West Indies defeated South Africa by 30 runs in 2nd T20I© AFP

West Indies will be without veteran all-rounders Jason Holder and Andre Russell for the three-match T20I series against South Africa at home, with a strong squad led by Rovman Powell for the series starting from August 24. After a 1-0 loss to South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship series, West Indies will aim to continue their good run in T20Is as they take on the Proteas. West Indies have won four of their last five bilateral T20I series and missed out on a place in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 at home after losing to South Africa.

“Facing a strong South Africa side is an excellent opportunity for our team to reset and refocus with our game plan,” Miles Bascombe, Director of Cricket at Cricket West Indies (CWI), said as quoted by ICC.

“We have played them recently and had mixed results, so this should be an exciting and important series. I am confident in the squad we have selected, and with eyes already on the next T20 World Cup in 2026, I know the guys will be keen to show their hunger for success.”

The squad is notably without senior all-rounders Andre Russell and Jason Holder. While Russell requested a period of rest and recovery, Holder has been rested following five back-to-back Tests against England and South Africa.

The squad is strengthened by the additions of Alick Athanaze, who shone in the Test series, and 22-year-old pacer Matthew Forde, who last played in the bilateral series against South Africa in May.

South Africa had earlier named their squad for the three-match series. The three T20Is will be played between August 24-28.

West Indies T20I squad: Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase (vc), Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, and Romario Shepherd.

Relieved to have qualified for the semifinals of the T20 World Cup, South Africa captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that the Proteas erred a bit in attempting to finish off the chase against West Indies too soon, leading to an unconvincing victory. South Africa did well to restrict the two-time champions to 135/8. In reply, the Proteas were 15/2 in two overs when rain disrupted proceedings for close to an hour. The South African batters saw the reduced revised target and improved batting conditions after rain as an opportunity to go hammer and tongs at the target of 123 but kept losing wickets as the hosts made things tight. But Makram and his men eventually got the work done.

“A lot of relief to get through to the semifinal. Not going to be brain-washed by that. We would have liked to be more convincing with bat in hand,” Markram said at the post match presentation.

“After the rain break, the wicket was playing nicely. We did not get the partnerships to then kill the game. Tried to kill it (the chase) too early, it put us in a tricky position. (The win) is massive for us and fantastic for the change room.” Markram hopes the nervy win will be a learning lesson for his side.

“We bowled really well, assessed conditions and kept them to a sub-par total. We could have build a partnership after the break and then take it from there, we will take that learning and hopefully not do that same mistake again.” With the wicket aiding spinners, Markram opted to to bowl wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (3/27), Keshav Maharaj (1/24) and himself (1/28), while using pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen for two overs each.

“We picked Shamsi to have a mystery spinner against them and immediately saw it spinning, so we wanted to bowl as much spin as we can. If it wouldn’t spun that much then we would have used our pacers, not a lot of times when KG bowls only 2 overs.

“We have been doing really well, the bowling unit is firing and as a batting unit it is about when to take the game on. We need to be smart on those situations.”

Our ranking improvement is commendable: Rovman

Their hopes of winning an unprecedented third title were dashed but West Indies skipper Rovman Powell remained extremely proud of the progress the ‘Men in Maroon’ have made in the past year.

Having missed out on qualifying for the ODI World Cup last year, West Indies cricket seemed to have reached an all time low but under Powell’s captaincy, they have enjoyed a resurgence and climbed to the third spot in ICC T20 rankings.

“When you look on a large scale, we have not won the World Cup or in the semi-final, but if you look at the cricket we have played in the last 15 months, to go from No.9 to No.3 in the rankings, it is commendable.

“There is a lot of buzz in the Caribbean around West Indian cricket, and now is where the work starts. Continue to work together as a group and make the Caribbean people proud. When we hear the anthem, as players, we feel something and that is heading in the right direction.” After putting up a below-par target the West Indies bowlers put up an impressive display to take the match to the last over.

“Credit has to be given to the boys, they fought till the very end. As a batting group, this is a performance you’d want to forget. We did not bat well in the middle. It was not an easy wicket, especially to get started,” Powell said.

“In the middle overs, we lost wickets in clusters. That broke the back of our batting team. It was a commendable bowling effort. We said we wanted to give it our all. They (the team) believed even if it was only 135 (on the board),” Powell concluded.

