel for the team but he can be one of those players who would mentor and nurture the young crop which includes someone like Jayden Seales. Seales would be riding high on the way he has performed recently in the Tests especially against Pakistan in their first encounter of the series where the pacer bagged a total of 8 wickets. Skipper Pollard will have an extra bit of responsibility on himself as he will have to chip in with some overs as well. The right-arm bowler has impressed everyone with his bowling in the past and would look to pick wickets consistently for the side. Overall, the team looks to be a balanced one and has a lot of variety as well. Probable XI: Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Colin Munro, Kieron Pollard (C), Denesh Ramdin, Isuru Udana, Ravi Rampaul, Yasir Shah, Jayden Seales, Akeal Hosein
West Indies recall Chemar Holder, Shamarh Brooks for Pakistan Tests
West Indies have announced the squad for the two-match Test series against Pakistan scheduled to begin on Thursday in Jamaica. Middle-order batsman Shamarh Brooks who last played a Test series for the Caribbean side in December has returned to the squad while Darren Bravo and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel have been left out. “Shannon Gabriel has been given time to rehab fully and build his conditioning. Darren Bravo has been part of the ‘bubble’ from the preparation camp leading into the Test series against South Africa and has been given a break,” said lead selector Roger Harper. Kraigg Brathwaite will be leading the side while Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Shai Hope and Kemar Roach are some of the prominent names in the squad. The first Test begins on August 12 while the second fixture will commence on August 20 in Jamaica. The two teams earlier locked horns in a four-match T20I series which Pakistan won. Three out of the four fixtures were washed away due to rain while Pakistan clinched a win in the second T20I by 7 runs in Guyana. West Indies Squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Rahkeem Cornwall, Roston Chase, Joshua da Silva, Jahmar Hamilton, Chemar Holder, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Jomel Warrican.
Holder, Bravo back as 10 players from Bangladesh tour retain their spots in Windies Test squad
West Indies Cricket announced the Test squad for the upcoming two-match series of the men in maroon against Sri Lanka. Jason Holder and Darren Bravo have found themselves back in the squad while 10 players from the ‘second string’ team that created history in Bangladesh barely a month ago have also retained their positions in the squad. Jermaine Blackwood has been named deputy to Kragg Brathwaite who overtook the captaincy mantle from Jason Holder. "It is good to be able to put together a Test squad with a number of players coming off very good performances in their last series in Bangladesh. It is a fantastic opportunity to build on the good work that was done in Bangladesh,” chief selector Roger Harper said in a press conference. Terming the historic victory as a boost for Windies cricket in the long format, Harper said that too many players competing for limited spots would increase the competing zeal in the squad. “This now means that there is keen competition for places which should drive better individual performances and that of the team. I also think that these players are looking forward to displaying their skills on home soil,” Harper added. West Indies play the first of the two games beginning 21st March at the iconic Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound. West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (captain) Jermaine Blackwood (vc) Nkrumah Bonner Darren Bravo John Campbell Rahkeem Cornwall Joshua Da Silva (wk) Shannon Gabriel Jason Holder Alzarri Joseph Kyle Mayers Kemar Roach Jomel Warrican
Super 50 Cup 2021: Star-studded T&T too strong for Guyana on finals day
An all-round team performance from Trinidad and Tobago defeated Guyana in the finals of the domestic Super 50 Cup in West Indies. Chasing a mammoth target of 363 runs from 50 overs, Guyana were cut to size by Trinidad and Tobago pacers- Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales, and Aiden Phillip. Rampaul was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets from his 10 overs, while Seales and Phillip finished with three and two wickets respectively. Raymon Reifer was the lone shining prospect from Guyana and was dismissed just three shies of a much-deserving hundred, as others failed miserably with the bat. Batting first, Trinidad put up a valiant effort with the bat and posted a humongous 362 runs on the board. The Trinidad and Tobago had a superior batting line up on paper with the likes of Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Evin Lewis and Nicholas Pooran in the mix. Simmons was the hero with the bat as he brought up a daddy hundred on the big final day of the tournament and with the support from almost every other batsmen took the game away from Guyana even before they walked out to bat in the second innings.
