Sherfane Rutherford Archives

Rutherford, Joseph help West Indies edge past New Zealand

TAROUBA: Sherfane Rutherford played a blistering innings, followed by Alzarri Joseph’s four-wicket haul to help West Indies secure a narrow victory over New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Thursday.

Chasing a 150-run target, New Zealand were restricted to 136/9 in their allocated 20 overs.

The Kiwi side failed to get the desired start as they lost two wickets for 34 on the board in 5.4 overs. Finn Allen scored a 23-ball 26.

Gudakesh Motie then came to bowl and spun the web around the New Zealand batting line-up, taking three wickets in three consecutive overs to reduce the Kiwi team to 63-5.

Glenn Phillips and James Neesham (10) then stitched a 22-run partnership to pull the team out of the trouble but Joseph broke their momentum.

Phillips top-scored for New Zealand with a 40-run knock from 33 balls with the help of three boundaries and two sixes.

New Zealand kept losing wickets and ultimately required 33 runs in the last over with one wicket in hand. However, Mitchell Santner managed to hit only 19 runs with three sixes.

For West Indies, Joseph returned with figures of 4-19, while Motie claimed three wickets.

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New Zealand invited the West Indies to bat and reduced them to 22-4 inside the power play, with Tim Southee taking two wickets.

Nicholas Pooran was the only notable contributor from West Indies’ top order as he scored 17 off 12.

Rutherford came down to bat at number six and was soon joined by Akeal Hosein with the scoreboard reading 30-5 in 6.3 overs.

Together they helped the West Indies recover with an anchoring partnership of 28 off 27 before Mitchell Santner struck to remove Hosein (15).

Rutherford then added 27 runs for the eighth wicket stand with Romario Shepherd (13) but New Zealand bowlers halted West Indies’ progress with two quick wickets.

The last man Gudakesh Motie came out to bat and witnessed Rutherford turn the game on its head with belligerent hitting from the other end.

Motie faced only one ball, while Rutherford played the next two overs by himself and scored 37 runs to push West Indies’ total to 149-9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Rutherford scored an unbeaten 68 off 39 which featured two boundaries and six sixes.

For New Zealand, Trent Boult topped the bowling charts with figures of 3-16, whereas Southee and Lockie Ferguson managed two wickets each.

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Quetta Gladiators’ star player leaves PSL 9 for ‘personal reasons’

Quetta Gladiators’ batter Sherfane Rutherford has left the squad, citing personal reasons and will not be available for the remaining group matches of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9.

Rutherford did not participate in Quetta Gladiators’ clash against Peshawar Zalmi yesterday as he returned back home for unrevealed family reasons.

However, the left-handed batter will join the squad for the playoffs of PSL 9, if Quetta Gladiators qualify.

Sherfane Rutherford has scored 151 runs in six innings in the ongoing season at a healthy strike rate of 148.03, which includes an unbeaten 58-run knock in the last-ball win against Karachi Kings.

Quetta Gladiators suffered a heavy 76-run defeat against Peshawar Zalmi yesterday, courtesy of Babar Azam’s quickfire half-century, followed by a ruthless bowling effort.

Set to chase 197, the Gladiators’ batting unit unfolded on a meagre 120 despite a solid opening stand.

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Their openers Saud Shakeel and Jason Roy came out all guns blazing, smashing the ball all around the ground until Mehran Mumtaz struck in the fifth over.

The youngster dismissed Saud, who scored a quickfire 24 off 12 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and two sixes.

His dismissal opened the floodgates and the Gladiators lost four more wickets in quick succession, losing half of their side with 76 runs on the board in 10.4 overs.

Akeal Hosein (14) and Omair Bin Yousuf (10) offered minor resilience with their 21-run partnership before both perished.

Later, Mohammad Amir (13) offered a brief fight with his short cameo before Khurram Shahzad dismissed Abrar to sweep off the tail.

Quetta Gladiators are currently sitting in the fourth position in the points table after two consecutive losses. They need to win one of their last two games to qualify for the playoffs.

They will next face Lahore Qalandars on March 10 and Multan Sultans on March 12.

