West Indies Cricket News

LEEDS, England (AP) _ England will field an unfamiliar bowling attack in the second Test against the West Indies starting Friday at Headingley, with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and fast bowler Matthew Hoggard out injured. Flintoff, who also missed the opening Test at Lord's that ended in a draw on Monday, failed a fitness test on his ankle on Wednesday. Hoggard is sidelined with a groin strain, forcing England selectors to call up fast bowlers James Anderson and ...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AP) _ The world gets its last chance to see Brian Lara play international cricket on Saturday when the West Indies plays England in a World Cup Super 8s match that has been given unexpected significance. In World Cup terms the game is pointless. Neither team can reach the semifinals. But Lara's surprise announcement on Thursday that he is retiring from all cricket after the match may bring ...

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) _ Desperation has given way to crisis for Brian Lara and his West Indies World Cup squad. A 113-run loss to Sri Lanka on Sunday followed heavy defeats to defending champion Australia and New Zealand, and left the West Indies needing to win its last three matches _ and rely on other results. ``We are in a crisis situation, pertaining to cricket,'' Lara said. ``We're in a ...

Imran Farhat hit a half century Sunday and led Pakistan to an easy seven-wicket victory over a reckless West Indies side in the third one-day international. Farhat hit two sixes and five fours in his knock of 58 off 72 balls as Pakistan made 192 for three wickets in 33.4 overs. Pakistan's target was recalculated to 191 off 35 overs under the Duckworth/Lewis formula after an hour's play was lost due to malfunctioning floodlights at Gaddafi Stadium, ...

Rookie left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman grabbed two wickets for 22 runs Thursday as Pakistan bowled out the West Indies for 151 in the second limited-overs international. Runako Morton top scored with a battling 43 off 66 balls, but the rest of the West Indies' top order failed to raise a strong total in the first-ever day-night game at the Iqbal Stadium. Morton hit four boundaries and featured in the best ...

Brian Lara's West Indies team enters Thursday's limited-overs international against Pakistan refreshed from some much-needed rest after playing virtually nonstop international cricket for the past three months. ``It's good that the guys spent most of the time in their rooms, but we've been on the road for pretty good time and now we have to focus on the four remaining games,'' Lara said of his team's five-day break Wednesday on ...

Mohammad Hafeez hit a patient unbeaten half-century Wednesday as Pakistan moved toward setting up a challenging target for the West Indies in their third and final cricket Test. Opening batsman Hafeez dug in for nearly four hours on a slow, low and bouncy wicket to remain unbeaten on 57 off 135 balls with Pakistan progressing to 130-2 in its second innings for an overall lead of 174 at stumps on ...

Opening batsman Daren Ganga made an unbeaten half-century Tuesday after Pakistan paceman Umar Gul rattled the West Indies with three top-order wickets in 10 balls on the second day of the third and final cricket Test. Ganga's resolute 77 over five hours with nine fours took the West Indies to 191-6 at stumps on a slow and low bouncy National Stadium wicket in reply to Pakistan's first innings score of ...

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf hit a record eighth Test century in a calendar year before the West Indies fought back hard Monday on the first day of the third and final Test. Yousuf smashed 15 elegant fours in his four-hour innings of 102 runs, but the West Indies claimed four wickets in the last session to restrict Pakistan to 257-7 at stumps on a low bouncy National Stadium wicket. Kamran ...

West Indies captain Brian Lara has two tough jobs on his aging shoulders at a venue where Pakistan has lost just one Test match in 38 games. Lara not only has to stop prolific Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf from having a shot at his countryman Sir Vivian Richards' 30-year-old world record of most Test runs in a calendar year, but he has to win the Test to level the three-match series. ``Mohammad Yousuf is of course challenging ...

West Indies cricket coach Bennett King says his team has to raise its fielding standards in the final Test in a bid to level the series against Pakistan. Brian Lara's men came close to squaring the series in the second Test at Multan on Thursday, before prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf made a splendid 191 to draw the match and helped Pakistan keep its 1-0 lead intact in the rubber. Pakistan won the first Test by nine wickets ...

Prolific batsman Mohammad Yousuf smashed a record-equalling century Thursday as Pakistan forced a draw in the second cricket Test against a resurgent West Indies. Yousuf (191) missed the opportunity to score a double century on the final day when the match was called off with Pakistan progressing in its second innings at 461-7 for an overall lead of 227 runs. Brian Lara smashed a double century Wednesday to lead the ...

