All posts by h716a5.icu

Imrul Kayes smashed 50 off 21 balls to propel Bangladesh A to a six-wicket win over Sagicor High Performance Centre in the first T20 at Kensington Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2014
ScorecardAndre Russell rescued the Sagicor HPC innings in the company of Andre Fletcher•WICBImrul Kayes smashed 50 off 21 balls to propel Bangladesh A to a six-wicket win over Sagicor High Performance Centre in the first T20 at Kensington Oval. Chasing 152 to win, Kayes got Bangladesh off to a rollicking start, and they had reached 71 in only the sixth over when he was stumped off offspinner Ashley Nurse, having struck five fours and four sixes by then. Shuvagata Hom, who made 27 off 24 balls, and Sabbir Rahman, who scored an unbeaten 34-ball 41, built on Kayes’ platform to guide Bangladesh A to the target with 20 balls remaining.Sent in to bat, Sagicor lost five wickets inside the first 10 overs, and were barely going along at a run a ball, before opener Andre Fletcher got together with Andre Russell to put on 75 for the sixth wicket in 44 balls. Russell scored 48 off 26 balls, with five fours and two sixes, while Fletcher made 57 off 43, with seven fours. Fast bowler Shafiul Islam was Bangladesh A’s most successful bowler, with figures of 3 for 22 in his four overs.

Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, has said the team’s confidence has not been hampered despite consecutive losses to India A to open their tour

Renaldo Matadeen06-Oct-2014Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies wicketkeeper, has said the team’s confidence has not been hampered despite consecutive losses to India A to open their tour. Despite a century from Ramdin, West Indians lost the second tour match by 16 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. Even so, he said, the team was optimistic ahead of Wednesday’s ODI series opener against India with reinforcements such as ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell due following the end of the Champions League T20.”We are right where we want to be,” Ramdin said. “Bravo, Smith and Russell still have to slot in. That will give [Kieron] Pollard and [Darren] Sammy more finishing power at the end. Today, we kept losing wickets consistently. But we can take some confidence going into the next game.”It was a very good pitch for batting [today]. With the amount of seamers we have, they came and hit the lengths and the balls carried through quite nicely. They hit a couple of edges and I did what I had to do behind – cleaning up and I got five catches. We could have bowled better with the new ball.”Ramdin starred with an industrious 102, but was unhappy he hadn’t stayed at the crease long enough to finish the chase of 283. “It was a good day in terms of my glove-work and then batting and getting a good score,” he said. “But I wasn’t happy in terms of batting right down to the end and finishing off the game for the team.”Ramdin also praised Jason Holder and Sammy for their fifties but said the top order needed to support the middle order better. For the second match in a row, both openers fell cheaply. India A’s top order, on the other hand, sparkled once again, with Unmukt Chand scoring a century and Karun Nair a brisk 64 at No. 3.”It’s very important that our batters put runs on the board,” Ramdin said. “We have to get early wickets and put their middle and lower order under pressure.”Ramdin said the seamers would play a crucial role as the tour progressed, singling out Jerome Taylor as a potential trump card. He added that with Sunil Narine out, “guys would have to pull their weight more and come up with the goods.”

With the Three Lions into the last four for the first time in 28 years, Goal compares Gareth Southgate's cubs to Bobby Robson's star-studded side

Getty Images1GK: Shilton vs Pickford

Peter Shilton is an England legend, one of the finest goalkeepers the country has ever produced. However, by Italia '90, he was 40 and no longer at his brilliant best, as underlined by his poor performances in the semi-final loss to West Germany and the third-place play-off with Italy.

By contrast, Jordan Pickford is a young goalkeeper on the rise.

The 24-year-old was considered a potential weak link in the current squad but has instead become one of England's World Cup heroes, after his crucial penalty save from Colombia's Carlos Bacca and man of the match-winning performance against Sweden. 

If we were evaluating their overall ability or respective careers, Shilton would be the obvious choice. But, given this is about their respective form at the World Cups in question…

Winner: Pickford

AdvertisementGetty Images2RWB: Parker vs Trippier

One of the hardest choices on the team.

Paul Parker was a fantastically reliable defender and excelled after being moved to right wing-back following England's World Cup opener against Republic of Ireland. 

However, Kieran Trippier has been a revelation in Russia, proving not only defensively sound but also a real asset going forward.

Indeed, no other defender has created more chances (13) than the Tottenham ace, whose dead-ball deliveries have played a pivotal role in the Three Lions' success.

