From The Pavilion

West Indies NAT Season 51 Twenty-20 Tour Division 3: Summaries
West Indies vs Ireland- match 6140301- Sunny/Dry

Playing Eleven:
Leonard Arthur RH
Wayne Trim LH
Brenton Stephenson RH
Michael Seaforth LH (Wicketkeeper)
Melford Griffith RH
William Linton RH
Charles Cumberbatch rfs/RH
Archie O'Connor lf/RH (Captain)
Kieron Mendonca rws/LH
Jason Hislop lws/RH
Colin Oscopy rf/RH

Day 3 had the two unbeaten sides face each other. West Indies won their first toss of the tourney and opted to bowl first against the Irish lads. Quick Colin Oscopy barely needed any time to deal in the damage, getting Paul Stirling out ball four. Archie O'Connor got rid of the other opener in the next over and Ireland were 18/2 after two. A maximum each in the next two overs as Ireland reached 42/2 at the end of the powerplay. Kieron Mendonca got rid of Ethan Egan over number seven but the fourth wicket stand absolutely allowed Ireland to take the game over. Ireland crossed 100 in the 14th over albeit Charles Cumberbatch managed to break the partnership in the same over. Jason Hislop picked three wickets over his next two overs whilst Ireland were still able to manage 141 thanks to a decent fiddle in the final few overs from Dermot Cusack and George Dockrell.

West Indies ended the powerplay for 37 runs without losing either opener but it was rather disappointing that the West Indian side failed to accelerate against the Irish seams. Wayne Trim was dismissed post powerplay for 17 off his 19 balls to quick Dylan Maguire. Leonard Arthur and Brenton Stephenson continued the progression but wristy Dylan Scott got rid of Arthur for 39 off his 36 balls. Michael Seaforth hit a quick 15 off 12 balls with a four and six before Dermot Cusack got rid of him and right-arm fast medium Donnacha Slattery got Melford Griffith out. This left West Indies needing 39 runs from the next three overs with each spinner having an over to go. Dermot Cusack bowled the first of the three and West Indies managed 13 off it with Brenton Stephenson hitting a boundary. 26 were needed off two overs and wristy Dylan Scott bowled the penultimate over. William Linton hit a maximum as the two bats managed 14 off this over. 12 were needed off George Dockrell's final over and Stephenson flicked the first ball for a single. William Linton pushed the second ball into deep covers and ran a quick three. 8 were needed off the next four balls and Dockrell tossed one up on leg stump that Stephenson managed to muscle toward long-on but Dylan Scott picked up a fine catch at the boundary line and West Indies needed 8 from the 3 remaining balls. Dockrell managed to bowl a dot ball to Charles Cumberbatch next ball and West Indies now needed 8 from 2 balls. Charles Cumberbatch hit the next ball toward deep point but Linton was runout in the pursuit of a third run. West Indies needed six off the last ball and Dockrell bowled a dot ball to Cumberbatch to book a 5 run win for the Irish.

Other Matches in Division 3
Pakistan beat South Africa by 6 wickets. match 6140298
Scotland beat Zimbabwe by 37 runs. match 6140307

Fixture on June 9- Scotland match 6140306
G. Farquharson (lf) 3-0-20-1, K. Malone 25 (17b), F. Ross 4 (4b)
End of over 6 (8 runs) - Scotland(44-1) RR 7.33

The powerplay has started off iffy after West Indies opted to bowl first on humid/dry. This game can be a crucial one to scenarios concerning which sides promote this season, which will be a big necessity for the World Twenty-20 post this one. Also, we now need to win today and tomorrow against South Africa to have even a chance to qualify for the World T20.

World Cup Qualification Canada yesterday and United Arab Emirates today have booked their spots in the World Twenty-20 and it is amongst these four sides to battle it for the last spot. If any of Ireland, West Indies or South Africa are to put forth a case for qualification, they'll have to win both their remaining games which can potentially make the Day 5 fixture between West Indies and the Proteas quite the thriller. Bermuda at the same time will book their spot with a win as well, so Bangladesh, their opponents for tomorrow hold the key to hand Bermuda their fifth loss of the tour and ensure that the Division 3 sides have a chance.

(As I've been typing this, we've missed two fielding chances taking the total to three missed chances in the fielding in eight overs. welp guys...)

West Indies NAT Season 51 Twenty-20 Tour Division 3: Summaries
West Indies vs Scotland- match 6140306- Humid/Dry

Playing Eleven:
Wayne Trim LH
Leon Jumadeen RH (Wicketkeeper)
Leonard Arthur RH
Melford Griffith RH
Cecil Griffith RH
Alp Arslan RH
Charles Cumberbatch rfs/RH
Don Carlo Gambino rws/RH
Gregory Farquharson lf/RH
Colin Oscopy rf/RH (Captain)
Dwayne Maynard lfs/LH

West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first. Scots started off with a fiery powerplay of 44 runs that consisted 5 boundaries and Kevin Malone looked in solid touch. A fumble in a runout from Leon Jumadeen had begun its haunt and the haunting got further worse. Over number 7 had Don Carlo Gambino bowling and he had Malone in all sorts a trouble with a solid googly. Pitched on off stump, rather short and it spun in toward leg stump, hitting Malone's inside edge, it took a massive deflection off the top of the knee pad of the front foot that was following the bat as it came down and the ball went up. Jumadeen leapt for it from behind the stumps and but all he could manage was to get his fingers on it and unfortunately for him, that was mistake number two against his credit. Dwayne Maynard's next over saw another chance created against Malone as the left-arm finger spinner pitched a wide fuller one, barely inside the wide line, hitting Jumadeen's shin before the tall lad could bring his gloves into position. On the other hand, Malone had stepped out and toward the off side but the wider one just shocked him as his bat failed to make any contact with the flatter quicker ball and he remained stranded on the pitch, only to be saved by Leon Jumadeen's fumble for the third time. That suffices this game really, Leon Jumadeen was the Player of the Match for the opposition as his poor day behind the stumps really handed an opportunity to Malone to sway the game towards the Scots. Everybody has bad days after all, even if some cost West Indies a spot in the World Twenty-20...

