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Legendary West Indian batsman Sir Vivian Richards is backing the regional side to go all the way and claim a third ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title at the upcoming tournament.

The Darren Sammy-coached and Rovman Powell-captained West Indies will square off against some of the world’s best teams at the June 1-29 showpiece, which will be jointly hosted in the Caribbean and United States. West Indies won the 2012 and 2016 editions of the tournament.

Richards gave the team a rousing vote of confidence as he spoke during the ongoing global trophy tour, which touched down in his homeland Antigua earlier this week.

“It’s really exciting to see that one of the biggest sporting events on the global calendar will be coming to the West Indies and the USA and we will have matches right here in Antigua. For me, and my fellow Antiguans this is a tremendous event and we as absolutely delighted to host the world on our shores,” Richards shared.

“As I look ahead to the matches, I’m backing my West Indies team to deliver on the big day. We have a very good team, and they look united under Rovman Powell, so I’m throwing my full support behind my team. It would be great to win this ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on our home soil. We won twice before … those were way (in Sri Lanka in 2012 and India in 2016), so a third title would be great, and where better, than at home in front of our great West Indian fans to celebrate,” he added.

Richards was joined by former Antigua and West Indies greats Sir Andy Roberts, Sir Richie Richardson, and Sir Curtly Ambrose as they posed for photos and videos at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

During the session, they also offered words of encouragement to several young cricketers who were specially selected to attend the event and were delighted to meet their heroes.

The trophy tour made several other stops at iconic locations – Shirley Heights, Nelson Dockyard; and Heritage Quay, and the Antigua Recreation Ground in St John’s. It was also hosted by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Minister of Sports Daryll Matthew.

ICC and CWI thanked the Government of Antigua and Barbuda for their tremendous support in hosting the trophy tour events and the upcoming tournament.

West Indies have been drawn alongside Afghanistan, New Zealand, Uganda and Papua New Guinea in the opening round. They bowl off their title hunt against PNG on June 2, at the Guyana National Stadium, followed by a clash with newcomers Uganda at the same venue on June 8. From there they travel to Trinidad to face New Zealand at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on June 12. Their final preliminary contest will be against the Afghans on June 17 at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia.

West Indies T20I captain Rovman Powell has been trying to persuade Sunil Narine to unretire from international cricket to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

All-rounder Narine smashed his first T20 century on Tuesday and took two wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders as they went down to Rajasthan Royals.

The 35-year-old announced his international retirement in 2023, four years after he last played a T20 for the West Indies.

But with the World Cup in June hosted by the West Indies, together with the United States, Powell hopes his countryman will have a change of heart.

Now, against the Rajasthan Royals on April 16, Narine struck his maiden IPL century to propel Kolkata Knight Riders to 223-6.

After the match, he left a vague indication of a change in stance: “It is what it is, but let’s see what the future holds.”

Narine called time on his international career in 2023, four years after playing his last game, against India. He was an integral part of the West Indies team that won their maiden T20 World Cup in 2012. From 51 T20Is, he has picked up 52 wickets at 21.25 and 6.01 with a career-best of 4-12.

After the match, Powell revealed that he had been constantly trying to convince Narine to take a U-turn on his international retirement: “For the last 12 months, I’ve been whispering in his ears, but he’s blocked out everyone. I’ve asked [Kieron] Pollard, [Dwayne] Bravo, [Nicholas] Pooran. Hopefully, before they select the team, they can crack his code.”

Powell contributed with 26 off 13 in a nail-biting run-chase. He took on Narine in the 17th over, smashing him for four and two consecutive sixes, but Narine had his revenge by trapping his national captain leg-before

The match was eventually concluded on the last ball with Jos Buttler (107 not out off 60) pulling off the joint-highest successful chase in IPL history virtually on his own.

At 35, Narine is plying his trade as a T20 globetrotter and has been performing exceedingly well for KKR in IPL 2024. In addition to his economical bowling this year, he been extremely successful as an opening batter. So far this season, he has amassed 276 runs at 46 and 188 and picked up seven wickets from six matches.

