Ireland tour of West Indies 2022 News

Odean Smith, the West Indian all-rounder refused to apologise for a dent to fellow teammate Sheldon Cottrell’s car- the Range Rover, which was parked in the facility where Smith hit a six in the first ODI against Ireland. Speaking in a post-match discussion with commentators Ian Bishop, Niall O’Brien and Daren Sammy, Smith was asked by Bishop very cheekily whether he will apologise to his teammate for denting his new range rover. Answering it, Smith said, “No, that was just unfortunate. He’ll fix it and as I said it was unfortunate and probably parked in the wrong area! (cheeky smile).” The first ODI, which was played at the Sabina Park in Jamaica saw West Indies beat Ireland by 24 runs and Odean Smith, who made his international debut, also played an important role in the game with both the bat and the ball. While he scored a crucial 18 off just 8 balls, an innings which included two sixes, to take his team to 269, with the ball too, he picked up two wickets by giving away just 26 runs in 5.1 overs. Cottrell, who is a Jamaican, was not part of the playing XI and had come to watch the game with his car which was actually not parked in the proper parking space when the ball dented it. The two teams will now face each other in the second game of the three-match series at the same venue on Tuesday, January 11th.

Ireland’s Paul Stirling and Shane Getkate will be travelling to Jamaica to join the rest of the squad after testing negative for Covid-19. The two players had earlier tested positive for the virus and had to isolate themselves at a hotel in Florida. “The pair had to isolate in Florida after testing positive for COVID. They are travelling to Jamaica today after testing negative yesterday,” a statement from Ireland Cricket said. Simi Singh and Ben White are likely to be out of the series against West Indies as they tested positive after taking a routine antigen test. They are awaiting the results of the RT-PCR tests. “While the team’s medical staff are still awaiting the results of their PCR tests after a service delay, it is likely both players will be out of the entire series after an antigen test on Friday night came back with a positive COVID result,” the statement added. The second ODI is slated to take place in Jamaica on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.

West Indies started the three-match ODI series against Ireland in a winning fashion as Shamarh Brooks registered his highest ODI score on debut to help his team overcome a jittery start and post a winning total on board. If it was not for his 89 ball 93, it would have been difficult for West Indies to 269. Ireland, while chasing the total had the worst possible start as it lost its experienced William Porterfield for nought. However, after that, skipper Andrew Balbirnie and Andy McBrine had a 61 run partnership before the latter was retired hurt. Balbirnie then built a 104 run partnership with Harry Tector and got the chase run. However, as the pressure of the required rate kept mounting, both the skipper and Tector couldn’t keep up with it and got out trying to accelerate the scoring rate. From 165-2, Ireland were suddenly 194-7, losing wickets in a flurry. George Dockrell and Mark Adair tried their level best to get on with the chase, but it was all too little too less as the entire green brigade was all out on 245 in the 49th over. They lost the game by 24 runs. For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd picked two wickets each while Odean Smith took two wickets, including the last one of Dockrell. Earlier in the day, after West Indies lost their top four for a team score of just 64 runs, Brooks and skipper Kieron Pollard got together to stabilise the innings and added 155 for the fifth wicket. However Pollard was caught on the boundary in the 42nd over and that brought a halt to scoring as other players including Brooks fell even before the full quota of 50 overs was completed, with the team score at 269. Fast bowlers Mark Adair, Craig Young took three wickets each for Ireland, while spinner McBrine dismissed Nicholas Pooran and Roston Chase. The second ODI will be played at Sabina Park on Tuesday, January 11th.