Well, we'll move to the innings break, Scots had 144 onboard much helped by Malone's 54 and the lower middle order smacking 39 off the last three overs. The chase began with a wicketless powerplay but quite like the previous game, it was one that made you wonder if 37 was enough off the first six, especially getting just 24 from 4 overs of seam on a dry deck. Leon Jumadeen smacked two fours and two sixes right after the powerplay but both openers were dismissed looking to accelerate and West Indies fell to 61/2 after eight needing 84 from the next twelve. Melford Griffith was the big name dismissal in the third over after the powerplay that had increased the damage inflicted upon Windies. 72/3 after ten, needing 73 more off the next ten, West Indies had a troublesome chase to go forward with. Kirk Kelly got Cecil Griffith out in his next over but Alp Arslan and Leonard Arthur showcased some calm with a bit of a partnership. 104/4 after fourteen overs, West Indies needed 41 from six overs at just below seven an over but Leonard Arthur's dismissal in the following over had a drastic effects. Kirk Kelly came back and plucked two further wickets next over. Rollie Thunder got the remaining three wickets when he came back to finish his four in the 17th and 19th. The Scottish seamers fared much better than their West Indies counterparts as they ended with the figures of 3/45 in their eight put against 4/60 for the West Indian bowlers, off of which Oscopy's two wickets were in the twentieth over. Loss number two meant West Indies were out of the World Twenty-20 qualification race, which did not really end up mattering. The UAE, Canada and Bermuda all did just enough to ensure no Division 3 side had a chance and the three took the remaining spots.

West Indies vs South Africa- match 6140304- Sunny/Crumbling

Playing Eleven:
Michael Seaforth LH (Wicketkeeper)
Leon Jumadeen RH
Melford Griffith RH
Brenton Stephenson RH
William Linton RH
Cecil Griffith RH
Aaron Munilall rfm/RH
Don Carlo Gambino rws/RH
Archie O'Connor lf/RH (Captain)
Jason Hislop lws/RH
Kieron Mendonca rws/LH

A bit of context of the pre-game situation here. West Indies needed to win big if they were to have any chances of making it into the top two as the net run rate that the Irish and Scots boasted was a fair margin over them. The Irish and Scots were facing each other so one might end up in a tricky net run rate tussle for a promotion spot and West Indies had orders set and plans made up to go aggressive as much as they could. Right from playing three wristies to having Jumadeen go out and try to smack the ball from the get-go. We were ready to win big or lose big, mostly lose big given our luck.

Archie O'Connor picked up a couple wickets in the opening over after Proteas opted to bat first. Aaron Munilall had par day with 4/26 but the two young wristies fared rather impressively with the figures of 2/15 for Mendonca and 1/21 for Gambino to add to 3/14 for O'Connor. Uncharacteristically, Jason Hislop had a rather poor outing. I am worried if he'll be good enough for the T20 tour next season now that we aren't in the World T20 and it would be a rather unfitting end to have the legend have to end with the figures of 0/35 off his four on his last Twenty-20 game.

South Africa had a 111 onboard and West Indies started off with a responsible 32 run powerplay only losing Seaforth in the first six overs. Melford Griffith fell right after the powerplay but Brenton Stephenson played a smart knock in the middle. At the end of the fifteenth over, all five batters but him were out as West Indies were 75/5, needing 37 from the next five overs. We have failed easier chases with more wickets in hand in a much grander fashion on tracks that are better for batting before by the way. Stephenson was at 28 off 31 balls. Six runs came in Ryan Chyer's next over and West Indies needed 31 from four overs. 10 off of wristie de Villiers and a boundary in Chyer's 18th had West Indies needing 14 off 12 balls with finisher and all-rounder Munilall and Brenton Stephenson still there. 7 runs were scored off of Michael van Graan's penultimate over and West Indies needed 7 from six balls against Ryan Chyer.

Ryan Chyer began with a wide yorker against Aaron Munilall that Munilall smacked to the right of point and to the boundary fence. 3 runs were needed for the win and there were five balls to go. Ryan Chyer moved to a classic good length test match delivery next ball and let the crumbling deck's cracked and mashed up state do the trick. And it did its job as the ball seamed onto middle and leg and Chyer had his man. Ball three, Chyer bowls it short and Don Carlo Gambino misses it as it hits him on the helmet. Gambino wanted to run even after his head was struck with a 147kmph bullet in a fashion that you could see those dizzy cartoon circles flying like a halo over his head so he could give strike back to the batter in Stephenson. A dot ball, three needed off three balls. Chyer returned to his good-length ball for the next one and with an aggressive field absolutely covering the off side inside the circle, Gambino had to look for the big loft over the covers. He missed but so did Chyer and so did keeper Triegaardt. Keeper Triegaardt fumbled and Gambino raced out of his crease and reached almost midpitch before realising the ball didn't go far from Triegaardt who picked it up again and ran to stumps to flick the bail off whilst Don Carlo Gambino failed the race to the stump line from the other end. The situation had turned quite grim now, three needed from two balls and a new batter in quick Archie O'Connor held strike. The field was a slip, a point, a cover point, extra cover, cover, mid off, midwicket, square leg, all inside the 30-yard circle and a long on being the only guy outside. The expectation from Chyer was a fuller length ball or a yorker, a wide one at that said commentator and past legend Monte Morris, who was a quality Windies right arm fast in his day. Chyer bowled a slower yorker baffling the commentator's box, as a tailender bat in Archie O'Connor found it easy to play toward long-on and run an easy two. Many opined that Brenton Stephenson should have refused the second and kept the strike to hit the two off the last ball to seal the game instead of giving Archie O'Connor the strike off the last ball. Many also appreciated his awareness to ensure that West Indies couldn't lose the game anymore as that two had tied the scores. One ball to go, one run needed to win. Long-on was brought in to mid-on and midwicket and square leg were sent back to cow's corner and deep midwicket. Chyer could've literally hollered at O'Connor and told him he was bowling a yorker there and it wouldn't have made a difference. And a yorker it was, and by the time the yorker dipped into O'Connor's toes, Brenton Stephenson had crossed half the pitch in the run. O'Connor barely got bat under the yorker, but he did get something on it as the ball went flat, and after one bounce it went into JJ Redick's hands at mid-on, who had just been asked to come into the circle. Redick threw it to the non-striker's end and a direct hit sealed wandering Stephenson's end for a tie in this clash that had no significance by that point with the poor net run rates for both and the fact that Bermuda had taken the 12th World Twenty-20 spot earlier that day.