Winner: Trippier

Getty Images3RCB: Des Walker vs Kyle Walker

The battle of the Walkers!

Des was an excellent defender, whose brain was as quick as his feet. An excellent man-marker (Nottingham Forest fans used to sing, "You'll never beat Des Walker!"), he was immaculate in almost each and every game at the 1990 World Cup.

After proving an excellent addition to Manchester City's title-winning squad last season, namesake Kyle has had a fine tournament in Russia, underlining his versatility and excellent footballing skills by switching seamlessly from right-back to centre-half to facilitate Southgate's use of a three-man defence.

However, Des gets the nod because this was his natural position.

Winner: Des Walker

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images4CB: Wright vs Stones

Mark Wright didn't play a minute of England's qualifying campaign for the 1990 World Cup yet he proved a key man in Italy, after Bobby Robson's crucial decision to switch to a three-man backline after an uninspired performance against Ireland in their tournament opener.

A tall, elegant defender with a wide range of passing, Wright revelled in the sweeper role and it was also his goal, against Egypt, that saw the Three Lions progress as group winners. 

John Stones is another classy ball-playing defender whose propensity for lapses in concentration has not been seen at all during an almost flawless campaign in Russia that has also featured two goals, against Panama.

However, when it comes to overall influence, there's only one possible victor…

Winner: Wright

Sri Lanka will fly out of Dublin on Friday with the first series of their tour duly sewn-up, after the second ODI against Ireland was abandoned without a ball being bowled

Ger Siggins in Dublin08-May-2014Sri Lanka will fly out of Dublin on Friday with the first series of their tour duly sewn-up. The RSA One-Day Challenge may not be the most prestigious of the trophies they have collected this year but Marvan Atapattu, the interim coach, will be glad to leave Ireland unscathed after the second game in the series was abandoned without a ball being bowled.The skies that have brooded over the Irish capital for days drenched the ground overnight, and a damp patch on the pitch delayed the start. More rain fell throughout the morning and, although lunch was taken early, the prospects remained bleak. A thoroughly wet square and outfield forced the umpires to call things off at 2.15pm, the second time in three games the sides have been forced off without bowling a delivery.Sri Lanka resume action at Chelmsford on Tuesday, ahead of T20, ODI and Test commitments against England, while Ireland’s next game will come as part of a 50-over series at the end of July against a Sri Lanka A team that is sure to feature some of the younger members in action this week.”It’s disappointing that we didn’t get any cricket in, but you’re never in control of the weather,” Ireland’s captain, William Porterfield, said. “The umpires made the call when it was wet around the square even before the covers came off for the second time. It is just ironic that the sun has come out just after the game gets called off.”With no more ODIs scheduled until three against Scotland in September, when the county players will be unlikely to play, the summer season is pretty much over for Ireland before it began. “This is the last time we’re together as a squad for a few months”, Porterfield said, “so obviously we’ve got to look after our own individual games and meet up again in September, October. We’re looking to get down to Australia and New Zealand over the winter at some point to help our preparations for the World Cup.”

The 2014 USACA National Championships, already hit by Indianapolis’ decision to terminate its agreement to host the tournament, also faces problems of sponsorship and negligible online ticket sales

