Manage Pooran carefully!

"It's a heck of a challenge. The modern cricketer is challenged more than any other generation before with the different formats and the adaptability required to go across the formats. I think it will be very hard for most cricketers to play all three formats. It is a real challenge for young cricketers to try to develop their game to be chopping and changing so much and playing so much T20 cricket early on. What it requires to be a good hitter is very different to what it requires to be a good batter." The above are the words of former Australian captain Greg Chappell who, as Cricket Australia’s talent manager, is tasked with ensuring the future of the game ‘is in good hands’.  

Nicolas Pooran

I came across this article a few hours after I finally decided to comment on an issue that has been on my mind for a long time and which became foremost in my thoughts during the second game of the Caribbean Premier League on July 31. Back then I asked some colleagues why was 17-year-old Nicolas Pooran turning out for the Red Steel instead of representing Trinidad and Tobago in the Under-19 tournament taking place simultaneously in St. Kitts. One response was that the CPL would be good exposure for the youngster.  Pooran proceeded to unleash a barrage of breathtaking strokes on his way to a 24-ball 54 that belied his years. Thanks to television I, and viewers around the globe, caught a glimpse of the left-hander’s undoubted talent, a talent which needs to be channeled very carefully.

The regional selectors obviously think highly of Pooran, enough to reserve a place for him on the West Indies Under-19 against their Bangladeshi counterparts even though he missed the St. Kitts tournament. They should be mindful though that he is still learning his craft and adjusting his game across all three formats is not going to be easy. More experienced players have struggled to adapt, resulting in quite a few being pigeon-holed as specialists. Pooran’s countryman Kieron Pollard, who is yet to play a Test, is one such who is making a decent living as a globetrotting T20 professional. Another countryman was not so fortunate. Adrian Barath had quite a promising start to his Test career but lost his place when it became painfully obvious he had no idea whether he was playing in whites or colours. The glitz and glamour, and lucre, of the shortest version of the game would no doubt prove attractive to youngsters but for this writer Test cricket is still the ‘real thing’ and emerging regional players should be nurtured with this in mind. 

Pooran’s scores since that innings at Providence read 0, 20 not out, 3, 1, 10, 14 (in the CPL), 8, 6, 11, 15 (Champions’ League), 0, 23, 4 and 10 (WI Under-19). Not very flattering statistics! And what the statistics do not show is his cavalier approach to batting in the 50-over Under-19 matches, which can be interpreted as the youngster being unable to adapt to the change of format. His ultimate goal may very well be to make his living on the T20 circuit but it would be a shame to not see such a talent brought to its full potential.  

There are and will be many more like Pooran and there will be issues handling them. Another Australian great Rodney Marsh has suggested T20 be reserved for players over 30; this writer believes they should be kept away until they are over 19 at least.

Matthews leads Dynasty plunder of St. Agnes

Dynasty's batting card

Opening batsman Donovan Matthews saved his best performance for the final match of the competition, plundering a magnificent 195 to lead Dynasty Stars to a mammoth 285-run victory over St. Agnes as the Bahamas Cricket Association's 40-over tournament came to an end on June 23rd at the Haynes Oval on Bay Street.

Matthews stroked 25 fours and six sixes as Dynasty amassed 368 for five in the allotted overs. St. Agnes, without the services of guest player Earl Henry who scored 100 in the semi-finals a week earlier, could only muster 83 in reply from 23.4 overs.

Matthews was well supported by Jonathan Barry (36), Ryan Tappin (24), Howard Roye (18) and Rohan Parks (14). He posted 87 for the first wicket with Roye, 85 for the second with Tappin, and 99 for the fourth with Barry. The total
Dynasty Stars crushed St. Agnes by 285 runs to claim the Bahamas Cricket Association's 40-over league on Sunday, June 23rd, at the Haynes Oval on Bay Street.

Led by a superb 195 by opening batsman Donovan Matthews, the Stars amassed 368 for five in their 40 overs after winning the toss and batting first. Narendra Ekanayake then claimed five wickets for 28 runs as St. Agnes folded for 83 in 23.4 overs.

Matthews, who struck six sixes and 25 fours, was well supported by Jonathan Barry (36), Ryan Tappin (24), Howard Roye (18) and Rohan Parks (14). He added 87 for the first wicket with Roye, 85 for the second with Tappin, and 99 for the fourth with Barry. Skipper Albert Peters and Brian Bascom finished not out on 10 and six respectively.