Now, remember when I said we predicted we were in for a big win or a big loss, hence, I found this tie incredibly hilarious, a funny way to end a rather disappointing tour, eh? So, welp we ended fourth with 2 wins and a tie and have also not qualified for the Twenty-20 World Cup this EOS. A rather poor Twenty-20 season with just 3 wins and a tie in our ten games in this cycle. We really only played on four pitches this cycle too with dry and crumbling being up both times. We lost 3 in 3 on dry, had one win, one tie and two losses on crumbling, a win and a loss on slow, and a win in the sole uneven game. With wristies of the high regard I rate Mendonca, DCG and Hislop, it is rather poor but most countries apparently are fairly there or ahead in the spin department as well. A few tactical gaps for me perhaps, a decent amount of poor luck, some flubs and some quality oppositions mark the end of this Twenty-20 cycle and we'll be starting in Division 3 again next season, wherein not promoting might as well put curtains on Season 54 World Twenty-20. Fingers crossed for that.

This tours top performers now! Hislop picked 7 wickets in the first two games he played, winning Player of the Match awards in both despite one of those games being a loss, ending the highest Windies wicket taker and the only player to win two Player of the Match awards for the tour. Archie O'Connor picked six in three games as well, ending West Indies' top fantasy point winner. Brenton Stephenson ended fifth on the highest run scorers charts with 98 and Alp Arslan and Michael Seaforth followed suit with 80-odd runs, comprising a fine 64 in game one from Seaforth and Arslan's 30-odd against Pakistan that ensure victory in Game two.

Up next would be the Division One One-Day Tour where we barely survived earlier this season and we'll have that tour a week later than usual, in Week 12. It'll also coincide with the Youths One-Day Tour who'll be having their Twenty-20 tour next week. Support the West Indies U20 here: https://www.fromthepavilion.org/leagueo ... 06547#curr

A final mention that I'll be continuing the cheeky ends-renaming thing I began last season. And as the top-two West Indies side in the Matt Krevs Memorial Cup being Caterham Crusaders and Queens Park Cricket Club, the Mohito's Mohican XI End will be renamed to Queens Park Cricket End whilst the Caterham Crusaders End retains its name for another season in the Queens Park Cricket Arena, the home ground for the Senior International West Indian Side.

Thanks for the support and allowing me to borrow your lads always. Apologies its been a rather poor T20 cycle this time around.

West Indies NAT Season 51 One Day Tour 2 Division 1: Squad Announcement
The final set of games for this season for the West Indies side will begin next week in New Zealand. A very early start, wherein the games shall begin on Sunday at 2200 Game Time instead of beginning on Mondays, will see West Indies head to New Zealand after quite some time. But worry not, New Zealand have offered us the same nightmare of pitches that the Proteas have been offering us the past couple seasons. It is the nightmarish combination of uneven, green and hard decks which, well isn't ideal for our side to say it in a "family-friendly" manner without using any cuss words We'll be touring 8 seamers and a spinner for the tour whilst powerhouse sides in Kiwis and the Brits have opted for 9 seam bowling options. Proteas, Lankans and the Dutch side have all opted for 7 seam and 2 spin bowling options. In some very bright news, West Indies will be touring a left-arm fast medium pacer for the first time since the June of 2021 wherein Sydney Cox headed to England for the NAT Twenty-20 World Cup; EOS of Season 47. Carlitos Wood makes his debut this time around, a player in the side of the previous manager of the West Indian team Maiden50. Maiden and I have been very much looking forward to his debut for quite the while. Also debuting will be Ryan Shallow and Daniel Chinsammy, two players that seem bright prospects for the Caribbean side.

Aaron Munilall Golden Hacks CC Right-arm Fast Medium/ Right-hand Bat

Alp Arslan Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Archie O'Connor Groundboys Left-arm Fast

Bertice Cummings Unicorns Left-arm Fast

Brenton Stephenson Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Carlitos Wood Maiden Over CC Left-arm Fast Medium [DEBUT]

Chesney Persaud Never liked the name of my team Left-hand Bat

Colin Oscopy Middle Stump Lubricators Right-arm Fast

Daniel Chinsammy Never liked the name of my team Right-arm Medium [DEBUT]

George Walcott Space Wolves Right-arm Finger Spin/ Right-hand Bat

Javon Austin Space Wolves Right-arm Fast Medium

Gregory Farquharson Married Eleven Left-arm Fast

Leon Jumadeen High Risk High Return Right-hand Keeper Bat

Melford Griffith Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Right-hand Bat

Michael Seaforth Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Keeper Bat

Ryan Shallow Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Bat [DEBUT]

Wayne Trim Space Wolves Left-hand Bat

William Linton Ceylonian Blasters Right-hand Bat

The bowling comprises of 4 quicks and a solitude finger spinner whilst 3 fast-mediums and a medium pacer finish the side up. The batting involves 4 southpaws alongside the five right-handed bats with Michael Seaforth and Leon Jumadeen continuing as the designated keepers. We've also reached something that might be a new high with 8 verdi players- 3 from his main and 5 from his affiliate. And that is without the legendary Jason Hislop, who failed to cut it with these seamer-friendly pitches. Jason Hislop also transferred during the break between tours as he has now entered the holy grail of top-level International lads, heading into "High Voltage" as the sixteenth international player in their current squad.

The five fixtures for the tour will be:

July 03- South Africa- Hard Pitch match 6142607
July 04- Netherlands- Green Pitch match 6142610
July 05- New Zealand- Uneven Pitch match 6142602
July 06- England- Uneven Pitch match 6142608
July 07- Sri Lanka- Uneven Pitch match 6142601

Expect this to be tough tour for us on these seaming decks against five top-class sides with what I believe are better bowlers, but we'll be hoping for luck to go our way and have a solid end to this season with a fine One Day performance after a subpar Twenty-20 one. Always appreciated that you allow us to tour your lads.

