Major upset

As it turned out, that was not quite true. Australia, runners-up in 1975 to the West Indies, did not even qualify for the semi-finals after a disastrous league stage, where they lost both to England and Pakistan in the league stage.

Granted, Australia were not half the side they were in 1975, as the World Series Cricket (WSC) organised by Australian media baron Kerry Packer attracted a lot of the top names, who were thereafter slapped suspensions by the International Cricket Conference (ICC) and thereby were not available.

Nevertheless, Australia ran between the wickets like they had resumed from the 1975 final. That match saw five Aussie run-outs, and their next World Cup match, in 1979 against England, saw four batters being found short. From 111/3, Australia were reduced to 159/9 and that just wasn’t enough.

The biggest shock however came against Pakistan. The Pakistanis, boasting Sadiq Mohammed, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and skipper Asif Iqbal were formidable and scored 286/7. Then Majid chipped in with three wickets as well as Sikander Bakht and Imran Khan were on point as Australia were dismissed for 197, losing by 89 runs and exiting the World Cup.

West Indies unstoppable

The West Indians were fantastic. No side was good enough to stop them and, in any case, they were in the relatively easier group.

India had no answer to the giant fast-bowling quintet of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft and Collis King and were dismissed for 190, which also was thanks to a patient 75 from Gundappa Viswanath.

Then Gordon Greenidge sailed to an unbeaten century and between him, Desmond Haynes and Richards, the job was easy.

The West Indies-Sri Lanka match was washed out and then the Caribbeans beat New Zealand to ensure a semi-final berth.

The last four saw Greenidge, Haynes, Richards, Lloyd and King in fine nick and 293/6 was too much for Pakistan, despite some valiant resistance from Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas. Ironically, Vivian Richards’ innocuous off-spin was as lethal as the fearsome fast bowlers.

England duly made the final against New Zealand and the hosts met the West Indies at Lord’s on June 23.

Chris Old and Mike Hendrick had West Indies in trouble and they were 99/4 before Richards and King, the original pinch-hitter, carved together a 139-run fifth-wicket stand.

Richards was his imperious self, with 138 not out off 157 deliveries while King blasted 86 off 66 balls with 10 boundaries and three sixes. A total of 286/9 was very challenging indeed.

A painstakingly slow opening stand between Mike Brearley and Geoffrey Boycott ensured England were never really in the race and Garner was unstoppable. His 5/38 off 11 overs and contributions by Croft and Holding ensured the West Indies their second successive World Cup.

India’s horror run

India had a World Cup to forget. Not only they lost to the West Indies and New Zealand, they also conceded points to Sri Lanka, still an associate nation, and were sent packing rather unceremoniously.

After the West Indies defeat, India went down to New Zealand. Batting first, they managed just 182 runs. Sunil Gavaskar scored 55 off 144 deliveries and barring Brijesh Patel in the middle-order and a bit of long handle by Kapil Dev and Karsan Ghavri lower down, there was nothing of note.

John Wright and Bruce Edgar added exactly 100 for the New Zealand opening stand and that effectively was that.

But the worst came five days later.

Sunil Wettimuny, Roy Dias and Duleep Mendis punished the Indian bowling as the islanders scored 238/5 off 60 overs and then the Indian batting, boasting Gavaskar, Anshuman Gaekwad, Dilip Vengsarkar, Viswanath and Brijesh Patel just never stuck around long enough and a lower-order collapse ensured that India had conceded points to the minnows.

India ended with zero points, below Sri Lanka’s one (no-result with West Indies).

This was hardly the backdrop that India needed, and no wonder they were not really taken seriously in the subsequent World Cup in 1983. But then, that is another story.

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Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be the players to watch out for as both players are currently struggling with the form in the longest format of the game. On the other hand, this series could be proved as a career changer for youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwaj who are yet to make their Test debut.

Here are the details of when and where to watch the 1st Test match between India and West Indies online and on TV in India:

India vs West Indies TV Telecast

The 1st Test between India and West Indies will be telecasted live on DD Sports.

India vs West Indies 1st Test Live Streaming

The 1st Test match between India and West Indies will be live-streamed at Fancode

India vs West Indies 1st Test Venue

The first Test match between India and West Indies will be played at Windsor Park Sports Stadium Dominica.

Squads

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain), Jermaine Blackwood (Vice Captain), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

Travelling Reserves: Tevin Imlach, Akeem Jordan

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini

IND vs WI Probable Playing XIs

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar.

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Raymon Reifer, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jermaine Blackwood, Alick Athanaze, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel.

The post Ind vs WI Live Streaming, 1st Test: When And Where To Watch India vs West Indies Test Match Online And On Tv In India appeared first on Cricket Country.

