The 6ixty 2022: JAM vs BR Match Preview, Key Players, Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips
IPL 2021 | Rajasthan Royals Road to UAE: Glimpses of brilliance overpowered by consistent inconsistency
IPL 2021 | Rajasthan Royals draft West Indian Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas as replacements
CPL 2021: With fiery batters, lethal bowlers, experienced all-rounders, Barbados ready for battle
Can the change in name bring change in fortune for Barbados? The CPL franchise was renamed from Barbados Tridents to Barbados Royals after the owners of the IPL side Rajasthan Royals purchased the majority of the stakes. “The idea of creating a global network behind the Royals brand is something that we are keen to do for many years. It was an opportunity too good to miss. The IPL is only on our screen for a short period of the annual calendar. Secondly, it gives our fans an opportunity to follow Royals teams across the world and in different locations. Thirdly, from a cricketing perspective to trial new things,” owner of EM Sporting Holdings Ltd, Manoj Badale asserted as reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier. The Barbados team has lifted the CPL title twice in 2014 and 2019 respectively beating Guyana Amazon Warriors on the both the occasion but had a dismal show in the last edition where they ended the competition at the fifth spot in the points table. But as they say bygones be bygones. The only way is to move on and move forward and this is what the Barbados franchise needs to do especially with the kind of firepower it has in the kitty. From experienced campaigners like Jason Holder and Mohammad Amir to young guns such as Azam Khan and Glenn Phillips, the Royals do have a unit that can leave an impact. Barbados will be facing St Kitts And Nevis Patriots in their opening match of the competition which is also the second encounter of the opening day of the tournament. Team News First things first. Barbados will be without the services of all-rounder Chris Morris, who had opted out of the tournament citing personal reasons. The right-hander was earlier snapped by Rajasthan Royals for an amount of INR 16.25 crore that made him the costliest buy ever in the cash-rich league. The South African cricketer could have played an important role for Barbados as an all-rounder alongside Holder. Morris is an experienced customer and brings a lot to the table both with the bat and ball and the glimpse of which was visible during the first half of the IPL. While he is a dangerous bowler on his day as he produces good pace and bounce, the Proteas is pretty handy with the willow too. He is capable of chipping in with some valuable runs at the end of the innings at brisk pace. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, Barbados will have to move on and plan things accordingly. New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips joined the side as the replacement later on. Dependence on ‘BIG NAMES’ Jason Holder, Mohammad Amir and Thisara Perera. Who doesn’t know these names? No matter, if you follow the game or not, these are some prominent names in the tally which can’t be ignored. Holder’s major responsibility in this setup would be to work as a bridge in the line up between the middle, lower-middle order and tailenders. Everyone is well versed with his capability of taking on any bowling attack or ripping apart his opponents with the ball but the genre in this setup demands a bit of tweak. The right-hander would be fed with distinguished tasks at different situations. He might have to get some quick runs in a lesser number of balls at one instance while the side might need him to stay at the crease and hold one end in a steady manner. To add to this, Holder’s bowling experience would also play a crucial role in putting a halt at the batsmen’s scoring rate. Next is Mohammad Amir. There have been no questions on his ability and talent. Despite missing out on playing cricket for such a long time, Amir returned back in action and produced some brilliant performances for Pakistan. Though, he bid adieu to international cricket later on citing some differences with the team management. Despite hanging his boots from international cricket, the left-handed pacer is still considered as an asset to any team for which he plays for. Amir’s role is simple here. Don’t let the batsmen take advantage at any given stage of the game especially in the beginning (power play overs). The tracks at St. Kitts don’t really help the batsmen in the initial phase of the game and if Barbados bowl first, Amir can create huge problems for the batsmen. He can move the ball away while is equally efficient to deceive the batsman with the balls coming in. Bowling back of the hand deliveries and slower ones regularly might help the left-hander to scalp some good amount of wickets in the tournament. Next up we have Thisara Perera. Perera’s recent T20 form isn’t really an impressive one where he has scored a couple of ducks in the last three games that he played during the PSL and picked up 4 wickets but at a decent economical rate. He might not have left a major impact in the recent past but Perera’s experience especially in this format is immense. Having played over 290 matches, The right-hander has scored more than 3000 runs and has 247 wickets to his name. The stats speak volumes about his calibre and class. Armour with YOUNG GUNS Glenn Philips was in some brilliant touch recently while he was playing The Hundred tournament in England. The right-handed batsman scored some good runs in the competition and the Barbados side would be expecting him to continue his form in this CPL edition as well. Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan has shown a glimpse of his ability as a good striker of the ball in the PSL. Following the PSL, Azam also made his Pakistan debut but didn’t really get much opportunity to perform. He is pretty good at finding the gaps. However, he now has a chance to show his capabilities with the bat if he gets the opportunity in the final XI. Oshane Thomas will be a vital cog in the wheel for the Barbados side’s bowling attack. The 24-year-old has already proven his worth in T20s after picking up 57 wickets in 44 matches at an average of under 24. The only issue with his bowling is that Thomas gives away a lot of runs at times. His overall economy rate in the T20s and in the T20Is is more than 9 which can prove costly for the side. Though he is among wickets, the economy rate is something on which Thomas needs to work on. Trump Cards Joshua Bishop and Hayden Walsh can prove to be the trump cards for the Royals. Bishop’s left-arm spin might extract something from the pitch if they are slow in nature. On the other hand, Walsh’s leg break can be useful to deceive the batsmen especially when he bowls a googly. The batsmen do have a tendency of going after the leg-spinners especially in the shorter format and this could come as a boon for the side in keeping the scoring-rate down and picking up wickets. Help from the pitch The track doesn’t really have much on offer for the teams batting first. The sides batting first don’t really win much at the venue and the kind of bowling attack Barbados poses, the team can be lethal if they bowl first. For now the team looks balanced and stable. The only thing that they need to do is “stick to basics” as they do have the players who can win matches single-handedly on their day. Probable XI Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Kyle Mayers, Glenn Philips, Justin Greaves, Thisara Perera, Jason Holder, Hayden Walsh, Oshane Thomas, Mohammad Amir, Joshua Bishop