Cheers and Thank you:)

West Indies NAT Season 51 One Day Tour 2 Division 1: Summaries

West Indies vs South Africa- match 6142607- Sunny/Hard

Playing Eleven:
Ryan Shallow LH [DEBUT]
Melford Griffith RH
Brenton Stephenson RH
Wayne Trim LH
Michael Seaforth LH (Wicketkeeper)
William Linton RH
George Walcott rfs/RH
Daniel Chinsammy rm/LH [DEBUT]
Archie O'Connor lf/RH (Captain)
Bertice Cummings lf/RH
Carlitos Wood lfm/RH [DEBUT]

Game 1 of tour three and the Protean side was back again facing the West Indians after the tied fixture the last time the two locked horns in the final game of the Twenty-20 tour. Skipper Archie O'Connor put the South African side into bat and they had two Ben's that knocked the early new ball around for the first ten overs. Things started off with a 53 run powerplay with no wickets falling either. Daniel Chinsammy plucked out the all-rounder Ben Simmons in the twelfth as the medium-pacer picked up his first international wicket. Both quicks in O'Connor and Cummings ensured that West Indies took their chance as the two plucked a wicket each and had South Africans at 98/3 after twenty. One more wicket apiece for the quality quicks had South Africa 136/5 after thirty overs as four of those wickets had left their last two bats in the middle which were followed by a rather long tail, though it was carrying some pesky lads like Tshedi Mutizwa who've more than held an end in some tough pressure situations in big cup games for their club. The last pair built a partnership over the next ten overs taking the score to 191 at the end of forty but George Walcott and Daniel Chinsammy had both the bats out soon after. Mutizwa and Garth Fitness gave the innings a fine end with a 27* for the former taking the score to a 260 from 218/7 whilst Carlitos Wood picked his maiden wicket in the penultimate over after the keeper scuffed a catch in his first over of the day and Chinsammy ended with a three-fer on debut with Chyer's scalp in the final over.

The chase started in some quality regular West Indian fashion as West Indies were 7/2 in 11 balls with both openers back in the hut. Wayne Trim gave the innings a revamp and went hard to get the chase on track but at the turn of the seventh over, he was adjudged LBW for a call that was questioned upon by many in the commentary box and fans but his dismissal left West Indies 33/3 none the less. For the next twenty overs, the West Indian bats in Brenton Stephenson and Michael Seaforth took the charge against the bowling. The two came out strong against the surmounting pressure with both cracking their fifties in the process. A 113-run stand defined the day at the end of which Brenton Stephenson was dismissed for his 77-ball 72. He failed to get enough distance on the flick through midwicket that had gotten him 3 fours and a six that day already. 146/4 at his dismissal and William Linton had to ensure he avoided the slippery slope toward a collapse in his first international fifty-over game. The next two overs after the wicket yielded 25 runs leaving just 88 to be desired off the next twenty which could be buttery smooth eitherways. Either it'd be an easy chase now or a smooth little collapse.

Wristy Ben Simmons picked out Michael Seaforth and William Linton as the two tried to take him on but George Walcott and Daniel Chinsammy stabilised the innings again. Chinsammy played his part and went off with 37 more needed but skipper Archie O'Connor had been in enough of these situations over the course of his career to know how to execute this one. He hit no boundaries in his 17-ball stay but still managed 19 off of some speedy running and Walcott's 34 from 48 balls at the other end ensured West Indies got home safe 25 balls to spare.

Other Matches in Division 1
match 6142600 England beat Sri Lanka by 56 runs.
match 6142605 Netherlands beat New Zealand by 3 wickets.

Fixture on July 4- Netherlands match 6142610
A side that genuinely scares me is the Dutch one. And the beast of the side gets to face us on a green deck and under sunny weather in just a few hours from now having beaten us on Saturday on a similar pitch but under rather humid weather. The clash between the two sides that managed three-wicket chases in Game 1 promises to be an interesting fixture certainly.

West Indies NAT Season 51 One Day Tour 2 Division 1: Summaries

West Indies vs Netherlands- match 6142610- Sunny/Green

Playing Eleven:
Leon Jumadeen RH (Wicketkeeper)
Wayne Trim LH
Alp Arslan RH (Captain)
Chesney Persaud LH
Melford Griffith RH
William Linton RH
Aaron Munilall rfm/RH
Daniel Chinsammy rm/LH
Javon Austin rfm/RH
Gregory Farquharson lf/RH
Colin Oscopy rf/RH

West Indian skipper Alp Arslan won the toss and opted to bowl first and the bowlers did not disappoint for the most part. Rick van Eljsinga, Jeremy McGovern and Bastain Abel did get some runs to their credit but the bowling led by a 4-fer from Colin Oscopy always found a way to pick up a wicket. The hurting came at a point, when quite like yesterday, we had Netherlands at 179/7 all set to have 'em out and under for a below 200 score when we let Nathan Lyon get away with a few loose shots and get 18 runs, taking the score to a 213 ao in almost 41 overs. 19 runs being leaked off of leg byes is another point to ponder, do we just put it down to poor luck or are the bowlers missing a trick there when they are beating the batter's defence but not keeping the ball in line with the stumps. With three uneven decks coming up, these LBW dismissals will only get furthermore important and common with defensive batters and scarier pitches and leg byes will be much more costly.

Chasing 214, losing Leon Jumadeen ball one was never an ideal start but medium pacer Albert Duyn certainly impressed with a peach of a delivery for ball one. Alp Arslan showcased a certain level of much needed calm for quite the while but desperation gets the best of many including him, and he fell to an inside edge of a loose drive to left-arm quick Rene van der Wiel. Wayne Trim and Chesney Persaud's partnership was short-lived as both southpaws departed by the 15th over. William Linton and Melford Griffith got some runs but they couldn't deliver the monumental innings this chase required as the West Indian side fell deeper into a hole they dug, doing miserably in a chase of a rather par score. The highest run scorer for the day was Aaron Munilall with a 48 off of 57 balls before West Indies folded for 182 with their tailenders falling short in comparison to the Dutch ones. A 31-run loss had West Indies' position on the table unaffected but one win and one loss did put some worries in the camp. The next two games being against two powerhouses in New Zealand and England that have toured nine seamers in their nine bowlers on two uneven decks does not help the nerves. Which would be followed by a tour ending fixture against the Twenty-20 Division 1 Champions in Sri Lanka on yet another uneven deck and what is currently presumed to be a hot deck.

