*Official** West Indies Regional 4-Day Thread!

By Sean Devers

It was another day of hard work for the batsmen yesterday on a sluggish Providence

track on the penultimate day of the second and final four-day practice match to select the Guyana Jaguars team for the inaugural West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Professional Cricket League Regional Four-Day Franchise Tournament which starts on November 14.
West Indies leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo just back from the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team series immediately made his presence felt by removing Taignarine Chanderpaul (12) and first innings centurion Shemron Hetmyer (7) in quick succession just before the close to leave Vishaul Singh’s X1, who enjoyed a lead of 56, on 31-2 in their second innings and the game in the balance.
Test left-hander Narsingh Deonarine fought diligently for four hours and six minutes for a dogged 65 (7×4) from 175 balls to lead Johnson’s X1 to 293 all out just after resuming the day on 106-4.
Singh’s X1 made 349 in their first innings and have an overall lead of 87 with an entire day to play on a track on which horizontal batting shots and back foot punches have been more productive than drives because of the variable bounce and slowness of the surface.
The day began in sultry conditions with Deonarine and the more aggressive Chris Barnwell extending their fifth wicket stand to 76 with careful batting against a spin attack which got plenty of assistance from the two-paced pitch before Barnwell lofted off-spinner Royston Crandon to long-on to leave the score 172-5.
Barnwell, two overnight, fell just before Lunch for 42 (5×4). Although Deonarine was not at his fluent best he survived a tough morning period and by Lunch had added 28 to his overnight 23 to be unbeaten on 51 by the interval from 220 minutes and 157 balls.
From a Lunch-time score of 187-5, Johnson’s X1 were ‘tied down’ by off-spinner Steven Jacobs, left-arm spinner Raj Nanan and leg-spinner Amir Khan. The battle of attrition continued in the second session as Bajan left-handed all-rounder Raymond Reifer, the only overseas player in the team, joined Deonarine and the six men and a dog in the empty stands must have been desperate to see more shots being played under a clear blue sky.
Reifer never suggested permanence and soon edged a catch to wicketkeeper Jason St Clair off Khan after struggling to get the ball off the ‘square’ in his nine and Johnson’s X1 were 197-6 but with Deonarine still there and a strong tail to come, there was still hope of the batting side overhauling the challenging total.
However, when Deonarine drove six feet seven inch pacer Raun Johnson to mid-off at 203-7, he had made 65. He was soon followed by Jonathan Foo (5), LBW to left-arm spinner Anthony Adams, who was belatedly introduced into the attack and the score was 223-8.
Anthony Bramble and Veerasammy Permaul revived the position and played more shots than the other batsmen. They took the score to 269 before Permaul (28) pulled Jacobs to deep mid-wicket and by Tea Johnson’s X1 were 279-9. Nanan trapped Bishoo LBW for eight, leaving Bramble unbeaten on 43 with four fours. Jacobs finished with 3-53 from 29 overs while Nanan supported with 3-74 from 28.5.
When Singh’s X1 began their second innings Permaul opened the bowling with Keon Joseph who only bowled three overs before Bishoo was introduced in the eighth over to operate in tandem with Permaul in an all Albion spin attack.
Taignarine Chanderpaul (12) was completely befuddled by Bishoo and bowled ‘through the gate’ at 19-1 before Bishoo, who bowled with excellent control bowled Hetmyer (7) when the 17-old missed a pull at one that kept low off the final ball of the day.
Bishoo has so far taken 2-10 from 6.5 overs and could prove the architect of destruction when play on the final day resumes at 09:30 today.

Barbados Nation article.

Bridgetown, Barbados - The Barbados Franchise will be sending a 17-man squad to Port of Spain next week as a special precaution, with three cricketers who are training to make the team already showing symptoms associated with the mosquito-borne disease.

Barbados play arch-rivals Trinidad and Tobago in the first match of the recently launched WICB pro league at the Queen’s Park Oval, with the full team expected to be named on Monday.

Chairman of selectors Hendy Wallace informed the WEEKEND NATION yesterday that the franchise would not be taking any chances, and would be naming 17 players to make the trip, instead of the usual 13 that would travel for overseas matches.