CPL 2021 | Franchises release full list of players for upcoming edition
All six franchises of the Caribbean Premier League have released their list of players in the draft for the upcoming edition of the league starting from August 28. Franchise focussed on the availability of players and concerted their tactics around filling those gaps created by players missing from the tournament. Here are the full squads of all six franchises after the draft was released on May 27 for the upcoming edition. Jamaica Tallawahs Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Carlos Brathwaite, Rovman Powell, Haider Ali, Chadwick Walton, Fidel Edwards, Qais Ahmed, Jason Mohammad, Migael Pretorius, Kennar Lewis, Ibrahim Zadran, Veerasammy Permaul, Abhijai Mansingh, Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, Ryan Persaud. Trinbago Knight Riders Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Colin Munro, Sandeep Lamichhane, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Khary Pierre, Isuru Udana, Sikandar Raza, Anderson Phillip, Denesh Ramdin, Tion Webster, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Leonardo Julian, Ali Khan. Guyana Amazon Warriors Nicholas Pooran, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir, Shimron Hetmyer, Mohammad Hafeez, Brandon King, Naveen ul Haq, Romario Shepherd, Waqar Salamkheil, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Odean Smith, Niall Smith, Gudakesh Motie, Anthony Bramble, Kevin Sinclair, Ashmead Nedd. St Lucia Zouks Faf du Plessis, Keemo Paul, Wahab Riaz, Matthew Wade, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Usman Qadir, Samit Patel, Obed McCoy, Rahkeem Cornwall, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph. St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Anrich Nortje, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Devon Thomas, Rayad Emrit, Rahamanullah Gurbaz, Colin Archibald, Jon Russ Jaggesar, Dominic Drakes, Joshua da Silva. Barbados Tridents Chris Morris, Jason Holder, Thissara Perera, Mohammad Amir, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope, Oshane Thomas, Kyle Mayers, Hayden Walsh Jr, Azam Khan, Raymon Reifer, Justin Greaves, Ashley Nurse, Shafiquallah Ghafari, Nyeem Young, Joshua Bishop.
Andre Russell, Shimron Hetmyer return in West Indies provisional T20I squad for high-profile summer
The Cricket West Indies announced a 23 man provisional squad for the upcoming t20is series against three teams i.e. South Africa, Australia and Pakistan this summer. Andre Russell, who last played an international match in March 2020 has returned to fold after one year. Alongside him, hard-hitting middle-order batsman Shimron Hetmyer and bowlers Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, and Hayden Walsh Jr have also made a comeback in the side after not being picked for the Sri Lanka series in February this year. However, this is just the provisional squad from which the main squad will be picked ahead of each series. The squad member for the time being will quarantine and train in St. Lucia ahead. Their first assignment will be a match series against Proteas which would be played from June 26 at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium. Roger Harper the Lead Selector of CWI said that the team has been picked keeping in mind the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in India. He also confirmed that these 23 members will remain the core of the team going forward. “This Provisional T20I Squad gives us the opportunity to continue to build towards the upcoming World Cup and to determine our best squad and our ideal eleven,” Harper was quoted as saying by the West Indies cricket official website. Head coach Phil Simmons feel that this squad has got all the ingredients required to go on and defend their title won five years ago. “These upcoming T20Is are crucial in terms of our preparation for the ICC T20 World Cup. We have assembled a very solid squad — with experienced world-class match-winners and some exciting young talented players, ready to explode onto the global stage and do great things for West Indies cricket," he said. Captained by Trinidadian Kieron Pollard, this team still has many people including Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Lendl Simmons who were involved in their 2016 World Cup win against England. Windies Provisional Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran (vc), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr
Kyle Mayers, Bonner, Joshua Da Silva earn West Indies central contracts: Roston Chase dropped
Emerging talents such as Kyle Mayers, Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua Da Silva, Akeal Hosein have earned reckoning in the Cricket West Indies men’s central contracts for the 2021-2022 season. Along with recognising the potentials of the young players, Cricket West Indies have also awarded central contracts to experienced players such as Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard for the white-ball formats. Only Jason Holder has got the all-format contract from CWI while the newly appointed Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite along with Jermaine Blackwood, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shannon Gabriel, and Kemar Roach have got the central contracts for the red-ball format. For the white-ball formats, CWI has put their money on Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Alzarri Joseph, Nicholas Pooran and Hayden Walsh Jr. Despite many winners of the central contract of the CWI, there have been some who have been shown the exit door as well. Former vice-captain Roston Chase has lost his all-format contract while players such as Sunil Ambris, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Oshane Thomas have been shown the door from the contracts for the white-ball formats. “Contracts offered for the 2021-22 period sees 18 players being retained, a decrease of 4 from last year. Jason Holder is the only player to retain his all-format contract due to his strong Test and T20I performances during the evaluation period. There are several new players offered red-ball contracts earned by their strong performances during the last period. A number of players were not retained because they did not meet the minimum requirements,” said West Indies Men’s Team Lead Selector, Roger Harper in CWI statement.