In St. Agnes' innings John Dolphin topscored with 29 in the face of Ekanayake's assault. Roye also lent support with three wickets for 31 runs while Bascom had one for 16.

The final brought the curtains down on the tournament which began in 2012. The team now takes a well deserved rest before regrouping in September for more action.

Henry's century leads St. Agnes to final

St. Agnes were indebted to visiting guest player Earl Henry for their place in the final of the Bahamas Cricket Association's (BCA) 40-over competition after beating Police by 71 runs in the second semi-final. Henry, a resident of the Turks and Caicos Islands, was in Nassau on business when he was invited to represent the team of his former TCI colleague John Dolphin.

Earl Henry

Henry responded with an exact hundred as St. Agnes accumulated 212 in 36.2 of their allotted overs. He received minimal support however, with Omar James 29 being the next best contribution. Police's captain Gregory Taylor Jnr was the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 29 runs with his lively left-arm medium-pacers. His brother Marc picked up three for 41 with his off-breaks while Rudolph Fox, Jamal Rolle and Leonard Dorsaint each took a wicket. Police could only muster 141 in 25.5 overs when they replied. Marc Taylor and Rolle both made 34 while Gregory Taylor Jnr contributed 20. For St. Agnes, Orville Wright took three for 23 and Henry two for 45. There was a wicket each for James, Dolphin and Earl Thomas, the third.

Police's Derek Gittens is bowled

The win meant St. Agnes qualified to play Dynasty Stars in the final on June 23 at the Haynes Oval on Bay Street. Dynasty booked their place in the final after winning by default over St. Alban's on June 15, the day before St. Agnes beat Police. St. Alban's failed to show up in sufficient numbers for the semi-final.

Will Chris Gayle wear WI colours again?

When coach Otis Gibson called out his senior players for their non-performance in the World Cup early in 2011 he evoked responses from two of them which set off a chain of events that have left West Indian fans divided until now with seemingly no resolution in sight.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the dependable middle-order batsman, was so incensed that he felt it necessary to go to the press where, among other things, he accused the coach of trying to tell him – a veteran of 17 years of international cricket –  how to bat. Chris Gayle, the region’s best opening bats, condemned the captain, coach and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) in a radio interview which precipitated a series of events that have conspired to keep the big left-hander out of the regional side ever since.

While Chanderpaul and the WICB settled their differences it has not been so with Gayle who has become immensely popular in the numerous T20 leagues around the world. Accusations and counter accusations were followed by fruitless meetings between the WICB and Gayle’s camp until the player’s cry to CARICOM was heeded by the regional body. The result was a resolution of sorts with both sides expressing regret for their actions, thus paving the way for Gayle’s “active return to West Indies cricket, subject to all necessary fitness considerations”. In an effort to arrive at this amicable settlement Gayle, rather selflessly, gave up his T20 contract with English county Somerset, while the WICB agreed to make an exception to the rule that requires a player to appear in the regional tournament if he is to be eligible for the West Indies in the corresponding international format. This clears the way for Gayle to be selected to the T20 World Cup squad even though he chose to ply his trade with his Big Bash team Down Under rather than represent Jamaica in the Caribbean T20.

That should have been the end of the saga; however, the parties are scheduled to meet again to deal with a few “outstanding residual matters”. One suspects that chief among these matters is the multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the WICB as it relates to unconditional No Objection Certificates (NOC) which would give players the freedom to choose when to make themselves available for the West Indies. The WICB has asked Gayle to withdraw the suit “in the interest of the new beginning that we are in the course of establishing”. Gayle has however refused, pointing out that the lawsuit was started by the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) and he (Gayle) “could not possibly contemplate withdrawing unilaterally from proceedings which affect the West Indies players as a whole”.

So, as it stands now fans hoping to see Gayle back in West Indian colours when the Indian Premier League (IPL) is over could have a very long wait on their hands. This writer does not see the WICB backing down from this one which puts Gayle in a bit of a tight spot. Does he want the World T20 so badly that he would abandon the WIPA cause? (The WICB would consider this an especially sweet blow in the ongoing battle with the players’ body). This writer believes Gayle has been keen all along to display the hitting skills which have made him the hottest commodity on the circuit in the World T20. How he handles the Board’s request will determine if he realizes that dream. 

Grading the West Indies in India: the fourth ODI

After winning the third game to open up the series the West Indies harboured hopes of leveling the scores at 2-2 but these aspirations were soon dashed by Indian skipper Virender Sehwag who slammed a record 219 as his team amassed 418. That score was enough for a victory which ended up being by a margin of 153 runs.