Opener Shai Hope blasted an unbeaten 82 as West Indies came back roaring to crush the United States of America by nine wickets in the T20 World Cup Group 2 Super Eight match in Barbados. After bowling out the USA for a mere 128 in 19.5 overs, the West Indies batters went all guns blazing from the word go to knock off the target in 10.5 overs to make 130/1, recording a comfortable win. The win improved West Indies’ standing in the Group 2 points table. 

The Caribbean side, which had suffered an eight-wicket hammering from England on Wednesday, is now placed second with two points and a Net Run Rate of 1.814.

Johnson Charles fell for a 14-ball 15 with a couple of fours early on but the pair of Hope (82 not out) and Nicholas Pooran did the job for their side, smacking the USA bowlers all around the park here at the Kensington Oval.

Hope made a mincemeat of the USA bowling as the right-handed wicketkeeper-batter clattered eight sixes and four fours to make 82 not out from just 39 balls, with Pooran reaching 27 not out from 13 balls with three sixes and a four.

Hope remained at the forefront of WI’s chase as he forged a 67-run stand for the opening partnership with Charles and then added another 63 runs unbeaten for the second wicket with Pooran, which came off only 23 balls as the Caribbean side ruled the roost.

Earlier after the West Indies put USA in to bat first, Andre Russell (3.5-0-31-3) and Roston Chase (4-0-19-3) made life tough for the opposition batters.

After an early blow in the form of Steven Taylor (2) who was caught at point by chase of Russell, the pair of Andreis Gous and Nitish Kumar (20) forged a strong partnership to revive USA and take them ahead but they both fell after making their respective starts.

Nitish was trapped leg-before by West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie for 20 off 19 balls with two fours and Gous, who hit three fours and a six in his rapid 29 off 16 balls, was caught at deep midwicket by Hope off Alzarri Joseph in the eighth over and that was when USA’s decline began.

None of the following USA batters could trouble the West Indies as the tournament co-hosts kept chipping away with regular wickets, denying their opponents any momentum with the bat.

USA skipper Aaron Jones (11) was cleaned up by Chase who looked unplayable. Chase grabbed another wicket when he had the veteran Corey Anderson trapped leg-before for seven.

Harmeet Singh, who had provided fireworks with the bat for the USA against South Africa in the last match, fell for a first-ball duck when Chase had him caught by Charles to ensure West Indies remained on top of the proceedings. 

United States vs West Indies, T20 World Cup 2024 LIVE Updates© X (formerly Twitter)

Phil Salt slammed a belligerent unbeaten 87 as defending champions England began their T20 World Cup Super Eights campaign with a crushing eight-wicket win over the West Indies in St Lucia. Coming off a scorching display against Afghanistan, West Indies amassed a competitive 180 for four, but England waltzed to 181 for two in 17.3 overs in their Group 2 match. Salt led their charge with a bruising innings that came off 47 balls with seven fours and five sixes. The opener received copious help from Jonny Bairstow (48*).

But equal amount of credit should be given to the English bowlers too for producing as many as 51 dot balls with Jofra Archer (1/34) and Adil Rashid (1/21) accounting for 22 of them in their tidy spells.

Salt made full use of his reprieve by Nicholas Pooran on seven to cart the Windies bowlers around in the company of Bairstow as the Englishmen together milked 97 runs from 44 balls for the third wicket, while negotiating the hosts’ spin attack in the middle overs.

After a sedate start, England broke loose in the second over when skipper Jos Buttler struck two boundaries off Romario Sheperd to take 12 runs. Salt then came to his own, hammering an Andre Russell slower one for a six.

The duo continued their assault and Salt finished the power play smashing Alzarri Joseph for a four and a six to lift England to 58 for no loss in six overs, the best powerplay score by any team against the Caribbeans in this tournament.

Off-spinner Roston Chase finally gave the breakthrough when he noticed Buttler stepping forward and speared in a 108.9 kph delivery to catch the England skipper off guard.

The ball hit him hard and low on the front pad to be trapped leg before but it was a minor aberration as England pressed forward with determination towards a win.

Earlier, Windies got off to a splendid start as Brandon King and Johnson Charles opened with authority. The pair had the Windies flying at 40 for no loss in the fifth over, before they were hit with a cruel blow.