Other Matches in Division 1
match 6142614 England beat New Zealand by 6 wickets.
match 6142613 Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 31 runs.

Fixture on July 5: New Zealand match 6142602
The Kiwis face the the West Indian side on an uneven deck and the weather is forecasted to be sunny. The Kiwi side comes in holding the sides' previous encounter on a humid day and an uneven deck where they slipped away with a twelve run win over the West Indian side's head, certainly giving them a confidence boost having lost the first two games in front of a home crowd.

West Indies NAT Season 51 One Day Tour 2 Division 1: Summaries

We played the next three games on three uneven decks. The Kiwis and the Brits proved a rather tough summit for us on sunny decks as I messed up weather for Game 4 vs England by assuming it'd be Thursday's weather in humid when it was Wednesday's sunny. Game 5 was against Sri Lanka on a humid/uneven combination wherein a Wayne Trim ton took us to a 85-run win and helped us end 3rd on the table with 2 wins. 4 wins in ten isn't a good One Day season but it is certainly better when looked at in the lens of surviving Division 1 twice. 28 points on the table with a minimum of 15 more guaranteed even if we lose all ten games next season imply we've most likely qualified for the One Day World Cup next season, which is a welcome piece of news after a failure to make it to the Twenty-20 World Cup this season.

Tour Performers:
Two fifties from Brenton Stephenson saw him accumulating 150 runs across three games whilst the sole centurion of the West Indies side this tour in Wayne Trim racked up 145 runs in the three times he walked onto the field. Trim also managed to hit 13 fours which were second to only one other player, being heavily helped by the 10 fours in his century knock. Colin Oscopy continued with some fine bowling exploits with nine wickets in three games. Debutant tourer Carlitos Wood showcased some fine skills as he bowled three maidens in his three games which led to a fine economy of 3.77 especially considering his first two games were on a hard and a green deck. Six catches and a stumping saw Leon Jumadeen affect the highest amount of dismissals as a keeper in the tour. Archie O'Connor ended the tour as West Indies' highest Fantasy Point Earner contributing well in all his fixtures.

That is it for Season 51. Good luck for Season 52 to everybody. West Indies will be back in action against the likes of England, Netherlands, New Zealand, India and Scotland in the Division 1 Tour next season. Until then, cheer for the West Indies U20 in the OD World Cup Campaign.

Quirky: Any top prospects you'd like to call out for this season's tours, players most likely to get their touring debut and contribute in a significant way? Not asking you to give away any state secrets in public, but just possibly pique our interest in the NAT tours this season.

Also, I see two 31 year olds in the squad. What's the oldest player to have toured for you for West Indies NATs?

Also, I'm excited to see Liam Ryan (the former Erroll Butts), Ramjass, and Kanhai in the squad!

certainly would love to share my early season thoughts regarding the players mate.

The touring squad is all but finalised I'd reckon. Ordelmo Watt, Stephen Patrick and Edwin Layne will be debuting. Watt and Layne come in as we turn into a new set of ar's from a big Munilall-Joseph era with Walcott and Cumberbatch coming in last season as well, all four of which have probably played their last nat game at this point. Watt is amongst the best ar's I've seen and he has got the BH talent which I love very much. Layne comes in as a new skipper given we lost a couple of those in the off-season as well. Stephen Patrick is probably the highest-rated seamer we've toured ever since I've been an assistant, top three certainly. For like a calendar year from June 2021 we didn't tour a single lfm, until Carlitos Wood in Maiden's side last season and Wood and Patrick are probably two big bowlers for us in the upcoming few seasons wherein we'll get to tour lfm's again.

The players that I have high expectations from this season though would be Don Carlo Gambino, Gregory Farquharson and Chesney Persaud. Gambino has probably taken over as the side's best spinner from an absolute legend in Jason Hislop and with a bit more power on him, I expect the ws to have a good season. In the off-season, Farquharson reached wc power, and I certainly think that the quick should be a force to reckon with based on my previous experiences with quicks that have wc power. Chesney Persaud is a BH LH bat that has played a bit for us, but he seems well-prepped with a few more power pops this season and I'm hoping the bat has a decent time.

The two 31yos at the minute are both legends of the WI side for the last few seasons, carried us single-handedly on a few occasions in Jason Hislop and Melford Griffith. M Grif still our best bat on paper. Hislop amongst our best bowlers still. Think the oldest players that I've toured would probably be an ar, either of Patrick McAuley, Aaron Munilall or Troy Joseph would win this one, all three would have approximately been late 31 yos. We've had a bit or an ar problem the last few seasons too, Muni and Joseph have probably had nearly five seasons of touring almost every time.

All three players are very good. Ramjass is ready but the other two probably need till the T20 tour to get enough power. Ryan is a solid player that I think will tour for us soon enough and carry the seam bowling for a few seasons. Ramjass and Kanhai are probably a tussle at the moment as I'm unsure which of the two are better and with Watt in there, I know I can't afford touring 3 rfm's on more occasions than not.