West Indies will tour Netherlands and Pakistan to play three-match ODI series against the two sides respectively. Their series against the Netherlands will be the first-ever between the two sides. The two series will be a part of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.

The assignments will also be a big chance for Pooran to stamp his authority after the retirement of his predecessor Kieron Pollard.

Three new faces have got a chance in the 15-member squad — fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Shermon Lewis, as well as batter Keacy Carty. Carty has become the first player from St. Maarten to be selected for the West Indies Men’s side.

On Carty’s inclusion, chief selector Desmond Haynes said, “We were impressed with Carty and the way he goes about his innings, we saw several glimpses of his ability the way he played against England earlier this year for the CWI President’s XI. We hope that giving him this opportunity he will recognize the importance of representing the West Indies.

“We also have a very good group of young fast bowlers who have demonstrated their ability and we want to use these two tours to give them opportunities in the 50-over format.”

Haynes was also all praise for Seales and Lewis, stating that the Windies were building a side with the future in mind.

“We also have a very good group of young fast bowlers who have demonstrated their ability and we want to use these two tours to give them opportunities in the 50-over format. We have a week in The Netherlands and another week in Pakistan and this should provide them with quality opposition to bowl against as we build towards the Cricket World Cup in 2023,” said Haynes.

“(Anderson) Phillip has been around for some time, and we know what he can offer, Seales has been very good in Test cricket and Lewis is making a return to the West Indies set-up following some good performances.”

All-rounder Jason Holder has been rested from the two tours to manage his workload, while Evin Lewis also misses out as he was unable to meet the CWI’s fitness criteria.

West Indies squad for ODI series against Netherlands and Pakistan: Nicholas Pooran (C), Shai Hope (VC), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Fixtures:

West Indies tour of Netherlands:

May 31: 1st ODI at VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen

June 2: 2nd ODI at VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen

June 4: 3rd ODI at VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen

West Indies tour of Pakistan:

June 8: 1st ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi

June 10: 2nd ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi

June 12: 3rd ODI at Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi

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With Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer out of their isolation period after recovering from Covid-19, expect India to make further experiments now that they have an unassailable lead in the series. If Dhawan returns, it will be India’s new opening pair after Rohit Sharma-Ishan Kishan in the first match and then Rishabh Pant becoming a surprise partner for Sharma in the second match.

Virat Kohli will be itching to get a big knock after two lean showings while Suryakumar Yadav will be aiming to carry forward his good show in the middle-order apart from KL Rahul making runs in the middle overs.

In terms of bowling, India have done well to take wickets in a heap in the middle overs and make some strikes in the first ten overs, something which was lacking in the series against South Africa.

Prasidh Krishna has been impressive in both matches, especially in the second one. With his hit-the-deck ability combined with hard lengths broke the back of West Indies’ batting order. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have supported him well while spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar have been handy.

For West Indies’ biggest headache has been the lack of contributions from the batters. After being skittled for 176 in the first ODI, the visitors were unable to chase down 237.

In both matches, the lower-order batters tried to get the team back in the match but couldn’t do so. Their bowlers, especially Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein, put up a good show but would like for their batters to stand up to the occasion.

Overall, India will like to tick some boxes in the dead rubber while West Indies will be aiming for a better show with the bat to gain some crucial Super League points too.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (VC), Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shikhar Dhawan

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope (wk), Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (VC), Kemar Roach, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Hayden Walsh Jr.

The post Dominant India Seek ODI Series Sweep Against West Indies appeared first on Cricket Country.

All-rounder Jason Holder’s four wickets in four balls and a superb bowling display by left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (4/30) helped the West Indies defeat England by 17 runs in the fifth and final match at the Kensington Oval here to clinch the series 3-2 on Monday (IST).

The West Indies team has been hit by rumours of rift during the series with voice notes circulating on social media attacking the credibility of Pollard. A report in a West Indies newspaper alleged victimisation in the men’s team, with the treatment meted out to all-rounder Odean Smith coming under the scanner.

West Indies men’s head coach Phil Simmons has quashed reports of Smith being victimised, especially after he was not included in the playing eleven for the third T20I.

Following the series win on Monday (IST), Pollard said, “It’s wonderful. I thank the Almighty for giving us this victory but having said, I think every single one in that dressing room, we rallied together throughout everything.

“Every time we won a game there was something negative against us but we came out today and the guys really rallied so well, well done to every single one of them and all the supporters who supported us,” said the white-ball skipper.

Jason Holder became the first West Indies bowler to take a hat-trick in T20Is and only the fourth player of all time to grab four wickets in as many deliveries, as the home team had a sensational win to climax the five-match series.

Holder again confirmed his status as one of the world’s leading all-rounders across all formats and was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Series’. He said the performance was redemption for a below-par show in the fourth T20I on January 30 (IST).

