Tag: West Indies

India v West Indies – ODI Series Preview

Fresh from completing a rather one-sided series sweep against West Indies in Tests, India now turn their attention to a five-game ODI series against the same opposition.

The first game is a day-night affair  – as are all matches in the series – to be played at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati in Assam state on Sunday. Subsequent matches are to be played out in Visakhapatam, Pune, Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and, after some controversy, the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanathapuram, which will host its maiden ODI.

Above, the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanathapuram was eventually confirmed as the venue for the fifth ODI on November 1st.

Wherever the games are held over India’s vast landmass, it certainly seems on paper that West Indies have a Himalayas-esque mountain to climb if they are to get anything from the series. Everything – rankings, form, squad experience, home advantage – seems stacked against Jason Holder’s men, and you suspect India will not be happy with anything less than a first ever clean-sweep over their Caribbean visitors.

India are buoyed by the return of their mighty captain Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Asia Cup campaign in the UAE, and have a strong squad for the series. India have named a XII for the first game already, with recent Test debutant keeper Rishabh Pant likely to make his ODI debut as a batsman. MS Dhoni keeps the gloves, and the only decision would appear to be between Khaleel Ahmed and Mohammed Shami as the final seamer.

West Indies are not in such a luxurious position. Firstly, their coach Stuart Law is suspended for the first two matches of the series for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct in the second test earlier this month. His squad contains no fewer than four potential international debutants – Oshane Thomas, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy – and is missing big names like the Bravos, Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle, who continues to manage his workload/bank balance ahead of the World Cup next year.

India are ranked second in ODIs and have won eleven of their fifteen 50-over games this year – winning 5-1 in South Africa and taking home the Asia Cup either side of a 2-1 series defeat to the only side ranked higher than them in the format, England.

By contrast, West Indies lost a three match series at home to Bangladesh last time out, their only ODIs this year aside from the Cricket World Cup Qualifier where they narrowly squeaked through to England 2019. Their ranking of ninth is not an injustice.

So, a potential banana-peel for India to navigate as they continue to hone their side ahead of the World Cup, and a daunting opportunity for an inexperienced West Indies side in unfamiliar conditions. Let’s hope they put up a fight, and make an interesting series of it over the next 11 days.

Aside from the big picture issues, there are a number of personal milestones to keep an eye on:

Virat Kohli (India)

Superstar captain Kohli returns to take the reins from stand-in Rohit Sharma for this series. He currently has 9,779 runs in the fifty-over format, needing just 221 to become the 13th man worldwide and fifth Indian (after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and teammate MS Dhoni) to reach 10,000. If he gets there he will be by some conformable margin the quickest batsman ever to do so.

Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Dropped from the Test side, opener Dhawan has a point to prove, and a milestone to reach to boot. He needs 177 runs in the series to notch up 5,000 for his county in One Day Internationals.

Ravindra Jadeja (India)

Another batting milestone in sights for an Indian batsman – all rounder Jadeja looking for 38 runs to bring up 2,000 in ODIs.

MS Dhoni (India)

Veteran keeper and former skipper Dhoni is, as noted above, one of only 12 men to score more than 10,000 ODI runs. His 10.123 so far see him in twelfth spot, so he’ll be keen to score the 168 runs he needs to surpass Sri Lanka’s Tilakaratne Dilshan and move into eleventh.

Mohammed Shami (India)

With 91 wickets currently in his ledger, Shami needs just nine to bring up 100 for his country.

Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Unlike some of his other high profile colleagues, all rounder Marlon Samuels has made himself available for the series. Should he be selected on Sunday in Guwahati, it will mark his 200th appearance for the Windies in ODIs.

West Indies v Bangladesh T20I series – quickfire stats preview

Fresh from securing a first overseas bilateral ODI series triumph since 2009 with a win at the ground at the weekend, Bangladesh return to the Warner Park stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts on Tuesday evening for the first of three T20 Internationals against the West Indies.

The West Indies are reigning world champions in the format, but currently only ranked seventh in the world, although this is still three places higher than their visitors. With the West Indies having comfortably won the Test series, and the Tigers taking revenge in their preferred ODIs, overall bragging rights are at stake over the next week.

The sides have met six times previously in the format, with the West Indies leading 3-2, and one no result. Bangladesh have never won on West Indies home soil.

The series is also intriguing for the fact that the second and third matches will take place at the Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Lauderhill, Florida rather than in the West Indies’ traditional Caribbean homelands. With the limited overs tour having started with ODIs in Guyana in South America, this may well be the first ever international tour to take in two continental landmasses!

Above: The Central Broward Regional Park stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.

Some other quick stats and milestones to watch out for over the week:

Shakib Al Hasan

The Tigers’ skipper currenrly has 77 T20I wickets to his name, enough for fifth place in the world. 8 wickets in the series will see move to 85 and a share of third place alongside Pakistani pair Saaed Ajmal and Umar Gul.

Marlon Samuels

The seemingly ageless Jamaican has 1,573 Twenty20 International runs in his ledger, the second highest by a West Indian. With top placed Chris Gayle rested for his series, Marlon needs just 35 runs to move past the Universe Boss into first place.

Tamim Iqbal

Fresh from two centuries in the Tiger’s ODI series win, opener Tamim will be confident of notching up the 10 runs he needs to be the first Bangladeshi to 1,500 runs in T20Is.

Samuel Badree

Spinner Badree’s 56 wickets in Twenty20 Internationals currently see him in 17th place worldwide. So close are the rankings above him that just seven wickets in the series will see him dislodge New Zealand’s Tim Southee from the top ten.

West Indies v Sri Lanka – Test Series Preview

Test cricket returns to the Caribbean this week, with the arrival of Sri Lanka for a intriguing series which pitches two inconsistent but improving sides together.

