South Africa opt for substance over style

The expectation was that South Africa would flaunt their power against Zimbabwe, but the reality has been much different with the No. 1 Test team made to grind for every run

South Africa know how to get stuck in. They have done it three times in the recent past - Adelaide, Johannesburg, Colombo - and they have done it exceptionally well.

That also means they know how to get stuck. They did that in Harare.

There was no match to save, no series on the line and no menace. They were not playing on a strip of sandpaper or confronted with the craftiest opposition. But there was a 15-over period in the afternoon session where JP Duminy and Vernon Philander scored just nine runs.

That was one instance. There were others. For periods of the play, the run-rate hovered around one to the over. The default deliveries were either full but not fearsome or wide outside off stump and the default shots were the stoic forward defence or the haughty disregard that could be ignored the same the way the criticism is.

South Africa have managed to block out the chorus being uttered from the Centurion, the stands and even much of the media box. "This is not how Australia would have played," people are saying. They would prefer aggression to the safety-first South African way, especially when combined with the fact that South Africa are No. 1 and up against an attack that can best be described as workmanlike and a pitch that is sluggish but not suffocating.

Against those observations could be a curt South Africa reply along the lines of, "Well Australia are not No. 1 and don't have an eight-year unbeaten record on the road," but it has been little more measured. "It doesn't always have to look pretty," Faf du Plessis said. "This game is one of those situations where you do the hard yards and maybe people don't see it as flashy or it doesn't look like the No. 1 team in the world but it's what we know we need to do."

Why? Because South Africa ideally only wanted to bat once and bat long. "We made a decision that this wicket would be the toughest to bat on day five. We wanted to score all our runs in the first innings irrespective of how much time it took," du Plessis said. "We wanted to get as close to 400 as possible even though it took us longer than people think it should take us."

South Africa used up 10 hours and 39 minutes and 158.3 overs, but their lead of 141 may not be enough for them to record the innings victory they were after. No matter. They have Plan B. "If we could bowl them out for 200 or 250, and then knock off 100 or so runs, that will be fine," du Plessis said.

It may yet turn out to be just fine but until it is, South Africa have allowed Zimbabwe to hope and that is what they are being criticised for. Because of what they call their respect for the game and opposition South Africa do not see this outing as an opportunity to show off against a team who were not expected to push the match into a fourth day. But their deference has also led to them not searching for an opportunity to dominate, which is something they could have done irrespective of the conditions.

Run-scoring should not be as laboured as South Africa made it look even though the surface is slow and the bowling slower. There was enough on offer to keep things ticking over. South Africa's lead could easily have touched 200 if they had batted with the same intent Quinton de Kock did. He was the only specialist batsmen to show signs of life, charging the spinner and searching for singles.

In the end, South Africa's first innings run-rate of 2.50 was the slowest ever against their neighbours. It was also their third slowest in any innings in which they have faced more than 100 overs in the last decade, which sounds too complicated to really comprehend but Zimbabwe are happy to claim it as their doing.

"I give the credit to my bowlers," Stephen Mangongo, the Zimbabwe coach, said. "They stuck to their disciplines, they know their strengths and weakness and they are not 145kph bowlers, they are medium pace. It is always difficult for people to score when they bowl line and length all day."

And if you are South Africa, it can be made to look much more difficult than it really is.

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Bopara enjoys his chance to build rather than blast

England Lions 285 for 3 (Bopara 106, Taylor 103*) beat Sri Lanka A 283 for 6 (Chandimal 119, Finn 4-67) by seven wickets
Scorecard

To many observers, the England Lions top six contesting the Royal London triangular series against Sri Lanka A and New Zealand A loses little in comparison with the senior side as jostling for position begins in earnest with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand barely six months away.

Four Lions batsmen have already made hundreds in the tournament with Ravi Bopara and James Taylor the latest to achieve the standards set by Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow. It was enough to dispatch Sri Lanka by seven wickets with 21 deliveries to spare as they made light of a target of 284 on a pitch which was about as accommodating as New Road, rarely the most straightforward square for batsman, can get.

As soon as The Oval Test is concluded, it is one-day cricket all the way and, if few regard England as serious World Cup contenders, there is no doubting the abundance of batting talent in the shadow squad. Bopara looked visibly excited by their potential. "Every single player in the top six has definitely got a chance of being in that World Cup squad," he said. "Some of these young guys have improved so much."