“A classic finish. It probably wasn’t the best of starts for myself but for me, I always try to stay in the game and you never know how this game can go,” he said.

“Last night was a topsy-turvy game for me as well, starting well but not being able to finish but it’s the total opposite today, not starting well but being able to close the game out.”

The West Indies team will fly from Barbados on Monday for India where they will play three T20Is and three ODIs.

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The 34-year-old Moeen (63 off 28 balls), who is substituting for Eoin Morgan after the regular captain suffered a low-grade quadriceps injury during the third T20I, slammed seven sixes, of which four were consecutive strikes off the bowling of Jason Holder, helping the tourists post an imposing 193/6.

In reply, the hosts fell 34 runs short, with Moeen capping off a ‘Player of the Match’ performance with two wickets, taking the series to the decider.

The stand-in captain strode out with England starting in a sedate manner, building on the work of Jason Roy (52 off 42 balls), who gradually moved into his innings after adjusting to slow conditions.

James Vince (34 off 26) also played a strong hand in the middle overs, before the likes of Liam Livingstone (16) and Sam Billings complimented Moeen, as the team scored 59 runs in the final three overs.

Moeen, at one stage 20 off 16 balls, unleashed in the late flurry, hitting six of his sixes in the space of nine legal deliveries he faced. After his dismissal in the final over, Billings (13 not out from four deliveries), enjoyed some late six-hitting of his own to put the tourists’ score above par.

West Indies were unbeaten in the Powerplay and strong in response, with Kyle Mayers looking in strong form early. He fell to Moeen for 40 (23), as did his partner Brandon King, who made 26 at less than a run-a-ball.

Spin was the key for England as Adil Rashid (1/28) and Liam Livingstone (1/18) joined their skipper, stifling in the middle overs and preventing a late fight-back.

Jason Holder (36 off 24) provided resistance, but it proved futile in a comfortable win for England.

Brief scores: England 193/6 in 20 overs (Jason Roy 52, James Vince 34, Moeen Ali 63; Jason Holder 3/44) beat West Indies 159/5 in 20 overs (Brandon King 26, Kyle Mayers 40, Jason Holder 36; Moeen Ali 2/28) by 34 runs.

The post Moeen Ali’s All-Round Display Helps England Level T20I Series Against West Indies appeared first on Cricket Country.

However, right on the cusp of the lunch break, Lasith Embuldeniya got the better of Da Silva (54) and West Indies was reduced to 118/7, still needing 230 to win.

With Da Silva’s dismissal, West Indies’ chances of securing a draw dipped substantially. Da Silva completed a fifty off 121 balls but was squared up by a turning Embuldeniya delivery a few overs later, with the resultant edge held by Dhananjaya de Silva at slip.

Rahkeem Cornwall then joined Bonner, and put in a shift that lasted 46 balls until he ran out of patience, toe-edging a catch to mid-off when he attempted to heave Praveen Jayawickrama down the ground. The Number 10 batsman Jomel Warrican tried hard to negotiate the Sri Lankan bowlers, saw out 20 balls before he gave a bat-pad catch to silly mid-off.

Shannon Gabriel, whom Bonner was trying desperately to shield from the strike, was also squared up and caught at slip off Embuldeniya, after a six-ball stay. Bonner remained unbeaten on 68 off 220 balls. The last two batters were dismissed cheaply and in the end, Sri Lanka registered a 187-run win to gain a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

After receiving the player of the match, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said, “It’s a great Test for me. I’m playing after a long time and I didn’t even play any club cricket recently. I think youngsters are gaining experience from this Test. Our spinners did a good job.

The fast bowlers didn’t get many overs but they did the job with the ball. The last couple of months there were heavy rains and we weren’t sure how the wicket was going to behave and that’s why we picked two pacers. We will see how the conditions are for the next one before thinking about team selections. We need to carry on the good work and I have some targets to achieve and I’m glad that we are playing well as a unit.”

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 386 (Karunaratne 147, Chase 5-83) and 191 for 4 dec (Karunaratne 83, Mathews 69*) beat West Indies 230 (Jayawickrama 4-40) and 160 (Bonner 68*, Ramesh Mendis 5-67) by 187 runs.

The post SL vs WI, 1st Test: Ramesh Mendis Scalps Five Wickets as Sri Lanka Beat West Indies by 187 Runs appeared first on Cricket Country.

The tournament will be held in Oman and United Arab Emirates from Sunday and defending champions West Indies begin their campaign against England on October 23 at the Dubai International Stadium here.

Heading into the showpiece, Gayle is just 97 runs short of becoming the highest run-scorer in the T20 World Cup, and Pollard said that there are no words to describe what the ‘Universe Boss’ has done for their country.