Jos Buttler finally broke his IPL jinx with a match-winning unbeaten century against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, in Jaipur. Since winning the Orange Cap in 2022, Buttler has been in poor form in the Indian Premier League and it looked like it was stretching into this season too.

But Buttler silenced his critics in style, smacking 100* off 58 balls, packed with nine fours and four sixes, as RR reached 189/4 in 19.1 overs, in their run chase of 184.

The match boiled down to the final over with RR needing one run to win and Buttler needed six to get to his century. In stepped Cameron Green for RCB and he sent a short of length delivery, on the stumps. Buttler pulled it over deep midwicket boundary for a match-winning six.

At the beginning of the over, Buttler had a chat with Shimton Hetmyer, with a smile on his face. As soon as the ball went for a six, Hetmyer’s celebration caught everyone’s attention as he continuously jumped up and down.

4⃣ wins in 4⃣ matches for the @rajasthanroyals 🩷

And with that victory, the move to the 🔝 of the Points Table 😎💪

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/IqTifedScU#TATAIPL | #RRvRCB pic.twitter.com/cwrUr2vmJN

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2024

Speaking after the match, the England star revealed that the West Indies international told him to smack the ball over the deep midwicket boundary for a six.

“I think Hety’s celebration was better than the shot. He actually told me, go across your stumps and hit it over there. You have got to hit a six,” he said.

Speaking in regard to his poor form prior to this game, he said, “I am feeling good. Sometimes in cricket, you can get around your head too much.”

He also thanked RR fans for their continuous support. “Played for Rajasthan for a long time, lots of support and it is great that everyone is wishing you to do well and really happy to contribute to the team and keep the good start we have had to this season,” he said.

The first innings initially saw Virat Kohli smack an unbeaten knock of 113 runs off 72 deliveries, including 12 fours and four sixes as RCB posted 183/3 in 20 overs. For RR’s bowling department, Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets. Kohli’s knock saw him consolidate his spot on top of the Orange Cap race. Meanwhile, Chahal’s two wickets saw him climb to pole position in the Purple Cap race.

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya admitted Romario Shepherd’s 32 runs in the final over of the innings made all the difference as the five-time champions finally got their first points in IPL 2024 with a 29-run win over Delhi Capitals on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium.

Chasing a mammoth 235 runs for victory, Delhi Capitals managed just 205/8 in 20 overs, despite Tristan Stubbs’ 24-ball 71 not out. With this win, Mumbai Indians also became the first team to register 150 victories in T20s.

Playing at home, Mumbai Indians were 202/5 after 19 overs with Shepherd scoring just seven off four balls at that time. The West Indian unleashed his beast mode as his hit Anrich Nortje for four sixes and two fours to take the score to 234/5 at the end of 20 overs.

“That was some hitting from Romario, he won us the game. The difference was his innings. I like him, he always has a smile of his face, doesn’t run away, very proud of the way he played, proud of the team,” an elated Pandya said after the game. It was also his first win as Mumbai Indians captain.

Having started the season with three losses in as many games, pressure was on Pandya, who replaced Rohit Sharma as captain at the start of the season. Too add more to that, Pandya was also a victim of constant backlash from the fans, as the crowd booed the Indian all-rounder in all the games.

The 30-year-old stated despite three losses, there was belief in the team to bounce back.

“I would like to have this feeling (of being winning captain) more often than not. Lot of hard work, hard to clear our minds, and everything clicked. We will be making some tactical changes here and there but more often than not this will be our XII. Settling of the team is important.

“There was a lot of love and care going around, everyone knows we lost three games but the belief and backing was there, everyone believes we needed just one win and today was the start. I mean amazing, to start with 77 after six is always wonderful. The way everyone was batting, we needed rhythm to bat, the way everyone is chipping in with the opportunity coming in was fantastic,” he added.

Asked why he didn’t bowl against Delhi Capitals, Pandya said he will be bowling at the right time. “All good, will be bowling at the right time. Had it covered, so didn’t need to roll my arm over,” he added.