West Indies NAT Season 52 One Day Tour 1 Division 1: Squad Announcement
A warm welcome to the new season folks. The West Indian Senior side will be back in action in a couple of weeks after we unfortunately failed to qualify for the Twenty-20 World Cup in the off-season. Scotland has invited the likes of England, India, New Zealand and Netherlands alongside the Windies for the Division 1 Tour. Crumbling, Dry and Uneven decks have been prepped for the upcoming tour and West Indies have opted to tour the following eighteen lads:

Alexander McCatty AllStars! Left-hand Bat

Alp Arslan Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Brenton Stephenson Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Chesney Persaud Never liked the name of my team Left-hand Bat

Colin Oscopy Middle Stump Lubricators Right-arm Fast

Don Carlo Gambino Murder Inc Right-arm Wrist Spin

Dwayne Maynard The Slack Caps Left-arm Finger Spin

Edwin Layne Boundary Boys Right-arm Finger Spin/ Right-hand Bat [DEBUT]

Eldine Jones Boundary Boys Left-arm Finger Spin

Gregory Farquharson Hot Shots CC Left-arm Fast

Kieron Mendonca Stafford rangers reborn Right-arm Wrist Spin

Leon Jumadeen High Risk High Return Right-hand Keeper Bat

Melford Griffith Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Right-hand Bat

Michael Seaforth Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Keeper Bat

Ordelmo Watt Antiguan Golden Cats Right-arm Fast Medium/ Left-hand Bat [DEBUT]

Ryan Shallow Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Bat

Stephen Patrick Ashburn CC Left-arm Fast Medium [DEBUT]

William Linton Ceylonian Blasters Right-hand Bat

The bowling combination of 5 spinners and 4 seamers might backfire after we weren't incredibly lucky with the allotted pitches, garnering three unevens alongside a crumbler and a dry deck. Hopefully we have a bit of luck on our side and the weather lords bless us. Three debutants for the tour, many congratulations to Edwin Layne of Boundary Boys, Ordelmo Watt of Antiguan Golden Cats, and Stephen Patrick of Ashburn CC on getting their maroon caps. Legend batter Melford Griffith has been selected for yet another tour but it does seem rather likely that he is heading on for what could be his last assignment. In the same manner, it appears another veteran Jason Hislop has also reached the end of International Career, an absolute legend for the Windies with 61 wickets in 27 One Day Internationals at 13.79 and 34 in 21 Twenty-20 Internationals at 15.35, ending the second highest wicket taker for West Indies in Twenty-20 Internationals.

The five fixtures for the tour will be:

August 29- England- Crumbling Pitch match 6280072
August 30- New Zealand- Uneven Pitch match 6280066
August 31- India- Uneven Pitch match 6280068
September 1- Scotland- Dry Pitch match 6280067
September 2- Netherlands- Uneven Pitch match 6280070

The tour shall begin on August 29 here. Again, it is very appreciated that all the managers let us tour their lads for the week. Hopefully, we can send some of them back home with a form pop instead of a plop haha:)

Also, after defending their SOD 1.1 Title, Queens Park Cricket Club have retained their name in the West Indies International Cricket Ground, which is named the Queens Park Cricket Arena to honour their victory. The ends have also been named the Caterham Crusaders End and Queens Park Cricket End to congratulate the two sides for being the top two West Indian sides in the Matt Krevs Memorial Cup the previous season.

Thanks and cheers:)

I was just tearing up a bit remembering Eldine Jones and Edwin Layne playing in the same youth side for Germantown Cricket Club.

Also, Eldine Jones: 170 not out on a sticky wicket. He'll be opening the batting, right? https://www.fromthepavilion.org/scoreca ... Id=4745169

Layne and Jones playing together for their entire careers is quite the story certainly. Jones has been in the squad for 3 seasons at this point but Layne's joined this eos and both are quality finger spinners with a bit of batting. Two solid players, that have been involved with 2 quality clubs!

Another Germantown HOFer in Liam Ryan is pretty close to making his debut! Think there always are a lot of old berksowl players in the side.

West Indies NAT Season 52 One Day Tour 1 Division 1: Tour Summary
Before we get to this tour, I'm gonna go stats diving a bit here. In this cycle of One-Dayers between the two World Cups, we have played 15 games, all in Division 1. Out of those 15, we have won a grand total of six games and yet somehow here we stand, having survived Division 1 thrice. Somehow being a keyword there, I do not know how that has happened. The part 2 of this beautiful statistic is that on all three of these tours, West Indies have won Game 1, and then in stunning fashion lost the next three, just to somehow win the last and survive. Absolute managerial talent ofcourse! But I just want my genius here (and not at all, some stupid net run rate luck) to be noted, please and thank you:)

Now onto the five games:

Sunny/Crumbling vs England: match 6280072
The first game of the tour and West Indies had a couple debutants on the field in Stephen Patrick as the side's lone seamer for the day and Edwin Layne, the skipper. Southpaw Peter Delves' fifty wherein he and Ambrose Fellows were involved in a decent partnership and Justin Igglesdon's tonks at the end carried the English side to 211, a score that my metrics suggested was 20 over par, and about 211 over what the West Indian batters could comfortably chase. Kieron Mendonca impressed with the ball, picking three top-order wickets and debutant Stephen Patrick did a fine job cleaning up the tail.

Alexander McCatty and veteran Melford Griffith started the chase off well, knocking 32 in an unbeaten powerplay. Melford Griffith was showcasing some exemplary grit but his poor strike rate caught up with him soon enough. Chinaman Mukhtar Parry tossed one up, pitching it full and on leg stump, Griffith sat down, looking to smack it over mid wicket, but the googly went under his bat and onto the stumps. Coming in at 3 was Chesney Persaud, and the young lad has certainly been weighted with expectation before this season. He came in, he conquered for a fair little while, scoring a fine 45 off 50 balls in a hundred run stand, improved the run rate very well, but would be disappointed as his overzealousness saw him mistime a slog to finger-spinner Hyland and get caught at long on. Alexander McCatty was dismissed, getting caught at short third man two balls later but the two southpaws had done their job very well thus far. Needing just 57 more of the remaining 83 balls, Brenton Stephenson took over and steered the side to a victory with 27 balls to spare.

Cloudy/Uneven vs New Zealand: match 6280066
The Kiwis opted to bat first and they were coming in having beaten us in both of the previous tours last season, once under humid/uneven conditions and the second time on sunny/uneven. They also were batting first both those times. A few runs from Vito Genovese, Monty Lush and D'Arcy Muggleton got the ball rolling but it was Ces Gooden who smacked a mind-numbing ton, as he hit the West Indian bowlers to all sides of the park. Stephen Patrick's slower yorker got him but he had done the damage by then. All-rounder Bryce Gard's quick 25 in the end took the Kiwi total to 261, under conditions wherein a par score's usually 160-170 for me.