Bopara is the one Lions batsman with an established place in England's one-day side, but coming in at No. 6 in a safety-conscious set-up is a role not always designed for satisfaction. For the Lions, he has been given the chance to bat at No. 3, an opportunity he has cherished, and his 106 from 101 balls in front of an appreciative Worcester crowd was an expertly-judged affair which left Sri Lanka without a win in the tournament. England face New Zealand, again at New Road, on Tuesday in a match that will decide the winners.

"It would be nice to be playing for Essex but getting experience at the top of the order for England certainly helps. It wouldn't be very helpful for me to come here at bat six. That's not me being arrogant or anything. Any batsman wants time at the crease. You don't want to be coming in to bat in the last 10 overs to try to spank it out of the ground every single time. I don't enjoy my cricket doing that sort of stuff."

England were assisted by some curious captaincy by Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka's century maker, who observed the legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna remove both Alex Hales and James Vince in a spell of 2 for 12 in five overs and was then not seen again until the 33rd over at which point the Lions were 175 for 2, Bopara and Taylor both had unbeaten half-centuries and with six an over needed the match was almost won.

By the time Bopara was stumped off Prasanna for 106, the third-wicket stand was worth 194 in 31 overs, and he had strutted his stuff, Taylor played with understated authority alongside him. Taylor might have fallen on 2 when Dushmantha Chameera's first ball reared at him with surprising venom only for a trio of off-side fielders to fail to make ground for the catch. He made excellent use of his fortune, his skilfully-assembled hundred seeping into the consciousness.

Prasanna's delayed return to the attack was particularly striking because three years ago on this ground, in an identical fixture, he took the new ball and included the Lions' top six in a return of 6 for 23 as they were dismissed for 108 and lost by 10 wickets. Sri Lanka were so impressed they immediately summoned him to the senior side although he has had limited success in his sole Test, against Australia in Pallakele, and a dozen ODIs.

"Did I play in that game?" asked Bopara when told of it. He was slightly relieved to discover he had not. Three of that top six - Hales, Taylor and Bairstow - did, and Hales succumbed again as he edged to the keeper. James Vince had been bowled in the previous over, Prasanna's second, his 32 impressive while it lasted but not lasting long enough, leaving him as the only member of the Lions top six still to pass fifty.

Chandimal's unbeaten 119 had sustained Sri Lanka. The innings came to life from 126 for 3 after 33 overs - David Willey conceding 16 off an over including a pulled six from Chandimal which took him to 50, Steven Finn spilling 18 from the next, Bhanuka Rajapakse sparking with four boundaries in an over during an adventurous stay at the crease.

An attempted sweep off Finn was just one shot that caught the eye - not the most respectful way to treat an England fast bowler who returned to London immediately after the game in the hope of making his international return against India on Friday in the final Test at The Oval.

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Westley, ten Doeschate flatten Yorkshire

Essex 291 for 5 (ten Doeschate 119, Westley 111*) beat Yorkshire 290 for 5 (Leaning 111, Masters 4-34) by five wickets
Scorecard

Jack Leaning's first century for Yorkshire in any form of cricket could not prevent his side crashing to defeat against Essex in a high-scoring Royal London Cup match at Scarborough.

The 20-year-old's unbeaten 111 helped Yorkshire to a challenging 290 for 6 off their 50 overs - but Essex opener Tom Westley and captain Ryan ten Doeschate plundered centuries of their own to give their team a five-wicket success.

Westley and his captain shared a mammoth fifth-wicket stand of 209 in 31 overs - a partnership only eight runs short of being the highest against Yorkshire for any wicket in one-day cricket. Westley's 111 was also his maiden List A ton, while ten Doeschate blasted 119 from 101 balls with nine fours and six sixes.

Essex's victory, with 25 balls to spare, moved them joint top of the table with Yorkshire, leaving both sides in with an excellent chance of making it through to the quarter-finals.

Essex head coach Paul Grayson said: "At the halfway stage we were slightly disappointed that Yorkshire had reached 290 but it was a good pitch and we felt we just needed one or two batsmen to take some responsibility - and Westley and ten Doeschate did so. I think we are well placed to make the quarter-finals but one more win should guarantee it.''

