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The West Indies Cricket Thread
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England tour of West Indies, 3rd Test: West Indies v England at Bridgetown, May 1-3, 2015
West Indies 189 (Blackwood 85, Anderson 6-42) and 194 for 5 (Bravo 82, Blackwood 47*) beat England 257 (Cook 105, Moeen 58, Taylor 3-36) and 123 (Holder 3-15, Taylor 3-33, Permaul 3-43) by five wickets
Bravo and Blackwood secure shared series
West Indies turned what looked likely to be a nail-biting chase into a canter over the line as the evening shadows enveloped Kensington Oval to secure a hugely notable shared series. Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood, both reining themselves in from their natural preference to attack when the game was in the balance, formed the decisive partnership of 108 for the fifth wicket.
Bravo played with great maturity for 82 off 148 balls, taking West Indies to the brink of victory with a flourish of boundaries only to pick out mid-off with four needed. Blackwood, given a life on 4, remained unbeaten and completed an outstanding Test - and productive series - by showing levels of restraint that had not always been on show at other stages of the three matches and lofted the winning shot down the ground. It was the stand-out period of batting in a game dominated by the bowlers, although showed up much of the batting that preceded it.
Bravo and Blackwood came together with the innings teetering on 80 for 4 when Shivnarine Chanderpaul, looking a shadow of the player who has carried West Indies for so long, dragged on to James Anderson's first ball after tea. With an eye to the future, it could be very significant that West Indies held their nerve without a major contribution from Chanderpaul. It might not be the end for him yet, but it can't be far away.
Shortly after his departure, with West Indies 87 for 4, came a crucial moment. Blackwood, in a moment of hot-headedness that would not become a hallmark of a very calm innings, charged at Joe Root, had a mighty swing and missed, but Jos Buttler could not gather the stumping. It was the last clear-cut chance that England had before the match was gone as Blackwood and Bravo became increasingly confident once the target was below three figures.
Bravo has often been accused, with some justification, of too many lapses in concentration and there were moments in this innings when he could have succumbed but impressively battled through. Before tea, the score froze as England strung together six consecutive maidens - a period which brought the wicket of Marlon Samuels - and then when he moved into the 30s he was offered regular reminders by Buttler of his propensity to fall in such a position. Instead, he eased to a 116-ball half-century.
Occasionally he came out of his shell, including hammering the first ball after tea from Root for six then twice launching Moeen Ali straight down the ground as the target came into view. The first of Bravo's sixes off Moeen had been proceeded by 13 coming from an Anderson over (although two of the boundaries were byes and leg byes) which signalled there would be no final twist.
More at source... http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/content/story/870019.html and http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/engine/match/766933.html
West Indies 189 (Blackwood 85, Anderson 6-42) and 194 for 5 (Bravo 82, Blackwood 47*) beat England 257 (Cook 105, Moeen 58, Taylor 3-36) and 123 (Holder 3-15, Taylor 3-33, Permaul 3-43) by five wickets
Bravo and Blackwood secure shared series
West Indies turned what looked likely to be a nail-biting chase into a canter over the line as the evening shadows enveloped Kensington Oval to secure a hugely notable shared series. Darren Bravo and Jermaine Blackwood, both reining themselves in from their natural preference to attack when the game was in the balance, formed the decisive partnership of 108 for the fifth wicket.
Bravo played with great maturity for 82 off 148 balls, taking West Indies to the brink of victory with a flourish of boundaries only to pick out mid-off with four needed. Blackwood, given a life on 4, remained unbeaten and completed an outstanding Test - and productive series - by showing levels of restraint that had not always been on show at other stages of the three matches and lofted the winning shot down the ground. It was the stand-out period of batting in a game dominated by the bowlers, although showed up much of the batting that preceded it.
Bravo and Blackwood came together with the innings teetering on 80 for 4 when Shivnarine Chanderpaul, looking a shadow of the player who has carried West Indies for so long, dragged on to James Anderson's first ball after tea. With an eye to the future, it could be very significant that West Indies held their nerve without a major contribution from Chanderpaul. It might not be the end for him yet, but it can't be far away.
Shortly after his departure, with West Indies 87 for 4, came a crucial moment. Blackwood, in a moment of hot-headedness that would not become a hallmark of a very calm innings, charged at Joe Root, had a mighty swing and missed, but Jos Buttler could not gather the stumping. It was the last clear-cut chance that England had before the match was gone as Blackwood and Bravo became increasingly confident once the target was below three figures.
Bravo has often been accused, with some justification, of too many lapses in concentration and there were moments in this innings when he could have succumbed but impressively battled through. Before tea, the score froze as England strung together six consecutive maidens - a period which brought the wicket of Marlon Samuels - and then when he moved into the 30s he was offered regular reminders by Buttler of his propensity to fall in such a position. Instead, he eased to a 116-ball half-century.
Occasionally he came out of his shell, including hammering the first ball after tea from Root for six then twice launching Moeen Ali straight down the ground as the target came into view. The first of Bravo's sixes off Moeen had been proceeded by 13 coming from an Anderson over (although two of the boundaries were byes and leg byes) which signalled there would be no final twist.
More at source... http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/content/story/870019.html and http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2015/engine/match/766933.html
MickeyD
RIP
Great fightback by the Windies!!
