Cricket West Indies
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and allrounder Jason Holder have achieved career-best rankings in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after helping the West Indies to a series-deciding 17-run victory in the fifth Betway T20 International against England at Kensington Oval , last Sunday.
In the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which considers performances in the last three matches of the series, Hosein moved up 15 places to 18th position after a haul of 4-30 that helped him finish with six wickets in three matches.
Holder was the star performer with the unique feat of grabbing four wickets in four balls in front his home crowd. He finished with figures of 5-27 – the best in a T20I at the historic venue. This took his tally to nine wickets in those three matches, as he advanced three places to 23rd with a massive gain of 20 rating points. Overall, he took 15 wickets in the five matches, a new record for the most in a bilateral series, and was named the Player-of-the-Series.
Left-arm pacer Sheldon Cottrell (up 10 places to 31st) is another West Indies bowler to move up in Wednesday’s update while and England spinner Moeen Ali (up three places to 32nd) and Liam Livingston (up 33 places to 68th) have also advanced.
In the ranking for batters, Nicholas Pooran is up eight places to 18th after scoring 113 runs in the three matches including a knock of 70, while opener Brandon King (up 25 places to 58th) and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard (up 15 places to 60th) have also advanced. King made a stylish 52 not out in the first match as West Indies won easily, while Pollard had a crucial 41 not out off 25 balls in the final match.
Rovman Powell made the most of his return to the team with a brilliant 107 in the third match – making him the third West Indian to record a century in this format. He followed up with 35 not out off 17 balls in the last game.
Speaking at the end of the enthralling series, West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said the improvement shown was extremely pleasing.
“After the last couple of months that we’ve had, it’s really pleasing that we’ve won a series. Improvement for me is actually more important than winning the series because you’ve got to focus on getting to the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and doing a lot better than we did in the last one.”
He added:
“The crowds coming back to the stadium is very important, The players were a lot freer this time around. The bubble was still there but a lot more relaxed and you could see the players responding to it so credit to the medical staff of the Cricket West Indies. Akeal Hosein was really brilliant for us when the chips were down along with Fabian Allen. They turned the tide, put England under pressure, continued to get wickets and that’s all we can ask, that people put their hands up when they need to and lead and fight and battle.”
Speaking exclusively with CWI Media, Vice Captain Nicholas Pooran shared:
“This definitely means a lot to me, because I put a lot of work into my craft. I work day in and day out, so moving up the rankings is important. The ultimate goal is to be the best. I do pay attention to it (the rankings) because it a good way to track your growth.”
Left-arm spinner, Akeal Hosein who’s now ranked in the Top 20 T20 bowlers in the world, said:
“It’s not something I pay close attention to. However, when I play or train, it’s always about aiming to become the best. It’s about having that mindset of wanting to improve and wanting to be at the top, so definitely it is an aspiration of mine to be the number one bowler in the world someday. Therefore, this move means a lot to me. It shown that my hard work is paying off and that I will be rewarded if I perform well. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
The West Indies players will have more opportunities to improve on their rankings when they face India in the upcoming three-match series. The team arrived on Tuesday and matches will be on February 16, 18 and 20 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Full Match Schedule
- February 6: 1st ODI at Ahmedabad
- February 9: 2nd ODI at Ahmedabad
- February 11: 3rd ODI at Ahmedabad
- February 16: 1st T20I at Kolkata
- February 18: 2nd T20I at Kolkata
- February 20: 3rd T20I at Kolkata