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Two uncapped players in West Indies squad to face England

Uncapped all-rounders Sherfane Rutherford and Matthew Forde were both named on Monday in the West Indies’ 15-man squad to face England in a three-match ODI series in December.

The selectors also recalled experienced wicket-keeper/batsman Shane Dowrich, who played his only ODI in 2019, and opener Kjorn Ottley, who played two ODIs in January 2021.

Shai Hope will again lead the team with Alzarri Joseph named as the new vice-captain.

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However, the West Indies will be without the experience of Nicholas Pooran, who is preparing for more T20 franchise action, and Jason Holder who is prioritising Test cricket and T20.

Sherfane Rutherford, 25, from Guyana is a batting all-rounder while Matthew Forde, 21, is a fast bowling all-rounder who hails from Barbados but gains his first taste of senior international cricket after making his name with St Lucia Kings.

“Matthew Forde is a whole-hearted cricketer who has been impressive,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes.

“He is one of the players coming through the West Indies academy programme who can form part of the future.”

West Indies failed to qualify for the recent ICC World Cup 2023 in India and Haynes said that the short England series was the first step on the path to rebuilding their ODI reputation.

“England on tour of the West Indies is always filled with excitement and expectation,” he said.

“We expect this to be a hard-fought series, but we also believe this squad will do well in our home conditions.

“We have a clear vision. We are focused on building a solid team. Our main focus is to rebuild for success at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.”

The three-match series starts with two matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on December 3 and 6.

The tour then moves to Barbados for the third and final ODI at Kensington Oval on December 9.

West Indies Squad: Shai Hope (c), Alzarri Joseph (vc), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Shane Dowrich, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas.

Schedule

December 3 – 1st ODI, Antigua
December 6 – 2nd ODI, Antigua
December 9 – 3rd ODI, Barbados

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Abbas Afridi, Rutherford power Montreal Tigers into GT20 final

BRAMPTON: Montreal Tigers booked their place into the final of the ongoing GT20 Canada, edging Vancouver Knights in Qualifier 2 by one wicket, courtesy explosive batting of Sherfane Rutherford and l Abbas Afridi five-for which included a hat-trick.

In the Qualifier 2 clash of GT20 Canada, Tigers put Knights into bat after winning the toss and bowled tight lengths from the start to keep Knights’ batters under check. They lost their first wicket in the 6th over at the score of 33.

Corbin Bosch joined Mohammad Rizwan and together they added 57 runs for the second wicket. They appeared firm on the crease before Abbas Afridi came back into the attack and stopped them in their tracks with a hat trick.

Abbas Afridi removed Corbin Bosch (36 off 28) with a good catch by Mohammad Waseem. Captain Rassie van der Dussen was then trapped leg before wicket. Najibullah Zadran also followed his captain, as he was caught behind by Srimantha Wijeyeratne.

Knights had their hopes intact with Mohammad Rizwan on the crease but he fell to Aayan Afzal Khan on the first ball of the next over.

After losing four wickets on consecutive deliveries, Harsh Thaker’s sensible knock of 26 off 21 helped the Knights reach a modest total of 137 runs in 20 overs for six wickets.

Abbas Afridi added another feather in his cap with the wicket of Fabian Allen to complete his five-fer.

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Tigers had a dismal start to their pursuit as four men walked back to the pavilion with only 29 runs on board.

However, Sherfane Rutherford spearheaded the run chase, adding 43 runs with Dipendra Singh Airee for the fifth wicket.

Airee was bowled by Corbin Bosch to break the flow of runs. Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite joined Rutherford but both went back to the pavilion adding only 25 runs.

Knights’ kept picking wickets to mount pressure on Tigers’ but they had no answer to Rutherford’s onslaught.

Needing 15 off the last over, Rutherford hit three consecutive sixes off Rayyan Pathan to guide his team to a memorable last-wicket triumph. Rutherford scored 48 off 34, with the help of two boundaries and three aforementioned sixes.

Junaid Siddique picked four wickets for 22 runs, while Fabian Allen and Corbin Bosch picked two wickets each in the losing cause.

Montreal Tigers will face the winners of Qualifier 1 Surrey Jaguars in the final of GT20 Canada tonight in Brampton.

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