Monday, June 14, 2021

SUNDAY, JUNE 13TH, 2021

Haynes in ICC Hall of Fame … page 3

ICC Kiwis whip England The Kiwis sealed a 1-0 series win Zealand needed 38 runs to win the … page 2 against England after a commanding match and the series. The visitors eight- victory in Edgbaston, win- ning their first Test series in the country chased down the target comprehen- since 1999. sively in 10.5 overs but lost the The series win has also helped the of Devon Conway (3) and Blackcaps to claim the No.1 spot in Will Young (8) along the way; Con- the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rank- way edged a wide one off Stuart ings. Broad while Young was dismissed The hosts came into day four already dented at 122/9 with a lead of 37 runs. by Stone. All it took was a from Trent Stand-in remained Boult to wrap up England's first till the end to see New Zealand over the Alvin Kallicharan and shattered any hopes of mounting a line with a 23 during which he … page 4 resilience. Boult steamed in and dis- completed 4000 Test runs, becoming missed Olly Stone for 15 who nicked the only the ninth Kiwi batsman to achieve ball to the keeper. Thereafter, New this feat. was awarded the Player of the Match for picking three wickets in each innings while Devon Conway was handed the Player of the Series award for scoring 306 runs at an average of 76.50 which in- cluded a double ton on his de- but. ICC Cricket P A G E 2 WTC could have been best of 3 series

Dr. Nilesh D. Mehta

The World Test Championship final match is a highly anticipated event in international cricket at the present vorite not only for his prowess handed batsmen. The New Zea- time. Southampton will be the venue but also his calm demeanor. land batting line up is loaded with starting June 18, 2021 for this one Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal southpaws and that could factor Test match between India and New will be fighting for the opening slot to into the decision making process Zealand to crown the World Test pair up with Rohit Sharma. While Ma- for the selection of the team. There Champions. yank Agarwal was India’s leading could be a toss-up between Mo- NewCaption Zealand describing is already playing crick- scorer in the Test series in New Zea- hammed Shami and Mohammed et picturein England or graphic. and has acclimatized to land in 2020, he was subsequently Siraj as the Indian team will go the unpredictable weather conditions. dropped after two Tests in Austral- with a five bowler combination Whether this extra time of being in ia. It is widely expected that R. which will most likely include two the host nation will be an advantage Ashwin and R. Jadeja will feature in spinners and three pacemen. One or not remains to be seen. the playing eleven. In the pace bowl- of the obvious excitement for crick- India’s stylish“To catch the reader's southpaw, attention, place an Yuvraj ing department, Jasprit Bumrah is an interesting sentence or quote from the story et fans will be the batting of Singh, in a conversationhere.” with 'Sports automatic inclusion. Ishant Sharma is Rishabh Pant who has lit up inter- Tak' has said that one match alone an experienced campaigner and has a national cricket in the recent past. perhaps is not a true test. He opined, knack of taking wickets against Left "I feel in a situation like this, there should be a best of 3 Tests, because if you lose the first one then you can come back in the next two. India will have a slight disadvantage because New Zealand are already playing in England." England's summer can be fairly unpredictable as rain played a spoilsport in the drawn first Test match between Eng- land and New Zealand. In a scenario like this, you could end up with a draw in one of the most important Test matches in the international cricket calendar. While this may not be an appropriate comparison, the National Basketball Association and World Series Championship in base- ball isCaption best of seven games. Even in the recently concluded U.S. Wom- en’sdescribing Open Golf tournament, won by Yukapicture Saso, or there was a two-hole aggregategraphic. playoff, sending the tour- nament to sudden death on the ninth hole. In sharp contrast, a Test match being a five day event makes it diffi- cult to accommodate more games especially given the anemic calendar due to SARS-CoV-19 pandemic. All eyes will be on the left elbow of New Zealand skipper Kane William- son over the next several days to see if the injection that he received will alleviate his discomfort enough to play in the WTC Final match. Wil- liamson is the heart of this New Zea- land team and has been a crowd fa- Haynes honoured P A G E 3 WTC could have been best of 3 series to be in ICC Hall of Fame