At the time of going to press, it is somewhat unclear whether this will be a two or three match series. Originally scheduled for three, with the final match slated to be a day/night affair at Bridgetown’s storied Kensington Oval, there has been much speculation that one Test may be shelved or converted into an ODI in a cost cutting measure aimed at helping the cash-strapped Cricket West Indies governing body.

For now, we’ll assume it stays as planned, with the first Test starting on Wednesday June 6th at Trinidad’s Queen’s Park Oval, and followed up by a visit to the Daren Sammy Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia before the pink ball match up in Barbados finishes things off.

Both sides have shown sparks of recovery in the longest format over the last 12 months or so. The hosts have been in the doldrums for many years in Test cricket, riven by player strikes and at best baffling management by the governing body, but in recent times they have won a series in Zimbabwe and won individual tests against both England and Pakistan away from home under the leadership of young all-rounder captain Jason Holder.

The visitors meanwhile have won series in Bangladesh and in the UAE against Pakistan, with a loss to India in between. The Sri Lankans are the higher-ranked side (6th to the Windies 9th) and may well find the slow wickets in the Caribbean to their taste.

The Sri Lankans have had injury worries ahead of the tour, with opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratane and fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera out injured. Their squad contains as many as four uncapped players as a result – bowlers Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Jeffrey Vandersay plus batsman Mahela Udawatte.

The hosts meanwhile have recalled Devon Smith after a Test absence of three years,  and may hand a debut to 20yr old Anguillan keeper-batsman Jahmar Hamilton.

From a personal player perspective there are a few milestones to watch out for as the series unfolds:

Kemar Roach (West Indies)

Fast bowler Roach is enjoyinga bit of a renaissance of late, and needs just three wickets to bring up 150 in Tests.

Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies)

The opening batsman needs just 80 runs to mark 3,000 in Tests.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka)

Former captain Mathews currenty has 4,914 career Test runs in his ledger, needing 86 more to reach 5,000. If he can manage 190 runs in the series, he will move past Sri Lankan legend Arjuna Ranatunga into 8th place for his country.

Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

The ageless spinner Herath’s 415 Test wickets see him in 12th place in the world all-time – having been overhauled by England’s Stuart Broad this week. Broad and Harbajhan Singh share tenth place on 417, with South Africans Shaun Pollock and Dale Steyn in 8th and 9th on 421 and 419 respectively. Rangana will have all in his sights!

 

ICC World XI v West Indies Preview

Over the course of just two weeks in September 2017, the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean were battered by two of the strongest storms to hit the region in living memory, Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The destruction across various islands  was widespread, with homes, businesses and vital tourist infrastructure destroyed.

Cricket, a religion in these parts, was not spared the storms’ wrath, with many grounds left badly damaged.

The ICC, recognising the key role sport can play in rebuilding communities’ spirits following a disaster, has arranged a one-off charity T20 international match between an ICC World XI and the West Indies national side to raise funds to help rebuild several of those stadiums in need of significant repair. The match takes place at Lord’s in London on Thursday May 31st.

Funds raised from the match will be directed to five particularly badly affected stadiums in the region:

  • Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla,
  • Sir Viv Richards Stadium in Antigua,
  • Windsor Park Stadium in Dominica,
  • A.O. Shirley Recreation Ground in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands; and
  • Carib Lumber Ball Park in St Maarten.

Above: Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica – before and after Hurricane Maria

I admit to playing close attention to this game. I live on an island in the Atlantic hurricane zone and have experienced many strong storms over the years, knowing only too well the destruction and despair they can leave in their wake. Although my home, Bermuda, was spared the worst of the 2017 hurricane season, a lot of my work colleagues and friends in the British Virgin Islands were very badly affected by Irma at the time, and the islands, like so many are still not fully recovered nearly nine months later.  So to see the sport rallying around my island cousins is heartwarming, and I hope the occasion is rightly applauded.

Above: Destruction in Road Town, Tortola, BVI after Hurricane Irma

In order to give the match maximum exposure, the ICC has granted it full T20 International status. As another mark of respect, the fact that the match is being held at Lord’s is a real feather in the cap for the organisers, given that the home of cricket has only previously hosted T20Is as part of the World Twenty20 tournament in 2009.

Fittingly, both teams send strong squads to Lord’s. West Indies include Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels as well as big-hitting Evin Lewis, and a returning Andre Russell. For their part, the ICC side is a mix of experience and youth. Captained by England T20 skipper Eoin Morgan on his home county ground, the  representative squad includes the two most capped T20 internationals of all time (Pakistani pair Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik) as well as Afghanistan’s superstar 19 year-old Rashid Khan and 17-year old Sandeep Lamichhane from Nepal.

Intriguingly, both teams last Twenty20 outings saw series defeats to Pakistan, in Pakistan. An ICC World XI visited Lahore for a three game series last year as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to bring top level cricket back to their home country, losing 2-1 – while the West Indies visited Karachi just last month in a very symbolic tour, which they lost 3-0.

(As an interesting aside, spinner Samuel Badree played in both of those series – for the ICC and West Indies –  and is in the squad again here, playing against an ICC side he represented just a few short months ago!)

The West Indies are current World Twenty champions of course, and will be looking to put on a show in a game that will be very keenly watched back in the Caribbean.

Although the focus will rightly be on fun and fundraising, given that it has full status there are a few interesting statistical milestones to keep an eye out for:

Shahid Afridi (ICC World XI / Pakistan)

Above: Shahid “Boom-Boom” Afridi will appear in T20I number 99.

Boom-Boom Afridi is something of a Twenty20 International legend. He is the format’s most capped international player and will make his 99th appearance in a T2oI in this game, two years after last playing for Pakistan.

He also leads the world in T20I wickets with 97, and needs just three to bring up his century.

