WI flatter to deceive, youth show quality

A NEW Cricket West Indies (CWI) president, a new West Indies coach, a new captain – it all happened in 2019. On the field, Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) fell short of a hat-trick of Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) titles, West Indies flattered to deceive at the 50-Over World Cup, but TT youth cricketers showed some quality and brought home two regional titles.

NEW ERA IN WINDIES CRICKET

The year had a number of changes in the administration and the team leadership of West Indies cricket.
Ricky Skerritt was voted in as the new CWI president, ending the long run of Dave Cameron. Kieron Pollard was announced as the new white ball captain (50-Over, T20), replacing Carlos Brathwaite in the T20 format and Jason Holder as 50-Over captain. Holder maintained his role as skipper of the Test team.
Skerritt said the new administration will be implementing a West Indies first policy, meaning that West Indians will be the first choice when recruiting for top positions.
Skerritt and his new team, which includes vice president Dr Kishore Shallow, then made the decision to appoint former West Indies all rounder Phil Simmons as head coach. He took over from interim head coach Floyd Reifer.
If you thought that was the end of the changes, guess again. The entire selection panel of West Indies cricket was revamped with the introduction of three selection panels.
The men’s panel will be led by Roger Harper and Miles Bascombe will serve as his assistant. Courtney Browne held the post of chairman of selectors since 2016.
Former TT and West Indies Women’s cricketer Ann Browne-John created history as she became the first woman to be elected to a regional selection panel. Browne-John will be the lead selector of the West Indies Women’s and Girls Panel and Travis Dowlin will also be a selector.
Robert Haynes will serve as a talent identification manager for the West Indies boys panel. Gus Logie was also chosen for a heading coaching position in 2019, as he was announced as the West Indies Women’s interim head coach, replacing Henderson Springer.

TKR FALL SHORT WITHOUT BRAVO

TKR’s quest for a hat-trick of CPL titles did not materialise. The local franchise was knocked out in qualifier two at Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA) in Tarouba, losing by 12 runs to Barbados Tridents.
TKR received a huge blow mere days before the tournament bowled off as Dwayne Bravo, the team’s captain since the CPL began in 2013, injured a finger on his left hand that ruled him out of the entire tournament.
Pollard, playing his first CPL with TKR, was named the new captain. TKR did not seem to be missing Bravo as the unit won their opening four matches to send a strong warning to the other five franchises.
Pollard’s team went downhill from there losing five out of their remaining six matches (one no result) in the preliminary stage as TKR scraped into the knockout phase.
TKR regained their form with a six-wicket win over St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the eliminator, but could not advance to the final after falling to Tridents in qualifier two.
Opener Lendl Simmons ended as TKR’s top batsman with 430 runs to finish second in the run scoring charts.
Simmons averaged 39.09 in 11 innings, scoring five fifties with a highest score of 90. Medium pacer Jimmy Neesham ended 11th among the wickets with 11 wickets in ten innings at an economy rate of 11.10 to end as TKR’s most successful bowler.
Tridents won the title with a 27-run win over Guyana Amazon Warriors at BLCA.

WINDIES FLATTER TO DECEIVE AT WORLD CUP

West Indies fans were buzzing with excitement after a resounding seven-wicket win over Pakistan in a low scoring match to start the International Cricket Council (ICC) 50-Over World Cup in England and Wales. However, West Indies did not win any of their next seven matches (six losses, one no result) and had no chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
West Indies lost to Australia, England, Bangladesh, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka and their match against South Africa was abandoned because of rain. West Indies won their final group stage contest with a 23-run win over Afghanistan to finish ninth on the ten-team standings.
England went on to win their first World Cup title with victory over New Zealand. Nicholas Pooran was the best batsman for West Indies ending 17th on the charts with 367 runs in eight innings at an average of 52.42. The left-hander cracked one century and two fifties and had a highest score of 118. Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell was 18th among the bowlers with 12 wickets in nine innings. His best bowling figures were 4/56 and he ended the tournament with an impressive economy rate of 5.85.

POORAN BANNED FOR BALL TAMPERING

Pooran was banned for four T20 Internationals after pleading guilty to ball tampering during the third ODI against Afghanistan in India.
The left-handed wicket-keeper batsman was caught on camera scratching the ball with his thumb – a level three breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.

