Paul & Motie recalled to WI ODI side for UAE tour & WCQs

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel today named the squad to participate in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The eight-team tournament will be played in Zimbabwe from 18 June, as the West Indies look to secure one of the two final places in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup to be played in India later this year.

Ahead of the qualifiers, the West Indies will have a three-match One Day International (ODI) Series against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah for which the Selection Panel also named the squad for those matches to be played on 5, 7 and 9 of June. These matches will form part of the preparations for the qualifiers.

CWI has given permission to players participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to return to the Caribbean for a short break before arriving in Zimbabwe for the qualification tournament.

There are recalls for allrounder Keemo Paul and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who last played in ODIs last July against India in Trinidad. The squad for the three ODIs in Sharjah also includes four uncapped players – left-handed batter Alick Athanaze, as well as allrounders Kavem Hodge, Dominic Drakes, and Akeem Jordan.

Lead Selector, the Most Hon. Dr Desmond Haynes said: “Paul is a three-dimensional player, who can bowl the new ball effectively, he’s dynamic in the outfield and he can also make vital runs. He is now fully recovered from injury and with his skill-set we see him as a potential match-winner for us. Motie was excellent in the Test matches in the Zimbabwe earlier this year, where he took 19 wickets, and we anticipate similar conditions for the qualifiers. We believe he will again relish the chance to bowl in those conditions. He is also a capable batsman and good in the outfield. The team played well in South Africa earlier this year, when we drew the ODI Series 1-1 under the new captain. We were encouraged by that display and we expect them to continue to grow and create that synergy.”

Haynes added: “We see this as a crucial tournament as we look to secure one of the two places left in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. Therefore, we have selected a balanced team which we believe is well equipped to get the job done in the conditions we anticipate in Zimbabwe. It will be a challenging tournament, it will be intense and competitive, there is no doubt about that. In speaking to the players, they are fully aware of the job at hand. We are happy with the preparations and the mindset of the players, and everyone is clear about their roles in the squad.

“For the matches against the UAE in Sharjah, this presents a chance for some other players who are not in the squad for the qualifiers, to get an opportunity at the international level as we look to expose more players.”

FULL SQUADS

v United Arab Emirates

Shai Hope (captain)

Brandon King (vice captain)

Alick Athanaze

Shamarh Brooks

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Roston Chase

Dominic Drakes

Kavem Hodge

Akeem Jordan

Gudakesh Motie

Keemo Paul

Raymon Reifer

Odean Smith

Devon Thomas

ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers

Shai Hope (captain)

Rovman Powell (vice captain)

Shamarh Brooks

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Roston Chase

Jason Holder

Akeal Hosein

Alzarri Joseph

Brandon King

Kyle Mayers

Gudakesh Motie

Keemo Paul

Nicholas Pooran

Romario Shepherd

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Da Silva to captain WI-A against Bangladesh-A

The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Men’s Selection Panel today named the fifteen-man squad for the West Indies “A” Team tour of Bangladesh. Joshua Da Silva, the West Indies Test wicket-keeper/batter, will captain the team in the three four-day “Test” matches against Bangladesh “A” starting on 16 May.

Along with Da Silva, the 15-member squad includes other players with West Indies Test match experience: left-handed opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, left-handed allrounder Raymon Reifer, fast bowler Anderson Phillip and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.

The squad also includes three newcomers to the international level: openers Kirk McKenzie and Zachary McCaskie as well as fast bowler Jair McAllister. All three made their first-class debuts during the West Indies Championship four-day first-class tournament earlier this year.

Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes, stated that the aim was to pick a balanced team as they look to expose the players to overseas conditions. “We selected a group of players who we think could benefit from the exposure in Bangladesh and we also have our eyes on the upcoming Test Series against India in the Caribbean.”

He added: “Among the newcomers, we have pace bowler McAllister who is fast and strong and has the ability to unsettle batters. McCaskie had a solid start to his first-class career, showed good temperament, and also has the ability to play all around the wicket. McKenzie was eye-catching during his double-century for the West Indies Academy in the Headley Weekes Tri-Series. It was a superb knock and demonstrated that the investment in the Academy is bearing fruit.”

West Indies “A” Team will arrive in Bangladesh on 11 May and play the three four-day “Test” matches at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) in Sylhet. These matches will have full first-class status.