Attempting to drive Sam Curran down the ground, King (23; 13b) picked up what appeared to be a side strain and had to retire hurt.

The in-form Pooran joined Charles at the crease, lifting them to 54 in the power-play Pooran smoked Mark Wood for a leg-side six to start the eighth over, but England managed to tighten the screws after the drinks.

That was the final boundary before the mid-innings break.

Charles then ended a brief lull by smashing Rashid for a six.

But in the next over, England struck with Moeen Ali dismissing Charles (38; 34b), who holed out to Harry Brook at long-on.

Captain Rovman Powell took on off-spinner Ali with a maximum and went on to smash Liam Livingstone for three sixes in five balls in a 20-run over.

But Livingstone had the last laugh, picking up the crucial wicket of Powell (36 off 17) off his last delivery.

The English found some fight in the final five overs.

Archer found the edge of Pooran’s bat, as the heavy hitter removed for 36 off 32. Rutherford then dominated the strike in the last few overs to lift their total but that was not enough for them. 

West Indies vs Papua New GuineaT20 World Cup 2024 Live Score© X (Twitter)

West Indies (WI) will face off against Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Match 2 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024. This exciting match is scheduled to take place at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. The match will be played at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. Papua New Guinea are playing their first game of this season. In their last five games, Papua New Guinea have won three games and lost two. West Indies are also playing their first game of this season. In their last five games, West Indies have won four games and lost one.

WI vs PNG: Top Players to Watch Out For

1. Alei Nao (PNG)

Alei Nao is a right-arm medium pacer who has been in impressive form recently. In his last five matches, he has claimed eight wickets, showcasing his ability to make crucial breakthroughs for his team.

2. Charles Amini (PNG)

Charles Amini is a versatile all-rounder. The top-order, left-handed batter has scored 154 runs in his last five matches, demonstrating his batting prowess. His leg-break bowling has also been effective, taking six wickets in recent matches.

3. Assad Vala (PNG)

Assad Vala is another key all-rounder for PNG. Batting in the top order, the left-hander has accumulated 35 runs in his last five matches. His off-break bowling has also been valuable, with six wickets to his name in recent games.

4. Gudakesh Motie (WI)

Gudakesh Motie is a promising slow left-arm orthodox bowler for the West Indies. He has been in stellar form, taking 10 wickets in his last five matches, making him a crucial component of the WI bowling attack.

5. Nicholas Pooran (WI)

Nicholas Pooran is a dynamic top-order left-handed batter who also serves as the team’s wicketkeeper. Pooran has been exceptional with the bat, scoring 269 runs in his last five matches, making him a key player to watch.

6. Johnson Charles (WI)

Johnson Charles is a right-handed batter who occupies the top order for the West Indies. He has scored 141 runs in his last five matches, indicating his ability to provide solid starts and contribute significantly to the team’s total.

As both teams prepare for this crucial encounter, these players are expected to play pivotal roles in determining the outcome of the match. The West Indies will rely on their experience and home advantage, while Papua New Guinea will aim to make a mark with their emerging talent.

West Indies (WI) will take on Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Match 2 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, 2024. The match will be played at the Guyana National Stadium on Sunday. Papua New Guinea are playing their first game of this season. In their last five games, Papua New Guinea have won three games and lost two. West Indies are also playing their first game of this season. In their last five games, West Indies have won four games and lost one.

Pitch Report and Weather Conditions

The average first-innings score at this venue in the last 20 matches is 156 runs. The pitch at the Guyana National Stadium is a sporting one with decent assistance for both batters and bowlers.

Pace or Spin?

The venue is suited for both pacers and spinners alike.

Weather Report

The temperature will hover around 29 degree C and humidity is expected to be around 74%. Winds at a speed of 2.16 m/s are expected. Light rain is expected which may affect playing conditions.

Fantasy Top Captain and Vice-Captain Picks

Alei Nao (PNG)

Alei Nao is a bowler with an average of 91 fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 9.3 and can be a good safe pick for your Fantasy Team. He bowls right-arm medium and in the recently played five matches, he has taken eight wickets.

Charles Amini (PNG)

Charles Amini is an all-rounder with an average of 75 fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 8.6 and is a punt player for your Fantasy Team. He is a top-order, left-handed batter. In the recent five matches, he has scored 154 runs. He also bowls decently, bowling leg-break and in recent matches, he has taken five wickets.

