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Extraordinary scenes unfolded at Castle Avenue in Dublin as West Indies’ Matthew Forde smashed the fastest fifty in ODI history, equalling AB de Villiers as he got to the landmark in just 16 balls.

In the second ODI between West Indies and Ireland, Forde walked in with the side placed at 246/6 in 43.1 overs.

In one of the most extraordinary onslaughts in ODI history, the right-hander went 1 6 0 0 0 6 0 6 6 6 4 6 1 0 6 6 off his first 16 balls to notch up the joint-fastest fifty in the format’s history.

Fastest fifty in ODIs

16 balls – AB de Villiers vs WI, Johannesburg, 2016

16 balls – Matthew Forde vs IRE, Dublin, 2025

17 balls – Sanath Jayasuriya vs PAK, Singapore, 1996

17 balls – Kusal Perera vs PAK, Pallekele, 2015

17 balls – Martin Guptill vs SL, Christchurch, 2015

Incredibly enough, by the time Forde departed (46.5 overs), West Indies’ score read 314/7.

On the day, Forde took a liking to Joshua Little, who he thumped for four sixes in a single over (45th over). Overall, the 23-year-old hammered eight sixes as 56 of his 58 runs on the day came through boundaries.

Thanks to Forde’s onslaught, the Windies ended up with 352/8 in their 50 overs.

Earlier, a century from Keacy Carty (102) set the platform for Forde and others to launch and put Ireland’s bowling to the sword.

West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd said he was surprised by the decision to name Roston Chase as the new captain of the regional Test team.

Chase was named as the new skipper on May 16 as the replacement for Kraigg Brathwaite, who made the decision to step down from the position.

On May 20, speaking on the Mason and Guest Show in Barbados, Lloyd said that because Chase has not been a consistent member of the team over the years, he would have chosen someone else.

“He is in and out of the side,” Lloyd said.

“I thought the captain would have been a permanent member (of the side)…so it seems a bit odd.”

Lloyd had years of experience leading the regional team in the 1970s and 1980s, guiding the team in one of their most dominant periods. Chase was one of many players who were shortlisted. Jomel Warrican was named vice-captain.

The shortlisted players were John Campbell, Tevin Imlach, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, Chase and Warrican.

West Indies head coach Darren Sammy did not mince words following his team’s humbling 124-run defeat to Ireland in the opening One-Day International at Castle Avenue in Dublin on Wednesday.

In a frank post-match assessment, the former captain chided his players for their timid approach with both bat and ball, as he believes the performance lacked intent and conviction.

“I thought we were quite timid both with the ball and bat. Our body language, especially from my batters, didn’t look too confident. The opening bowlers for Ireland did challenge us with the new ball, but that’s nothing we’ve not experienced before. So I think we were a little bit timid. I need my men to work with some more confidence and understand that they are good enough to come out and impact the game and win,” Sammy said.

The match, which marked the West Indies’ return to ODI cricket after a five-month hiatus, quickly spiralled out of control. After winning the toss and choosing to bowl first on a green pitch, the visitors were unable to exploit early conditions. Ireland, who were led by Andy Balbirnie (112), Harry Tector (56), and captain Paul Stirling (54), capitalized as they posted a competitive 303-6.

While the pitch appeared to flatten out, Sammy believed the target was still chaseable. However, West Indies were reeling at 31-5 inside 10 overs.

In fact, only Roston Chase (55) and Matthew Forde (38) salvaged any respectability with a 98-run stand as the innings folded at 179 in 34.1 overs.

“I thought we took a long time to really adjust to the plans that we had, especially winning the toss and bowling first on a fairly green pitch. We didn’t maximise with the new ball. With that said, I thought their openers, the captain [Stirling] and the other opener [Balbirnie], batted quite well, but we didn’t put enough balls in the areas that we wanted to. But with that said, seeing how good the wicket played, we thought 300 was maybe a below-par total from the position they were in, and then they won the power play again against us again,” Sammy assessed.

“Cricket is about playing well on both sides; you’ve got to be able to start well. We didn’t start well on both sides of the innings. Losing five wickets in the power play, chasing 300, you’re always going to struggle, and apart from Roston and Matthew with the bat, there was not much to speak about,” he added.

