WI vs BAN, 1st ODI: West Indies players took a knee before the opening game of the three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Nicholas Pooran of West Indies. Courtesy: Reuters
HIGHLIGHTS
- The first ODI is taking place at Queen’s Park Oval
- Kyle Mayers returned to the XI after recovering from injury
- Jason Holder has missed out after testing positive for Covid-19
West Indies, on Thursday, July 22, took a knee before their first ODI against India at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The Caribbean players showed their support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which has been doing the rounds for the last two years.
Players have been taking a knee before matches for the last two years, since cricket resumed amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. It was since the West Indies’ tour of England back in July 2020 that players have shown their support for the talked-about BLM movement.
A number of cricketers have come out and spoken about racism in cricket over the years. English county club Yorkshire has also faced racism allegations.
As far as the ongoing match is concerned, West Indies have won the toss and opted to field first. Kyle Mayers has returned to the playing eleven after recovering from injury. Jason Holder, however, missed out after he tested positive for Covid-19.
Holder didn’t play the limited-overs matches against Bangladesh and made a comeback for the India series. During the toss, Caribbean skipper Nicholas Pooran updated on Holder, saying that the latter had contracted coronavirus.
West Indies went into the series after losing all three ODIs against Bangladesh, captained by Tamim Iqbal. In all the matches, the hosts failed to play out their quota of 50 overs.
Before the first ODI, Pooran said that his team needed to figure out the right template for ODI cricket. Pooran also urged the batters to try and play out 50 overs in an ODI.
— ENDS —