Imran Farhat smashed an unbeaten half-century Wednesday to lead a confident Pakistan recovery after Brian Lara posted his ninth double-century to give the West Indies an imposing lead on the fourth day of the second cricket Test. Imran Farhat (70 not out), Mohammad Yousuf (56 not out) and Younis Khan (56) led the rally fightback with fluent innings as Pakistan finished the day on a healthy 213-2 in its second ...

Star batsman Brian Lara entered the record book Tuesday, smashing a century before lunch as the West Indies built a strong lead against Pakistan in the second cricket Test. Lara's unbeaten 196 off 230 balls led West Indies to a commanding 509-5 at stumps on the third day and overshadowed teammate Dwayne Bravo's brilliant 89. The West Indies led by 152 runs after fast bowler Jerome Taylor's five-wicket haul had ...

Pakistan whipped the West Indies by nine wickets Tuesday despite Brian Lara smashing his 33rd century in Test cricket on the fourth day of the first Test. Lara made a fluent 122 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul braved dehydration to score a fighting 81 before the West Indies crumbled to 291 for an overall lead of just 12 runs. Pakistan _ which scored 485 in reply to the West Indies first-innings score ...

Mohammad Yousuf just missed a double century Monday to spur Pakistan into a commanding lead against the West Indies on Day 3 of the first cricket Test. Yousuf's 192 off 330 balls lifted Pakistan to 485 in its first innings, giving the hosts a 279-run lead, after the West Indies scored just 206. The West Indies was reeling at 74-3 when bad light _ for the third consecutive day _ ...

Skipper Brian Lara predicts big things for his West Indies team as it enters Sunday's Champions Trophy final against Australia looking to become the first team to successfully defend the tournament title. ``I think we have exciting times ahead, especially in one-dayers,'' Lara said of the West Indies, seeking to revive its reputation of past decades when the Caribbean outfit was the team to beat in limited-overs internationals The West ...

West Indies captain Brian Lara is likely to recover from a back injury in time to lead the defending champion in its important ICC Champions Trophy match against India on Thursday. ``Brian is still having his back worked up, but we are expecting him to be fine for the match,'' West Indies coach Bennett King said Monday. Lara strained his back scoring 71 in a 137-run stand with Runako Morton ...

Jerome Taylor has achieved something that Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall or the other West Indies great fast bowlers never did. It wasn't that he helped the Caribbean team to a win over top-ranked Australia, but the unique way he did it. Taylor's hat trick stopped World Cup holder Australia's victory charge on Wednesday night as West Indies rallied to win a tight Champions Trophy encounter by 10 runs. Taylor cannot ...

Seam bowler Farveez Maharoof claimed a career-best haul of six for 14 Saturday and spurred Sri Lanka to a nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in the final ICC Champions Trophy limited-overs cricket qualifier. Maharoof ripped through the middle order as the West Indies was bundled out for 80 in 30.4 overs before Sri Lanka took just 13.2 overs post a winning total of 83 and take the top spot in the four-nation qualifying competition with three ...

Two massive victories in qualifying for the ICC Champions Trophy has boosted the confidence of West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara ahead of the main round of the biennial limited-overs tournament. A victory Saturday against fellow qualifier Sri Lanka will put the West Indies in Group B of the main round, which includes Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand. A loss will see the defending champion take on world champion Australia, England and India in Group A. ``It's a ...

Opening batsman Chris Gayle hit a powerful unbeaten century Wednesday to lead the West Indies to a 10-wicket win over Bangladesh and a berth in the main round of the ICC Champions Trophy cricket tournament. Gayle smashed three sixes with one landing on the roof of the stand to score 104 off 118 balls as the West Indies made 164 without losing a wicket in 36.4 overs after dismissing Bangladesh ...

Brian Lara and his West Indies teammates have their hearts set on defending the Champions Trophy and, for now, their minds set on qualifying. ``Complacency is way out of our mind and it's important to set the standards,'' Lara said ahead of Wednesday's qualification match against Bangladesh. Defending champion West Indies thumped Zimbabwe by nine wickets in its first qualifier at Ahmedabad last Sunday, requiring less than 15 overs to ...

Opener Chris Gayle struck a brisk 41 after claiming three wickets for three runs Sunday as the West Indies coasted to a nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in a limited-overs qualifier for the ICC Champions Trophy. Spurred by Gayle's stroke-filled knock, the West Indies raced to 90 for one in 14.2 overs after bundling Zimbabwe out for a paltry 85 in 30.1 overs. This was the eighth time Zimbabwe has been dismissed for less than 100 in one-dayers, but ...