West Indies cricket legends Sir Learie Constantine and Desmond Haynes were inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame on Sunday. They have joined the list of fellow cricketing icons who have re- ceived this prestigious honour. The late Learie Constantine was an early pioneer of West Indies cricket and an outstanding all- rounder. He was a member of the celebrated team which played in the first Test match in West In- dies history in England in June, 1928. He played 18 Test match- es and made an indelible contri- bution to the sport and the West Indian community at home and abroad. Haynes was one of the most successful open- ing batsmen in the history of the game and formed a world famous batting partnership with his long- standing teammate, Gordon Greenidge. He was a member of the West Indies World Cup champion team in 1979. Haynes played 116 Test matches and scored 7,487 runs, including 18 centuries, at an average of 42.3. He also made 8,648 runs in 238 One-Day Internationals, which included 17 centuries. Haynes in response said: “I am deeply honored to be inducted into and receive the prestigious International Cricket Council Hall of Fame Award. To be recog- nized by my peers is very spe- cial. It is really humbling to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame! It is an even greater honor to be placed in such distin- guished ranks as those of the past honorees, some of whom have been colleagues at one time or another, all of whom have made important contributions to the International Cricket arena. When I look back at my journey coming from that small area called Holder’s Hill in Barbados, I am thankful for everyone who was a part of my journey. Thank you to those who nominated me and of course thank you to my lovely wife Elen Haynes, kids, family, friends and fans. Giving all thanks and glory to God.” Monday, June 14th, 2021

Contribution of Indo-West Indians in Caribbean Cricket Part 9

Kalli destroyed Lillee

Alvin Kallicharran cut, pulled, slashed, drove and hooked Austral- ia’s greatest fast bow- ler with unprecedent- ed majesty and skill. The Golden Arrow- head never flew high- er. It was a rare sight in batting as Kalli showed he was “the real master.” He para- lyzed the Australians with his genius in that mesmerizing innings of 78. Few batsmen have catapulted a crowd in such a frenzy. spect him. I respect what opposition wore the burgundy coloured West we are playing against, but if you Indian blazers. On top of it, the two Sunil Gavaskar, in his book Idols say that you are going to walk out mangers (Solomon & Ali), of the wrote, “it was batting of the highest and feel intimidated, what are we touring West Indies team were of class. With the ball turning and pop- going out there for? Why did they Indian origin. It was a rare case in ping, Kallicharran gave us a tremen- select me if I am not going to fight”? the entire history of the West Indies dous batting lesson. The ball cricket that the touring team was dropped dead at his feet when he Kallicharran, like Kanhai became the captained and managed (all three) played defensively forward. But West Indies captain during the by the Indian parentage people. when he hit the ball, it invariably schism of World Series Cricket of Another distinguished member of went to the boundary”. While Clive Kerry Packer in 1977-78 during the the Indian community Another Indi- Lloyd said, “Kallicharran is one of the third Test of West Indies Australia an lineage Ramcharetar Rickhi best players of spin I have home series. He compiled 408 runs came to India as Assistant Manag- seen…This is not to say that he was (avg.51.00). A well-timed 92 at the er of Clive Lloyd's team in 1983-84 inadequate against pace, and, at his Queen's Park provided the victory under Wes Hall. Rickhi's contribu- best, is the complete player”. platform to the home team and a tion to the West Indies Cricket Um- timely ton at Sabina Park thwarted pires Association is also immense Kallicharran has outlined his ap- the Australian attempt to square the to say the least. proach and attitude in these lines, series. Kallicharran claimed the se- “Once we walk out to bat, there is no ries 3-1. He proved his capabilities rich or poor and there is no black or as a captain without cowing down white. It is just me and you. So I was under pressure. It is significant that brought up in that culture of being a four Indians (Kallicharran, Bacchus, streetfighter – that you don’t see Jumadeen & Shivnarine) played for danger, you don’t see anxiety. All the West Indies for the first time and you are looking at is tomorrow – how again on the Indian tour in 1978-79. will you fight again. So Lillee bowling It signified that the Indian community to me is, just… I’m going to bat was firmly entrenched in the Carib- again tomorrow. Not that I don’t re- bean cricket. On the Indian tour not only four Indian extraction players