RED FORCE IMPROVE UNDER DILLON

TT Red Force ended the Cricket West Indies Four-Day Tournament in fourth place among the six teams.
After ten matches Red Force finished with four wins, five losses and a draw. Guyana Jaguars continued their dominance in four-day cricket claiming the title with seven wins and three losses when the tournament ended in March.
After four rounds of competition Kelvin Williams stepped down as Red Force coach after the team started the campaign with three losses and one win. Mervyn Dillon filled the vacancy and the team improved, as the former West Indies fast bowler led the team to three wins, one draw and two losses in the remaining six matches.
Red Force aimed to end the year with a title when the Colonial Medical Insurance 50-Over Tournament was held from November to December in St Kitts and Trinidad.
The local franchise, under the leadership of Imran Khan, blew away the opposition in Group B finishing on top with seven wins from eight matches.
However, the Leeward Islands Hurricanes ended TT's run with a four-wicket win in the semifinal, at the Queen's Park Oval, in Port of Spain.

TT BOYS, GIRLS WIN YOUTH TITLES

The TT youngsters showed that the future of both women's cricket and men's cricket is in good hands with two titles.
The TT girls defended the CWI TT Women's Cricket Association 19 and Under T20 title, at the National Cricket Centre, in Couva. In the final against Windwards Islands, TT prevailed with a seven-wicket win.
Windwards posted 117/8 batting first with TT bowlers Djenaba Joseph taking 3/18 and Alysha Gomez grabbing 3/25.
In reply, TT got to 120/3 in 13.2 overs with Shania Abdool leading the way with 59 not out and Anjani Goordeen pitching in with 25 not out.
In Antigua, TT clinched the CWI Regional Under-15 Round Robin 50-Over Tournament. Despite losing their final match to Guyana by seven wickets TT won the crown by the narrowest of margins. TT and Guyana both ended with four wins and one loss, but TT got more fast bowling points to grab the trophy.
In the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League, Hillview College continued their dominance. Hillview clinched a hat-trick of titles in the 50-Over competition and later in the year also made it three straight titles in the Intercol T20 competition with a 13-run triumph over Presentation College, Chaguanas.
In girls cricket, Barrackpore East Secondary defended the PowerGen Secondary Schools Intercol Girls T20 Open title with a five-wicket victory over Holy Name Convent.

WOMEN'S CRICKET – TEAM STRUGGLES, AGUILLEIRA RETIRES

It was a year to forget for the West Indies Women, especially in ODIs, losing all four series including defeats to Pakistan, England, Australia and India.
In the T20 format, the regional women won two of their five series. The team defeated Pakistan and Ireland, but fell to England, Australia and India.
The TT Red Force Divas ended the year without a trophy, but the team had creditable performances finishing second in the CWI 50-Over tournament and third in the T20 competition.
One of the longest serving West Indies Women's players retired when wicket-keeper batter Merissa Aguilleira left the sport ,at 33, after representing the team since 2008. Aguilleira played 112 ODIs, scoring 1,752 runs at an average of 20.61 with six fifties. Behind the stumps she completed 78 catches and 26 stumpings.
In T20 cricket, Aguilleira played 95 matches, cracking 768 runs at an average of 14.49 and had 72 dismissals – 38 catches and 34 stumpings. One highlight of her career would have been winning the 2016 ICC Women's World T20 title.

BASSARATH REMAINS NOT OUT

In January, Azim Bassarath was re-elected to his fourth term as president of the TT Cricket Board (TTCB). Bassarath defeated his only challenger in former West Indies spinner Dinanath Ramnarine 31-13.
The elections were long overdue as it was on hold since October 2016 because of an injunction, as a number of National League representatives took the TTCB executive to court.

LOCAL CLUB CRICKET

Queen's Park Cricket Club ended the decade with a strong year winning two of the three titles up for grabs. The Parkites won the 50-Over title with an 89-run victory over Clarke Road in the final and followed that up with the T20 Festival title with another win over Clarke Road – this time a nine-wicket win.
PowerGen did not end the season empty-handed as the southerners claimed the National League Premiership two-day title.