Super 50: Teams, venues, squads, fixtures and all you need to know about the star-studded domestic ODI tournament of West Indies
The West Indies cricket board decided to make the good use of the pandemic cool off period as they organised the Super 50, the annual domestic ODI competition. With the tournament being played at a time when all big players of the national team are at home (choosing not to tour Bangladesh due to quarantine), the tournament is sure to get a lot of traffic. It will be the first tournament of 2021 in the Caribbeans. The big names at the display will be West Indies Men's ODI Captain, Kieron Pollard, Test skipper Jason Holder, big-hitting young guns in Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer and many other players who have represented West Indies fo a long period of time. Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Hayden Walsh Jr., Roston Chase, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo are some of the names whose talents would be at display in the 21-day affair. Talking about the opportunity to represent his home side in List A tournament after a long time, Pollard said, “It is very good that cricket is coming back to the Caribbean. Players will get the opportunity to showcase their skills and entertain our fans.” “It has been a trying 2020 for cricketers and the whole Caribbean, so it is really good that we have the CG Insurance Super50 Cup being played at this time and hopefully, it can unearth some new talent,” added the 33-year-old who would be captaining Trinidad and Tobago. The first-ever ODI tournament between the islands combining West Indies was played in 1976 and this 2021 edition will be the 45th season of it. In this year’s tournament, six teams would be participating in the competition. Among these teams, Trinidad and Tobago have won the most number of titles (11) followed by Guyana (10). While Jamaica, this time around led by Rovaman Powell has eight titles in its kitty so far, Jason Holder led Barbados would be looking to win their eighth title. Other teams which have laid their hands at the title are the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands, both of which have won four titles each. Combined Campuses and Colleges team, which represented the education institutes in all the islands combined won the tournament in 2018-19 season while the West Indies emerging side won the last edition in 2019-20 and both these sides won’t be part of this year’s edition. Teams Barbados Pride, Guyana Jaguars, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Windward Islands Volcanoes Venue All the matches of the competition would be played in only two grounds on the island of Antigua. The two grounds are Coolidge Cricket Ground, where 13 matches including the semi-finals and the final. The other ground, the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds, North Sound, Antigua will host only six games. Fixtures Each day one game is being played (with an exception of 09th February, when there are no games played) since the tournament started on 07th February and will continue in that fashion till the round-robin league. The round-robin fixtures, where each team play the other once will go on till 22nd February. The semi-finals are scheduled for 24th and 25th February with the fifth-place paly-off on 26th. The final game will be played on 27th February. Squads Trinidad and Tobago Red Force Kieron Pollard (Captain), Darren Bravo (Vice-Captain), Akeal Hosein, Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kjorn Ottley, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Anderson Phillip, Dinesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales, Lendl Simmons; David Furlonge (Head Coach) Barbados Pride Jason Holder (Captain), Joshua Bishop, Shamarh Brooks, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Justin Greaves, Keon Harding, Chemar Holder, Akeem Jordan, Nicholas Kirton, Zachary McCaskie, Ashley Nurse, Tevyn Walcott; Dexter Toppin (Head Coach) Guyana Jaguars Leon Johnson (Captain), Shimron Hetmyer (Vice-Captain), Christopher Barnwell, Anthony Bramble, Asad Fudadin, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Tevin Imlach, Keon Joseph, Ramaal Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Akshaya Persaud, Kemol Savory, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith; Esuan Crandon (Head Coach) Jamaica Scorpions Rovman Powell (Captain), Derval Green (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Dennis Bulli, Sheldon Cottrell, Javel Glenn, Brandon King, Andre McCarthy, Jamie Merchant, Romaine Morris, Paul Palmer, Jeavor Royal, Odean Smith, Aldaine Thomas, Oshane Thomas; Andre Coley (Head Coach) Leeward Islands Hurricanes Devon Thomas (captain), Montcin Hodge (Vice-Captain), Colin Archibald, Sheeno Berridge, Quinton Boatswain, Keacy Carty, Nino Henry, Amir Jangoo, Nitish Kumar, Jeremiah Louis, Ashmead Need, Kieran Powell, Ross Powell, Hayden Walsh Jr, Terrance Warde; Stuart Williams (Head Coach) Windward Islands Volcanoes Sunil Ambris (Captain), Andre Fletcher (Vice-Captain), Alick Athanaze, Roland Cato, Keron Cottoy, Kenneth Dember, Larry Edward, Ryan John, Ray Jordan, Desron Maloney, Obed McCoy, Preston McSween, Kimani Melius, Emmanuel Stewart, Kevin Stoute; Andrew Richardson (Head Coach) Note: Ball by ball commentary of every game will be available at our website OneCricket.