Sammy, who has been pushing a more assertive and proactive brand of cricket since taking over the reins, was particularly irked by the passive approach at the crease.

“There are some things we speak about in terms of the brand that we want to play. I’m not looking to survive. I hate to see my batsmen in survival mode; we should always be looking to score. Surviving doesn’t mean just blocking it out,” Sammy reasoned.

“You have to find a way to rotate the strike, and that is something we’ve spoken about for the last decade or so. But yeah, it’s just the whole body language and the attitude towards absorbing pressure but finding the right time to put the pressure back on, and we didn’t do that today,” he noted.

The second ODI is set for Friday, with the final contest scheduled for Sunday.

(Sportsmax)

England fast bowler Jofra Archer will miss the upcoming three-match ODI series against the West Indies because of a right thumb injury, the team said Wednesday.

Archer “will be reassessed by the England medical team over the next fortnight to determine when he may return to action,” it said.

Luke Wood has replaced Archer in the squad.

The first match of the series is at Edgbaston on May 29.

Since bursting onto the international scene in 2019, Archer has struggled with elbow and back injuries.

However, as well as his commitments in the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals, Archer has featured in nine of England’s 11 white-ball matches since the turn of the year.

The Royals elected against recalling the star paceman for the closing stages of the IPL after dropping out of contention to qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament.

West Indies’ newly appointed Test captain Roston Chase has expressed heartfelt gratitude on being entrusted with one of the most storied roles in cricket.

Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, Chase said he was honoured to follow in the footsteps of Caribbean greats Frank Worrell, Garfield Sobers, Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards – captains who once shaped an era of dominance in world cricket.

Chase made it clear that he is ready to carry the weight of responsibility that comes with the position.

He acknowledged the immense legacy of the role and the emotional weight of wearing the maroon cap as a leader.

“Captaining the West Indies is a great job to have, and there is a legacy attached to it. Playing for the West Indies means everything to me, so I am ready for the responsibilities which come with the job,” he said.

The 33-year-old all-rounder with 49 Test matches under his belt recalled a pivotal moment in his youth – when his mother gave him a two-year deadline to prove he could make a career out of cricket.

“I was a student at the University of West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill at the time, and I would be taking a lot of leave to go and play like in the first-class competition. I was not cemented in the Barbados team at that stage. So my mother encouraged me, but gave me an ultimatum that I will be given two years to make myself a permanent fixture in the Barbados team or I will have to go to school permanently,” Chase said.

He further said his passion for cricket ultimately won out over academics, and that parental challenge became a powerful motivator.

“I loved cricket more than school. I was always a good student, but cricket was my love. I worked hard, and I’m glad that she gave me that ultimatum because that really was the driving force for me to carry my cricket to the next level,” he explained.

Chase also credited his father’s unwavering support as a cornerstone of his development as a cricketer.

His father’s presence at matches and post-game feedback helped shape his approach to the sport.

“He would come and watch all my games, and talk to me about the game, [like] where I need to improve or I need to work on – the dos and don’ts,” he concluded.

Although he has not played a Test match since March 2023, Chase was chosen as captain following what Cricket West Indies described as a detailed assessment process.

It is pertinent to mention that West Indies are scheduled to play just 13 Test matches during the 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

In addition to these, they also have a non-WTC Test lined up against Afghanistan in 2027.

Chase’s first challenge as Test captain will be a three-match home series against Australia, starting on June 25 in Bridgetown.

In a landmark move in the history of CPL, experienced allrounder Jason Holder will leave his home franchise Barbados Royals after 13 years, to join St Kitts & Nevis Patriots (STKNP) for the upcoming season.

As part of the trades and transfers before the CPL draft next month, STKNP also acquired middle-order batter Alick Athanaze while trading middle-order basher Sherfane Rutherford to Royals.

Holder had been with Royals since the inaugural CPL season in 2013. That period included lifting the trophy twice, in 2014 and 2019, the latter under Holder’s captaincy.

He played 104 matches for Royals to take 97 wickets that included two four-fors, and also scored 1169 in 85 innings at a strike rate of 129.60.

Rutherford, currently playing IPL 2025 for Gujarat Titans (GT), will be turning out for his third CPL franchise, having represented STKNP for the last four seasons and Guyana Amazon Warriors from 2018 to 2020.