This “A” team tour reciprocates the Bangladesh “A” team tour of the West Indies in August 2022, when the teams drew both a two-match series of four-day first-class matches and also a three-match 50-over series at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia.

FULL SQUAD

Joshua DaSilva (Captain)

Alick Athanaze

Yannic Cariah

Keacy Carty

Tagenarine Chanderpaul

Tevin Imlach

Akeem Jordan

Brandon King

Jair McAllister

Zachary McCaskie

Kirk McKenzie

Gudakesh Motie

Anderson Phillip

Raymon Reifer

Kevin Sinclair

MATCH SCHEDULE

All matches at SICS, Sylhet

16-19 May: 1st “Test”

23-26 May: 2nd “Test”

30 May to 2 June: 3rd “Test”

Sabor Restaurant & Catering sponsors Guyana Junior women’s hockey team

As the Guyana Under-21 women’s hockey team prepares to make their first ever international appearance, which takes place at the 2023 Junior Pan American Championships scheduled for 10 – 18 April in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sabor Restaurant & Catering has thrown its support behind the young Guyanese group.  Just as the girls will be the new faces in international hockey, Sabor is a young and very trending food outfit making a splash in the local food market.

The Guyana team features six players with prior international experience in Captain and sweeper Makeda Harding, defender Kirsten Gomes, midfielders Madison Fernandes, Clayza Bobb and Sarah Klautky and striker Abosaide Cadogan.  The rest of the team features a diverse group with ages ranging from 20 down to Makaylah Poole at just 13 years of age.  While the team intends to do its best to represent Guyana well, the youthful age of many players make it a perfect developmental squad for future international competitions as they gather experience.

Proprietor of Sabor, Mr Janiel Lee, indicated that the company was excited to be able to contribute to the wellbeing and betterment of young Guyanese.  He indicated that there are often not enough opportunities especially for your girls to participate in sport and compete internationally.

The team travels out to Barbados on Friday 7th April and will face Canada in their opening match on Tuesday 12th April after a few training sessions on the artificial hockey pitch in Barbados.

Klaasen’s 61-ball 119* helps SA gun down target in 29.3 overs

South Africa 264 for 6 (Klaasen 119*, Joseph 3-50) beat West Indies 260 for 9 (King 72, Fortuin 2-46) by four wickets

Heinrich Klaasen’s second ODI century led South Africa to a series-levelling victory over West Indies in a non-Super League contest. Chasing 261 on a fairly flat surface in Potchefstroom, South Africa were in some trouble on 87 for 4 before Klaasen shared in a half-century stand with David Miller and a 103-run partnership with Marco Jansen, and notched up the fourth-fastest century by a South African to make light work of the target.

The result denied West Indies the opportunity to win their third away bilateral series since 2011, and their first against a team ranked in the top eight. They have also never won a bilateral ODI series in South Africa and last claimed a fifty-over trophy here 30 years ago, when they were successful in a triangular series which also involved Pakistan.

On reflection, West Indies will look at the performance of their middle order, who squandered a strong start – they were 110 for 1 – and lost 6 for 96 between overs 19 and 40. They did not bat out their overs but gave the attack something to defend with 50 runs off the last 50 balls faced. Their bowlers started well against a South African line-up missing Quinton de Kock (rested) and Temba Bavuma (injured) but Klaasen’s clean-hitting turned it into a no-contest as South Africa won with more than 20 overs to spare.

Klaasen was called on after a vicious opening spell by Alzarri Joseph and the departure of stand-in captain Aiden Markram, with a job to do. Joseph sent down a fiery short-ball barrage to remove makeshift opener Ryan Rickelton who fended him to Kyle Mayers at first slip, and No. 3 Rassie van der Dussen who was rushed into the pull shot. Markram saw out the powerplay but then edged a Mayers’ legcutter to Shai Hope to bring Klaasen into play in the 11th over. Nine balls later, West Indies’ successfully reviewed an Akeal Hosein lbw appeal against Tony de Zorzi, that ball-tracking showed was going to hit middle-stump. South Africa were in trouble at 87 for 4.

The tension was broken when Klaasen hung back in his crease to dispatch Hosein’s for two fours in the over, something that would become a feature of his innings. He pulled Joseph for back-to-back-to-back fours to end the threat West Indies’ spearhead posed and then launched Odean Smith over deep mid-wicket for the first of his five sixes. David Miller was largely spectator but sent fuller balls from Hosein and Smith for six before handing Hosein a simple return catch.