Sunday's torrential rain left large areas of the pitch under four inches of water with the chances of play on the opening day of the 128th Festival looking slim - but groundsman John Dodds worked wonders to ensure a prompt start for the 3,200 crowd under sunny skies and in a strong wind.

Although Adam Lyth made promising progress early on for the hosts, Alex Lees departed for 8 in the sixth over, his off stump being knocked back by David Masters, the pick of the Essex attack with 4 for 34 runs from his 10 overs.

Kane Williamson lunged wildly at a ball outside off stump from Masters, only to edge to wicketkeeper James Foster, then when Lyth was run out for a run-a-ball 38 by a direct hit from Kishen Velani, Yorkshire were 55 for 3.

However, Leaning joined captain Andrew Gale and the fourth-wicket pair steadied things up with some careful batting - with Leaning's boundary over mid-on the first in 11 overs. Gale was in an hour before striking his first four but in the same over that he drove ten Doeschate over long on for six he slapped a catch to Tim Phillips at backward point and departed for 45.

Adil Rashid soon became Masters' third victim to make it 154 for 5 but Leaning and Andrew Hodd rapidly advanced the score with a quickfire partnership of 109 in 12 overs.

Leaning's 50 arrived off 67 balls and, warming to his theme, he blasted Phillips over midwicket for six and four before hoisting a Graham Napier full toss high over the rope.

Hodd got a six with a remarkable reverse slog-sweep at Reece Topley but in attempting another similar shot he was bowled by Masters for 42.

Essex had lost much of their earlier control and Napier sent down several wides, his final over of the innings costing 23 runs and providing consecutive sixes for Leaning, the first of which raised his century off 97 deliveries with four fours and three sixes.

The final ball was belted over square leg for six by Bresnan, 124 runs gushing from the last 10 overs and Napier's 10 overs costing him 84 wicketless runs. Leanings innings spanned 99 balls and he hit four fours and four sixes.

The visitors got off to a dreadful start, their first three wickets going down for 15 runs in six overs. Mark Pettini was caught behind off the third legitimate ball of the innings from Jack Brooks, before Greg Smith and Velani departed in consecutive overs from Bresnan.

Westley remained firm at the top of the order, however, while Jesse Ryder took the attack to Yorkshire in style, hitting six fours and a six in his 36 off 27 balls before slapping Richard Pyrah to Lyth at point.

Then ten Doeschate launched himself into the bowling by driving Leaning, Pyrah and Rashid for sixes - just beating Westley to the 50 mark despite batting for 14 fewer overs.

The stand reached 100 in 16 overs and Essex were left needing 123 to win off 20 overs, the target drawing closer as Westley struck Steven Patterson for six and ten Doeschate pulled Leaning over midwicket for another maximum.

The Powerplay was taken at 203 for 4 after 34 overs and Yorkshire were powerless to stop the onslaught, ten Doeschate dashing to his century from 86 balls with seven fours and six sixes and Westley following him to three figures from 120 deliveries with eight fours and a six.

The skipper eventually fell by mishooking Patterson to Lyth with the score on 277 but it was all too late for the home side and Westley finished things off with a six off Adil Rashid, who went for 71 runs from 8.5 overs.

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Durston hundred lifts Derbyshire to win

Derbyshire 211 for 6 (Durston 108*, Hall 3-39) beat Northamptonshire 220 for 9 (Levi 62, Hall 43, Palladino 3-51)
Scorecard

A century from Wes Durston spurred visitors Derbyshire to victory over Northamptonshire at the County Ground and elevation into the top four in Group A of the Royal London One-Day Cup.

Derbyshire prevailed by six runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method, and have three games remaining in the group stage as they pursue a quarter-final place.

Durston's 108 inspired Derbyshire to reach an imposing 211 for 6 from their 32 overs, and the visitors then bowled with skill and patience to keep Northamptonshire shy of their revised target of 227, with James Middlebrook bowled off the final delivery of the game.

When Wayne Madsen won the toss, Derbyshire batted first but a torrential downpour halted play after just 8.1 overs. It took the groundsmen just over three hours to get the pitch in Northampton fit once more for play and, on resumption, Durston's powerful hitting, combined with the experience of Marcus North, saw them put on exactly 100 in just over 13 overs.

It helped that they were facing a weakened Northamptonshire attack that was missing England Lions' David Willey as well as the injured Steven Crook and Olly Stone.

