THE GLEANER, MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | SPORTS B3 ST JOHN’S, ANTIGUA (CMC): MARQUEE SEAMER Kemar Roach said on Saturday that the surprise omission of icons Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad had given West Indies an important boost ahead of their upcoming three-Test series against England, but warned that the tourists still carried a massive threat. Anderson and Broad, the most decorated seamers in England history with 1,177 Test wickets between them, were both snubbed for the March 8-28 tour as England selectors revamped the squad following the recent Ashes disaster. While Roach said their absence would leave“a hole” in the England attack, he underscored the danger still posed by the fast-bowling trio of Ollie Robinson, MarkWood and Chris Woakes. “[Their omission was] quite surprising. I thought, definitely, both of them would be still involved, but the decisions have been made from that end,” Roach told a media conference on Saturday, ahead of tomorrow’s start of the opening Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium. “I think it’s a slight advantage for us. With those experienced players missing, it leaves a little bit of a hole for England to fill. “I think Robinson, Wood and Woakes are still fantastic bowlers – we take them seriously – but once we get our plans right, we should be good going into the series, getting a good start and then taking it further on.” Roach will spearhead a relatively inexperienced West Indies attack that also comprises fellow pacers Alzarri Joseph, Jason Holder and rookie Trinidadians Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip. Much of the responsibility will fall on Roach’s shoulders, the 33-year-old having already taken 231 wickets from 68 Tests to find himself eighth on the all-time list ofWest Indies wicket-takers in the longest format. He was outstanding on England’s last tour of the Caribbean three years ago, claiming 18 wickets at just under 14 apiece, to help West Indies storm to a shock 2-1 win in the three-Test series. UPCOMING BATTLE And Roach, who has taken 50 wickets in 13 Tests against England overall, said he was already champing at the bit for the upcoming battle. “Obviously, for me, England is our biggest series. We play the most Test matches against England, having three [in each series],” Roach explained. “At home, you go with that confidence factor into the series and you want to perform well, especially against England. For me, I’m always looking to go hard and obviously, put my best performance out against the Pommes.” He continued: “There have been good battles over the years, even before [I came along]. So it’s about continuing that tradition and obviously, keep playing good cricket against the English players and just keeping your name out there, and just being that person to win a series or be the defining player in the series to take West Indies over the line and win.” Roach enjoyed an outstanding campaign with English county Surrey last year, when he nabbed 22 wickets from five matches at an average of 20. While there, he rubbed shoulders with a few current members of the current England squad, like batsman Ollie Pope and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes. He said the stint had allowed him to gather important knowledge which could be used in the coming weeks. “I loved playing for Surrey. I enjoyed a really fantastic stint last year and it’s given me an idea of some of the guys play, with Pope obviously a very big contender when it comes to Surrey cricket and county cricket,” said Roach. “Foakes was a part of the team as well, so I’ve got some ideas of what they like and what they don’t like, and it will be a good little challenge coming up against those guys in an international series; so I’m looking forward to that challenge. “But I’ve had some fantastic memories at Surrey last season, so, hopefully, I can use some of those great memories in this series.” Livingston Scott/Gleaner Writer THE INTER-SECONDARY Schools Association (ISSA) basketball league tips off this afternoonwith games in all three conferences. However, some traditional contenders wi l l not be participating in the Southern Conference competition. Former winners Camperdown High and many-time champions Ardenne High are two of the schools that will not be entering the shortened tournament. According to Camperdown’s coach, Oneil Brown, some of his players are reluctant to take the vaccine. At Ardenne, coach Basil Brissett is not yet fully vaccinated and the school will not permit him to start his programme until he has received his second dose. “Camperdown wi l l not be entering the under-19 competition. A lot of kids on our team have not taken the vaccine, so we decided to await the start of the next competition, which starts in October,” Brown told The Gleaner. “We have seven senior players who decided not to take the vaccine, and we have seven who have taken the vaccine. So we will not enter, because we can’t force it on them. The parents will decide on that. We will only participate in what we are prepared for and that is the under-15 boys,” he added. VACCINE Brissett revealed that his school only notified him of its interest to participate at