West Indies Chief Selector, Roger Harper. Associated Press / Matt Dunham
West Indies Under-19 tour to England canceled
Caribbean L 28 ife, April 24-30, 2020
career, he ventured into cricket commentary
and since then has been one
of the most popular Caribbean commentators.
Barbadian Tony Cozier and Guyanese
Joseph “Red” Perriera made
a name for themselves around the
world as the first pair of regional
commentators to travel around the
world, paving the way for Holding,
Ian Bishop, Jeffrey Dujon, Darren
Ganga and Fazeer Mohammed.
In an interview recently on Guest
Cricket Show in Barbados, Holding
was asked about continuing commentary
after the Covid-19 pandemic.
He replied: “It is almost impossible
that I will be doing any commentary
in the Caribbean because I am not
too sure how much further than
2020 I will be going with commentary.
The last contract I signed with
Sky was for one year 2020… because
I told them I could not commit to
more than a year at a time.”
The former fast bowler said if the
virus spoils the entire 2020 cricket
calendar he may consider ending his
commentary career next year.
Holding started commentating on
TV in 1990 and has been with Sky
Sports in England for 21 years. He
also works for SuperSport in South
Africa.
By Azad Ali
Discarded West Indies leg-spinner
Devendra Bishoo is hoping to make a
return to international cricket.
Bishoo, 34, last played for the West
Indies in two Twenty20 Internationals
against England in St. Kitts a year
ago and has struggled with form and
fitness ever since.
He featured in only three matches
for deposed champions Guyana Jaguars
on the just-concluded domestic
first-class championship, taking just
five wickets, but said that he was
hampered by recovery from a knee
injury.
Bishoo claimed three wickets in
the first innings in that game as
Jaguars drew with Windward Islands
Hurricanes at the National Stadium
in Guyana.
In the second innings, he went
wicketless from 17 overs, proving
ineffective as the home said batted
the entire last day courtesy centuries
from veteran opener Devon Smith
and Captain Kavem Hodge.
Bishoo has not played a Test in
18 months and has not featured in a
One-Day International in a year, leading
to speculation about the possible
end of his playing career.
said recently players were prepared for
pay cuts as the crisis dragged on.
Skerritt said though retainer contracts
were currently under their annual
review, there had been no discussion
over a reduction in players’ salaries.
He said the technical team is in the
process of reviewing contracts because
the retainer contracts come to an end
within the next couple of months.
Currently, West Indies’ three Test
tour of England scheduled for June 4-25
is in limbo with both the Caribbean
and the United Kingdom on lockdown
because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Virtually all Caribbean nations have
reported cases of the deadly virus while
the UK has been severely hit, already
recording more than 65,000 infections
and over 8,000 deaths.
West Indies are expected to host New
Zealand in July and South Africa in
August but both tours no hang in the
balance because of the global shutdown
of sports.
Skerritt said the cancellation of
tours, especially the home itinerary,
would have implications for the board’s
revenue stream.
World Cup,” Harper said.
He said West Indies have a good
shot at winning the Twenty20 World
Cup.
“I don’t think we would be going
into the tournament as the overwhelming
favorites. It’s a matter of
getting what we think our best squad
would be together, picking our best
XI for each game and looking forward
to them performing at their best and
making smart decisions and winning
the critical moment of the game,” he
added.
West Indies underwent a change
of leadership last September where
seasoned campaigner Kieron Pollard
replaced Carlos Braithwaite as captain.
That move is yet to reap dividends,
however, with West Indies winning
just one in four series.
Harper said any squad chosen for
the Oct. 18 to Nov. 15 events would
comprise a blend of experienced and
emerging players
Continued from Page 27
Cricket West Indies President Ricky
Skerritt. Cricket West Indies
Continued from Page 27
Continued from Page 27
WINDIES WINNING CHANCE
No salary cuts for WI cricketers
Holding
Bishoo considers
return to cricket
By Azad Ali
Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
have agreed to cancel the planned West
Indies Under-19 tour of England scheduled
for August and September 2020 due
to scheduling clashes.
According to a CWI media release last
week, the West Indies Under-19 team will
be unavailable to tour England during
the proposed window.
“CWI and ECB worked together to
investigate all alternative scheduling
options but unfortunately it has not been
possible to find a time for the tour that
would work for both boards in relation to
the respective domestic tournaments and
player availability,” the release stated.