West Indies star all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford had withdrawn from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2024) due to personal reasons while he was playing for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. This was one of the biggest controversies of the ongoing tournament which upset the fans of the team, especially after seeing the performance of the 2021 CPL champions.

The next three seasons after becoming champions have been disappointing for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots where they had failed to make the playoffs in 2022. While they finished at the bottom of the table in 2023 and 2024. The 2024 season saw them winning only one game out of the nine matches they played and the withdrawal from one of their big stars in Rutherford did not make it any easier.

In the same regard, Sherfane Rutherford recently opened up on the team dynamics of the Patriots. Moreover, he also shed light on the reason for his being released from the team. Furthermore, the star all rounder about the problems he faced with the owner of the franchise.

“It’s important that you respect the player because at the end of the day, it’s my job and this is what I want to do. So I don’t think I purposely want to not perform, The owner didn’t play any cricket. So obviously if you never play the sport, you would not understand the top days, the good days and the bad days – they are always there in cricket. So it’s just emotions. I think he just got off of emotions. As adults, we need to control that because, at the end of the day, our decision can take us farther. So I think it was him wrongdoing,” Rutherford said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Athanaze has also turned out only for Royals so far, in 2023 and 2024. He made his international debut in 2023 before his CPL debut, and played 19 matches in all for Royals.

He scored 344 runs in those outings, averaging 22.93 and striking at 106.83 with just one half-century.

STKNP had finished last in 2024 with just one win from 10 games, while Royals had progressed to the playoffs and lost qualifier 2 to runners-up Amazon Warriors.

CPL 2025 will be played from August 14 to September 21 with no clashes with West Indies’ international assignments. St Lucia Kings are the defending champions this time.

Roston Chase has been appointed West Indies’ new Test captain. The allrounder’s first Test as captain will be his 50th; his 49th, against South Africa in Johannesburg, came more than two years ago. West Indies have played 13 Tests since then.

Chase has previously led West Indies in one ODI and one T20I. His first assignment in the longest format will be the three-Test home series against Australia, which begins on his home ground in Bridgetown on June 25. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican will be Chase’s vice-captain.

The series will be the first of the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle for both teams.

CWI said that Chase had been appointed from a shortlist of six after a “detailed assessment process that included psychometric testing to evaluate leadership style, behaviour, and overall suitability for the role”. The other candidates interviewed were John Campbell, Tevin Imlach, Joshua Da Silva, Justin Greaves, and Warrican.

Shai Hope, West Indies captain in the white-ball formats, asked not to be considered in order to focus on his existing leadership roles.

“This selection process is one of the most comprehensive and forward-thinking we have undertaken,” CWI president, Kishore Shallow, said. “I am deeply impressed by the professionalism, objectivity, and strategic thinking that shaped the final decision. It sets a new benchmark for leadership appointments in West Indies cricket.”

West Indies head coach, Daren Sammy, said: “I fully endorse this appointment. Our new captain has earned the respect of his peers, understands the responsibility that comes with the role, and has shown the leadership qualities we need to take this team forward. I urge fans across the region to rally behind him–we’re building something special.”

The 33-year-old Chase takes over from Kraigg Brathwaite, who resigned in March after 39 matches in charge of the Test team. West Indies won 10 of those Tests, lost 22 and drew seven.

At the time of Brathwaite’s resignation, CWI had handed Hope – already West Indies’ ODI captain – the T20I reins, but had held back on naming a new Test captain, announcing that they would do so “in the coming weeks”.

Brathwaite’s tenure was notable for a young West Indies team beginning to find ways of winning in different conditions with a growing pool of fast and spin bowlers. Notable performances included a 1-0 home series win over England in 2022, the Gabba Test win of January 2024, and a 1-1 draw in Pakistan in Brathwaite’s last series in charge, in January 2025.

Chase has scored 2265 runs at an average of 26.33, with five hundreds, and taken 85 wickets with his offspin at 46.00. One of his first tasks as captain will be to repair his batting numbers, which have fallen steadily following a promising start. He made a century in just his second Test, to help save the Jamaica Test against India in 2016, and scored two more over his first 10 Tests, across which he averaged 48.53. Since then, however, his numbers have declined significantly.