Too many Northamptonshire fielders were put under pressure on a greasy outfield, which allowed Derbyshire to set a stiff target for the team who had won just one game in all competitions in the last month.

Mark Footitt quickly removed the home captain Kyle Coetzer for 10, bringing Richard Levi and Adam Rossington together.

The 21-year-old Rossington has made a favourable impression since arriving on loan from Middlesex, but when he skied a Durston long hop to Billy Godleman at square leg, having helped Levi put on 53 for the second wicket, Derbyshire were on top.

Wickets fell at regular intervals and when Levi went for an enterprising 62 off 66 balls, with 73 wanted off seven overs, the die appeared to be cast. Andrew Hall and Graeme White kept the hosts keen until a fabulous catch from Godleman in a swirling breeze at mid-wicket removed White.

Hall's boundary through square leg gave the home side some hope to leave 47 wanted off the last four overs. But Footitt conceded just four runs off the 29th over, leaving the South African too much to do.

When Hall was bowled by Cotton for 43 in the next over, Northamptonshire's chance had gone. Despite the penultimate over from Footitt costing 23 runs, Middlebrook could not hit a six from the final delivery.

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Amazon Warriors crush Zouks by eight wickets

Guyana Amazon Warriors 194 for 2 (Simmons 97, Guptill 66) beat St Lucia Zouks 189 for 7 (Fletcher 78, Charles 62) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

A 154-run first-wicket partnership between Martin Guptill and Lendl Simmons ensured the Guyana Amazon Warriors made easy work of the St Lucia Zouks' 189 for 7 in an eight-wicket win for the Amazon Warriors on Sunday at Warner Park in St Kitts. The total represented the highest successful chase in the two-year history of the Caribbean Premier League.

The stand between Guptill and Simmons broke the CPL first-wicket record that was set only hours earlier by Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher, who added 139 at the start of the match after the Zouks were sent in to bat. The Zouks had a chance to nip the Simmons-Guptill partnership in the bud but Simmons was shelled by Liam Sebastien at long leg in the second over off Tino Best with the opener yet to get off the mark.

Simmons presented two more chances, on 45 and 64, with neither taken and eventually finished with 97. Guptill was caught on the boundary by Kevin Pietersen off Best for 66 in the 16th over while Simmons missed out on a century by unselfishly running himself out in the 19th over as Guyana hurried toward the target in a bid to boost their net run rate. Guyana got there with an over to spare and succeeded in jumping past the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel into second place on net run rate with both teams at 6-3.

Finishing second would allow Guyana to avoid having to play in the initial playoff match which will be staged between the third and fourth placed teams on the CPL table. The first place side after the regular season will receive a bye to automatically advance to the championship match.

At the halfway point of the first innings, the Zouks looked primed to end the season with three straight wins thanks to the stand produced by Johnson and Fletcher, who made 62 and 78 respectively. Navin Stewart came on late to bowl a crucial two-over spell which claimed both men two balls apart in the 16th over just as each batsman was setting up for a strong finish. Stewart also dismissed Kevin Pietersen in the 18th courtesy of a spectacular one-handed leaping catch by Guptill on the long-on boundary and finished with 3 for 22.

Ronsford Beaten conceded just eight runs in the 19th and three wickets fell in the 20th bowled by Krishmar Santokie to further dent St Lucia's chances of setting a target in excess of 200. Guyana's fielding and death bowling was sharper overall and by the end of the match it was the difference between the two sides, allowing the Amazon Warriors to come away with the win.

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Arafat five sets up Sussex win

Sussex 189 for 3 (Machan 47*, Joyce 46*) beat Somerset 193 for 8 (Ingram 72, Arafat 5-36) by seven wickets D/L
Scorecard

Yasir Arafat claimed five wickets against one of his many former clubs as Sussex boosted their hopes of a Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-final place with a seven-wicket win over Somerset in a match reduced to 33 overs per side at Taunton.

Arafat's 5 for 36 from seven overs kept the hosts to a modest 193 for 8 after losing the toss, Colin Ingram top-scoring with 71, while Nick Compton hit 42 and James Hildreth 42 not out.

Sussex were set a revised target of 189 under the Duckworth-Lewis system and eased home with 24 balls to spare thanks to an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 94 between Matt Machan, who made an unbeaten 47, and 46 not out from skipper Ed Joyce.