Shoaib Malik (ICC World XI / Pakistan)

All rounder Shoaib Malik currently has 1875 international runs in the shortest format – which sees him in fifth place all-time. He needs just 15 to overtake Sri Lanka’s Tilakaratne Dilshan and move into fourth in the world.

Eoin Morgan (ICC World XI / England)

Above: ICC and England skipper, Eoin Morgan.

The ICC’s skipper currently has 1678 T20I runs, and sits eleventh in the world run scorers list. Just 13 will see him break into the top ten, dislodging Pakistan’s Umar Akmal

Morgan will also play for his third recognised international team, having previously played for England and Ireland.

Luke Ronchi (ICC World XI / New Zealand)

Morgan’s feat will be matched by keeper Ronchi, also playing for his third international side after keeping for both Australia and New Zealand previously.

Sandeep Lamichhane (ICC World XI / Nepal)

Above: Nepalese wunderkind, Sandeep Lamichhane

At 17 years of age and fresh from a blistering performance in the IPL, leggie Lamichhane will notch up a world first on Thursday – he will become the first player to make his full recognised international debut for a representative side rather than a national side*. Although he has played for Nepal before, this was only in games which did not have official ODI or T20I status granted by the ICC.

He does have experience at Lord’s though, having played for Nepal in their victory over the MCC in 2016.

(* excludes the East Africa side that appeared in the 1975 World Cup, as this was a designated ICC member association at the time)

Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis (West Indies)

Universe Boss Gayle and big-hitting Lewis are two of just seven men to hit more than one T20I century -one more in this game will see them equal New Zealander Colin Munro’s world record of three.

First Test Matches, Part One: Australia to New Zealand

This week, in the Dublin suburb of Malahide, Ireland will join an exclusive club, becoming just the eleventh side to play a full Men’s Test match, having been granted Full Member status by the ICC in June last year. When visitors Pakistan take to the field against William Porterfield’s team, they will welcome the first new Test team since 2000 when Bangladesh made their bow in the longest and most prestigious form of the international game.

Hopes are high that Ireland can cause an upset. They have a settled side packed with players with extensive international experience at ODI and T20I level and will hope that the swinging early season conditions will be unfamiliar to the visitors. If they do prevail, they will join an even more exclusive club of teams that have won their first Test. So far, only one team can claim to have done so.

To mark this historic event, I take at look at how each of the ten previous Test sides fared in their debut Test. In this first of two parts, I cover the maiden appearances at the top level of England, Australia, South Africa, the West Indies and New Zealand. Later, in Part Two, I will check out what happened when Test cricket expanded into the Indian Subcontinent and to Zimbabwe.

Test teams #1 and #2 – Australia and England.

First Test – Melbourne, Victoria – 15 March 1877

It was just over 141 years ago, on the 15 March 1877 in Melbourne, Victoria, that what became known as the first ever Test Match took place. The term “Test Match” didn’t exist at the time, and was only subsequently applied many years later, but this game is now universally accepted as the first official Test.

The venue for the inaugural contest was the venerable Melbourne Cricket Ground, meaning that the MCG – still in use today of course – can lay claim to being the oldest Test ground in the world.

The match was played between two representative sides – a team of professional cricketers, led by James Lilywhite Jr of Sussex, travelled by steamship from England to take on what was called at the time a Combined Australia XI, captained by Dave Gregory.

Australia as an independent nation did not exist in 1877 –  nationhood would come with Federation in 1901 – and the players featuring in Gregory’s squad were drawn from the then separate British colonies of New South Wales and Victoria.

Neither side was at what would today be called full-strength. Lilywhite’s squad did not include any of the amateur players who at that time represented some of England’s finest cricketers, meaning the likes of WG Grace did not grace the MCG for this fixture. For the combined Australians the best bowler in the colonies – the feared speed-demon Fred Spofforth from New South Wales – refused to play in protest at the non-selection for the game of the NSW wicketkeeper Billy Murdoch.

The game itself was a timeless Test eventually played out over four days, with a rest day in the middle, and using four-ball overs. Underarm bowling was still a thing. Australia ran out winners by 45 runs, meaning Australia can lay claim to be the only team in cricket history to win their first Test match.

Above: A scene from cricket’s first Test at the MCG, March 1877.

Aside from its obvious historical significance as the first ever Test match, the game is best remembered for the exploits of Australia’s opening batsman, Charles Bannerman. Born in Woolwich, Kent, England but having moved down under as a child, Bannerman had the honour of scoring the first ever Test run and went on to make 165 in the first innings, before retiring hurt with a split index-finger. Thus, he became cricket’s first Test centurion. His score remains, over 140 years later, as the highest on debut for an Australian.

Furthermore, Bannerman’s 165 represented 67% of all the runs in Australia’s total first innings score of 245 – which again remains the world record for the highest individual contribution to a team Test innings score, some 2,302 completed Tests later. To this day, when a batsman is dominating an innings while his compatriots collapse around him, commentators and fans go on alert or “Bannerman-watch” to see if cricket’s longest standing record can be broken. All have failed so far, a suitable legacy for Test cricket’s first run scorer and centurion!

Above: Charles Bannerman (right) alongside Combined Australia XI captain Dave Gregory

For the record, the first Test wicket was taken by Yorkshire’s Allen Hill, who bowled Australia’s Nat Thomson for 1.

England would not have to wait long for their own first Test win. The MCG match had been scheduled to be a one-off, but it was such a commercial success that a second match was hastily arranged a couple of weeks later at the same venue. This time, Spofforth and Murdoch did play for the Combined Australians, meaning England’s win by 4 wickets was all -the-more impressive.

Test team #3 – South Africa.

First Test vs England at Port Elizabeth, 12 March 1889

For the next twelve years or so, Test cricket was played exclusively between England and Australia. It was not until March 1889, when the next team, South Africa, made its debut.