Left-handed batter Nicholas Pooran stole the show on Tuesday night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium with a jaw-dropping six that tied him for the longest hit of the IPL 2024 season so far.

Facing Reece Topley in the penultimate over of Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Pooran unleashed a monstrous shot that sailed a staggering 106 meters before landing on the roof of the stadium.

In the 15th match of the Indian Premier League 2024 between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants Faf du Plessis, the captain of the RCB, had earlier won the toss and chosen to field first.

Topley was substituted for Alzarri Joseph by RCB, and Yash Thakur was selected by LSG to replace Mohsin Khan, who was experiencing a back spasm.

Nicholas Pooran scored a superb Knock off 21 deliveries he scored 41 runs with five sixes and a four Pooran’s hat-trick of sixes against Reece Topley in the penultimate over was the highlight of his innings.

The third six, which Pooran hammered and lofted over the deep mid-wicket boundary, was the biggest of his innings. The ball was struck with such force that it went 106 metres and touched the stadium ceiling.

Here’s the video:

106m monstrous six! 🤯

Nicholas Pooran smashes one out of the park 💥

💯 sixes in #TATAIPL for the @LucknowIPL batter 💪

Head to @JioCinema and @StarSportsIndia to watch the match LIVE #RCBvLSG pic.twitter.com/7X0Yg4VbTn

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 2, 2024

Debutant Mayank Yadav was unstoppable against Punjab Kings in IPL 2024. His raw pace made him an instant hit among the fans, and the way the young gun took three wickets caught the attention of legendary cricketers. LSG’s stand-in captain, Nicholas Pooran, praised Yadav.

Pooran was asked about the possibility of seeing Shamar Joseph and Mayank bowling together for the franchise in the 17th season.

Playing at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, Mayank clocked the fastest ball at 155.8 kmph. He was compared with the likes of Umran Malik, who became a household name because of his raw pace.

Shamar Joseph had earlier won the Test match for West Indies against Australia. His pace made him difficult to handle. The Aussies lost wickets whenever Shamar bowled.

“Mayank doesn’t bowl slow in the nets. I have faced him once in the practice session. Kyle Mayers was telling me that Yadav is quick. I am happy that management gave him his debut, and I am sure he will be the talk of the town for the next couple of weeks,” Nicholas Pooran said on Jio Cinema after the match.

Pooran said that fans should not slam him if he has bad days in the upcoming games.

“Shamar Joseph and Mayank Yadav can play together for LSG. I depends on KL Rahul and members of the coaching staff. We are a young bowling group. Mayank will learn a lot from the first game. In smaller venues, there will be times when a lot of edges will happen and world clas batters will hit him for runs. We need to stay together and encourage the fast bowlers. We need to love them instead of slamming if things don’t go as per plans in the future matches,” Pooran added.

West Indies Fast bowler Shamar Joseph has overcome hardships to make it big in international cricket. Shamar, who picked a seven-fer in West Indies’ famous Test win over Australia recently, not long ago was logging woods in the Baracara village of Guyana and also spent half a day working as a security guard to serve his family’s needs.

Shamar, who will ply trade for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in IPL 2024 after being named Mark Wood’s replacement, wants to remain fit enough to play all three formats for the Windies as well as compete in T20 leagues across the world.

“Look I haven’t made up my mind (if preference given),” the pace sensation told news agency PTI.

The hero of West Indies’ recent Test win in Australia , who played through pain with a broken toe, feels that in the next few years, it his fitness that will determine the workload he can take.

“I will like to play around the world to enhance my skills but if there are other opportunities (T20 Leagues), I will make myself available,” Joseph said, adding, “and I have confidence in my fitness and that won’t be a problem for me.”

“Definitely my fitness will be important since I have a long career ahead of mine, I would definitely like to play all three formats for the West Indies whenever I am available. I will definitely make that time for them,” said the youngster.

He has played only two T20 matches for Guyana Amazon Warriors in his short and eventful career so far but IPL will give him an opportunity to learn the tricks of the trade.

“It is a transformation from red ball to white ball cricket. There will be other (technical) changes and I get to learn from every opportunity that I get. I enjoyed playing Tests and now I will look to improve my white ball game.