CWI announced Chase’s appointment via X, formerly Twitter, and said it had been “unanimously approved by the CWI Board of Directors” during a meeting on Friday.

Barbadian cricket journalist and broadcaster Andrew Mason is reporting that Roston Chase, the experienced Barbadian middle-order batsman and all-rounder, is poised to be named the new Test captain of the West Indies cricket team.

According to Mason, following interviews with several candidates including Kevin Sinclair, Joshua Da Silva, John Campbell, Jamal Walker, and Justin Greaves, Chase has emerged as the choice of the selection panel. Mason revealed that the board of directors of Cricket West Indies (CWI) is scheduled to meet on May 16 to ratify the appointment, which is expected to be a formality. A press conference has been scheduled for Friday in Barbados, where the official announcement is expected to be made.

Chase, 33, made his Test debut in July 2016 against India at North Sound, Antigua. In just his second Test, he delivered a match-defining performance, scoring a century and claiming a maiden five-wicket haul, showcasing his all-round prowess against a strong Indian attack. That performance cemented his place in the side and remains one of the most memorable debut series for a West Indies cricketer in recent years.

Over the course of his career, Chase has featured in 49 Tests, scoring 2,265 runs at an average of 26.33, with five centuries to his name. His bowling contributions have also been significant, with standout performances such as his 8 for 60 against England in Barbados in January 2019, one of the best innings figures by a West Indian spinner in Test history.

He has also represented the West Indies in ODIs and T20Is, making his ODI debut in June 2017 against Afghanistan, and his T20I debut at the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Most recently, Chase was named in the squad for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

If confirmed, Chase will take over the reins of the Test team from Kraigg Brathwaite, ushering in a new era for West Indies cricket. His leadership will be closely watched as the team looks to regain its standing in the longest format of the game.

West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford and all-rounder Romario Shepherd will miss the upcoming tour of England and Ireland to remain at the Indian Premier League.

The IPL, the world’s richest T20 franchise league, restarts on Saturday but its’ postponement means the play-offs now begin on 29 May and clash with the Windies’ one-day and T20 tour of England.

England – with a richer national board – picked five IPL players in their one-day international squad but those players are expected to return.

“We acknowledge that players have their individual contractual arrangements which they would want to honour as it relates to their continued participation,” Cricket West Indies said.

“CWI fully supports those players who choose to remain in India to complete the tournament.”

Shepherd, who has played 37 ODIs and 53 T20s, will be replaced in the squad by left-arm seamer Jediah Blades.

He has played four matches for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, including a 14-ball 53 not out in his most recent innings.

Rutherford has played in nine matches for current IPL leaders Gujarat Titans this season.

The newly revised dates of the IPL 2025 season have put certain overseas players in a limbo as they will be asked to choose between club and country.

Due to the ongoing tension between India and Pakistan at the border, the cash-rich league was suspended for 1 week.

IPL action resumes on 17 May, but the schedule was pushed ahead by seven days, and subsequently, it will clash with international cricket.

As many as 8 South African players, 3 England players and two West Indies players could miss out on the IPL 2025 playoffs entirely.

According to the original schedule the IPL 2025 was set to conclude on 25 May, all major cricket boards had provided their NOCs to players based on those dates, but with IPL’s rejigged schedule, the playoffs will clash with international cricket and players are likely to return back to international duty.

CSA want players back on 26 May deadline

South Africa is due to face Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final from 11 June. To prepare for the summit clash, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has issued an ultimatum that all players must report back by 26 May.

8 South African players are plying their trade in IPL were named in the WTC final squad.

Proteas men’s coach Shukri Conrad stated, “The initial agreement with the IPL and the BCCI was with the final being on the (May) 25th, our players would return on the 26th, so that it allows them ample time before we fly out on the 30th. Nothing has changed from our perspective.”

3 England players, 2 West Indies stars in limbo

England and West Indies are set to play a three-match ODI series, which starts on May 29. Jos Buttler (GT), Jacob Bethell (RCB) and Will Jacks (MI) have been named in England’s 16-member squad, while Romario Shepherd (RCB) and Sherfane Rutherford (GT) were named in the West Indies ODI team.

While the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will expect its trio of players to priorities national duty over IPL commitments.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) may allow Rutherford and Shepherd to stay back in India until their franchises’ season gets over.