Much debate has raged since about whether the inaugural two game series between a visiting England side and the South Africans should be recognised as Tests – given that they were played out between sides of dubious quality and that no South African had ever played First Class cricket at the time – but the matches were indeed subsequently granted Test status in 1897 and are in the record books as such. Who am I to argue?

The representative England side that travelled to the Eastern Cape did include a few players who had previously played in Tests against Australia, including Bobby Abel, Johnny Briggs and George Ulyett – the latter having also played in the first ever Test 12 years earlier. The rest of the squad was made up of a few county players and a number of club cricketers such as the Hon. Charles Coventry who had not even played First Class cricket in England before, and would not do so subsequently.

Like Australia in 1877 before it, South Africa did not exist as an independent nation at the time of its Test bow in 1889, and the side was drawn from the separate colonies of Eastern Province, Western Province, Transvaal and Natal.

Above: The South Africa XI, 1889.

The first Test, billed at the time as “Major Warton’s XI versus a South Africa XI” took place at what is now St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, using 4-ball overs. It was a low-scoring affair, with “England” running out winners by 8 wickets within two days. South Africa’s first Test runs were scored by home-town batsman Bernard Tancred, and their first wicket by fellow Port Elizabethan Gus Kempis, who bowled Ulyett for 4.

The South Africans fared even worse in the second Test in Cape Town, losing by an innings and 202 runs, having scored less than a hundred runs across their two innings. Indeed, it wouldn’t be for another 17 years, in their twelfth Test, that South Africa would finally claim its first Test win, versus the English in Johannesburg.

An interesting aside is that Sir Aubrey Smith, England’s captain in the first Test playing his one and only match for England, went on to moderate fame, but not as a cricketer. He instead became an actor, first on the stage in London’s West End and later in motion pictures in Los Angeles, where he died in 1948. He even starred alongside Elizabeth Taylor in one movie! By strange coincidence, the South Africa XI captain in Port Elizabeth, Owen Dunell, also passed away in a far-flung non-cricketing locale – Lyons in France in his case – although whether he appeared in any French movies is unknown!

Above: Sir Aubrey Smith – England captain in 1889 and Hollywood movie star.

Test team #4 – West Indies.

First Test vs England at Lord’s, London – 23 June 1928

If the gap of twelve years between the first Test and South Africa’s debut seemed long, it was nothing in comparison to the wait for our next Test playing team. It was an astonishing 39 years before the next cab off the rank came along, the West Indies in June 1928. This gap remains a record in between debuts of Test teams.

Several touring representative sides from England had toured the Caribbean since the late 1880s, and likewise teams from the islands had visited England in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the West Indies Cricket Board was elected to the ICC (then standing for the Imperial Cricket Conference) in 1926 that the West Indies became eligible to play official Tests. New Zealand and India were also voted in to the ICC in 1926 but would have to wait slightly longer for their Test debuts.

The West Indies represented a collection of British Caribbean islands who were all in 1926 still part of the British Empire. They would later become the separate independent states of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, although they continue to join forces alongside several other Caribbean nations and islands for international cricket purposes to this day.

Post acceptance as a member of the ICC, the West Indies were invited to tour England in the summer of 1928 for a three game Test series, with the first match taking place at the home of cricket, Lord’s starting on 23 June 1927.

Unlike the side put up against South Africa in 1889, England’s team was full of players of the highest quality – Wally Hammond and Herbert Sutcliffe to name but two – and it was not really a surprise that the West Indies were outplayed, losing by an innings and 58 runs. Similar innings defeats occurred in the remaining two Tests of the tour at Old Trafford and the Oval.

The first Test was also notable from an England perspective as it saw the debut of a certain Douglas Jardine, playing alongside a man with whom he was to become forever entwined in cricket folklore four years later in the Bodyline series in Australia, Nottinghamshire quick Harold Larwood.

For the West Indies, the series saw the start of the international career of arguably their first superstar, Trinidad’s Learie “Connie” Constantine, who took West Indies first ever Test wicket in England’s first innings and recorded impressive figures of 4/82. Constantine would go on to have a fabulous career as a club professional in England, leading Nelson to eight Lancashire league titles. He became Lord Constantine MBE and a freeman of Nelson.

Above: Lord Learie “Connie” Constantine, MBE.

The West Indies fared much better when they hosted England in the Caribbean just two years later, drawing the first test in Bridgetown, Barbados and winning the third in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1930, with the chief damage being done by Constantine. The West Indies duly had their first Test win in just their sixth Test.

Test team #5 – New Zealand.

First Test vs England at Christchurch, New Zealand – 10 January 1930

As mentioned above, New Zealand had been accepted as a member of the ICC in 1926, and duly became cricket’s fifth Test nation four years later when an England side visited for a four-game series.

Bizarrely, England also sent a touring side to the West Indies at exactly the same time as the New Zealand tour, meaning that the teams on both tours were severely depleted. For the New Zealand tour, only Frank Woolley with 55 caps had anything like an experienced career, and six England players were making their debuts. It didn’t help New Zealand though, as they were beaten by eight wickets in the first test which was held at  Lancaster Park in that most English of New Zealand cities, Christchurch.

That first Test is perhaps best remembered statistically for Maurice Allom taking four wickets in five balls for England on debut, including a hat-trick, and for Matthew Henderson taking a wicket with his first ball for New Zealand in what would be his only appearance for his country. The New Zealanders also included two players – George Dickinson and Curly Page – who were dual sport internationals who also played for the country’s storied national rugby union team, the All Blacks.

Above: The New Zealand Test team, 1930.

The rest of the Test matches in the series, held in Wellington and Auckland, were drawn. The Kiwis would go on to have the longest and most agonisingly drawn out wait for a first Test win of all nations – astonishingly not winning a match until their 45th Test match in 1956, 26 years after admission to the top table of cricketing nations.