Lendl Simmons

Any hopes West Indies harboured of successfully chasing down their huge target rested on Simmons providing a quick start. He did, but fell trying to keep up the momentum.

Grade: C

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Kieran Powell

The tall left-hander came in for his first game of the series, courtesy of an injury to Darren Bravo. He failed to make the most of his opportunity however, being senselessly run out at the non-striker’s end.

Grade: F

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Marlon Samuels

The silky Jamaican briefly lifted West Indian hopes with a 26-ball 33 but when he was deceived by a top-spinner from debutant Rahul Sharma the game was as good as over. In the face of the Indian batting onslaught the fact that he was one of two bowlers whose economy rates were below 7.5 says his bowling effort should be commended.

Grade: C

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Danza Hyatt

Hyatt never looked at ease, even more so in the over when he was dismissed. After being rapped on the pads a few times he was bowled between his legs as he chose to charge a Sharma leg-break.

Grade: F

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Denesh Ramdin

The wicket-keeper seized the opportunity for some stress-free runs, after his team had given up victory, to amass the highest score by a West Indian wicket-keeper in ODIs. He failed by four runs to top it off with his first century when he was last man out attempting to reach the landmark in the game’s final over.

Grade: B

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Kieron Pollard

The big man has said in the past he needs more overs to bat. He had at least 36 here but still only managed three runs. With the ball, he did manage to dismiss Sehwag but gave up more than nine runs per over doing it.

Grade: F

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Andre Russell

He claimed one wicket at nine per over and belted 29 from 24, but like the others before him could not sustain his attack.

Grade: C

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Darren Sammy

The captain looked lost in the field. He allowed himself just three overs which was a wise choice given the fact that he was the only bowler going at over 10 runs per over. The pressure of captaincy is definitely telling on him…how else can you explain the proliferation of dropped catches, including the dolly offered by Sehwag today. He did not do himself any justice with the bat either, holding out to long-off after scoring two.

Grade: F

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Ravi Rampaul

He could not repeat his heroics with the ball (as in the 3^rd game), or with the bat (in the second), although he was one of two bowlers going at less than 7.5 per over.

Grade: D

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Kemar Roach

The paceman conceded 88 from his 10 overs while claiming a wicket in the closing stages of the Indian innings. He was pacey but that did not matter on this benign surface.

Grade: D

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Sunil Narine

After his impressive debut the off-spinner was brought back to earth with a bump, conceding 46 from his six overs. He showed he’s no rabbit with the bat, adding 64 for the 10^th wicket with Ramdin.

Grade: C

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Grading the West Indies in India: the third ODI

The West Indies finally got it right! In the two previous games they had put themselves in good positions to win but always seemed to lack the killer instinct. This time around, despite the heroics of the Indian lower order, they held on to win by 16 runs in Ahmedabad and reduce the deficit to 2-1 in the five-match series.

Lendl Simmons

A rare failure for the Trinidadian opener, the team’s most consistent ODI batsman of 2011! He did not have much to do in the field and was not required to bowl more than two overs of his gentle medium-pace.

Grade: F

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Danza Hyatt

Promoted to open the batting in place of the omitted Adrian Barath, the stocky Jamaican hung around 39 balls for his 20 before gifting his wicket with a careless waft at a leg-side delivery.

Grade: D

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Marlon Samuels

He used his newly found irregular methods to effectively counter the early threat of the Indian seamers. After all the efforts he put into reaching 58 however he threw it away with an overly ambitious shot. In the field he claimed the critical wicket of Partiv Patel with a beauty and bowled well in spells.

Grade: B

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Darren Bravo

The left-hander, in partnership with Samuels, was slowly laying a foundation for a middle-order push when a hamstring strain cut short his innings on 26. He played no further part in the match.

Grade: I

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Denesh Ramdin

The wicket-keeper finally got some runs under his belt in the series, buckling down for a workman-like 38 while adding 55 for the fourth wicket with Kieron Pollard. He also put in some good work behind the stumps, the most notable being the diving catch down the leg-side to get rid of the unlucky Suresh Raina.

Grade: B-

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Kieron Pollard

Pollard got another start but just when he was attempting to switch gears he was well taken in the outfield by Rajendra Jadeja. He was once again good in the field but was only required to bowl one over, which proved to be pretty tidy.