the last minute, and since that time he has only taken one dose of the vaccine. And with the school insisting he needs both doses to be allowed to start training, he was unable to organise his team in time for registration. “We will not be in it. We will not enter the under-19 because they didn’t contact me and tell me they were going to have a team in the competition. “Everybody is asking why Ardenne are not in the competition because, over the years, we have had a strong reputation. “But ISSA says coaches and teams must be fully vaccinated to play in the competition. I have taken the first dose, but my own programme is delayed until I am fully vaccinated. “I will get the second one and will indicate it to them, and then we can get started,” he said. COMPETITION Nevertheless, he expects to have a team for the under-15 competition, which starts in April. “I will have six to eight weeks to get them ready, so, hopefully, we can get an under-15 team,”he said. Meanwhile, St George’s College have been preparing for over three months and coach Clifford Brown expects good things from his charges, despite the preparations not being ideal. “Wewill be competitive.We have players who have come through the ranks and have a background on our programme. We have a confident bunch and they have been playing long together, so I feel good about going into the competition,” he said. In today’s Southern Conference games, St George’s play Excelsior at 2 p.m. and Wolmer’s Boys take on Old Harbour at 4 p.m. at G.C. Foster College. In the Central Conference, Christiana High play Decarteret High at noon, Belair High play Manchester High at 2 p.m., and Bellefield High oppose Denbigh High at 4 p.m. All matches will be played at Belair. In the Western Conference, Holland High play St James High at Holland, and Herbert Morrison High take on York Castle High at Cornwall College. Both matches start at 2 p.m. livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com Top schools missing as ISSA basketball tips off MOUNT MAUNGANUI, NEW ZEALAND (CMC): HAYLEY MATTHEWS says her hundred against New Zealand in Friday’s opening game of the ICC Women’s World Cup has provided her with a confidence booster for the coming matches. The 23-year-old struck a career-best 119 – her third One-Day International century – as the Caribbean side defeated the hosts by three runs in a sensation finish at Bay Oval. A late choice to open the innings following injury to RashadaWilliams, the right-hander said she overcame nerves before finding her stride. “[It has] definitely given me a lot of confidence, I guess, [to] go out there and bat my skills,”Matthews told reporters. “I was pretty edgy knowing that I had to open on such short notice, but yeah, I’m happy that I got the opportunity and was able to make the most of it. “I think just going forward into this tournament … I’ll be looking to try and do the same thing as much as I possibly can.” Matthews has batted at the top of the order before, but has settled in the middle order in recent months with the emergence of Williams. Ironically, though, her two previous ODI hundreds – against Pakistan last July and South Africa three years ago – also came while opening. STYLISH STROKEMAKER However, the stylish strokemaker said she was open to playing anywhere in the order, depending on team requirements. “Obviously, I’ve been shuffled around the order a little bit over the past maybe eight or nine months, but at the same time, I think my job is to do as best as I possibly can for the teamwherever they needme,”she noted. “I think when I got the call that I had to go up the order, it was just about me going out there and doing as best as I possibly could, and I got some [runs].” Matthews hardly put a foot wrong during her knock, facing 128 balls and counting 16 fours and a six. She cruised to her 50 off just 55 deliveries and reached triple figures off 118 deliveries. With West Indies in trouble at 39 for two in the sixth over, Matthews guided them to safety by anchoring a 66-run, third-wicket stand with captain Stafanie Taylor (30), a 60-run, fourth-wicket partnership with Shemaine Campbelle (20), before adding a further 55 for the fifth wicket with Chedean Nation (36). “I think, initially, going out there to open, I probably thought I’ll try to take it a bit steady – obviously, [I] haven’t opened the batting in a couple of months,” she said. “I think when we got out there and saw how good the wicket was playing, I was able to capitalise without trying too much, and I think that’s pretty much how I just played my whole innings – take it ball by ball, set small targets with my partner [and look] for partnerships. “That happened to work really well, and we were able to push pretty, pretty hard at the end.” West Indies finished on 259 for nine, and then restricted New Zealand to 256 all out, with Matthews returning to take two wickets with her off-spin. Hundred a confidence booster for tournament: Matthews Anderson, Broad out, but Roach wary of existing threats West Indies Women’s Hayley Matthews. CWI MEDIA HOLDER WOOD ROACH According to Camperdown’s coach, Oneil Brown, some of his players are reluctant to take the vaccine.
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