Coming soon in Part Two – the test debuts of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

 

 

Pakistan v West Indies T20I Series Preview

Pakistan take another step in the process of permanently bringing international cricket back to their homeland this week, when they host the West Indies in a three-game T20 International series at Karachi’s National Stadium.

It is well documented that Pakistan have been forced to hold the vast majority of their “home” cricket outside their own country since a 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team. Recently however, signs are good that this may not be the case for much longer. Following the ICC sending a World XI to Lahore for  three game series in September last year, Sri Lanka visited for one T20 at the same venue a month later. This series is significant not only because it is the first full bilateral series against a fellow Full Member to be hosted in the country since 2015, but it is the first at a venue outside Lahore for 9 years. Positive progress indeed.

The series is also intriguing as it pits the ICC’s top ranked T20 side in Pakistan against the current format world champions. Pakistan have won their last six T20 series, whilst West Indies have slipped a little since their World Twenty20 Cup win a couple of years back, and are now ranked fifth. However, confidence will be high from their success in qualifying for the 50-over world cup earlier this month, and a close series awaits.

Both sides have named squads with a mix of experience and new faces. There are as many eight potential 20-over debutants in the two squads. The players looking to make their bow in the format (and in many cases in all international cricket) are Odean Smith, Veersammy Permaul, Keemo Paul and Andre McCarthy for the visitors, and Shaheen Afridi, Rahat Ali, Asif Ali and Hussain Talat for the hosts.

Among the more experienced players, there are a few personal milestones to keep an eye out for over the next week:

Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)

All-rounder Shoaib Malik’s 1821 runs in Twenty20 internationals are enough to see him currently sit in seventh place in the world all-time. JP Duminy is just one run ahead in sixth, and Rohit Sharma and Tilikaratne Dilshan are also within reach. 68 runs are all he needs to move up to fourth place past all of the aforementioned.

Dinesh Ramdin (West Indies)

The Windies keeper currently has 51 dismissals in the shortest format, enough for joint fifth in the world alongside Umar Akmal and Mushfiqur Rahim. Two more will see him move clear of those, and also past Afghanistan’s cult hero keeper Mohammad Shahzad into fourth.

2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier

The Road to Lord’s in 2019 swings through southern Africa this week, when the 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament gets underway in Zimbabwe on Sunday morning. Ten countries, four Test nations and six Associates, will do battle for the right to participate in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.

For many cricket fans, the tournament is a bittersweet one.  A festival of cricket such as this should fill the heart with joy, being that a bounty of 50-over cricket is coming our way over the next three weeks. Yet, it is tainted by controversy, and not a little sadness, from the outset due to the machinations of the sport’s “governing” body, the ICC.

Whilst every other sport in the world is looking to expand and develop interest in more markets, the ICC have infamously decided to head in the opposite direction, driven by greed and TV ratings rather than any genuine love of the sport. Instead of expanding the game’s showcase global event to include more Associate nations, the ICC has decided to all but deny them entry to it at all.

The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup has been slashed to feature just ten teams, down from 14 in the 2011 & 2015 tournaments, and 16 in the 2007 edition. Eight teams have already been guaranteed a place in England next year, leaving the four lowest ranked Full Members and the Associates to scrap for just two remaining qualifying berths. So, for the first time at least two Full Members will not be participating in the World Cup, and it is entirely feasible that no Associate nation will make it all.

That is a crying shame, for the Associates have long been starved of quality opposition against the stronger nations, and the CWC has for many years been the one event where they were afforded that opportunity. That it is taken from them at a time when Associate level cricket is going from strength to strength makes the decision all the more baffling and shameful.

The ICC has granted the two leading Associates of recent years, Ireland and Afghanistan, Full Member status this year, the game is hugely popular in Nepal, whilst Scotland and the Netherlands to name just two have been putting some solid results together on the field and making significant strides to develop infrastructure off it. The time was ripe to really drive growth in these countries, yet all of them could well be looking on from the outside come next year while the bigger teams play a ludicrous 48 games between them over six weeks!

The ICC has also baffling decided not to grant ODI status to two of the teams participating in this month’s tournament, Nepal and the Netherlands, so games featuring those two nations will carry less weight statistically for the teams and their players. Why not simply grant the same ODI status to all games in the tournament, what harm would have ensued? Couple with the again strange decision to not televise or even stream the vast majority of the games, and you start to get the distinct impression that the ICC would prefer that the whole thing wasn’t happening at all!

Ignoring all of that (and I’ll leave my ranting there!) the tournament promises to be an exciting one, with every game counting, some big names of the sport appearing, and the small matter of the ultimate prizes of ICC Cricket World Cup qualification and ODI status at the end.

The format of the tournament is short and sweet compared to the main event it precedes, taking place over just three weeks with as many as four games taking place simultaneously on some days.

The ten teams are divided into two groups of five, each playing the other teams in their group once. The top three sides from each group qualify for the second stage, known as the Super Six. Here, teams’ results against their fellow qualifiers from their group are carried forward from the first round, and the teams play the qualifiers from the other group once each. At the end of this second group, the top two sides qualify for the final and, more importantly, for the 2019 World Cup.

The bottom two sides from each of the two initial groups face play-offs against each other to determine who finishes in seventh to tenth places – these games being of vital importance as the ICC is due to grant ODI status to the top three finishing Associates (plus the Netherlands) for the next four years after the tournament finishes.

So each nation is guaranteed a minimum of six games each, rising to seven for those that qualify for the Super Six, and eight for the finalists.

I preview each group below, as well as marking your cards for some upcoming personal milestones that may be reached as the tournament progresses!

Group A

Group A matches are to be played in the capital Harare, at the Harare Sports Club and the Old Hararians club.