Assad Vala (PNG)

Assad Vala is an all-rounder with an average of 69 fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 9.2 and can be a good safe pick for your Fantasy Team. He is a top-order, left-handed batter. In the recently played five matches, he has scored 35 runs. He is also a handy bowler, bowling off-break and in recent matches, he has taken six wickets.

Gudakesh Motie (WI)

Gudakesh Motie is a bowler with an average of 66 fantasy points in the last eight games, a fantasy rating of 7.4 and can be a good pick for your Fantasy Team. He bowls slow left-arm orthodox and in the recent five matches, he has taken 10 wickets.

Kabua Morea (PNG)

Kabua Morea is a good-to-have player for your Fantasy Team. He has an average of 62 fantasy points in the last 10 games and a fantasy rating of 8.6. He is a left-arm medium bowler and in the recently played five matches, Morea has taken nine wickets.

Nicholas Pooran (WI)

Nicholas Pooran can be a good pick for your Fantasy Team. He has an average of 60 fantasy points in the last 10 games and a fantasy rating of 8.3. He is a top-order, left-handed batter and also keeps wickets. In the recently played five matches, Pooran has scored 269 runs.

Hiri Hiri (PNG)

Hiri Hiri is a key inclusion to your Fantasy Team. He has an average of 59 fantasy points in the last 10 games and a fantasy rating of 7.6. He is a top-order, right-handed batter. In the recent five matches, he has scored 44 runs.

Johnson Charles (WI)

Johnson Charles is a batter with an average of 58 fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 8.8 and is a high-risk, high-returns player for your Fantasy Team. Charles is a top-order, right-handed batter. In the recently played five matches, he has scored 141 runs.

Sese Bau (PNG)

Sese Bau is an all-rounder with an average of 56 fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 8.8 and is a fairly consistent player in terms of fantasy points. He is a top-order, left-handed batter. In the recently played five matches, Bau has scored 83 runs. He also bowls decently, bowling off-break and in recent matches, he has taken three wickets.

Andre Russell (WI)

Andre Russell is a must-have pick for your Fantasy Team. Russell has an average of 54 fantasy points in the last 10 games and a fantasy rating of 8. He is a right-handed batter. In the last five matches, he has scored 24 runs. Russell is also a handy bowler, bowling right-arm fast and in recent matches, he has taken six wickets.

Fantasy Team

Wicket-Keepers: Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran

Batter: Rovman Powell and Hiri Hiri

All-Rounders: Assad Vala, Sese Bau and Andre Russell

Bowlers: Alei Nao, Kabua Morea, Gudakesh Motie and Obed McCoy

Captain: Andre Russell

Vice-Captain: Assad Vala

Two-time champions and co-hosts West Indies are grouped with New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. West Indies and New Zealand are the top-ranked teams in Group C, but will face strong resistance from Afghanistan, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea as they aim to make it through to the second round. West Indies will be aiming for a record third T20 World Cup title, and are in great form in the lead-up to the tournament. Uganda will make their debut on the global stage, and will look to pull off further miracles in their romantic journey.

West Indies:

A series victory against defending champions, England, towards the end of last year revealed how dangerous a full-strength West Indies side can be. Despite their lacklustre performance in the 2022 edition, the Rovman Powell-led side poses a major threat this time around.

They are well covered in all departments with several all-rounders and big-hitters, capable of swinging games. The surprise inclusion in their squad for the tournament was Shamar Joseph, uncapped in T20Is until featuring against South Africa recently, but a supreme talent in the making as he showed in Australia during the Test series at the start of the year.

West Indies also get a fairly easier start to the tournament with games against the lower-ranked teams in the group, PNG and Uganda. If they start well, the co-hosts will be favourites to top the group.

Squad:

Rovman Powell (c), Alzarri Joseph, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd

Fixtures:

Sun, 2 June 2024 – West Indies v Papua New Guinea, Guyana, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Sat, 8 June 2024 – West Indies v Uganda, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 12 June 2024 – West Indies v New Zealand, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – West Indies v Afghanistan, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM LOCAL

New Zealand:

New Zealand made very little change from the 2022 edition to this one with their squad selection. It highlights the consistency in selection on the one hand, and also how well-rounded the Blackcaps unit is.

The team is also well prepared for the event with 36 T20Is under their belt since the end of the last T20 World Cup, the most among full-member teams.