After a delayed 11am start was prevented by further rain, play began at 11.40am with the game initially reduced to 44 overs per side. Somerset quickly plunged into trouble as Marcus Trescothick played on, trying to leave the first ball of the second over, bowled by Arafat. The next delivery saw Peter Trego, who had scored centuries in Somerset's previous two games, caught behind down the leg side and by the time the rain returned after 5.1 overs the hosts were 10 for 2.

The action resumed at 1.45pm and, with the sun breaking through, batting looked a good deal easier. Ingram and Compton exercised caution, the latter enjoying a slice of luck on 28 when playing a ball from Chris Liddle onto his off stump without the bail being removed. Ingram swept a six off Will Beer as the total approached the 100-mark, but one run short Compton was lbw to Liddle falling across his stumps, having looked in little trouble.

It was 157 for 4 in the 27th over when Ingram ran himself out, calling for a second run to fine leg and beaten by Liddle's throw to the wicketkeeper. The South African had faced 74 balls and hit seven fours and a six.

Hildreth looked in good touch, but was unable to conjure up sufficient boundaries in his 43-ball knock and Somerset's hopes of a big finish were dashed when Arafat removed Lewis Gregory for 18, Tim Groenewald and Craig Meschede in the final over.

Sussex approached their revised target with gusto, Chris Nash pulling a six off Alfonso Thomas in only the fourth over, which ended with 33 already on the board. Luke Wright brought up the 50 in the sixth over by lifting Groenewald over midwicket for a maximum.

The opening stand was worth 86 when Nash was run out for 30 off the final ball of the 10th over, setting off for a single dabbed to short third-man and being beaten by wicketkeeper Alex Barrow's direct hit when sent back. The next over saw Wright, on 42, drive a return catch to left-arm spinner Leach, having faced 32 balls and hit six fours and a six. And Somerset were back in it when Craig Cachopa was caught by Gregory for 5, having skied Leach to mid-on.

Leach's figures would have been even better had Barrow not missed a simple stumping chance offered by Machan on 19, with the total 129 for 3. It was an error the home side could not afford and was symptomatic of a poor fielding display. Several catches went down as Machan and Joyce saw their side to a comfortable success, both pacing their innings to perfection.

Afterwards Arafat, who was twice on a hat-trick, said: "After losing our first two games confidence is growing all the time and we now have a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals."

Somerset's Leach added: `"No one should read too much into this result. The toss was important and it was always going to be difficult batting first, so we are determined not to let it affect the momentum we were building in the competition."

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ACC in line for downsizing

The ICC will take direct control of all regional cricketing activities across the world by limiting involvement of regional bodies, the ACC CEO Syed Ashraful Huq has said. The cutoff date is the end of 2015, after which the future of bodies like the Asian Cricket Council will be uncertain.

"I think they don't want to abolish the ACC wholly, but minimize the activities," Huq told the BBC Bangla Service. "It is not just the ACC but all the regional bodies - Africa, Europe, North and South America and Asia-Pacific - which will be directly controlled by the ICC.

"Twenty-one countries, apart from Test-playing countries, from Saudi Arabia to China - we have been working in their development work - coaches, umpiring and other areas of cricket. We have U16, U19, Challenge Cup, Premier Cup, but whether all these will stay or not, I am not really sure.

"[The change] is still in a discussion phase. We have been told unofficially that our activities will continue till the end of 2015. The commercial contract of the ICC will end at that time, so what will happen after that no one really knows. The ACC will remain as an organisation on paper. The headquarters might not stay."

According to Huq, the ICC will do the development work of all non-Test playing nations, as part of their vision to streamline cricket activities across the world. He questioned the Big Three's plan to downsize the global game, and felt that cricket would lose out to other sports. "The ICC is going to directly be in charge of the development work in the non-Test playing nations, something that we have been doing," Huq said. "I don't know what good it will bring by taking out the regional body. In the last World T20, four of the six non-Test playing nations were from Asia. It is the direct result of what we have been doing over the years.

"The ICC is being controlled by three countries - India, Australia and England. What they are saying is that there is no need for so many nations playing cricket. There are ten Test-playing nations and eight or 10 other nations that play cricket, but they feel that spending so much on the others is not bringing the desired results.