​Team affected

​​The WEEKEND NATION has also been reliably informed that chikungunya is already affecting the team, with trialists Kenroy Williams, Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Hope showing early signs of the disease which has proven problematic across the country in the past two months.

Barbados’ preparation for the inaugural professional league took another hit from the weather yesterday, when no play was possible on the third day of a practice match, after heavy overnight rain affected the run-ups and left puddles on the outfield at the Pine Basin.

Umpires Dalton Holder and Ryan Willoughby called off play just after the scheduled lunch break at 11:30 a.m.

The first practice match began after two and a half days due to a wet outfield at the Desmond Haynes Oval.

In this second practice match, Stoute’s XI batted first and amassed 355 all out with Shai Hope batting solidly to compile 122 with support coming from opener Rashidi Boucher who scored an even 50 and captain Kevin Stoute, 43.

First Published In The Barbados Nation.

Jamaica Star article.

Kingston, Jamaica - Two uncapped players have been named in Jamaica Franchise 13-man squad for their opening West Indies four-day tournament match against Windward Island Volcanoes at Sabina Park, beginning next Friday.

The players are fast bowlers, Marquino Mindley, a former West Indies Under-19 representative, and Keno Wallace, who represents St Thomas CA in national club competitions.

The duo are among four pacers who are in the squad. The others are experienced all-rounder David Bernard Jr, and Jason Dawes.

Interestingly, Mindley and Wallace were not a part of the 15 retainer contracted franchise players, and as such are down to play via a pay-per-play equivalent.

Six Reserves

Conversely, the squad, which will be captained by the experienced Tamar Lambert, sees the omission of four players, who are on retainers.

They are injured West Indies fast bowler, Sheldon Cottrell, opener Horace Miller, young batsman Brandon King, and fast bowler Brian Buchanan.

Meanwhile, the squad, which has six reserves, is without experienced leg-spinner Odean Brown, off-spinner Jamie Merchant, out-of-favour Jamaica and West Indies batsman Danza Hyatt.

Jamaica Franchise squad: Tamar Lambert (captain), Nkrumah Bonner, Jermaine Blackwood, Shacaya Thomas, André McCarthy, John Campbell, David Bernard Jr, Carlton Baugh Jr, Nikita Miller, Damion Jacobs, Keno Wallace, Marquino Mindley and Jason Dawes.

Reserves: John-Ross Campbell, Dennis Bulli, Leonard Leveridge, Cassius Burton, Gavon Brown, Derval Green.

First Published In The Jamaica Star.

all the news and views all tournament long!

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad — (Trinidad Express) Ralph Thorne, QC, is urging the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to “publicly make the pledge against victimisation that they made behind closed doors”.

Thorne is representing the West Indies players in the impasse with the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and was part of a meeting between the three parties at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain last Friday which was convened by prime ministers of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Grenada, Dr Keith Mitchell.

The meeting was called after the West Indies players, led by ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, withdrew their services for the one-day series of the India tour after the fourth match because of a pay dispute with the WICB and the players WIPA.

After a WICB Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, the WICB sent a statement with updates coming out of the meeting. One of the updates stated: “The WICB advises that following the meeting (at Hyatt), the Board sent a draft joint statement to the attorneys representing WIPA and the players and is awaiting the response of the players’ attorney. A statement will be provided once such response is received.”

On Friday, Thorne made it clear that he had submitted suggestions towards a joint statement on the following day.

“I am appalled that the WICB would publicly claim that they are awaiting a response from me when we have been enduring the WICB’s inertia and neglect to promptly issue a statement after submitting our suggestions towards their statement since Saturday, November 1, 2014,” Thorne said in his letter Friday.

“I again wrote an e-mail to the WICB and its lawyer this morning (Friday) on the aspect of their proposed statement that I considered a ‘sine qua non’ to just resolution of this entire affair,” said Thorne, adding, “I will not approve a statement that refuses to explicitly reflect WICB’s undertaking not to victimise or discriminate in their selection policy.”

“I believe that the WICB has spent this week transfixed in a dilemma between future right and wrong. In blaming me for their conundrum I can now empathise with the unfair treatment that my clients have endured under the heavy hand of the WICB.

“I will continue to insist that they (the WICB) publicly make the pledge against victimisation that they made behind closed doors,” Thorne concluded.

hahha the wicb doing what they want