Peter Della Penna31-May-2014The 2014 USACA National Championships, already hit by the loss of a venue, faces problems of sponsorship and negligible online ticket sales. The tournament has also drawn flak for the $6 million cost of constructing the World Sport Park, the venue for the tournament, in Indianapolis.No tickets had been sold on the tournament website, , since its launch in February, according to a source involved in the staging of the event. The website was taken down on Friday after the city of Indianapolis terminated its three-year agreement to host the USACA National Championships from 2014-2016.”We have sold no tickets of real consequence,” the source told ESPNcricinfo. “This was not unexpected though as they are general admission and can be purchased at the gate.”Tickets were being offered at prices of $10 per day for adults for the originally scheduled four-day event while a tournament pass cost $32. Tickets for children were priced at $5 a day or $15 for a tournament pass.The tournament couldn’t draw any sponsorship, despite several discussions with potential sponsors, and the city’s termination letter had indicated difficulty in this area due to lack of cooperation from USACA. The website had stated that the event was expected to draw more than 5,000 visitors and varying sponsorship opportunities were listed, starting at $2,500 and going all the way up to title sponsorship of $25,000. The title sponsorship included a “special ‘cricket chat’ event with president of the United States Cricket Association and players of the event”.Local politician Zach Adamson, City-County Councilor At Large for Marion County, said the lack of interest in the event and its eventual cancellation was inevitable. He also said the plan to use $6 million to build the World Sports Park facility was a poor use of municipal funds.”Anybody with Google had serious suspicions that this tournament would probably not occur,” Adamson told ESPNcricinfo. “I think the administration has done a good job of diverting attention away from the reality that they planned to spend $6 million of our sorely needed road dollars on this cricket park. I don’t have anything against cricket or any other sport they would play at this field, but it was a risky gamble on the best of days and not one that I think was a responsible investment of taxpayer funds.”Adamson said that city officials had justified the money spent on the park by saying it would bring revenue to the city after an agreement was struck in September 2013 to host the tournament from 2014 to 2016. However, according to Adamson, USACA’s past troubles in staging events – some were either postponed or cancelled – should have raised a red flag.”I don’t have a lot of understanding about the inner workings of the cricket community but the only thing I have an understanding of is what I read of a Google search of the organisation after the announcement that we had a contract,” Adamson said. “And it was the justification for the investment that the city was spending on this park because ‘Look, we already we have a contract for tournaments that will bring in revenue and international eyes on the city of Indianapolis.'”When we started to do a little background research, we found numerous questions that had arisen from not really seeing the organisation producing the kind of tournaments they said they would do with a number of other cities. There were early suspicions that just because we have a contract with them doesn’t mean that we’ll fare any better than other cities that may have also had contracts with them that would never see those tournaments.”According to news reports, the construction of an irrigation system at the park damaged the water wells of houses adjacent to the ground and the city had to pay more than $50,000 in property damages to some of the constituents.Several public relations goodwill gestures – such as Mayor Greg Ballard’s trip to Hyderabad, India to promote the city’s ties with cricket and a formal invitation to Prince William and Kate Middleton to attend the National Championships – also did not work. According to Adamson, there was never enough support to justify the project going forward from a local point of view.”A mayor really does need to be a visionary to bank on investments that may have a return that puts the city in a place where we can get a leg up on other cities across the country,” he said. “In that respect I think the mayor is right to do those things, but those were all gambles. When you’re gambling on something, you need to make sure you have good odds that you’ll be successful at that gamble. With the cricket association, especially the organisation that he paired up with, the odds were not very good that this was going to be a successful venture. What I found on the internet and what everybody was finding was there were questionable dealings with this organisation from the get go. It was not a very good bet.”

The injuries to two major Sri Lankan bowlers will help Bangladesh as they look to bounce back after a massive defeat in Mirpur