West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has lashed out at his teammates for not maintaining proper fitness standards and thus hampering the team performance by not being able to put the best men forward in the playing xi. "It has been an issue that has been plaguing us for the last couple of years. One way to look at it is, the selection policy, the fitness policies are there. Guys know exactly what is needed to represent the West Indian team. Sometimes, as individuals, we take it for granted. Yes, sometimes it hinders the process of selecting the best players at the given available time,” said the 34-year old. “Fitness has been one issue that has affected us in terms of trying to put our best team and sometimes, it's frustrating because you don't have the guys fit and available to represent the team,” he added further. Pollard, who himself is making a comeback from injury post the T20 World Cup 2021 to play in the three-match ODI series and a single T20I against Ireland, said that as a captain all he can do is make the players realise the importance of fitness and while on tours, make sure that players are adhering to the fitness regime. But according to the Trinidad man, the main problem is when players go home and are not part of the team on any tour or series. "For me, as an individual, the most I could do is try to make the guys understand the importance of fitness. When we are on tour, I can safely say there is no issue as to when the guys have to do their stuff in terms of what is required for the team and when they have to train in schedules. I think the difficult part is when the guys leave from tour with responsibilities and with instructions and, sometimes, they don't follow it. And then they come back on tour and they start from ground zero,” Pollard said. Talking about the importance of the series against Ireland, even though it is part of the CWC Super League and points will eventually help in booking a direct place in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pollard believes that it is a no gainer for players. "The sad reality is that I don't believe that if we win these games - this might be taken out of context but that's not what I'm saying - if we were to win all three games, it's something that people will expect us to do. But if we were to lose, then that brings a different perspective. There's a no-win situation there,” he explained. Even as I write, West Indies and Ireland are currently squaring off against each other in the first ODI at the Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica West Indies

West Indies have announced the squad for the three-match ODI series as well as one T20I against Ireland starting January 08 in Jamaica. A team was also announced for the five-match T20I series against a visiting England side as well which will play five T20Is from January 28 to February in 05. While regular skipper Kieron Pollard has returned to international cricket after taking an injury break on the Pakistan tour post a horrendous T20 World Cup campaign, Jason Holder has also been included in both the ODIs as well as T20Is squad. Head coach Phil Simmons, who is also working as senior men’s selector, said, "We have tried to maintain the general make-up of the squads from the Pakistan Tour before Christmas, with the captain and some senior players coming back in. Covid-19 has also played a part in the final make-up of the squad. The challenges in the next couple of months are getting the young players in both squads to not only improve on their skills but maintain the attitude and desire we saw in Pakistan.” “We do need to start the year on a high. And we know both Ireland and England have very good teams, so we expect a very strong challenge as we look to improve our chances of automatic qualification for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2023 and building the T20 team for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022,” he added further in the press release. West Indies squad for Ireland ODIs Kieron Pollard (capt), Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas Reserves: Keacy Carty, Sheldon Cottrell West Indies squad for Ireland and England T20Is Kieron Pollard (capt), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen (England T20Is only), Darren Bravo (England T20Is only), Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr Reserves: Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph, Devon Thomas

Irish fast bowler Joshua Little who is currently plying his trade in the Lanka Premier League 2021, has been called up to bolster the squad that has left for the combined tour of the United States and West Indies which will begin December 22. According to a Cricket Ireland media release, four players i.e. Barry McCarthy, George Dockrell, Harry Tector and Gareth Delany have tested positive in the pres series testing and fast bowler Craig Young was identified as a close contact of Covid-19 positive persons and has therefore not been allowed to travel with the team. While McCarthy and Dockrell tested positive during pre-series testing, Tector and Delany, who have been in Florida playing the US T20 Open tournament-tested positive before linking up with the side which landed in Miami a few days ago. The pair have begun their 10-day in-room isolation already. McCarthy and Dockrell are also expected to link up with their teammates in the USA soon. Along with players, Assistant coach Gary Wilson has also not been able to travel with the team after he received a false positive report on his pre-series Covid test. The former Irish international is being re-tested, and if clear, will fly out on Sunday. "We are pleased to have our squad arrive in Miami and are all looking forward to the series ahead,” Richard Holdsworth, high-performance director for Cricket Ireland, said. "We have experienced a few last-minute complications related to COVID, but with the extended travelling squad that we have taken, and the recall of Josh Little from Sri Lanka, we don't foresee any issues with the series proceeding as scheduled,” he further added. After playing three ODIs and two T20Is in the US, the Irish team will travel to the Caribbean and play West Indies in three ODIs, between January 8 and 14, and a one-off T20I scheduled for January 17.