SPORTS
Come on Beckles
WEST Indies had a difficult 2022, which was built on a poor performance in the T20 World Cup in Australia. And to add insult to injury, the team ended the year with a 2-0 test in Australia.
The regional team is once again in a period of transition with the departure of veteran players, men’s coach Phil Simmons and white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran.
However, there were some achievements with Trinbago Knight Riders women’s team creating history in the Caribbean Women’s Premier League and an impressive debut Down Under for Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 26, son of West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
T20 WORLD CUP DISASTER
West Indies, winners of the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, embarrassingly failed to qualify for the main draw (Super 12s) of the T20 World Cup after being knocked out of the qualifying tournament in October.
West Indies were eliminated after being demolished by nine wickets against Ireland in the qualifiers in Australia.
West Indies posted a modest 146/5 in 20 overs batting first and in reply Ireland raced out to 150/1 in 17.3 overs at Bellerive Oval, Hobart.
West Indies needed to finish in the top two in Group B to progress to the Super12. Instead they finished fourth in the group with one win and two losses.
Before the loss against Ireland, the West Indies lost their opener against Scotland by 42 runs and cruised past Zimbabwe by 31 runs.
Zimbabwe and Ireland qualified for the main draw. Scotland also missed out after finishing third.
West Indies were without many of their T20 stars who helped the regional team to the pinnacle of the T20 format.
Over the past year, a number of senior players have either retired or not been considered for selection. Former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons and Dwayne Bravo have retired.
Chris Gayle is not retired, but he is 43 years old. Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are still plying their trade around the world but don’t seem to be on the same page as Cricket West Indies.
Guyana’s Shimron Hetmyer also did himself no favors after missing two flights to Australia. His commitment to regional cricket remains in question.
WHO WILL BE THE CAPTAIN?
Former West Indies T20 and ODI captain Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket. Pollard was 34 at the time of his announcement in April.
On Instagram, Pollard said: “After careful consideration, I have today decided to retire from international cricket. As is the case for many youngsters, it was a dream of mine to represent the West Indies team from the time I was a ten-year-old boy and I am proud to have represented West Indies cricket for over 15 years in the T20 and ODI Formats of the game.”
Pollard was the captain of the West Indies since September 2019. The West Indies made progress in the ODI format under Pollard. In 17 matches, Pollard’s team won 11 matches and lost six.
His record as T20 captain was not spectacular as he won seven matches and lost eight in 17 matches. Two matches ended without a result.
In the 2021 T20 World Cup, which was held a year late due to the Covid19 pandemic, West Indies failed to make it past the group stage under Pollard.
In the first group, West Indies finished fifth in the six-team group with one win and four losses.
Pooran was named West Indies’ new T20 and ODI captain in May, but by November he had resigned. Pooran replaced Pollard ahead of May 2022. In total, he led the team in 23 T20 matches and finished with a record of eight wins, 14 losses and one no-result. As ODI captain he won four matches and lost 13.
The low point for Pooran would be failing to get his side through the 2022 T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Pooran told CWI: “I remain ambitious and still see the West Indies cricket captaincy as an honour. There is no doubt that I remain fully committed to West Indies cricket and look forward to offering my services as a senior player in a support role.”
TKR ALLOWS APARTMENTS IN CPL
Four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) were seen as one of the favorites when the squads for the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) were announced.
Kieron Pollard was again at the helm with power forwards Andre Russell, Nicholas Pooran and Colin Munro in the line-up. The spin bowling department of the team also had quality with the likes of left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and Sunil Narine.
TKR never came to the party and finished last in the six-team tournament. It was the worst finish for the TT franchise in the ten-year history of the CPL and the first time TKR failed to qualify for the playoffs.
In ten matches, TKR won three matches, lost six and one match ended in a draw.
Batting was expected to be one of TKR’s strengths, but the batsmen never delivered.
Russell, who showed small moments of his power in the inaugural SKYEXCH 6ixty tournament ahead of the CPL, ended the tournament with just 119 runs in nine innings at an average of 17.
Pollard was also unimpressive, scoring 132 runs in nine innings at an average of 14.66. He finished the tournament with a strike rate of just 98.50 – well below his career T20 strike rate of 150.
Pooran, despite scoring 52 in one match, scored just 108 runs in nine innings. If minus his knock of 52, he scored just 56 runs in eight innings at an average of seven.