Grade: C+

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Andre Russell

Today he was half of the blitzkrieg that hit the Indians for 79 from the last 34 balls of the innings. His 40 came from 18 balls and helped prove the difference in the final results. His four overs were expensive but his real contribution in the field came from a smart piece of work at point which resulted in the run out of Jadeja.

Grade: B

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Darren Sammy

The captain stepped up big time, smashing 41 from 17 with some clean orthodox hitting which, alongside Russell’s, helped carry WI to a par score on that ground. He almost threw the game away when he dropped Rohit Sharma on 37 (one of two misses) but made amends later with a bullet-like direct hit that ran out the Indian danger man for a classy 95.

Grade: B-

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Ravi Rampaul

The burly pacer had the Man-of-the-Match awarded snatched from his grasp in the previous game, but was not allowing anyone to steal his thunder this time around. He was not called on to bat after the heroics of Sammy and Russell so he set about making his impact with the ball. He did that tellingly with the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir from his first two deliveries and ended the match by cutting short the dangerous cameo of tail-ender Mithun. His four wickets were sufficient for the award!

Grade: A-

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Kemar Roach

Although a bit expensive he bowled with real pace which was evident in the scorcher that knocked over Vinay Kumar in his final spell.

Grade: C+

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Sunil Narine

The debutant grabbed his opportunity immediately, troubling all the batsmen with his each way spin. His two wickets were critical too: the inform Virat Kohli and the stubborn Ravi Ashwin, the latter to break a seventh wicket stand of 91 with Sharma.

Grade: B

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Grading the West Indies in India: the second ODI

The West Indies took on India in the second of five One-Day Internationals on December 2^nd in Visakhapatnam. After the close lost in Game 1 the visitors were hoping for a better showing but this was not to be. A top order failure left tail-enders Ravi Rampaul and Kemar Roach with the job of putting a respectable score on the board. In the end 269 for 9 it was not enough as WI went down by five wickets to concede a 0-2 lead in the series.

Lendl Simmons

Simmons was the only top order batsman who spent any considerable time at the crease. He batted well for his 78 and was on top of the bowling when an attempt to farm the strike resulted in his run out. He also bowled three tidy overs of medium-pace when called upon by the captain.

Grade: B

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Adrian Barath

Another failure for the diminutive Trinidadian who laboured eight deliveries without scoring! He did manage to pull off a magnificent catch to get rid of Gautam Gambhir.

Grade: D

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Marlon Samuels

Yet another failure as the WI top-order collapsed. His redeeming feature was that he captured the wicket of the dangerous Indian captain Virender Sehwag during his 10 economical overs.

Grade: D

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Darren Bravo

The left-hander failed to get among the runs on this occasion. It was not so much his failure but the way he got out, playing an ugly hoick to mid-on, that left a bitter taste in the mouth. He followed this up by dropping a relatively easy catch at third-man.

Grade: F

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Danza Hyatt

He did not last two long in the middle and was mostly invisible in the field.

Grade: F

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Denesh Ramdin

The batting woes that have beset West Indian wicket-keepers of recent continued with the Trinidadian once again contriving to bring about his own downfall. He also dropped a straightforward offering from centurion Virat Kohli early in his innings.

Grade: F

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Kieron Pollard

The big man looked ready to take on the Indian attack, motoring to 35 from 30 before he was adjudged caught behind, and this as he and Simmons were mounting a fight back. Although his bowling was nothing to shout about he did pull off a few good stops in the field.

Grade: C+

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Darren Sammy

Yet another failure with the bat for the captain! He didn’t impress with the ball either and his questionable field placing along with his dropped catch off Sehwag combined for a very poor outing for Darren Sammy.

Grade: F

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Adrian Russell

He threw away a perfect opportunity to improve his stock as a batsman with the shot he played and some 19 overs remaining. His bowling was also off-track as was reflected in his figures of none for 60 in just over eight overs.

Grade: F

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Ravi Rampaul

The man mostly responsible for turning this game into a contest! The big left-hander slammed a career-best 86 not out to help lift WI from 170 for nine to 269 for nine when the overs ran out. He also played his part in reducing India to 29 for two by removing Gambhir.

Grade: A-

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Kemar Roach

His level-headed batting ensured an unbroken 99 for the 10^th wicket with Rampaul to turn the match into a contest. After his career-best 24 not out in that partnership the young fast bowler showed he was returning to something resembling top form with a hostile opening spell which accounted for Parthiv Patel and made all the other batsmen uncomfortable.

Grade: A-

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