With a slightly shorter batting line-up than usual, South Africa could have unraveled but Marco Jansen, on his home ground, proved up to the task. He scored six runs off the first nine balls he faced before he brought out the reverse sweep against legspinner Yannic Cariah and did it twice in three balls. Jansen took a liking to Cariah and scored 14 runs off his next over, including a six over mid-wicket.

By the halfway mark of their innings, South Africa needed just 55 more runs and were scoring at more than eight runs to the over. Klaasen was in the eighties and it took only one Jason Holder over to move him to 99. He reached his hundred with a single off Joseph, off the 54th ball he faced. Jansen was on his way to a first ODI fifty but in his eagerness to get there, guided a Joseph ball to Shamarh Brooks at backward point to leave Wayne Parnell to finish off.

Earlier, West Indies’ innings started well when Mayers took advantage of width from Lungi Ngidi and West Indies racked up 39 runs off the first seven overs. But Mayers was already dismissed after he miscued a pull off Jansen, with Ngidi, at mid-on, back-pedalling to take a diving catch.

Brandon King continued batting positively and reached his fourth ODI half-century with a slash off 60 balls. King and Shamarh Brooks’ second-wicket stand was starting to show promise when Brooks called for a run but King did not respond and Brook slipped on his way back to his crease. He was run-out for 18, and the partnership ended on 71. It turned out to be the highest in the West Indian innings.

Ngidi was brought back after the run-out and King seemed happy to see him. He creamed a half-volley through the covers to enter the 70s but Ngidi had the last laugh. In his next over, King was on his toes trying to play a short ball but chipped it onto his stumps.

Nicholas Pooran punished short balls from Coetzee and Ngidi and slog-swept Fortuin over long-on to take West Indies to 148 for 3 at the halfway stage, with 300 in their sights. They finished well short after Markram brought himself on to hold an end and produced the most economical performance of his career. His 10 overs cost just 30 runs and he claimed the wicket of Jason Holder, who was beaten by turn and stumped. By then, Hope had attempted to whip Bjorn Fortuin over short mid-wicket but only found David Miller, Rovman Powell was beaten in flight and stumped, Nicholas Pooran had been bounced out and Carirah was strangled down the leg-side. Smith’s run-a-ball 17 provided some late fireworks but West Indies would have felt they were below-par, and later realised how far off the pace they were.

(Story by Firdose Moonda from ESPNcricinfo.com)

18-man strong U-21 Hockey squad to rep GUY at Junior Pan-Am Championships

After months of intense training and continuous fitness and skill tests, the Guyana Hockey Board has approved an 18 member under 21 men’s team to represent Guyana at the Junior Pan American Championships, scheduled for Barbados from April 10th to 18th, 2023. The team consists of 14 players who traveled to Barbados in December last year and defeated the host country’s junior team in a four-match series, there are also 4 newcomers who will be making their international debuts. Guyana’s first group match will be against the USA on April 10th followed by Barbados on April 11th and concluding with power house Canada on April 13th.

Speaking on his expectations of the team, Head Coach of the national men’s programme, Robert Fernandes said, “All credit to the boys for putting in the work, I think we have a great group of youngsters who are capable of executing at a high level. I’m confident that we will be competitive and hopefully pull off some upsets to advance from the group phase.” The team has been working on strength and conditioning with former national Rugby Captain, turned physical trainer, Theodore Henry. Fernandes noted “We were struggling for a while after our long-time trainer Barrington Browne migrated, but Theodore has had a great impact on the boys’ fitness since he started working with them. Our philosophy is that “we cannot control the absence of an artificial turf to train and play and our inexperience, but we can control how fit we are and how hard we work on the field.”

Flash Back to Guyana’s under 21 men’s team which defeated Barbados in a three-match series in December 2022

Although fairly well balanced, the team’s strength comes from their midfield three of Shaquan Favorite, Tahrea Garnett and Shakeem Fausette. The dramatic improvement of players like Oshazay Savory, Simeon Moore and Vladimir Woodroffe has also contributed to the high expectations surrounding this team. The players will be accompanied by Manager and former national captain Marisha Fernandes, Coaches John Abrahams and Robert Fernandes, as well as team doctor Charlyn Elliot.
The team is grateful to our local sporting bodies for their financial support and will be reaching out to Corporate Guyana for assistance in making this journey a successful one.