Leon Jumadeen started off with a decent tempo getting 28 from 29 balls, but except for him, Ryan Shallow, Michael Seaforth and Ordelmo Watt, no other batter crossed ten and the highest of these four was a meagre 49 as well as an awful batting performance followed a very poor day with the ball and West Indies fell 1-1.

Humid/Uneven vs India: match 6280068
Day three almost followed the patterns of the previous day as Parthiv Manglorkar's 72 saw him carry the side with Mohinder Dadhaniya getting a 22 in the end to take the side over 200. 202 was the target the West Indian side was set and this score was yet again about 50 more than what I considered chaseable. The six-bowler attack that India opted for ran through the West Indian side with 4 wickets for Dadhaniya. West Indies were cleaned up for 107 and saw themselves at the back of two losses and with some terrible net run rate, but not the worse owing to a colossal English collapse that saw the Kiwis bowl them out for 74 in a parallel game.

Sunny/Dry vs Scotland: match 6280067
Skipper Edwin Layne had won the toss and elected to bat first as a shocker of a decision was announced wherein West Indies had picked five spinners for the game with leggies Kieron Mendonca and Don Carlo Gambino alongside finger spinners Dwayne Maynard, Eldine Jones and Edwin Layne. The batting was yet again a disappointing show. Chesney Persaud came in strong and struck 40 off 26 balls but he died by the approach that got him runs as the veteran wristie in Peter Matera got the lad (the approach being the apparently obvious D orders he was set on). A few starts as bats got into double-digits and Edwin Layne's 33 took the team over to 196, and for a bit of new flavour this week, the manager thought this score was under par for a dry. No wonder who was batting first.

The first ten overs were a phase the Windies lads knew they had to wither through, remaining wicketless was expected, and leaking 44 runs was fairly alright in general but for a rather low score, the pressure was on from thereon. Don Carlo Gambino got the first wicket forcing Boak to drive off one going away from him and Mendonca catching well at gully but he went downhill from thereon. The lad had bowled 4 overs, and he had leaked 36 off them. Six off his next two and his teammate wrist spinner Mendonca went for 21 in his four as Scots were already 124 at drinks with a wicket each to Gambino and Dwayne Maynard. Gambino picked a second wicket but awfully high economies for both wrist spinners and a fantastic batting performance from Neil Blair saw Scotland win with 7 wickets to spare and nearly 9 overs to go.

Sunny/Uneven vs Netherlands: match 6280070
Final game of the tour and two sides looking to break out of losing streaks, with the Dutch yet on the search for their first win of the tour. Both sides also heavily affected by their pitches and weathers as the game saw West Indies play 2 spinners whilst the Dutch threw in three. A disappointing end for Stephen Patrick who had had an absolutely fantastic tour despite playing the first three games back-to-back. The hopes in the camp were that he'd be ready to get another game under his belt but leggie Kieron Mendonca was called in. Netherlands opted to bat first and Colin Oscopy started off with the new ball for the third time in the tour. Colin Oscopy and Gregory Farquharson came into this game with rather disappointing results, specifically powerplay results as the neither of the two had a single scalp in the first ten overs. Oscopy had 5 wickets to his name and Farquharson three in the tour thus far, which again paints a picture of the disappointing losses against India and New Zealand.

Fortunately enough, both lads decided to double their wicket count today, as Oscopy picked up his first fifer in a non-friendly International Game with a 5/24 and Farquharson picked up three wickets. Oscopy showcased a bit of a tactic change the final game as he did not look to attack the stumps but bowled in the channel outside off or bowl toward the batter's waist and chest region looking to force the batter to make mistakes and edge the ball rather than simply trying to break the stumps. The process showcased some fine results for him with 4 wickets off of edges being caught. West Indies were set 132 to chase, certainly a bit under par even for a Day 5 game but the chase can always get tricky when the batters are affiliated with manager quirkilyalive's orders (says he proudly?) Fortunately, the batters had a good day out and chased the target within 30 overs and allowed the net run rate to shoot back up incase the English lads beat the invincible Indians. An unfortunate collapse saw English lose their fixture by six runs and demote alongside the Dutch.

Tour Performers
Southpaw Chesney Persaud ended the tour as the highest Windies run scorer and ended fifth on the charts after three Kiwis with 133 runs with a strike rate of 83.12. Leon Jumadeen also scored 102 runs with an average of 51 owing to his 43* in the final game. Colin Oscopy was the tours highest wicket taker picking up ten scalps with his fifer in the final game and Stephen Patrick picked up 7 wickets as well with 2 three-fers.

That is it for this tour, up next will be the Twenty-20 tour in a few weeks. West Indies are stuck in Division 3 in there and fingers crossed that we can have a decent tour there or else another World T20 qualification will be jeopardy. Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Bermuda will be up against the Windies in there. Post that will be another Division 1 One Day Tour and a One Day World Cup wherein West Indies qualification is confirmed. The next One Day Tour will see West Indies compete with New Zealand, India, Australia, Scotland and Canada.

Thanks for allowing us to tour your players and for the support and for now, support the Windies U20 here.

West Indies NAT Season 52 Twenty-20 Tour Division 3: Squad Announcement
The new Twenty-20 cycle begins this Monday as West Indies are hosting the Twenty-20 tour for the second time in a row. Twenty-20's haven't been a gracious format for us the last couple seasons but there is hope within the setup, (which is basically me and me forcing Buster and Kaushik to say we can promote) that the new younger seamers can finally pull us out of this drought in the shorter format. West Indies have picked hard, crumbling and uneven pitches for the tour and have picked six seamers and three spinners. The star-studded squad has one debutant in Oswald Cornwall. Another meinkadett's Never liked the name of my team lad who I absolutely love. Queens Park Cricket Arena, named so to honour Queen Park Cricket Club's victory in West Indies SOD Division 1.1 League in Season 51 will host the five West Indies games whilst the ends have been updated to Sultans of Spooge End and BTP's Chilbolton End given The Sultans of Spooge and BTP's Chilbolton Wanderers are the two West Indian sides to have stayed alive for the longest in the ongoing Matt Krevs Memorial Cup.

