Guyana News

‘West Indies had to be ‘brave’ on pitch where ‘you are going to get out’ – Brathwaite proud of West Indies’ Test win in challenging conditions

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West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said that batters had to be brave and trust their plans to succeed on the difficult pitches in Multan, after they won the second of two Tests to level the series and also create a little bit of history. This 120-run victory was their first in Pakistan for 34 years.

Brathwaite led by example. After being part of a collapse that left West Indies 38 for 7 in the first innings, he chose a far more aggressive approach in the second.

In fact, he made his fastest fifty in Tests, consciously taking chances against the Pakistan spinners. This approach earned West Indies a lead of 254 and it proved plenty more than enough.

“Both Test matches the pitch was tough to bat on and we knew that so as I said I just wanted us to be brave, to do whatever plans we have, to go there and execute them as good as possible, because regardless of what there will be a ball with your with your name on it on this pitch,” Brathwaite told reporters after the second Test in Multan on Monday.

“I mean it was a difficult pitch to bat on so it was good to see the confidence we went about doing it and you know as I said very proud of this team.

“It was just for the batsmen to be brave you know. I mean as batsmen, as I said everyone’s going to have their plans. Be brave in whatever you want to do as batsmen,” Brathwaite said about West Indies’ strategy. “Bowling wise bring forward the batsmen as much as possible and there will be 20 balls that you will get 20 wickets because as I said the pitch is a difficult pitch so there’s no second guessing.

Brathwaite maintained that the pitch was “very, very difficult” but had no complaints about PCB preparing spinning tracks.

“I would say Pakistan could prepare the pitch how they want. What I’ll say is batsman will not be averaging high on these pitches. You would average 15-20 and obviously the spinners will do well. and as I said it’s a difficult Test pitch to score runs. You’re going to get out regardless, it’s just a matter of when. So you know as batters we had to come up with a plan of how we want to score and put runs on the board.”

Brathwaite also heaped praise on Jomel Warrican. The left-arm spinner finished the series with 19 wickets – the most by a visiting bowler in a two-Test series in Pakistan.

“Jomel was outstanding. To see how he went about his bowling and the pressure he built from from ball one, I mean it was amazing,” Brathwaite said.

Warrican also put in a crucial contribution with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 36 in the first innings, with his 68-run stand for the last wicket with Gudakesh Motie key in reviving West Indies from being 38 for 7 after they won the toss and chose to bat.

“With the bat you can’t count him out, I think he did a fantastic job with the bat as well. But bowling wise I know he’s worked hard over the years. He’s been in and out of the team but it’s good to see him get the chance and he grabbed it. very very proud of him uh he was outstanding.”

West Indies’ triumph in Multan came almost exactly a year after Gabba 2024, and Brathwaite said it showed their ability to adapt to different conditions.

“It’s a very important win for us it just shows that we can get it done in any conditions once we believe and always have a plan,” he said. “It’s right up there with some amazing Test wins because coming here, playing here in Pakistan, it’s never easy to win a test match you know so coming up with a win is fantastic.”

IPL 2025 Auction: Sherfane Rutherford Sold to GT for INR 2.6 Crore at Indian Premier

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Gujarat Titans (GT) have signed West Indies batter Sherfane Rutherford for Rs 2.60 crore while Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bagged Manish Pandey for Rs 75 lakh on the second day of the IPL 2025 Auction here at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah on Monday.

In the accelerated auction, the bid for Rutherford started at Rs 1.5 crore from GT while Mumbai Indians also chipped in to raise the price beyond Rs 2.5 crore. Gujarat had the final say in the room sealing the deal for Rs 2.6 crore.

Rutherford’s T20 stats

In 153 matches, Rutherford owns 2,471 runs at 23.09. He has 12 fifties under his belt. Notably, 106 of his T20 runs have come in the IPL from 10 games. With the ball, Rutherford owns nine wickets in T20 cricket.

Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders also made a wise move with the addition of experienced middle-order batter Manish Pandey in the squad. The defending champions bought the player at the base of Rs 75 lakh with no bidding to offer from other teams.

The other notable purchase in the accelerated auction was Tamil Nadu spinner M Siddharth, who was acquired by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 75 lakh. Sunrisers Hyderabad secured the services of Uttar Pradesh legspinner Zeeshan Ansari for Rs 40 lakh after an early interest from Delhi Capitals.

Lucknow Super Giants also bagged offspinner Digvesh Singh at his base price of Rs 30 lakh.

International stars Finn Allen, Dewald Brevis and Ben Duckett remained unsold while domestic players Jhathavedh Subramanyan, Prashant Solanki, Rajan Kumar, Sakib Hussain and Vidwath Kaverappa also didn’t get the buyer in the accelerated auction.

The ten IPL franchises have submitted a shortlist of 143 players for the accelerated round. Notably, James Anderson, the oldest player in the auction pool, was not included. Glenn Phillips and Kane Williamson were the other notable omissions.

Among Indian players, prominent names like Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur, Devdutt Padikkal and Ajinkya Rahane were absent from the accelerated round.

17-year-old Guyanese singer/songwriter to release first Reggae album – A Star on the Rise

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From pen to paper, layering lyrics over harmonies, 17-year-old Imeeka Divine is confident that she will be an artist that will leave a ‘star’ impression on Guyana.

The Jamaican-born, who moved to Guyana with her father at the tender age of 12 recently shared her journey of becoming a well-rounded artist with this week’s Buzz.

Further, with plans to release her very first album ‘‘Come on the Universe”, she hopes to capture the attention of many with her positive lyrics and unique voice.

“I was supposed to release it a while back but there was a bit of a setback so I’m still working on that and I will be releasing it very soon,” the teen said, adding: “When I do music, I try to sing what I can relate to, my Jamaican background… it wasn’t the best but I tried to sing music pertaining to how I grew up and what I want my life to be like. I want it to be better than how it was before.”

While her sound gravitates towards the eccentric Reggae genre, Divine says that she is versatile and sings a mixture of ‘cross-over music’.

“I do strictly positive music and there are a lot of people out there that love to hear clean music…not everyone likes, the vulgar music and negativity. So, I think I can inspire people with kindness and a lot of people love listening to my music. I think that is one of the things that is different about me.”

While the teen has previously released other projects, she hopes that the album will garner her much more traction on a larger stage.

“I want to go places. I want everyone to know my music, hear my music and get inspiration from what I sing,” the young girl said.

She admitted, however, that her journey was not without its challenges but she will continue to work towards bettering herself not only as an artist but also an individual.

She intends to further her studies in Business and advises young people like herself who wish to start a career in music, to believe in themselves.

“If you know you’re good enough if you think to yourself that you’re good enough, don’t doubt yourself. You need to push and get yourself out there regardless of what people say; it is always about what you want… nobody can tell you that you can’t do it,” she said.