New Zealand vs West Indies Test Series: 5 biggest takeaways
Despite all of the hopes of West Indian fans, the two-match Test series between them and hosts New Zealand turned out to be an excruciatinlgiy one-sided affair. The Kiwis won both their matches by a margin of an innings and more. What was an even bigger let down was the lack of runs from West Indian batsmen, after their good showing in practice matches. With the Caribbean team, it seems they take one step forward and two backwards in their journey over the last few years. After registering a wonderful win against England in the first Test of their tour of that country, they ended up crumbling in the next two. Now, this annihilation has added to their worries. On the other hand, things couldn't seem rosier for the hosts. Not only did they win both the matches, but their captain again showed his class with a 250 and their bowling attack fired on all cylinders. In the absence of Williamson, Tom Latham got the opportunity to lead the team and seems to have done it well. So, with the series over, it's time to understand what were the biggest takeaways from it. We have selected five key developments that merit attention. Jamieson Solidifies His Position Kyle Jamieson had a dream start to his career earlier this year when he caused a lot of problems to visiting Indian batsmen. Now, he has gone further and firmed up his place in the team. While his ability outside New Zealand, in unhelpful conditions isn't known, at least, at home, he will be a force to reckon with in coming tours. Tall, with a bit of pace, and able to swing the ball, he adds another string to the capable bow of New Zealand bowling attack. Campbell Gets a Lifeline Despite disappointing returns so far in his career, West Indies have persisted with their opener John Campbell in the team. This may have to do with genuine belief in his ability or maybe, a result of a lack of viable options in the domestic circuit. By scoring a half-century in the final innings of the series, Campbell may have just managed to hold onto his spot in the team. There are clearly areas in his game that need to be mended. Footwork has been bad and the left-hander has played too many unwarranted strokes. But his half-century in the second innings of the last Test showed there is something in his batting to work with. He is likely to feature again when West Indies next take the field in a Test match. Blackwood Shows His Mettle Jermaine Blackwood is a batsman who likes going for his shots whenever the ball seems to be in his hitting zone. This extravagant style of batting didn't go down well with Michael Holding during the team's tour of England in 2017. The West Indian legend insisted that batting with too much free will would make him a hit-and-miss sort of batsman. Getting dropped from the team seemed to prove Holding's words true. But then, during the West Indies team's tour of England this year, Blackwood surprised the former Windies pacer and others by showing a more measured approach to risk taking. He took his team to victory in the first Test with a brilliant 95. Blackwood has again shown what a capable batsman he is by shining in this otherwise gloomy series for West Indies. He is still taking risks, hitting the ball in the air, and playing shots which appear too risky. But it seems that this only happens at the start of his innings. Once he settles down, he becomes more stable. Perhaps, there is yet a need for cutting out gratuitous risks from his batting. But he certainly has shown tremendous improvement. Opening Issue Remains for New Zealand New Zealand's batting looks very solid at the moment. But there is one spot in the line-up which remains troubling - the opening slot. New Zealand have been trying to find a long-term partner for Tom Latham but the search continues. After Jeet Raval, the Kiwis have been trying Tom Blundell but his failures in this series keep his place in the team uncertain. To be fair, he had just two innings in this series. Hence, New Zealand would stick to him for the time being. But Blundell will be under pressure when he next opens the innings for his team. Middle Order Problems for Windies The failure of West Indies' batting order was most pronounced in their experienced middle-order. Both Darren Bravo and Roston Chase struggled badly. Chase, in fact, has been failing for quite some time and mainly due to his poor defence. Bravo has the best footwork in the Windies team and Chase has been one of the most reliable batsmen in their side. If these two don't fire, the spine of the batting line-up collapses. With Shimron Hetmyer waiting in the wings, both would be under pressure. Bravo's position is a bit more vulnerable because he has been in and out of the team while Chase has been a regular, also the latter has his bowling to back his claim to a spot.