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando and Mohammad Isam03-Feb-2014Match factsTuesday, February 4, 2014
Start time 0930 local (0330 GMT)Dilruwan Perera has a chance to strengthen his claim to a permanent Test spot•AFPBig PictureHaving received their fourth-worst clobbering in Mirpur, Bangladesh need to find their resolve to make the Chittagong Test more of a contest. Peppered by bouncers in the first Test, the Bangladesh batsmen appeared more interested in providing short-lived entertainment than working through the tough periods. The end result was the kind of performance that diminished the advances Bangladesh have made in Test cricket.Though the batting was their most conspicuous failure, Bangladesh will also want to eliminate the fielding mistakes that squandered key chances in Mirpur. Their bowling was not as toothless as Sri Lanka’s total of 730 for 6 suggests, but they too could do with a boost in spirit.Two injuries to major Sri Lanka players will make Bangladesh’s task easier in the second Test, however. Rangana Herath’s problematic knee has flared up and Shaminda Eranga has a thigh strain after a month of heavy work, ruling both out of the Test.*Perhaps in light of their workload over the past month (they played 18 Test-match days in January), Sri Lanka have had an unusually casual lead-in to the second Test. They trained at a low intensity on both days before the Test, perhaps also concerned that sore bodies could lead to more injury.Some players may also be beginning to experience tour fatigue. Sri Lanka were in the UAE since the first week of December, and had fewer than 48 hours at home before they left for Bangladesh. With the limited-overs matches and Asia Cup also on the horizon, there is no end in sight. Their challenge will be to stay motivated and in control of their cricket. There have been four series since 2010 where Sri Lanka have taken a 1-0 lead, then finished with a series-leveling loss, and while Bangladesh will have to improve substantially to push the visitors, Sri Lanka should be wary of allowing their effort to subside.Form guide (last five matches, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LDDWL
Sri Lanka: WLWDW
In the spotlightDilruwan Perera’s best contribution on debut had been his 95 from No. 8, but in Mirpur he showcased an appetite for wickets as well, as he extracted more turn than any other bowler. Sri Lanka require a reliable bowling allrounder to balance their side, and having tasted Test success, Perera will hope to sustain it. A bagful in Hearath’s absence will go some way to ensuring he is picked for the England tour in June.Tamim Iqbal made 6 and 11 in the first Test, and there is pressure on him to score in this game. He doesn’t have three cheap innings on the trot on too many occasions, and will be expected to make a bigger contribution.Pitch and conditionsThe pitch is a typical Chittagong wicket – slow and flat. There will be far less bounce on offer for the faster bowlers, and runs will be available readily. The outfield is a little hard because there was a water shortage for three weeks last month, which affected the ground area. The grass has re-grown but the sandy base has remained.Teams newsMarshall Ayub is ruled out with a wrist injury and has been replaced by Imrul Kayes. The other major news is the dropping of Robiul Islam, which means that Rubel Hossain, who averages 81.23 in 19 Tests, has been retained. These were confirmed when chief selector Faruque Ahmed announced the 12-man team, which means that either of Abdur Razzak or Mahmudullah will make the playing XI.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Shamsur Rahman, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mahmudullah/Abdur Razzak, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Al-Amin HossainNuwan Pradeep and Ajantha Mendis are the likeliest replacements for Eranga and Herath. Sri Lanka will almost certainly stay with the same side elsewhere.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 6 Angelo Mathews (capt), 7 Kithuruwan Vithanage, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Nuwan PradeepStats and trivia There have been five centuries at this ground by Bangladesh batsmen, two of which were scored in the last Test here in October. Kumar Sangakkara has passed 50 in his last five innings against BangladeshAngelo Mathews averages 99.60 in his last four TestsQuotes”Senior players like me, Tamim and Shakib have to take up the responsibilty to get the runs.”
“We’re not very worried if Eranga and Herath can’t play tomorrow. We have Nuwan Pradeep who took a lot of wickets in the one Test that he played, in Dubai, so we have some bench strength.”
* February 3 12.00pm GMT This story was updated after it was confirmed that Herath and Eranga will miss the Test

After a month of speculation regarding Pakistan’s participation in the Asia Cup due to political and diplomatic tensions, the team’s focus is back on cricket

Mohammad Isam24-Feb-2014The uncertainty over Pakistan’s participation in the Asia Cup resulted in an anxious period from mid-December to mid-January that ended when the ACC CEO Syed Ashraful Huq confirmed the side would play. When the team arrived in Dhaka, however, on February 22, there was hardly anyone talking about those three weeks, as the focus quickly shifted to Pakistan’s tournament opener against Sri Lanka in Fatullah.The PCB had never officially said the side wouldn’t travel to Bangladesh but given the political tension, particularly the diplomatic row between the two countries, there was always a sense that something might go wrong. So far since their arrival, though, Pakistan are happy with the security arrangements given to them by the BCB and, by extension, the government.The team manager Zakir Khan has said that the extra security has been assuring and they have felt comfortable so far. “It has been sorted out and we’ve been promised VIP security,” he said. “We’ve been here for a couple of days, and they have provided whatever we have asked for. We are quite happy.”Their commute between the team hotel and Shere Bangla National Stadium has been given a high-security cordon and even when they walked into the hotel after their first practice session, police lined up to clear the way inside the Hotel Sonargaon lobby.Despite how the sentiments in Bangladesh were after the Pakistan parliament and cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan condemned the death of a war criminal, there have so far been very few questions regarding politics or the diplomatic row during the team’s two interactions with the media.When asked whether he expects support in Bangladesh like the kind the previous Pakistan teams have enjoyed here, Misbah-ul-Haq was optimistic to the point that he said it was like playing in Lahore.”We always enjoy playing in Bangladesh,” Misbah said. “When we are supporting Bangladesh, people are supporting Bangladesh. But when we are playing against any other team, it looks like we are playing at home. It is very nice to be here, and play in the Shere Bangla National Stadium. We played the World Cup quarterfinal here in 2011. It was also a game where we felt we are in Lahore. It is good to be here.”Misbah’s optimism doesn’t quite match the current mood in the country, but cricket is too popular in Bangladesh for this to be made a stand-alone issue. There has been a lot of support for Pakistan’s cricket team in Bangladesh over the years and when they did crush West Indies in Mirpur, that local fan-following was evident.The other, more pertinent, task for Misbah will be to keep his relatively young side away from any further questions about these issues. The likes of Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Bilawal Bhatti and Mohammad Talha are on their first tour to Bangladesh and have not even played club cricket here, unlike a few Pakistan cricketers.However, they all made an impression against Sri Lanka recently. Maqsood was the most impressive, batting at a 40-plus average in the five-match ODI series back in December. Sharjeel made just one half-century, but Misbah reckons that the batsman can go places.Anwar Ali and Talha were impressive with the ball, and the latter is all set to make his ODI debut in this tournament. These two bowlers would be vital in the absence of Mohammad Irfan who sustained an injury during a domestic game.Fawad Alam makes a comeback at the expense of Asad Shafiq while Ahmed Shehzad will look to continue his purple patch. Accompanying these youngsters are experienced heads such as Misbah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan. This is possibly the most balanced side in the tournament, but with a less-experienced seam attack that will be led by the in-form Junaid.However, none of the other teams have had to deal with the sort of additional responsibility thrust upon Pakistan’s players, who will have to avoid all controversies regarding political and diplomatic tensions, and keep things as normal as possible.

