September 14, 2024

Jeremiah Louis Joins Brother Mikyle in St Kitts and Nevis Patriots Squad

Jeremiah Louis will join the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in CPL 2024, replacing Sherfane Rutherford, who withdrew for personal reasons. This will also allow Jeremiah to play alongside his younger brother, Mikyle, for the first time in the CPL.

Jeremiah, 28, has played six CPL games between 2016 and 2022, taking three wickets with an average of 38.66 and an economy rate of 9.66. He also competed in the 6IXTY competition in 2022, taking four wickets in five matches. Known for his red-ball skills, Jeremiah has 151 wickets in 57 first-class games with an average of 25.43. He was recently named to the West Indies Test squad for their tour of England but was sidelined by an injury.

Mikyle has been one of the standout local batters in this CPL season, scoring 187 runs in five innings with an average of 37.40 and a strike rate of 155.83. Only his Patriots teammates Evin Lewis and Kyle Mayers have scored more runs. Mikyle told iplwinlogin last month that Jeremiah is not just his brother but also a mentor and a close friend.

“He influenced me in many ways,” Mikyle said of Jeremiah. “While I was in my stagnant phase, he was playing for Leeward Islands or West Indies A or President’s XI games. He would come back and have a conversation, saying, ‘Yo, I bowled to this batsman in the nets. You are not far off; you continue working. Trust me, bro, based on skill you have time to grow.’ Those conversations would give me hope and the self-belief that, okay, I’m good enough.”

Jeremiah’s addition will strengthen the Patriots’ struggling pace attack. This season, Dominic Drakes, Odean Smith, Ryan John, and Johann Layne have all been giving away over 12 runs per over.

The Patriots are currently at the bottom of the CPL 2024 points table, with only one win in seven games. They also finished last in CPL 2023 and have managed just two wins in the past two seasons.

Due to continuous rain, the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was canceled without a single ball being bowled.

The first-ever Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was canceled without a ball being bowled, marking only the eighth time in Test history and the first since 1998.

The cancellation felt inevitable after four rain-soaked days with no play and heavy rain on the last two days. Rain persisted into the fifth morning, leading the umpires to call off the match at 8:45 a.m. The Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground was covered in water, with puddles forming near the boundary and across the outfield.

Even before the first day, the match was already facing weather issues. Despite sunny weather during playtime, no play occurred on the first two days due to concerns about the outfield and venue readiness.

Aside from a few hours of net practice for the New Zealand players next to the pitch on the second afternoon, no cricket was played over the five days. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) attributed this to unusual rainfall.

Afghanistan’s next match is a three-game ODI series against South Africa in Sharjah. Meanwhile, New Zealand will head to Sri Lanka for two Tests as part of the World Test Championship, followed by a three-Test series against India. The Greater Noida Test, intended to help New Zealand adjust to subcontinent conditions, was canceled.

India’s Top Players Arrive in Chennai as Training Kicks Off for Big Test Season

As India prepares for a busy Test season, starting with two matches against Bangladesh next week, the team began their training with some familiar faces and a few new ones. Virat Kohli is back in Test cricket for the first time in almost nine months, and Rishabh Pant is ready to resume his Test career from where he left off two years ago. Gautam Gambhir is also involved in overseeing the preparations as India gears up for a series of Tests against Bangladesh (two in September), New Zealand (three in October), and Australia (five from November to January).

The Test squad arrived in Chennai on Thursday and started training in groups. One of the first to hit the nets, Captain Rohit Sharma, was soon joined by Kohli. They faced a range of net bowlers on specially prepared pitches at MA Chidambaram Stadium. One pitch, with a black-soil base, had many footmarks and looked scorched. In contrast, another, with a red-soil base, had selective watering, leaving some areas smooth and others rough. The central pitch remained closed off, featuring some grass. India has used such conditions in past seasons to prepare for fast-bowler-friendly environments in overseas tours.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli trained with their top-order teammates Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who are confidently entering the new season after solid performances against England earlier this year. The four players rotated between two nets, facing a steady diet of left-arm spin. Tamil Nadu’s Ajith Ram and M Siddharth aimed to replicate the challenge posed by Shakib Al Hasan. At the same time, Varun Chakravarthy and Himanshu Singh, a 21-year-old offspinner from Mumbai, added to the spin variety.

India’s bowlers also had their turn, with Jasprit Bumrah, who last played for India in the T20 World Cup final in June, showing off his skills. Despite being primarily a fast bowler, he impressed with some powerful lofted shots down the ground. In the afternoon, Bumrah focused on fitness and chatted with bowling coach Morne Morkel.

Rookie fast bowlers like Yash Dayal, who is being prepared for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year, had a rigorous session under Morkel and Gambhir. Dayal’s left-arm angle and ability to trouble batters with his effort ball were noted. Pant also provided excitement with a casual yet stylish pick-up shot off his hips, demonstrating his readiness after recovering from a severe car accident in December 2022. Although Pant has returned to limited-overs cricket, his upcoming return to Test cricket next Thursday is highly anticipated.

India’s first Test against Bangladesh is scheduled for September 19 in Chennai. This match is one of five home games India will play to secure a place in the World Test Championship final in June 2025. Currently leading the points table, India must win around five of their remaining ten games to make it to the final for the third consecutive time.