Shambolic West Indies crumble against ruthless New Zealand
West Indies seemed to have an outside chance of making a comeback into the match at the start of day 2 in the second and final Test match between hosts New Zealand and the touring Caribbean side. However, the proved to be another one of those agonising experiences that West Indian fans have become used to in the last two decades. To begin with, Henry Nicholls continued his innings and made it past 150. When the eighth wicket fell, in the form of Tim Southee on the score of 359, Windies would have fancied their chances of restricting the Kiwis to less than 400. But a storm awaited them as Neil Wagner went berserk. A 95-run partnership between Nicholls and Wagner, at well over run-a-ball, completely demoralised the tourists. By the time Nicholls, got out, West Indies were deflated. But this was only the start of the ordeal. Eventually, New Zealand were all out for 460, with Wagner remaining unbeaten on 66 off just 42 balls. Nicholls finished up with a personal score of 174. Gabriel didn't add to his three wickets overnight while Alzarri Joseph ended with three as well. Chemar Holder and Roston Chase got two scalps each. Then came the turn of the West Indies batters to disappoint. Kraigg Brathwaite, supposedly in great form after getting his highest first-class score in a practice game, was out for a duck. Darren Bravo disappointed again as he was out caught and bowled by Tim Southee for just 7. Kyle Jamieson was introduced into the attack in the 15th over. And he immediately looked threatening. On the third ball of the over, he got John Campbell to edge the ball into the slip cordon where Latham took the catch. West Indies were 29/3. On the very next ball, Roston Chase, the new batsman, got a very full delivery that swung in viciously to go through the batsman's defences and hit the stumps. 29/4 and Windies were looking as hopeless as they did in the first game. Jermaine Blackwood, centurion from the first Test, played in his usual way. Going after any delivery that was pitched too full, he started playing his shots. As is the case with him, there were some wild swings of the bat, some streaky shots, but soon he settled down and with measured aggression, started to take his team's score forward. At the other end, Shamarh Brooks, the no. 4 batsman, took an altogether different approach. He went into his shell and hardly played an aggressive stroke. But with time, Blackwood became even more steady. Despite a sequence of four maidens, he didn't lose his head and continued to bat sensibly. He brought up his fifty with consecutive boundaries, the second one an upper cut over the slips. Even the short ball barrage of Wagner, into his ribs didn't trouble the diminutive right-hander much. Unfortunately, just when things seemed to have calmed down for the visiting team, Brooks decided to leave a delivery from Jamieson which was angled in sharply. It clipped the top of the stumps, ending the 68-run partnership. A little later, Southee bowled another outswinger that took the edge of Blackwood's bat and a good catch in the slip ended his innings of 69 off 92 balls. Windies were 111/6. Two more wickets went down as first, captain Holder went for a pull shot and was, apparently, done in by the extra bounce generated by Jamieson, lobbing an easy catch to mid-on. Then, the tall Kiwi seamer completed his five-for by getting a snick off Joseph's bat, to be taken by wicketkeeper BJ Watling. Using his height, good pace of over 140 kph, and ability to swing the ball, Jamieson has now racked up 18 wickets in his career, of which this is only the fourth match. With Southee, Boult, and Wagner already providing great firepower to this team, Jamieson's addition makes it even more deadly, at least at home. Windies ended the day on 124/8, all set for another disappointing innings defeat. The only thing they can draw solace from is Blackwood's good form and the willingness of Brooks to spend time at the wicket. It is more than can be said about the other batsmen of the team.