RED FORCE FALLS AT THE FINAL OBSTACLE
Reigning champions TT Red Force lost the CG United Super50 Cup final to Jamaica Scorpions by three wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua in November.
Batting first, the Red Force posted 217 all out in 47 overs. The Red Force’s batting was impressive in the latter stages of the tournament, but fell short of the final.
The Scorpions sealed the title by reaching 218/7 in 47 overs.
Earlier in the year, the West Indies Four-Day Championship was played for the first time in two years, due to the pandemic.
The Red Force looked set to end their drought in the competition after winning their first two games when the competition ended in February.
The TT franchise could not maintain that form when the tournament resumed in May losing two matches and drawing one to finish the tournament in fourth place among the six teams. Barbados Pride won the title.
The last time the Red Force won the four-day title was in the 2005/2006 season.
WOMEN WELCOME TO THE SEMIS WORLD CUP
West Indies Women created a stir at the ICC World Cup 50s in New Zealand by upsetting the top-ranked teams. It was a challenging schedule for the West Indies as the regional team faced hosts New Zealand and England in their first two matches.
Both matches ended as West Indies pulled off two nervy wins. Hayley Matthews scored 119 to lead West Indies to a 259/9 in 50 overs against New Zealand. Then there was the Dottin show.
Medium pacer Dottin grabbed two wickets in the final over to help dismiss New Zealand for 256 in 49.5 overs as the West Indies escaped with a three-run victory.
The fans were again on the edge of their seats in West Indies’ match against England in the second round. Batting first again, West Indies posted 225/6 with Shemaine Campbell leading the way with 66.
Mohammed ended the match on this occasion by bowling Anya Shrubsole for a duck as England were bowled out for 218 in 47.4 overs.
The celebration behind the wicket brought a smile to the West Indies fans as Mohammed ran towards the boundary with all his teammates trying to catch him. Medium pacer Shamilia Connell was also handy with the ball taking 3/38.
West Indies were inconsistent in the remainder of the group stage finishing with three wins, three losses and one draw. West Indies qualified for the semi-finals, finishing fourth in the preliminary stage.
However, in the semi-finals, West Indies lost by 157 runs to eventual winners Australia.
DOTTIN BE GIVEN, MOHAMMED TAKES A REST
In July, Dottin, 31, announced her retirement from international cricket. Dottin, who made her debut in 2008, played 143 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 124 T20s for West Indies.
On Twitter, Dottin said: “The current climate and team environment has not been conducive to my ability to thrive and reignite my passion.”
Dottin was one of the most devastating batsmen in women’s cricket as she was known for her ability to hit sixes. She was also an excellent bowler and a useful medium pace bowler.
In ODIs she made 3,727 runs and took 72 wickets. In T20s Dottin made 2681 runs and also grabbed 62 wickets with best figures of 5-5.
Dottin was part of the West Indies team that defeated Australia to win the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title in India in 2016.
Mohammed, 34, has also been absent after taking a six-month break from international cricket in September.
Mohamed told CWI, “This is not a permanent goodbye but a ‘see you soon’. I wish the team all the best in all their future series.”
Mohammed made her debut for the West Indies at the age of 13 in the Women’s Cricket World Cup qualifiers in the Netherlands in 2003. She established herself as the top bowler for the West Indies, becoming the first male or female cricketer to grabbed 100 international T20 wickets.
West Indies have had a tough time in the absence of Dottin and Mohammed. West Indies lost an ODI series 2-1 against New Zealand in September, before going down 4-1 in a T20 series. England were ruthless against West Indies winning a T20 series 5-0 and an ODI series 3-0. All matches were played in the Caribbean.
TKR WINS FIRST MASS WOMEN’S CPL
In the WCPL final against Barbados Royals, TKR were led by the experienced duo of Anisa Mohammed and Deandra Dottin.
Dottin scored 59 off 62 balls with two sixes and four fours to guide TKR to 100/7 in 20 overs.
Off-spinner Mohammed grabbed 3/16 to help dismiss Royals for 90 in 18.4 overs as TKR won the final over by ten runs.
Women cricketers have been calling for a women’s CPL for years and the organizers answered the call in 2022. It involved three teams including TKR, Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors, with the entire tournament being played in St Kitts.
Women cricketers also played matches in the 66s.
