This month’s Issue awards Laurels to the Rt. Hon Desmond Haynes Chaired West Indies
Senior Selection Panel, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Haley Matthews, and Berbice Cricket
Board outgoing President Hilbert Foster.
Darts are deservedly thrown directly at Desmond Haynes himself, and at Cricket West Indies, specifically
its Marketing & Commercial Department.
This month’s Issue awards Laurels to the
Rt. Hon Desmond Haynes Chaired West Indies
Senior Selection Panel, Akeal Hosein, Shamar
Joseph, Haley Matthews, and Berbice Cricket
Board outgoing President Hilbert Foster. Darts are
deservedly thrown directly at Desmond Haynes
himself, and at Cricket West Indies, specifically its
Marketing & Commercial Department.
The Desmond Haynes’ West Indies
Senior Men. ‘s Selection Panel must be lauded
for the boldness it has demonstrated in including
seven newcomers in its announced fifteen-member
squad for the 2024 two Tests tour to
Australia. Faced with the unavailability of several
experienced players including former Test captain and
world-ranked all-rounder Jason Holder, as well as Shai
Hope, the Selectors have boldly given batter Zachary
McCaskie, Wicket-keeper Tevin Imlach, allrounders
Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, and Kevin Sinclair as
well as fast bowlers Akeem Jordan and Shamar Joseph
the opportunity to make their names and establish their
reputations during the tour. Here’s to the new brood of
West Indies Test cricketers!
As featured on this month’s Issue cover, Akeal
Hosein has spectacularly risen to the most admirable
heights of being ranked as the ICC third third-highest T20I
bowler. Hosein’s outstanding achievement is testimony to
his continuous dedication to improving his skill sets as an
international T20 left-arm spinner. Now that he’s reached
number three, Hoseing will, hopefully, progress even
further up the rankings in the months ahead.
While Akeal Hosein
was ascending the ICC rankings
as a T20I bowler, his West Indies
female counterpart, Women’s
captain and all-rounder Hayley
Matthews was receiving an
equally laudable ICC Award.
Williams was shortlisted as one
of the top four final nominees
for the ultra-prestigious ICC
T20I 2023 Women’s Cricketer
of the Year. Facing as she
does stiff competition from Sri
Lanka’s Chamani Athapaththu,
England’s Sophie Ecclestone,
and Australia’s Elyse Perry,
Matthews may be hard-pressed
to actually cop the award. Whether she does or not her
nomination will, however, remain as a most outstanding
and laurel-worthy achievement.
As one of the seven uncapped players included
by the West Indies Senior Men’s Selection panel in the
announced fifteen-member squad for the upcoming test
tour to Australia, Shamar Joseph is also fully deserving of
a laurel. Joseph’s inclusion has come as the direct result
of his outstanding bowling performances during the most
recent West Indies A Team tour of South Africa. Joseph,
along with off-spinner Kevin Sinclair, topped the West
Indies bowling charts on the South Africa A tour, the
right-armer averaging 21 runs apiece. He was especially
impressive in the second four-day “Test” at Bloemfontein
where he finished with an eight-wicket haul, including
taking all five wickets to fall in the hosts’ second innings.
Kudos to you Shamar! Well deserved.
Outgoing Berbice Cricket Board President,
Hilbert Foster is also fully deserving of a laurel of the
highest order. Having served as BCB’s highly successful
and dynamic multi-term President, Foster announced his
intention not to seek what would have certainly been his
shoo-in unopposed reelection at the BCB’s December
2023 AGM. Citing the need to put his personal health and
family’s welfare first, Foster has passed on the Presidential
reigns to Dr. Cecil Beharry who was elected as his
replacement. Well served former President Foster!