"But the fact is that they don't want to run cricket in many countries. I think we should focus on globalisation. Our main competitor is football but if we can't make all countries play cricket, how can we call it a global sport?"

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Hughes to captain Australia A

Phillip Hughes will captain Australia A in their second four-day match against South Africa A in Townsville this week after allrounder Moises Henriques was ruled out due to a groin strain.

Henriques led the Australians during their loss to the South Africans over the past week, but he was unable to bat in the second innings due to the groin problem he picked up.

He will return to New South Wales for rehabilitation and will be replaced in the Australia A squad by Victoria seamer Clint McKay.

Queenslanders Michael Neser and Cameron Boyce have left the squad to take part in Queensland's pre-season camp, although their state team-mate Peter Forrest has remained with Australia A.

That means left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe will likely play his first Australia A match of the winter and will be hoping to remind the selectors of the skills that made him the leading Sheffield Shield wicket taker last season, when he collected 41 victims at 20.43.

The second and final four-day match begins on Thursday.

Australia A squad Phillip Hughes (capt), Marcus Stoinis, Tom Cooper, Peter Forrest, Callum Ferguson, Matthew Wade, Peter Nevill (wk), Steve O'Keefe, Gurinders Sandhu, Chadd Sayers, Clint McKay, Jason Behrendorff.

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Zouks beat Tallawahs on Pietersen's 2014 debut

St Lucia Zouks 144 for 3 (Fletcher 49) beat Jamaica Tallawahs 143 (Walton 48, Mathew 3-15) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Mervin Mathew's 3 for 14 set up a shock seven-wicket victory for the St Lucia Zouks over the Jamaica Tallawahs on Saturday at Warner Park in St Kitts. The Zouks registered just their second win of the season while the Tallawahs wasted a chance to leapfrog the Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel into sole possession of first place in CPL 2014.

The Tallawahs got off to a decent start after being sent in to bat as Chadwick Walton bashed five sixes on his way to top-scoring with 48 opening the innings. However, no one else in the top five made it past 10. Darren Sammy caused some middle order damage with the wickets of Owais Shah and Adam Voges for 8 and 4 respectively.

Mathew made further inroads with the wickets of Nkrumah Bonner for 10 and Andre Russell for 18 to deprive the Tallawahs their best chance of a strong finishing kick to the innings. Mathew dismissed Jerome Taylor on the first ball of the 20th for the last Tallawahs wicket as they were wiped out for 143, a paltry total considering the tiny boundaries at Warner Park.

After Daniel Vettori removed Johnson Charles in the fifth over for 16, Andre Fletcher and Kevin Pietersen produced a 60-run stand for the second wicket as the Zouks coasted toward the below par target. Pietersen's mere presence underscored how badly he was missed throughout the earlier part of a season in which the Zouks middle order routinely folded cheaply. Fletcher played with increasing freedom and finished with a game-high 49 off 35 balls before he fell leg before to Russell in the 13th.

Pietersen only made 23 by the time he was dismissed in the 16th to make it 119 for 3, but the stability he provided took pressure of the rest of the Zouks squad. Henry Davids (29 not out) and Sohail Tanvir (20 not out) finished off the match with ease as Tanvir clubbed two sixes in the 18th to finish off the game with 15 balls to spare.

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Clive Lloyd to head West Indies selection panel

Former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd has been named the new convenor of the selection panel, which includes former fast bowlers Eldine Baptiste and Courtney Walsh as new appointees in place of Clyde Butts and Robert Haynes.

Former wicketkeeper Courtney Browne was retained on the panel, while West Indies coach Ottis Gibson also has a spot on the committee, as does the respective captain as a non-voting member. Lloyd's contract is for a two-year term.

The changes were approved at a WICB directors' meeting on July 12 in Antigua. "We welcome the introduction of Clive Lloyd - one of the true legends of West Indies cricket -to the selection panel for the first time," said WICB's director of cricket Richard Pybus. "We are also glad that an iconic fast bowler like Courtney Walsh, and highly-experienced, former international player and coach like Eldine Baptiste have accepted to perform this important function.

"Courtney Browne is retained on the panel as both selector and regional talent manager, with a specialist focus on youth and women's cricket."

The new panel will convene for the first time during the course of the week, with their first main task being the selection of the West Indies Test team for the home series against Bangladesh in September.

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