Alexander McCatty AllStars! Left-hand Bat

Alp Arslan Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Brenton Stephenson Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Carlitos Wood Maiden Over CC Left-arm Fast Medium

Cecil Griffith Caribbean Pirates Right-hand Bat

Chesney Persaud Never liked the name of my team Left-hand Bat

Colin Oscopy Middle Stump Lubricators Right-arm Fast

Don Carlo Gambino Murder Inc Right-arm Wrist Spin

Dwayne Maynard De Houthakkers Left-arm Finger Spin

Gregory Farquharson Hot Shots CC Left-arm Fast

Kieron Mendonca Stafford rangers reborn Right-arm Wrist Spin

Leon Jumadeen High Risk High Return Right-hand Keeper Bat

Michael Seaforth Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Keeper Bat

Ordelmo Watt Antiguan Golden Cats Right-arm Fast Medium/ Left-hand Bat

Oswald Cornwall Never liked the name of my team Right-arm Fast/ Right-hand Bat [DEBUT]

Stephen Patrick Ashburn CC Left-arm Fast Medium

Wayne Trim Space Wolves Left-hand Bat

William Linton Ceylonian Blasters Right-hand Bat

This tour involves us touring a new set of all-rounders with Ordelmo Watt and Oswald Cornwall, two lads with a lot of future scope, with a high possibility that the two lead the selection table discussions in the future. Melford Griffith missing out on this tour as we confirm what we expected in the previous tour that Griffith and Jason Hislop have seen their final game in the maroon jersey and a huge thank you to both players for their services and for verdi to have allowed us to tour them over and over! Both lads have been in the West Indies squad for longer than I have been in the assistant group.

The five fixtures for the tour will be:

September 19- South Africa- Hard Pitch match 6280192
September 20- Bermuda- Crumbling Pitch match 6280190
September 21- Zimbabwe- Hard Pitch match 6280196
September 22- Pakistan- Uneven Pitch match 6280183
September 23- Bangladesh- Crumbling Pitch match 6280184

A nice spread of pitches, much more welcome after we were absolutely effed by getting all of the three third choice pitches in uneven last tour. Playing Pakistan on an uneven deck will be a particularly interesting one with their 4 lethal quicks. But a lot of tough teams and an interesting tour up ahead. We play the Proteas on September 19 at 1500 to start it all off after our tied fixture last tour. Fingers crossed we do well, elsewise we would have bungled up World T20 qualification yet again.

Thanks for allowing us to tour your lads and cheers:)

Apologies lads, I have been a bit busy with RL for the writeups despite how much I enjoy them. The T20 tour went 4-1 with Oscopy and Persaud starring with the ball and the bat respectively. We've ended Division 2 there for the next season and will be facing South Africa, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the Americans there next season. We also have 8 points there and are guaranteed to earn 13 there and my brain tells me one win or two should ensure qualification to the World T20 in the season after this one although we'd definitely want to win more. Now how much you trust my brain is on you and you might be making a mistake there.

The Division 1 tour did not go as well with uneven, green, hard decks. We went in 9 seamers and honestly I considered all nine to be very good and we also had favorable weather but we couldn't get the lads to perform. An abysmal tour that finished 0-5. A poor One Day cycle this one really, as West Indies just won 6 of the 20 games but three survivals in Division 1 on 2-3 tour end results have helped us qualify and end 4th on the One Day rankings. We will be facing Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland, South Africa and Kenya in Division 2 next season.

The One Day World Cup squad selection has been opened this week. We'll be playing on a dry, flat, green, dry and crumbling deck against Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, Ireland and Zimbabwe respectively and in that order. Hopefully we can turn our OD luck in there.

Thanks for the support thus far and for letting me always tour your lads, it is very much appreciated. Thanks and good luck:)

West Indies NAT Season 52 World Cup: Squad Announcement
West Indies shall be heading to Sri Lanka during the EOS week for the 50-over World Cup and here are the 18 lads that have been selected:

Alexander McCatty AllStars! Left-hand Bat

Alp Arslan Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Brenton Stephenson Space Wolves Right-hand Bat

Cecil Griffith Caribbean Pirates Right-hand Bat

Chesney Persaud Never liked the name of my team Left-hand Bat

Colin Mohan Groundboys Right-hand Bat [DEBUT]

Colin Oscopy Middle Stump Lubricators Right-arm Fast

Don Carlo Gambino Murder Inc Right-arm Wrist Spin

Dwayne Maynard De Houthakkers Left-arm Finger Spin

Eldine Jones Boundary Boys Left-arm Finger Spin/ Left-hand Bat

Gregory Farquharson Hot Shots CC Left-arm Fast

Hemnarine Daley Rostrevor XI Left-hand Keeper Bat [DEBUT]

Kieron Mendonca Stafford rangers reborn Right-arm Wrist Spin

Michael Seaforth Crni Zmajevi Cricket Club Left-hand Keeper Bat

Ordelmo Watt Antiguan Golden Cats Right-arm Fast Medium/ Left-hand Bat

Oswald Cornwall Never liked the name of my team Right-arm Fast/ Right-hand Bat

Stephen Patrick Ashburn CC Left-arm Fast Medium

William Linton Ceylonian Blasters Right-hand Bat

The World Cup sees us face New Zealand, Netherlands, Canada, Zimbabwe and Ireland as the five power packed sides would look to make it fairly tough for the Windies side which is yet to have their hands on the 50-over World Cup silverware.

The five fixtures for the tour will be:

November 7- Canada- Dry Pitch match 6283884
November 8- New Zealand- Flat Pitch match 6283887
November 9- Netherlands- Green Pitch match 6283885
November 10- Ireland- Dry Pitch match 6283882
November 11- Zimbabwe- Crumbling Pitch match 6283886

A decent spread of pitches with 4 decks that can potentially help bats. We have toured 3 quicks, a couple of fast-mediums, 2 right-arm wristies and 2 left-arm tossers to make the bowling attack up. 2 debutants in Hemnarine Daley and Colin Mohan as the two will hope they can throw in their best performance this World Cup.

Thanks for allowing us to tour your lads and cheers:)