National Junior Men’s Team
Jamal Gaskin, Raoul Whittaker, Baraka Garnett, Daniel Woolford, Jabari Lovell, Javid Hussain, Leroy Geer, Nandalall Persaud, Oshazay Savory, Quinn Tobin, Samuel Woodroffe, Shakeem Fausette, Shaquon Favorite, Simeon Moore, Tahrea Garnett, Vladimir Woodroffe, Warren Williams & Yonnick Norton.
Standby Players – Donnel Alleyne & Robert Marcus

Squads announced for third round of West Indies Championship

Members of the West Indies Test squads from the recent tours to Zimbabwe and South Africa are expected to feature in the upcoming matches in the West Indies Championship. Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced the six franchise squads for the third round of matches which start on Wednesday 15 March.

Left-handed batter Alick Athanaze will return to captain Windward Islands Volcanoes against Jamaica Scorpions, who will have experienced batter Nkrumah Bonner back in their line-up for the match at the Guyana National Stadium.

Devon Thomas, the versatile wicket-keeper/batter, has been named in the Leeward Islands Hurricanes 13-member squad for the match against Barbados Pride at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. The third match of the third round will see Trinidad & Tobago Red Force hosting the Guyana Harpy Eagles at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.

Entering the third round, Athanaze is among the leading batters with 244 runs (average 61). He made his maiden first-class century (141) against Guyana Harpy Eagles last month. He is second spot behind Trinidad & Tobago Red Force skipper Daren Bravo who has scored 261 runs (average 87) – which included twin centuries against Leeward Islands Hurricanes.

Third in the list are young openers Kimani Melius of Windward Islands Volcanoes and Matthew Nandu of Guyana Harpy Eagles, who both have 204 runs (average 51). Both scored breakthrough maiden first-class centuries in the first round – Melius made 192 against Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Nandu got 126 against Barbados Pride. Melius will however miss the third round with an injury.

In the bowling, the leading wicket-taker after two rounds is Akeem Jordan, the Barbados Pride pacer, who picked up 12 wickets and was named in the Test squad for the tour of South Africa. Next is Veerasammy Permaul, the experienced Guyana Harpy Eagles left-arm spinner with 11 wickets – which included his 500th at the first-class level for his country. Three bowlers are tied on 10 wickets – Rahkeem Cornwall of Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Ryan John of Windward Islands Volcanoes and Bryan Charles of Trinidad & Tobago Red Force.

Every West Indies Championship match will be streamed LIVE on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. Fans can follow every game from their mobile devices, computers or connected TVs, including access to live ball-by-ball scoring on the windiescricket.com match centre.

The new Headley Weekes Series will follow the West Indies Championship and will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will select from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.

WEST INDIES CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS 3 – FULL SQUADS:

Barbados Pride: Shane Dowrich (captain), Camarie Boyce, Jonathan Carter, Dominic Drakes, Jonathan Drakes, Chaim Holder, Jair McAllister, Zachary McCaskie, Shayne Moseley, Roshon Primus, Ramon Simmonds, Shamar Springer, Kevin Wickham

Guyana Harpy Eagles: Leon Johnson (captain), Antony Adams, Kevlon Anderson, Anthony Bramble, Ronsford Beaton, Tevin Imlach, Shamar Joseph, Matthew Nandu, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Kemol Savory, Kevin Sinclair, Nial Smith

Jamaica Scorpions: Paul Palmer jr. (captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Tevin Gilzene, Derval Green, Nicholson Gordon, Patrick Harty, Leroy Lugg, Kirk McKenzie, Abhijai Mansingh, Jamie Merchant, Marquino Mindley, Ojay Shields, Aldaine Thomas

Leeward Islands Hurricanes: Jahmar Hamilton (captain), Colin Archibald, Larry Audain, Sheeno Berridge, Rahkeem Cornwall, Karima Gore, Montcin Hodge, Kofi James, Jeremiah Louis, Kieran Powell, Akeem Saunders, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh jr.

