Prior to the weekend’s round of IPL auctions, the headlines as far as the West Indies were concerned had been expected to surround Chris Gayle who was ultimately retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore at a price of $550,000 USD. However, as the cricketing world digests the final figures from around the franchises, one man is dominating the media stories. Sunil Narine’s base price going into the auction was a modest $50,000 USD but having multiplied that several times over, Kolkata Knight Riders eventually secured the services of the right arm spinner for a staggering $700,000 USD. This is an impressive figure indeed but for a significant proportion of the cricketing world who failed to watch last year’s Champions League, the question today is ‘Sunil who?’ It’s certainly a great deal of money for a 23 year old who broke into the national ODI side last November, but those who have monitored his progress will say that it’s perfectly justified.

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wriiten by MAIL Saturday February 4th, 2012 westindiesforum.com Whilst at Middlesex, Dessy Haynes played a benefit match for either Norman Cowans or Neil Williams, both having played for England and of West Indian heritage. The fact that I cannot remember whose benefit it was is somewhat opportune to point out that Cowans was the first black player to have represented England and from Jamaican stock whilst Williams of Vincentian background had a long career with Middlesex but sadly died in 2006. Williams was an athletic seamer whilst Cowards was more of a power house a bit like Daniels. I digress, so back to the benefit match. It was a lovely sunny day and as I strolled around the boundary in the pleasant sunshine, lager in one hand, I spotted Dessy sitting in only a way a West Indian could with body wide open almost sitting on his back horizontally. The art of casual epitomised. I took the opportunity to say hello and mention to him that I had travelled to see his debut match against the Australians at the Queens Park Oval in 1978. I intimated he had joined the player returning from Packer and Simpson was the ‘manager’ of that touring Australian team. He quickly interjected that Simpson was the Captain and perhaps a combination of the sun getting to me, a lapse in memory and a few too many lagers lead to a little gentlemanly debate. Of course Dessy was correct, Simpson was the Captain on that tour, as the Australians who took part in Packer were omitted and Simpson lead a very good young team. Names that come automatically to me now are Peter Toohey, Gary Cosier, Graham Yallop, Bruce Yardley, Higgs and it was the only time I ever saw Jeff Thompson live. I saw Toohey having a net and I did not recall ever having seen a ball being hit so beautifully. So as I strolled away from Dessy feeling slightly embarrassed my thoughts went back to that day in March 1986. Trinidad and Tobago had two Test and the first always seemed to be played there and typically Trinidad always seems to conjure up rain and overcast conditions on the first day, the conditions more akin to England than the West Indies. The 3rd of March was no exception and as the Australians batted, the start was delayed and there were interruptions during the day but the Windians pummelled the Aussies bowling them out for a paltry 90. Dessy started his debut innings like a man possessed and was almost, if not, 50 by the close of play. He batted with such authority, hitting beautiful shots bringing the home crowd to their feet with absolute delight. He went on to score 61 which was the first in a string of three consecutive 50s. The rest for Dessy is now history but he did spot me after the match and with a little chuckle and acknowledgement we went our separate ways. A fine batsman and a great West Indian. westindiesforum.com

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BY Krishna Persaud Saturday february 4th 2012 www.westindiesforum.com New York, New york- Guyana Cricket Board (GCB)secretary , Anand Sanasie, has said that removing the Third Test between West Indies versus Australia from Guyana to Dominica is a huge loss for the for the country and for the Guyana cricket board. Sanasie stated during a brief interview on Thursday in which he said a number of businesses to include taxi drivers, hotels, restaurants and vendors will be devastated by the WICB’s decision to withdraw the match from Guyana, which is slated for April 23 to 27, to Windsor Park in Dominica. “The long term, it is that we may not be able to bid and host and reliably do so because there would be a lot questions as to if the games can stay here so the Guyana Cricket Board itself may not be putting in any bids to have games there in the short-term. Sanasie, , added that the GCB had managed to obtain a court order, dictating that their offices, which had been padlocked by Guyana’s Sports Ministry over the Board’s refusal to hand over the relevant documents connected with the business of the GCB, be re-opened. The order, he said, stated a deadline of 3 pm on Thursday for the locks to be removed. He also stated , we were able to secure a court order ordering the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to remove the padlocks on our offices within 24 hours which commenced yesterday (Tuesday) at 3 pm. So by 3 pm today (Wednesday) if it is not removed, we have an order from the courts to remove the locks. So that is the present situation. We will take it day by day as it goes,” Sanasie said. The Test Series will open with five ODI’s starting in St Vincent on March 16 and continue with the start of the first of two T20 matches on March 27 in St Lucia. The first of three Test matches will start on April 11 in Barbados. westindiesforum.com

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has condemned the government intervention in Guyana's cricket last month, which led to the installation of an interim committee, headed by Clive Lloyd. In its first board meeting for 2012 in Dubai, which took place on Monday and Tuesday, the ICC spoke out against the sport ministry's move to replace the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) with the Interim Management Committee (IMC). The ICC statement read: "The ICC Board reiterates the principle of non-interference in the sport by governments and (was) concerned to learn of the developments in Guyana, where the government has dissolved the Guyana Cricket Board and replaced it with an Interim Management Committee." The ICC also condemned "this government interference in the strongest possible terms. The ICC Board reaffirmed the principle of non-interference and that the only legitimate cricketing authority is that recognised by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB)." The matter has been a hotbed of controversy so far, with Guyana's Caribbean T20 and four-day tournament campaigns nearly derailed. The West Indies Cricket Board has refused to recognise the IMC, and only last-ditch negotiations allowed a Guyanese team to participate in the recent T20 competition. In fact, last week the IMC and GCB announced separate 30-man squads for the upcoming four-day competition. Guyana will participate in the competition, though, but the WICB has rescinded their home matches. On Monday West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president and CEO Dinanath Ramnarine, in response to the WICB's stance on the matter, reasoned that there are instances in other major cricketing territories where governments are strengthening laws to deal with corruption in sports. He pointed out that both the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are government controlled. The ICC, however, has set a two-year mandate for cricketing bodies to remove themselves from political control. He also pointed out that there is precedence for the ICC's acceptance of an interim committee, as was the case in Sri Lanka, when they supported a government-appointed committee because of controversy surrounding the then Board. source:Trinidadexpress.com

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Zimbabwe face their heaviest Test defeat, after 37.5 overs of catastrophic batting on day three in Napier. The visitors surrendered 13 wickets for a cumulative total of 63 to a gleeful New Zealand attack defending 495 for 7 - BJ Watling's maiden Test century and the hosts' declaration was a distant memory after a session and a half of dismissal-riddled disarray. In their second innings at 12 for three, Zimbabwe still trail New Zealand by 423 runs.

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