The depth of talent at their disposal was evident in the recent T20I series in Pakistan, where a second-string squad managed to level the series.

Kane Williamson, who will be playing his sixth T20 World Cup, will lead a strong side that has a wealth of experience alongside the exuberance of youth in the likes of Rachin Ravindra, who sizzled with the bat in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and the exciting Finn Allen.

Veterans Trent Boult and Tim Southee will lead the pace attack, which also has Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry. There are ample options in the spin department too with Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Michael Bracewell, and Ravindra.

New Zealand open their campaign against Afghanistan in Guyana and then take on co-hosts West Indies in Trinidad.

Squad:

Kane Williamson (c), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee. Travelling Reserve: Ben Sears

Fixtures:

Fri, 7 June 2024 – New Zealand v Afghanistan, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 12 June 2024 – New Zealand v West Indies, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 14 June 2024 – New Zealand v Uganda, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – New Zealand v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Afghanistan:

Afghanistan are ranked 10th in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings, but are more than capable of pulling off big wins.

They recorded series victories against UAE (twice), Pakistan and Ireland since the end of the last T20 World Cup and also reached the final of the Asian Games Men’s Cricket Competition, where they lost to India.

The squad is boosted by the return of Rashid Khan after the leg-spinner’s long injury layoff. He leads a versatile spin department that also has the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Nangyal Kharoti and veteran Mohammad Nabi.

Afghanistan begin their campaign against Uganda in Guyana on June 3.

Squad:

Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik. Reserves: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi

Fixtures:

Mon, 3 June 2024 – Afghanistan v Uganda, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 7 June 2024 – Afghanistan v New Zealand, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Thur, 13 June 2024 – Afghanistan v Papua New Guinea, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – Afghanistan v West Indies, St. Lucia, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Uganda:

Uganda secured a spot in the T20 World Cup by comfortably defeating Rwanda in their last match of the Africa region qualifier. With five wins in six games, Uganda was the standout team alongside Namibia in the Africa Qualifier as they sealed their berth in the mega event.

Uganda have a stellar record leading up to the tournament with 41 wins in their last 49 T20Is, a win percentage of 83.67 per cent.

Led by Brian Masaba, Uganda will feature in the tournament with plenty of experience in the squad. The 43-year-old Frank Nsubuga aside, the squad also features Alpesh Ramjani, who was one of the nominees for the 2023 ICC Men’s T20I cricketer of the Year.

Uganda play their first three games in Guyana and have the opportunity to spring a surprise from Group C.

Squad:

Brian Masaba (c), Simon Ssesazi, Roger Mukasa, Cosmas Kyewuta, Dinesh Nakrani, Fred Achelam, Kenneth Waiswa, Alpesh Ramjani, Frank Nsubuga, Henry Ssenyondo, Bilal Hassun, Robinson Obuya, Riazat Ali Shah, Juma Miyaji, Ronak Patel. Travelling Reserves: Innocent Mwebaze, Ronald Lutaaya

Fixtures:

Mon, 3 June 2024 – Uganda v Afghanistan, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Wed, 5 June 2024 – Uganda v Papua New Guinea, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Sat, 8 June 2024 – Uganda v West Indies, Guyana, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Fri, 14 June 2024 – Uganda v New Zealand, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Papua New Guinea:

Like Uganda, PNG come into the tournament with an impeccable record of 14 wins in their last 18 games. They are led by the enterprising Assad Vala, PNG are set to appear for the second time at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Papua New Guinea maintained an unbeaten record in the qualifiers, winning six consecutive matches.

With plenty of all-rounders in the squad, PNG have a versatile unit that can test the bigger teams in the group.

Papua New Guinea kicks off its campaign with a challenging opening match against the host nation, West Indies, on June 2. They then face Uganda on June 5, followed by matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand.

Squad:

Assadollah Vala (c), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, CJ Amini, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Vagi Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

Fixtures:

Sun, 2 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v West Indies, Guyana, 10:30 AM LOCAL

Wed, 5 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v Uganda, Guyana, 07:30 PM LOCAL

Thur, 13 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v Afghanistan, Trinidad, 08:30 PM LOCAL

Mon, 17 June 2024 – Papua New Guinea v New Zealand, Trinidad, 10:30 AM LOCAL