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force Daren Bravo (captain), Bryan Charles, Jyd Goolie, Amir Jangoo, Imran Khan, Justin Mannick, Jason Mohammed, Vikash Mohan, Uthman Muhammad, Khary Pierre, Keagan Simmons, Jeremy Solozano, Tion Webster

Windward Islands Volcanoes: Alick Athanaze (captain), Sunil Ambris, Teddy Bishop, Kenneth Dember, Larry Edward, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Johan Jeremiah, Ryan John, Shermon Lewis, Preston McSween, Jerlani Robinson, Tevyn Walcott

WEST INDIES CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

ROUND 1

Guyana Harpy Eagles beat Barbados Pride by 183 runs

Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force

Leeward Islands Hurricanes drew with Jamaica Scorpions

ROUND 2

Barbados Pride beat Jamaica Scorpions by 6 wickets

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force drew with Leeward Islands Hurricanes

Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Guyana Harpy Eagles

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

GNS – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana

BLCA – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

QPO – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

ROUND 3: 15 to 18 March

Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA

Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride at QPO

ROUND 4: 22 to 25 March

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride at QPO

Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA

ROUND 5: 29 March to 1 April

Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA

Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO

Headley Weekes Tri-Series

All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua

Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy

Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy

Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley

Holder’s 81* keeps West Indies afloat on 13-wicket day

South Africa 320 and 4 for 0 (Markram 1, Elgar 3) lead West Indies 251 (Holder 81*, Coetzee 3-41, Rabada 2-19) by 73 runs

South Africa have a generous lead of 73 after dismissing West Indies for 251 inside 80 overs on a 13-wicket day at the Wanderers. Jason Holder’s half-century – the highest score for a West Indian batting at No.8 or lower in South Africa – and his 58-run final-wicket stand with Gudakesh Motie helped West Indies concede only almost half the deficit they did at SuperSport Park last week and demonstrated the application the rest of the line-up lacked.

Holder, who was batting with the assurance of a player set for a fourth Test century, kept West Indies competitive after twin collapses. They slipped to 51 for 4 in the morning, recovered thanks to a 52-run fifth-wicket stand between Kyle Mayers and Roston Chase and then lost four for 59 in the middle order to much all the good work of their seamers in the first 16 minutes of play.

Alzarri Joseph struck twice and Mayers once as West Indies dismissed South Africa’s last three batters in 18 balls, with South Africa adding only nine runs to their overnight score of 311. All told, South Africa lost their last eight wickets for 72 runs. The form of their middle order will also give West Indies reason to believe they remain in the game.

On a pitch with extra bounce on one end and turn on the other, batting was always going to be tricky but South Africa also showed up sharply in the field to make it even more difficult.

After only scoring one run in their first 19 balls, West Indies were anxious to rotate strike so when Kraigg Braithwaite tapped Mulder into the covers, he set off a single. But he didn’t bank on Temba Bavuma’s quick reflexes. South Africa’s captain swooped in from mid-off, pulled off a one-hand pick-up-and-release and hit the stumps at the striker’s end to find Tagenarine Chanderpaul short of his ground.

From the other end, Kagiso Rabada extracted extra bounce with a short-of-a-length beauty that found Braithwaite’s outside edge. Elgar had to take the catch low down at first slip and got his hands underneath it to leave West Indies 22 for 2. Gerald Coetzee took over from Rabada and got the second ball of his second over to straighten on Jermaine Blackwood, who was squared up and nicked off.

Chase and Reifer put on 23 runs in 25 balls – thanks largely to big gaps in the field as Bavuma sought to crowd the batters against the spinners – before Coetzee struck again. Reifer tried to flick Coetzee past Tony de Zorzi at short leg but inside-edged onto his pad and de Zorzi took a good catch.

After stabilising the innings before lunch, Chase and Mayers batted with a good blend of caution and aggression for most of the first 10 overs after the break. They capitalised on anything overpitched and turned the strike over sedately but sensibly to stage a small recovery. Their partnership had grown to 52 runs before Chase tried to take Mulder on and failed. He advanced on a full delivery and inside-edged onto his pads before the ball rolled back onto his stumps. A distraught Chase sank to his knees, perhaps knowing he had opened the door into the lower order, with West Indies still 217 runs behind.

Joshua da Silva’s arrival saw the re-introduction of Rabada for the first time since his opening spell but it was Mayers whose patience he tested, particularly after drinks. After spending 76 balls to score 27 runs, Mayers wanted to get a move on and threw his bat at any width Rabada offered, even as he was beaten. After one over in which he looked like he could be dismissed off every ball, Mayers wafted at one too many and edged to Elgar at first slip. When he was dismissed, West Indies were still five runs adrift of the follow-on.