“I am talking to all the experienced players, who are seniors and have played a certain amount of IPL, learning from them and enjoying being in the moment,” said the soft-spoken fast bowler.

His senior Kemar Roach, who has played a few seasons of IPL previously, did give him an idea of what to expect in January but back then, he had gone unsold.

But after the Australia series, even legends like Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose have said good things about him.

“Definitely, Kemar and I had a lot of conversations about IPL when we were in Australia. Ambrose, after the (Australia) Tests, also gave me some good advice.

“Courtney Walsh, there have been words of encouragement from all these greats which will help me going forward,” he added.

Having seen extreme poverty in Baracara to enjoying the financial windfall that comes with the IPL, Joseph has indeed come a long way.

“Life has been great so far. There has been all sorts of kind comments. It is my performance that brought me here. Happy to be here.”

However, he remains a country boy at heart. “I am always aware where I came from. I still remain a country boy and nothing changes for me. Yes, I will go with the flow but being a superstar doesn’t change anything for me and it has been the same life,” Joseph said.

Joseph is happy to have Justin Langer around, someone who has taken keen interest in his exploits since the tour of Australia.

“It is always great to be among legends and players who inspire you like KL (Rahul), our skipper and Justin Langer our head coach, he is an amazing person. He has talked to me and advised me from the Australian series.

“He would encourage me to keep doing better, talking to him is an amazing experience and he is so humble and cool person,” he was all praise for Langer’s communication skills.

His first Test wicket came off the very first delivery of his international career and it was none other than Steve Smith. So is he looking forward to snaring Virat Kohli with his first IPL delivery?

“Definitely, I would want that opportunity to come, getting a wicket with my first ball in IPL would be a dream. It doesn’t matter who I bowl to, as long as I get an opportunity to make an appearance. “Whether it’s Virat, Rohit or MSD doesn’t matter whom I bowl first but I want to come good in this IPL,” he concluded.

West Indies batting legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been added to line-up for the reschedule Legends Cricket Festival at Breds Sports Park in St Elizabeth.

The event which will now take place on Easter Monday April 1 will see the former West Indies captain Chanderpaul in action alongside another former West Indies and Guyana Superstar Carl Hooper.

The second staging of the legends cricket festival will have a number of new features with a number of local stars on show.

The match of the day will feature the big clash between the Carl Hooper Eleven and the Shivnarine Chanderpaul eleven.

It was a case of big signings in the men’s Hundred draft as the eight teams finessed preparations for the fourth edition of the competition.

Overseas incomings were dominated by a West Indies contingent led by opening pick Nicholas Pooran at Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers and Andre Russell joining London Spirit.

Kieron Pollard will play for Southern Brave and Rovman Powell is set for his first men’s Hundred stint with 2022 winners Trent Rockets.

The 125,000 bracket was completed by Birmingham Phoenix signing Pakistan quick Naseem Shah and Welsh Fire adding Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had been released by Rockets during the off-season.

London Spirit secured the services of two West Indian powerhouses, with Andre Russell and Shimron Hetmyer joining their ranks. Known for their ability to smash boundaries with ease, Russell and Hetmyer are expected to bring an exciting brand of cricket to the Spirit camp, captivating fans with their explosive stroke play.

Meanwhile, Southern Brave strengthened their batting lineup by acquiring the services of Kieron Pollard, adding the experienced all-rounder’s firepower to their arsenal. Pollard’s ability to turn the game on its head with his big-hitting prowess makes him a valuable asset for the Brave as they aim for glory in The Hundred.

Rovman Powell emerged as a top pick for Trent Rockets, further solidifying the West Indian presence in the tournament.

Powell’s aggressive batting style and knack for scoring quick runs make him a perfect fit for the Rockets’ lineup, providing the team with a dynamic middle-order batsman capable of changing the course of a game single-handedly.

While the draft brought joy to these five West Indian stars, there was disappointment for mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who went undrafted.

Despite his absence from the draft, Narine remains a formidable force in the world of cricket, with his unique bowling skills and all-round abilities.