 

West Indies

The Windies arrive at the tournament as one of the joint favourites, being as they are a Full member and with the best pedigree of all ten participating nations. That a twice-World Cup winning side (and current T20 world champion) finds itself needing to qualify at all is a result of some terrible ODI form in the last few years and an impasse with key players that has seen some of the Caribbean’s best cricketers overlooked or self-exiled from selection. They failed to qualify for last year’s Champions Trophy in England, and will be desperate not to miss out in the same country again next year.

They are buoyed for this tournament by the return of several big names to the fold, including self-styled “Universe Boss” Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and quick bowler Kemar Roach.

Some personal milestones to look out for the Windies:

Kemar Roach – Fast bowler Roach needs just one wicket to bring up 100 in ODIs

Jason Holder – the skipper needs nine more wickets to bring up his century in the format.

Marlon Samuels – if the West indies progress all the way to the final, and Samuels plays all eight games along the way, he will move on to 200 ODI appearances.

Ireland

As a then Associate nation, Ireland qualified for the last three World Cups going back to 2007, famously inflicting some of the biggest upsets the tournament has ever seen in the process – beating Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011. Now a newly-installed Full Member, and with a first Test match taking place in May, the men in green will be highly driven to keep their fine record going and qualify for the big show in neighbouring England.

Recent results have not been as strong, and with an ageing (although highly experienced) squad, one senses qualification may be a battle, but they certainly will not give up on that coveted spot without a fight.

A few key personal marks to watch out for:

Kevin O’Brien – the hero of that famous win against England in 2011 needs just 88 runs to bring up 3,000 in ODIS for Ireland

Niall O’Brien – Kevin’s brother Niall will notch up 100 appearances in ODIs if Ireland qualify for the Super Six, he plays in all games, and Nepal don’t qualify for the Super Six from Group B (because Netherlands and Nepal don’t have ODI status.)

The Netherlands

By virtue of winning the World Cricket League Championship in 2017, the Netherlands have been granted ODI status, commencing after this tournament, and will also participate in the inaugural ICC ODI league alongside the 12 Full members when it kicks off in 2020, guaranteeing them regular games against higher ranked sides.

So exciting times lie ahead for the Dutch, regardless of what happens in Zimbabwe, but nonetheless they will be keen to qualify for the World Cup for the fifth time and first since 2011.

Their squad has been bolstered by the return of several plays playing top-class cricket overseas such as captain Peter Borren, Essex’s County Championship winning captain Ryan ten Doeschate and Roloef van der Merwe.

Papua New Guinea

The Barramundis will be looking to qualify for their first major tournament. A more realistic target might be to hold on to their ODI status by finishing as one of the top 3 associate nations. Form against fellow associates has not been strong of late finishing fourth in the WCL in 2017, being on the wrong side of a bilateral series defeat to Scotland, as well as losing both warm ups in Zimbabwe over the last week, so they will look to improve in the next three weeks.

United Arab Emirates

The UAE secured their spot in the Qualifier by winning the recent WCL Division 2 tournament in Namibia, beating fellow qualifier Nepal in the final. Their main aim in this tournament will be to keep hold of their current ODI status for another four years.

One personal milestone that may be realised comes in the form of Shaiman Anwar, who needs 182 runs to become the first UAE player to notch up 1,000 ODI runs.

Group B

Group B matches take place at in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo at the Queens Sports Club and the Bulawayo Athletic Club.

Zimbabwe

Being a Full member and with the benefit of home advantage, the Zimbabweans will be one of the teams favoured by some to take a coveted qualifying spot for England. Graeme Cremer’s men have had a mixed time of late – winning a bilateral series in Sri Lanka in 2017 but losing against Afghanistan and failing to make it to the final of the Bangladesh tri-series also featuring Sri Lanka.

Their ranks have been bolstered this year by the return from Kolpak stints in England of star keeper-batsman Brendan Taylor and quick bowler Kyle Jarvis, and they will hope that experience and the improved form of Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza will be enough to get them to the final.

A few personal marks that are in play in the tournament:

Sean Williams – recalled to the squad for the tournament, batting all rounder Williams needs just 53 runs to bring up 3,000 in ODIs

Craig Ervine – batsman Ervine needs just nine runs to notch up 2,000.

Hamilton Masakadza – the big opener needs just three ODI appearances to move from sixth place in his country’s appearance list to fourth, passing Alistair Campbell and coach Heath Streak in the process

Afghanistan

It is a sign of their remarkable progress over recent years that Afghanistan are likely favourites for the tournament, having also attained Full Member status in 2017 and looking forward to a maiden Test against India in June.

They have had mixed form in fairness, winning an ODI series against Zimbabwe and drawing in the West Indies in the last 12 months, alongside a series defeat to Ireland in the UAE in late 2017. But they are buoyed by the presence of a phalanx of young and hugely impressive spin bowlers that are more than a match for anyone on their day, especially in Zimbabwe’s likely spin-friendly conditions.

Keep a special eye on the mercurial Rashid Khan

Afghanistan’s vice-captain will, at just 19 years of age, likely become the youngest captain in international cricket history when he deputises for usual skipper Ashgar Stanizkai (out with appendicitis) in the opener against Scotland. Nothing should surprise anyone from Khan, who sits proudly atop the ICC’s ODI and T20I bowler rankings and is courted by franchises the world over, such has been his meteoric rise over the last two years.

Khan also needs just 14 wickets to bring up 100 in ODIs – few would bet against him getting them.

Mohammad Nabi and Dawlat Zadran – fellow bowlers Nabi and Dawlat need 5 and 10 wickets respectively to bring up their 100s too.

Scotland

In the last 12 months, Scotland notched up a bilateral ODI victory over a Full member for the first time, beating Group B rival Zimbabwe in Edinburgh in June 2017. That result and coming second in the WCL to the Netherlands will fill them with confidence that they can at least qualify for the Super Six stage of this tournament – but having appeared in three of the last five ICC world cups, they will be hoping for more.