Jason Holder’s first runs, a gorgeous straight drive, ensured South Africa would have to bat again and he soon outscored da Silva, who broke the shackles post tea. He was on 16 off 56 balls when he cut Keshav Maharaj for fours in successive overs and South Africa seemed to be losing their shape slightly. Simon Harmer pulled it back when he bowled da Silva through the bat-pad gap to open up the tail. Maharaj had Alzarri Joseph caught at silly point.

Holder and Kemar Roach put on 31 runs in 40 balls and both of them took on Maharaj. Roach’s fun ended when Coetzee was brought back and he tried to cut but edged to Elgar at first slip.

Holder went on to bring up his fifty off 79 balls with an authoritative sweep that carried for six.

With Gudakesh Motie a more than capable No.11, Holder continued to play his shots and was especially profitable with the slog against the spinners. Their partnership reached 50 runs off 59 balls as West Indies continued to frustrate a South African attack that seemed to be waiting for the second new ball. They did not get there because, with three deliveries to go, Motie holed out to short cover off Simon Harmer, leaving South Africa with three overs to face to close out the day, which Markram and Elgar managed without too many troubles.

(Story by Firdose Moonda from ESPNcricinfo)

GTTA goes with youth & experience for CAC Qualifiers & Caribbean Championships

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) has named the Men & Women’s national teams that will be representing Guyana at the Central American & Caribbean (CAC) games Qualifier and Senior Caribbean Championships. The events will be held from 16th to 19th March and 20th to 25th March respectively.

For the Men’s Team, the following players have been selected: Shemar Britton, Jonathan Van Lange, Joel Alleyne, Elishaba Johnson, and Paul David. The Women’s Team comprises Chelsea Edghill OLY, Natalie Cummings, Priscilla Greaves, Thuraia Thomas, and Jasmine Billingy.

The GTTA selection committee, has carefully chosen the players based on their performance in recent local, regional tournaments and overseas engagement at club and circuit level. The GTTA believes that the mixture of seasoned players and youth during this transition period along with their continued preparation have what it takes to represent Guyana well in these tournaments with emphasis on the CAC qualifier.

The players have been training daily for the events, these sessions include practice and physical training. The GTTA is grateful for the support partnerships which is aiding in providing the team with the necessary resources and support to ensure that they are adequately prepared for the competitions. As part of the training ,the association has also been working with the players to develop their mental toughness and strategies, which are crucial in high-pressure matches.

The GTTA President, Godfrey Munroe, expressed his confidence in the selected teams, saying, “We are very proud of the players that have been selected to represent Guyana at these important events. We believe that they have the potential to do very well, and we will continue to support them in any way we can. We wish them all the best and hope that they will make Guyana proud.”

The Men’s Team CAC games Qualifier and Senior Caribbean Championships will take place from 16th to 19th March, while the Women’s Team CAC games Qualifier and Senior Caribbean Championships will be held from 20th to 25th March. The GTTA is encouraging the people of Guyana to come out and support the national teams as they compete against the best players from the Caribbean and Central America.

West Indies Championship rounds 3-5 scheduled for Trinidad and Guyana

Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced the match schedule and venues for the final three rounds of the West Indies Championship, the region’s first-class four-day red ball tournament, which will be played in Trinidad and Guyana.

Two rounds have been played so far and the tournament will resume on 15 to 18 March with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force hosting current West Indies Championship leaders, Guyana Harpy Eagles at Brian Lara Cricket Academy. The other two matches in the third round will see Leeward Islands Hurricanes face Barbados Pride at Queen’s Park Oval¸Trinidad and the Jamaica Scorpions facing Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Guyana National Stadium. The fourth round will be played from 22 to 25 March with the fifth and final round from 29 March to 1 April.

Roland Holder, CWI’s Manager of Cricket Operations said: “The first two rounds of matches last month offered great excitement and we are delighted to see the resumption of the West Indies Championship. Based on what we saw in the first phase of matches, we can expect more keen competition among the six teams as they vie for the prestigious Headley/Weekes Trophy. There is a lot to play for, as players also have the opportunity to compete for places in the Headley/Weekes Series which will follow at the end of the West Indies Championship and prepare to compete for spots on the international stage.”