A round-up of Saturday’s Group A games in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2013
ScorecardUAE’s bowlers restricted Namibia to a middling total, which their batsmen chased with an over to spare to record their second win of the competition. After winning the toss, UAE reduced to 81 for 9 before the last-wicket partnership propped up the score to 120. Opener Christi Viljoen top scored with 35, while JJ Smit made 23 at No. 9. No one between them reached double figures. Rohan Mustafa was the pick of UAE’s bowlers, taking 3 for 14 in four overs.Mohammad Azam led UAE’s chase with a half-century, making 51 off 56 balls. Though they lost wickets at regular intervals after a steady start, UAE had enough resources to fall back on. Their captain Khurram Khan contributed 23 to a victory that was sealed in 19 overs.
ScorecardIreland’s Alex Cusack held his nerve in the last over to hand Canada their second loss in the tournament. Cusack was defending 14 runs against two set batsmen and was hit for a six off the third delivery that brought down the equation to seven off three balls for Canada. But he gave away only four runs in the next three deliveries. Canada’s Ashish Bagai and Ruvindu Gunasekera both scored half-centuries and shared a 125-run partnership after they had lost two wickets off the first two balls of the innings, but ran out of steam. Ireland were put into bat and lost two early wicket, but Kevin O’Brien and Niall O’Brien resurrected the innings with a 58-run stand before Trent Johnston’s quick 39 pushed the total to 166.
ScorecardTanwir Afzal starred with both bat and ball to help Hong Kong edge past Uganda in a tight match in Abu Dhabi. Afzal smashed 26 off 12 balls from No 8 after Hong Kong had been reduced to 69 for 6 in chase of 106. He hit two sixes and two fours in the innings and shared an unbeaten 34-run stand for the seventh wicket with Nizakat Khan to help the team cross the target with 11 balls to spare. Earlier, Afzal bowled a tight spell of 4-1-12-3 to restrict Uganda to 105. His three wickets came in the space of seven deliveries early in the innings and Uganda never picked up momentum in the innings as they lost regular wickets.
ScorecardA rapid innings by Italy opener Gareth Berg laid the foundation of Italy’s solid win against USA in a Group A match in Abu Dhabi. Berg smashed 15 fours and one six in his 47-ball 90 and helped Italy race to 112 in the 13th over by the time he was dismissed. Italy were left with 49 to get from seven overs and Carl Sandri hit 27 off 16 balls to ensure they got to the target with four balls to spare. USA’s innings was symmetrical to Italy’s with Steven Taylor scoring 91 in 56 deliveries, that included five sixes, but the target proved to be just short.