“Again, no words to describe what he has done for us in World Cups, in the T20 World Cups, and T20 cricket around the world as an individual,” Pollard said during a captains’ media session here on Saturday.

“For him, 97 runs away, but I don’t think he will be looking at that. I think the main goal for us and him, is trying to win a World Cup and defend the title. He is looking forward to that. Hopefully, he can come and deliver for us. We back him to do well,” Pollard added.

The IPL was “a good experience” despite his franchise Mumbai Indians’ failure to make the playoffs, according to Pollard.

“I thought it was good for us and again not only as but all the players who are involved in this World Cup… get an opportunity to get a feel for what the UAE has to offer.

“I am sure some interesting sort of stats, comparisons, different sort of trends might have come out of the recently-concluded IPL,” Pollard said during the interaction organised by the ICC.

The IPL ended here on Friday with Chennai Super Kings beating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final to win their fourth title.

“… So, the other thing about that consideration, take the context of the surfaces, the atmosphere, and put it within your game plan and try to plan to code the opposition.

“For us, most of our guys got an opportunity to recently play here in the IPL in the UAE and we are looking forward to hit the ground running and start on that sort of positive note and get that first two points and see what happens after that,” added Pollard.

West Indies won the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup after Carlos Braithwaite hammered four successive sixes off Ben Stokes at the iconic Eden Gardens.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t there because of injury but I think the way the guys played in that game and through that tournament was fantastic, Carlos at the back end hitting those four sixes in that last over, a lot of memories overcome because of that.

“We are excited and looking forward for another opportunity to try to defend this trophy,” the 34-year-old said, adding they have lots of powerful players in their line-up.

“We are looking forward to trying to play complete games of cricket and let results take care of itself,” Pollard signed off.

The post We Back Chris Gayle to do Well in T20 World Cup: West Indies Captain Kieron Pollard appeared first on Cricket Country.

In the process, Gayle has become the first batsman to scored 14000 T20 runs as he continues to dominate the format despite being almost 42 years old.

Gayle, who is famously known as Universe Boss, played with a sticker on his bat titled ‘The Boss’. Earlier, ICC told Gayle not to use the ‘Universe Boss’ sticker on the bat, after the Australia match, the 42-year-old said he is happy with only ‘The Boss’ as of now.

“It’s just the boss You know it’s the Universe Boss but the ICC don’t want me to use the Universe Boss so I’ve shortened it just put ‘The Boss’. I am the boss,” Gayle said in the post-match interview.

Gayle also claimed that he is technically the boss of cricket not ICC.

“Yeah yeah. Well, I’ll have to copyright it,” Gayle said. The reporter then asked, “ICC are technically the boss of cricket, right?” “No no, I am, not the ICC. I am technically the boss,” Gayle replied.

Chris Gayle’s got some fresh stickers after a short conversation with the ICC! 😅 #WIvAUS pic.twitter.com/99nxhrBrGP

cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 13, 2021

Gayle was delighted to get back into form and gave credit to his teammates for backing him when he wasn’t scoring runs.

“It’s been a great journey. I’m so happy and pleased to get a series win. Congrats to the stand-in captain for achieving this against a great team. From a personal point of view, we all know that I was struggling. So it was pleasing to get runs. I want to dedicate these runs to my teammates. Especially Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo. Sometimes, no matter how great you are, you need to get some talking to,” he said in the post-match presentation.

The post I Am Technically ‘The Boss’ Not ICC: Chris Gayle appeared first on Cricket Country.

Holding claimed 249 wickets in 60 Test matches and 142 wickets in 102 ODIs and was part of the West Indies’ golden generation under Clive Lloyd’s captaincy. He was a crucial part of Windies’ 1979 World Cup-winning team.

On being asked about his absence from IPL’s commentary panel, the legendary fast bowler told The Indian Express that, “I only commentate on cricket.”

Holding also talked about the downfall of the West Indies cricket team in the Test format. The 67-year-old said winning a T20 tournament is not a revival.

“When you win a T20 tournament, that is not revival; it’s not even cricket! It’s going to be very difficult for the West Indies to get on top in Test cricket because of this T20,” Holding added.

He further claimed that the rise of the T20 franchise in countries like England, Australia, and India affected the West Indies cricket.

“The T20 tournaments around the world are the bane of the game. When you are a poor country and can’t afford to pay as much as England, Australia, and India, the players will go on to play T20. That’s where West Indies and others are getting hit,” he added.

However, Holding claimed that it’s not the players’ fault and blames the administrators for that.

“When you are earning 600,000 or 800,000 dollars for six weeks, what are you going to do? I don’t blame the cricketers. I blame the administrators. They give a lot of lip service to Test cricket but all they are interested in is bringing in money into their cupboards West Indies will win T20 tournaments which aren’t cricket; they won’t be a force in Test cricket,” Holding said.

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