Kyle Coetzer – already his country’s highest ever ODI-scoring batsman, skipper Coetzer will be looking to add the 277 runs he needs to bring up 2000 for Scotland in ODIs.

Hong Kong

Deprived of top players not available for this tournament, such as JJ Atkinson and Mark Chapman, the latter having opted to now play for New Zealand, Hong Kong’s chief aim will be to emerge with their ODI status intact so they can continue to progress at the highest associate level.

Nepal

One of the fastest upcoming nations in Associate cricket, Nepal secured their berth at this qualifier by finishing second in the WCL Division 2 tournament in Namibia earlier this year.  With huge support at home in the Himalayan nation, obtaining ODI status will be their main goal from this tournament, and with superstar Sandeep Lamichhane, recently awarded an IPL contract, in their ranks few would bet against them causing an upset or two.

New Zealand v West Indies – Test Series preview

Test cricket returns to New Zealand tomorrow with the first of a two-game series between the hosting Blackcaps and a visiting West Indies side. The first match is to be played inside Wellington’s favourite roundabout at the venerable Basin Reserve, arguably one of the most picturesque international cricket grounds in the world.  The second and final test gets underway in Hamilton, city of the future, on the 9th December.

New Zealand have not played much Test cricket of late – tomorrow’s game will only be their sixth this year, and first since March. And they won’t be playing too many more in the foreseeable future either as NZ Cricket clearly focuses more on limited overs fixtures – the home season sees only four test matches over an elongated summer. The Blackcaps lost their last series 1-0 to South Africa, on the back of beating both Pakistan and Bangladesh 2-0 in their previous engagements.

The visiting West Indies side, for their part have had an up and down time of late themselves, albeit one that has started to show glimpses of hope for a young side captained by Jason Holder and coached by Australian Stuart Law. A recent 1-0 series win over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo followed consecutive 2-1 series defeats to England in England and Pakistan at home – but the one test they did win against England at Headingley earlier this year showed that they are more than capable of causing an upset when the stars align for them.

Historically, there has been very little to split the two sides over the years – with both having picked up 13 wins apeice in the 45 Tests previously played. In Kiwi conditions, the home side are more dominant, having won ten matches to the Windies’ seven.

New Zealand have been affected by two late withdrawals from their first-choice squad, with regular keeper BJ Watling out with injury and key man Tim Southee sitting out the first test as he awaits the pitter-patter of tiny fast-bowling feet. Southee’s absence could potential give birth to a new Test career, with uncapped-at-test-level pair Lockie Ferguson and George Worker called up into the squad as cover. There will be at least one new black cap handed out tomorrow,  with replacement keeper Tom Blundell set to take his place behind the stumps.

The youthful West indies squad is stratring to look more settled, but they do have two potential test debutants in their ranks – with Sunil Ambris from St Vincent and the Grenadines and Rayman Reifer from Barbados hoping to get the nod.

An intriguing series in early summer New Zealand conditions awaits! A few interesting statistical milestones to kee a watchful eye on:

Kane Williamson (New Zealand)

The Blackcaps’ skipper, and one of test crickets current “Big Four” middle-order batsmen captains, will be keen to take his bow in a season where Messrs Smith, Root and Kohli have already taken theirs.

He currently has 5.116 test runs to his name, enough for sixth place for his country. A not unfeasible 219 more in this series will see him overtake John Wright in fifth.

Ross Taylor (New Zealand)

Wright is in mortal danger of losing another fifth spot in his country’s record books – with his 82 Test match appearances set to be surpassed in Hamilton by Taylor, who currently has 81.

Trent Boult (New Zealand)

With Southee out, more focus will be on the other half of the Kiwis traditional pace attack. Boult will therefore be confident of moving from his current 190 wickets past the 200 milestone.

Neil Wagner (New Zealand)

Often overshadowed by the Southee-Boult double act, Wagner’s fiery fast bowling has nonetheless already brought him 130 test wickets, enough for joint-ninth for the Blackcaps. One more scalp and he’ll leave Lance Cairns behind in his wake.

Shai Hope (West Indies)

The Windies’ revived hope over recent weeks has come from a new Hope in the ranks – Shai from Barbados. His twin Headingley hundreds were instrumental in their surprise win over England in that match, and in the last four matches he has scored 530 runs at an average of 106. A mere 79 in this series will bring up hos first 1,000 for the West Indies.

Roston Chase (West Indies)

Also hailing from Barbados, all-rounder Chase only needs 34 runs to bring up 1,000 in the longest format himself.

Kemar Roach (West Indies)

And we bring up a trio of Barbadians with rejuvenated fast bowler Roach -who will be aiming for another nine test wickets to bring up 150.

England v West Indies – ODI Series Preview

Following on from an unexpectedly close 2-1 Test series win by the hosts, and success for the visitors in the sole T20 International in Durham over the weekend, the West Indies tour of England draws to a close with a five-match ODI series to be played out in the autumnal chill of late September.

The first game is on Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester, and will be followed by matches at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the County Ground in Bristol and The Oval in south London before finally finishing on 29th September at the Rose Bowl in Southampton – by which time woolly hats, scarves and gloves will no doubt be the order of the day – especially for the visitors!

For England, this will be their first ODI encounter since their surprise and agonising defeat to eventual champions Pakistan in the semi-final of the ICC Trophy held on home soil in June that many pundits expected them to win. Prior to that tournament, England had won the last three ODI series they had played- home wins against the Proteas of South Africa (2-1) in late May and neighbours Ireland (2-0) earlier that month, as well as a 3-0 away win in Antigua and Barbados against their current opponents, the West Indies.