Two wickets apiece from left-arm spinners Brad Hogg and Ashton Agar stifled the Adelaide Strikers and handed them their first loss of the tournament by defending 133 at the Adelaide Oval to give the Perth Scorchers an 18-run win

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2015
Sorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAdam Voges’ unbeaten 54 propped Scorchers’ innings•Getty ImagesTwo wickets apiece from left-arm spinners Brad Hogg (2-11) and Ashton Agar (2-24) stifled the Adelaide Strikers, who suffered their first loss of this season as the Perth Scorchers defended a total of 133 to win by 18 runs. The Scorchers’ win was set up first by an unbeaten fifty from Adam Voges, and later by four bowlers who took two wickets each to move them to second in the points table.The Scorchers’ top three batsmen didn’t get great starts after they were put in to bat, scoring a total of 41 runs before Voges, at No. 4, led the charge. After Adam Zampa disturbed the top order, Shaun Tait and Ben Laughlin knocked the stumps to reduce the Scorchers to 5 for 75 in the 13th over. However, Voges resisted and counterattacked, and combined with Ashton Turner and Yasir Arafat to charge them to 6 for 133, striking six fours in his 36-ball 54.The Strikers started with a strong opening stand of 38 in 5.2 overs, before the openers fell within 10 runs. They lost their third wicket without much progress and were 3 for 65 in the 11th over, and never recovered from there. Hogg struck in his third over with the wicket of Travis Head, and from thereon the chinaman bowler and Arafat ran through the middle and lower order, aided by a run-out.Hogg came back to have Ryan ten Doeschate caught at long-off in his next over for 4 and Agar bowled Johan Botha with a quicker delivery to leave them reeling at 92 for 7. The win was sealed after Arafat dismissed Zampa and Kane Richardson in successive overs as the Strikers lost their last six wickets for 41 runs. Andrew Tye was the fourth bowler to pick two wickets. The loss does not affect the Strikers’ position in the table as they still sit at the top and have a two-point lead over the Scorchers and Sydney Sixers.

The future of the West Indies Test team will be mapped out early next year with the coach Ottis Gibson and the new director of cricket Richard Pybus set to meet to discuss how to respond to the recent slump in results

Andrew McGlashan 23-Dec-2013The future of the West Indies Test team will be mapped out early next year with the coach Ottis Gibson and the new director of cricket Richard Pybus set to meet to discuss how to respond to the recent slump in results.Four of West Indies’ last five Tests have been heavy defeats and without rain in Dunedin it would have been five losses on in a row, undoing the strides made over the previous year where the side had strung together six straight Test victories.Their next Test assignment is not until May when they host New Zealand in a return series, but although Gibson wants to use the gap to make a considered judgement on his team, it seems inconceivable that significant changes won’t take place. Pybus only joined the WICB in late October, shortly before West Indies went to India, so there has been limited opportunity for him to work with Gibson.”We’ve had some discussions already about where we are and my thoughts on what we need to do to move forward,” Gibson said. “There’s a meeting pencilled in for us when we get back, including the selectors, to try and plot the way forward. We have five months before the next Test series which gives us some time.”West Indies were hampered in New Zealand by the absence of Kemar Roach, due to a shoulder injury, and Chris Gayle, but the discussions between Gibson and Pybus will also need to focus on the status of players such as Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards, who have doubts over their viability for Test cricket, and whether to recall other experienced figures such as Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo.In the aftermath of the 2-0 loss against New Zealand, which was sealed by a collapse for 103 in the second innings in Hamilton where all 10 wickets fell in a session, Darren Sammy spoke about careers being on the line but Gibson said there will be no hasty decisions.”When you’ve just lost a series, and the way we’ve lost, emotions run high and people start talking about careers being on the line and it’s a bit premature,” he said. “We can get home, let the dust settle and assess where we are. We can come up with a plan, but also decide who the right personnel are.”He did, though, concede that patience was wearing thin especially when it came to the batting performances. “Batting collapses happen. In our team they happen too often. It’s a sickening feeling when it happens to your team.”In the short term Gibson has the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour to focus on, which brings with it a change of captain – Dwayne Bravo replaces Sammy for the ODIs, but not the T20s – and Gibson hopes for a fresh approach.”Dwayne brings his own energies,” he said. “Sometimes what is going on in the Tests can drain the players, it can have a drain on the captain as well. Having a new figure head in the one-dayers, and some new players, means we aren’t taking too much baggage into the series.”There is also the chance that Gayle will be available for the two Twenty20s that round off the tour next month. Gayle picked up a hamstring injury during the one-day series in India and was ruled to have not recovered in time for the 50-overs segment of this trip. He is currently in Sydney, believed to be as part of his rehabilitation programme, and Gibson said the main target for him was the World Twenty20 defence in Bangladesh.”We’re in communication with him and the people he’s working with in Australia,” Gibson said. “He’s still injured so would be an unnecessary risk to fast track him with what lies ahead. The World T20 is coming up – a format where he is king. He should be available for the two T20s.”