Heading into the third round, Guyana Harpy Eagles lead the points table after being unbeaten in their two matches to date, with defending champions Barbados Pride in second.

Every West Indies Championship match will be streamed live on the Windies Cricket YouTube channel. Fans can follow every game from their mobile devices, computers or connected TVs, including access to live ball-by-ball scoring on the windiescricket.com match centre.

The new Headley Weekes Series will follow the West Indies Championship and will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will select from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.

Team Headley and Team Weekes are named in honour of West Indies pioneers and legendary batting greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes, whose names are also honoured on the Trophy for the winners of the West Indies Championship. All three matches will be played from 18 April to 6 May at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua.

RESULTS

ROUND 1

31 January to 3 February

Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Trinidad & Tobago Red Force

1 to 4 February

Guyana Harpy Eagles beat Barbados Pride by 183 runs

Leeward Islands Hurricanes drew with Jamaica Scorpions

ROUND 2

8 to 11 February

Barbados Pride beat Jamaica Scorpions by 6 wickets

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force drew with Leeward Islands Hurricanes

Windward Islands Volcanoes drew with Guyana Harpy Eagles

FULL MATCH SCHEDULE

GNS – Guyana National Stadium, Guyana

BLCA – Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad

QPO – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

ROUND 3: 15 to 18 March

Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA

Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride at QPO

ROUND 4: 22 to 25 March

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride at QPO

Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA 

ROUND 5: 29 March to 1 April

Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes at GNS

Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA

Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO

Headley Weekes Tri-Series

All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua

Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy

Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy

Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley

Holder: Every team apart from big three barely playing any Tests

Jason Holder became the second West Indies player after Sir Garry Sobers to take 150 Test wickets and score 2500 runs but does not think he will be able to break Sobers’ record because of the dearth of Test cricket facing teams like West Indies.

“The way world cricket is going now, apart from the big three, every team is barely playing any Test cricket,” Holder said after the second day’s play between South Africa and West Indies in Centurion. “We average six to eight Test matches over the last three years. This year we’ve got six, next year around six. You have to be in the XI for every single game to get anywhere close to 100 Tests.”

Holder is playing his 61st Test and with West Indies only due to play India (two Tests at home in July) this year, and 24 more Tests in the current FTP, even if he plays in all of them, he will not catch up with Sobers’ 93. Nor is Kraigg Brathwaite, who debuted in May 2011 and has 83 Tests, likely to catch up with Joe Root, who started playing Tests in December 2012 and already has 129 caps to his name.

“We’ve seen Kraigg Braithwaite, for example, over the years he still hasn’t gotten to a hundred [caps],” Holder said. “Kriagg was playing long before Joe Root but Joe Root has probably gone 130 Tests. It just shows you the amount of cricket England plays in comparison to us.”

Despite his concerns over the calendar, Holder was resigned to West Indies’ fate. “It’s beyond our control. We’ve just got to deal with what’s in front of us and try to make the most of it.”

Like Holder, South Africa’s Anrich Nortje, who took his fourth five-for in his 19th Test, on Wednesday at SuperSport Park, also does not think he will earn as many caps as some of his former countrymen.

“Playing four Tests in a year, you don’t think much about it (milestones). You just think okay there is a Test match somewhere. I probably will never get to 50 Tests. That will take me another seven years. Some countries in the next few months, they play 20 games. It’s hard,” Nortje said. “You can’t compare what the greats have done in the past, they played a lot of Test cricket. That’s the main format. We play four games, eight games or ten games over two years. It’s very limited and when we do get the opportunity, it’s nice to come out and focus on what we have to do.”

South Africa play fewer Tests than everyone other than Ireland and Zimbabwe in this FTP cycle (May 2022 to April 2027) and, after this West Indies series, only have one more Test in 2023 – against India at home. That leaves little opportunity for Kagiso Rabada, currently their seventh-highest wicket-taker on 270 wickets, to go past Jacques Kallis, who has 291, or even think about topping Dale Steyn’s 439. It also leaves Nortje, on 69 wickets, unsure of when he may get to 100 but he admitted it’s not something that keeps him up at night.

“I am not going to say I am dreaming about when I am going to get the next opportunity [to achieve a milestone],” Nortje said. “I’m just focusing on the cricket and when you get here [to a match] that’s when the switch goes on.”

(Story by Firdose Moonda from ESPNcricinfo)