England have made strong progress in white-ball cricket over the last two years, but still only sit fourth on the ICC ODI rankings and that first 50-over major tournament title still eludes them. They will see this series as valuable training ahead of the next World Cup to be held in England in 2019.

As for West Indies, their 50-over form has been much more patchy, and they currently sit ninth in the ODI rankings, outside the automatic qualification spots for the 2019 World Cup. They need a 4-0 or 5-0 series win against England to dislodge Sri Lanka from the last qualification spot and avoid having to go through a qualification tournament to avoid missing out on another major tournament after they failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Prior to their one-off game in Ireland being washed out as a no result a few days ago, the Windies had lost a home series against India 3-1 in late June, only managed a 1-1 drawn series with Afghanistan in St Lucia earlier that month, and lost 2-1 to Pakistan in Guyana in April. They also lost the aforementioned home series against England 3-0.

However, since all of those series, there has been a thaw in relations between a number of senior players and the Cricket West Indies board which sees several big names return to the squad for this series and which they will hope will generate a turn around in fortunes in 50-over cricket. The effect of the return of Jamaicans Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Jerome Taylor will be intriguing to watch, and hopefully result in a close series befitting of the West Indies of old.

It is those three returning Jamaican veterans who headline the potential personal milestone for the West Indies side too:

Chris Gayle (West Indies)

Big hitting self-styled “Universe Boss” Gayle currently sits in joint eighth place worldwide for ODI centuries alongside India’s Sourav Ganguly and Sri Lankan Tilakaratne Dilshan. All three have 22 centuries to their name in the format, and one more will see the big man claim that eighth spot all for himself.

He also has 17,972 runs for West Indies across all three formats of the game, needing just 28 more to notch up his 18,000.

Marlon Samuels (West Indies)

Expect salutes a-plenty if all rounder Samuels makes an appearance, as it will be his 188th in ODI colours for West Indies, enough to take him past the legendary Sir Vivian Richards and into eighth place for his national side.

Jerome Taylor (West Indies)

Taylor’s 126 ODI wickets are enough to see him tenth in the West Indies’ all time list – five more will see him overtake fellow quick Mervyn Dillon and move into ninth place.

Eoin Morgan (England)

Captain Morgan may be a beverage that hails from the visitors’ neck of the woods, but it is England’s skipper who will be looking to raise a glass to personal success. He has scored 5,028 runs for England in ODIs (excluding the runs he scored for Ireland before switching allegiance) and needs just 65 to move past Paul Collingwood into second place all-time for his adopted country. Only Ian Bell has scored more.

Joe Root (England)

England’s Test captain will be looking for the 45 runs he needs to move past Graeme Hick’s 3,846 in ODI cricket, and in the process move into his country’s top ten all-time.

Jos Buttler (England)

India’s MS Dhoni recently became the first keeper from any country to notch up 100 stumpings in ODI cricket -so it’s perhaps surprising that Buttler is England’s joint leading disturber of the bails in ODIs with just 15 to his name, alongside Alec Stewart. One more bit of nifty glove-work behind the wickets will see him become a national record holder in his own right!

 

 

England v West Indies – 2nd Test Preview

There was supposed to only be four days’ rest in between the first and second Tests of England’s three-match series against West Indies. As it turned out, England’s thumping victory within three days (or days and nights to be more precise) has given both sides extra time off to prepare for this game (or to practice their golf swings at least.)

England will be looking to wrap up successive Test series during the second Test, which starts at Headingley in Leeds on Friday morning (yes, morning!) For their part, the West Indians will be hoping against all odds that a quick turnaround in their fortunes will bring about their first Test win in England since the year 2000.

There is much to watch out for from an individual player milestone perspective too:

Jimmy Anderson (England)

Jimmy’s longtime fast bowling partner-in-crime Stuart Broad took most of the milestone headlines at Edgbaston, having overtaken Ian Botham as England’s second highest Test wicket-taker.

However all eyes will be on Anderson’s “W” column in this test, as he sits on 492 wickets, only eight shy of becoming just the sixth bowler in Test cricket history to crack the 500 barrier. If he gets there, he will only the third fast bowler after Glenn Mcgrath and Courtney Walsh to get there.

Jimmy will also edge one place up a much more obscure ladder in this match, as his 27,724 balls bowled in the longest format sees him just 16 balls behind Kapil Dev in eighth place. So on the fifth ball of Jimmy’s third over bowled, be sure to raise a glass to that!

Alastair Cook (England)

Such are Chef’s stats at the moment, that he seems to be a perennial feature in these updates. Cook’s 243 masterpiece at Edgbaston moved him to 11,568 career runs. If he can squeak out four more runs at Headingley and score 247, he’ll move past Mahela Jayawardene into eighth place overall worldwide.

Perhaps more likely is a potential 32nd Test century, which would see him move into the World top ten for that statistic, alongside Australia’s Steve Waugh.

He also needs just one more catch at slip to notch up 150 grabs for his country.

Stuart Broad (England)

Having moved past one England legend in the wicket stakes in the first Test, Broad will move alongside in this one. His 108th Test for England sees him move up from 10th to joint 9th place alongside Geoffrey Boycott.

Jonny Bairstow (England)

Such is the impressive nature of YJB’s keeping, that in what seems like a blink of the eye, he already sits in eleventh place in the “dismissals” column of England’s record books – with 112 catches and 6 stumpings totalling 118 dismissals.

Two more at his home ground in Leeds will move him past Colin Cowdrey and Ian Botham into tenth place, and three more also past his ultimate boss Andrew Strauss into ninth. I doubt Strauss would mind too much!

Jason Holder (West Indies)

Much like positives to take from Edgbaston, its slim pickings for milestones for West Indies’ players here. However, six runs for captain Holder will see him notch up his 1000 in the format, currently sitting on 994.