Chanderpaul forced to retire - but commitment to Guyana still strong
Shivnarine Chanderpaul has insisted he has not retired from domestic cricket and intends to resume playing for Guyana within a couple of weeks.
In an episode that sheds light on the sometimes toxic relationship between the West Indies Cricket Board and Caribbean players, Chanderpaul has expressed resentment at being obliged to announce his international retirement in order to gain a No Objection Certificate to play in the Masters Champions League currently taking place in the UAE.
Chanderpaul, 41, has not played international cricket since May 2015 and was omitted from the list of contracted WICB players in December.
"I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd," Chanderpaul told ESPNcricinfo. "If I didn't announce my retirement they would have taken it back.
"I have spoken to Guyana already. I know the chairman wants me to go back and play.
"They have a game against Trinidad starting on February 12. Then Barbados, then Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Those are games that I've talked to them already about going back to play. I've not retired from first-class matches. I've retired from international games.
"I wasn't being picked to play for West Indies anymore and there was nothing else for me to do. So I decided I would come out here to the UAE and play some cricket."
While Chanderpaul earns a modest fee per match for representing Guyana, it is dwarfed by the rewards on offer - around $30,000 for just over two weeks involvement - with the MCL.
"I don't have a contract with anybody. No local boards; no West Indies board. I've been playing for Guyana because the coach and chairman saw the value of having me around as a player. They pay me a match fee and I play and try and help the young fellas as much as I can.
"Anything is possible in life. You can go into retirement; you can come out of retirement. It is my choice. I'm definitely still hungry to play. It's something I've done most of my life. There is still passion and hunger to play."
Criticising the "brute force and ignorance" of unspecified former players, Chanderpaul is currently enjoying the stress free - and lucrative - environment provided by the MCL.
Irritation lingers, however, at the manner in which his international 'retirement' was handled, with no recognition given to his illustrious record for the West Indies or the fact that he is contracted neither to the board or Guyana.
"You can't [chose the way you go]; not with those guys," he said. "It's the way we're being treated. It's still going on and it's not changing. We're being treated like that and worse sometimes. That's how it goes.
"Some of the past players had better times in their career. They don't want to change. They want to stay the same way; have the same attitude.
"But you can't bring the same thing to the table every time because you're not going to go anywhere. We're not going forward. We're just going down. They're creating some problems.
"As much as you're saying we have past players, they are the ones who are creating the problem because they have their ways - their old ways - and there's brute force and ignorance and they're still carrying it around and still expecting things to go the same way.
"You feel much better just coming out here to play [in the MCL]; without all the stress, without all the other stuff that's going on."
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
http://www.espncricinfo.com/masters-champions-league-2015-16/content/story/968267.html
Shivnarine Chanderpaul has insisted he has not retired from domestic cricket and intends to resume playing for Guyana within a couple of weeks.
In an episode that sheds light on the sometimes toxic relationship between the West Indies Cricket Board and Caribbean players, Chanderpaul has expressed resentment at being obliged to announce his international retirement in order to gain a No Objection Certificate to play in the Masters Champions League currently taking place in the UAE.
Chanderpaul, 41, has not played international cricket since May 2015 and was omitted from the list of contracted WICB players in December.
"I was given a No Objection Certificate by WICB with a clause in it that I retire on the 23rd," Chanderpaul told ESPNcricinfo. "If I didn't announce my retirement they would have taken it back.
"I have spoken to Guyana already. I know the chairman wants me to go back and play.
"They have a game against Trinidad starting on February 12. Then Barbados, then Windward Islands, Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Those are games that I've talked to them already about going back to play. I've not retired from first-class matches. I've retired from international games.
"I wasn't being picked to play for West Indies anymore and there was nothing else for me to do. So I decided I would come out here to the UAE and play some cricket."
While Chanderpaul earns a modest fee per match for representing Guyana, it is dwarfed by the rewards on offer - around $30,000 for just over two weeks involvement - with the MCL.
"I don't have a contract with anybody. No local boards; no West Indies board. I've been playing for Guyana because the coach and chairman saw the value of having me around as a player. They pay me a match fee and I play and try and help the young fellas as much as I can.
"Anything is possible in life. You can go into retirement; you can come out of retirement. It is my choice. I'm definitely still hungry to play. It's something I've done most of my life. There is still passion and hunger to play."
Criticising the "brute force and ignorance" of unspecified former players, Chanderpaul is currently enjoying the stress free - and lucrative - environment provided by the MCL.
Irritation lingers, however, at the manner in which his international 'retirement' was handled, with no recognition given to his illustrious record for the West Indies or the fact that he is contracted neither to the board or Guyana.
"You can't [chose the way you go]; not with those guys," he said. "It's the way we're being treated. It's still going on and it's not changing. We're being treated like that and worse sometimes. That's how it goes.
"Some of the past players had better times in their career. They don't want to change. They want to stay the same way; have the same attitude.
"But you can't bring the same thing to the table every time because you're not going to go anywhere. We're not going forward. We're just going down. They're creating some problems.
"As much as you're saying we have past players, they are the ones who are creating the problem because they have their ways - their old ways - and there's brute force and ignorance and they're still carrying it around and still expecting things to go the same way.
"You feel much better just coming out here to play [in the MCL]; without all the stress, without all the other stuff that's going on."
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
http://www.espncricinfo.com/masters-champions-league-2015-16/content/story/968267.html