 So we bowl off today's show with Cricket, the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup is fast approaching, with only 59 days remaining until the ninth staging of the competition, bowling off in Texas, USA. Joining us in studio with a coveted trophy to discuss tournament preparations, ICC Men's T20 media manager, Philip Spooner and head coach of the West Indies, Red Ball team, Andre Kohli. Of course you know that T20 cricket is white ball, but Kohli was on the coaching staff for the 2016 team that won in India and that makes him pertinent to this discussion. Kohli, welcome, welcome to the sports my zone. Thanks Lance. Great to have you live in the studio. Usually when we talk to you it's by some zoom connection or something but it's great to have you right here. Good to be back home and in studio. Of course Spooner was the media manager of that 2016 successful T20 experience as we get ready for another T20 experience this time in the Caribbean and the USA. Let me start with you though Andre. Eight years ago today the women won the T20 World Cup and then some hours later the men did the same. Carlos Brathwaite's indelible memories presented to us. What's your recollection of that of that evening in India? I remember in Calcutta, Gron is a very small Gron. It was packed. We could hardly hear Spoon. You could remember we were sitting maybe a little bit closer than how you and I are sitting now and we couldn't actually hear each other from this distance. We had to be in each other's ear and then you know it is when it's coming to a milestone. I don't know if it's the same in other sports but in cricket. If you're sitting somewhere you have to stay. You can't get up and then in that over. In that over. Just a thing. Listen you can't mash up the vibes and the flow and everybody was just glued to the seats and so on. It was fantastic. You know Spooner I remember talking to a Barbados coach some years ago when Carlos Brathwaite started to be pushed ahead of Kevin Stout as the Barbados top all-rounder and there were people in Barbados who felt Kevin Stout was unfeared because of his steadiness and how good he had been domestically but the coach told me that there was something special about Carlos Brathwaite and we would see it at some point. Now his career didn't go the way that you know everyone would have hoped but that was a very special performance by him wasn't it? I'll take you back Lance to the camp in Dubai. Before we even got to India and I remember Darren Sammi telling the team he told everybody he said to all the players everybody be ready because your time might come and that meant from Ashley Nurse who didn't play a game to the captain himself. Darren Sammi said everybody please be ready because in this in these World Cups your time might come. Sammi was speaking from experience because he won it in 2012. That's right. And as fate would have it you know Carlos steadily steadily growing going through the you know going through the system coming through playing matches contributing here contributing there and then well we can see it right now the last hurrah really you know it was unbelievable. I was sitting next to Sir Curly and Sir Curly said to me he said to me another he said first of when the first one got to go for six the first one he said if the first one goes for six this is doable and Carlos slapped and it went for six and then you know well that happened and it looked like Andre or something. But it was it was purely spontaneous you couldn't control yourself you didn't know what was going what you were going through it was just the most amazing thing you've ever seen in a sport. Not for me not just in cricket it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen in any sport. And you've seen a lot. Yeah I mean ball running nine point to anyone let me go a medal is top tier and you know but seeing a market for six is to not only win a final to win a big final in front of a billion people watching I mean that's top tier. Yeah I mean Coach Curly you're not a part of the white ball coaching staff at the moment but looking on and from the position that you're in we look at the roster and we see match winners in this West Indus team. How confident are you that Darren Sam is coaching and this highly talented group can pull things off in in June. We're all very positive about it. You mentioned the experience within the squad that that lineup is yet to be agreed on but I doubt that it will change much from what we've had. And if you think about the passion that Darren normally takes to anything as a captain as a player you saw that in the clip earlier and he's brought a similar kind of approach as coach. So we're very very optimistic and very confident about our chances. Yeah and this one is for you Spoon. I know the build up to this World Cup is going to be very very special. It has already started out special. What you all did in New York was beautiful especially with Chris Gale and Ali Khan you know just being a part of the celebrations. You are very much involved. It looks like a lot of work and maybe you can share with us just a teaser because I know you and you may not want to tell us everything. But what are we to expect if that was just the opening. What's in store for us. Well first let me go back and congratulate the girls as well. 2016 was also the girls with Stephanie and Haley and Deandra and Anisa and the night twins and the under 19s and the under 19s boys who did it on Valentine's Day. So we hit my top and Al-Zari and came up also. Let's celebrate that too because that was magic. We were actually on the bus coming to the ground and the way Bravo shout out when the when the final run was hit it was like if he had he had won the match. You know Bravo is life for the party not stopping him when he's championing the show. So we also got to remember the girls did it and the under 19s did it. In terms of 2024 ACC Men's T20 World Cup coming to USA and the West Indies it was magical to see Chris Gale light up the Empire State Building. I mean he's a champion everywhere Chris goes people follow. He's a magnet with people and people just you know gravitate towards a larger than life figure and to see a West Indian and one of our people of one of our champions being given this amazing honor to pull this lever and what she taught us building in things he taught us building in America just light up. It was you know it was surreal and there we go and Chris doesn't miss a beat. Chris just goes on and on and on and that was absolutely well there you go look at that. That was an absolutely amazing amazing experience and Ali Khan not far behind he's the you know the hero of USA Cricket the face of USA Cricket and this is such a wonderful partnership for us to have our champion you know lighting up a building in the U.S. is the synergies that we want to see and we all know Cricket in the U.S. is poised to take off. It's going to be massive it's going to be as they say out of this world and we can't wait to see it start because as you said Maria a lot of work has gone into it a lot of passionate people on the project and we just want this to be a celebration of Cricket in the U.S. in these and in the USA and we want to also champion the people that are also working on it. For Wajbash our tournament director he said that when the tournament finishes he want the whole he wants the whole world to say the only place where T20 cricket should be played is in the U.S. in these must be the home the place the heartbeat of World Cricket once again. Yeah and the importance of this out-of-world tour because one for of course for the legacy when we look back right but what about to build the excitement in West Indian fans because for quite some time I mean I always tease Lance because I'm of the generation where I never get to see the winning West in each right so I'm like you know I can't wait for that time where later on when I talk I'll be able to say well you know I lived through some winning times how important is it that you get the fans to believe and you know get them to rally. Well I grew up in the era of Greenwich and Haynes and Marshall and Gerona and Richard Richard Richardson. I didn't know I was losing well I mean I draw used to feel like a lost Lancer and Andrea can tell you that when the best in these draw tests but it's about me lost you back. So I mean beating England 5-0 in 84 and beating them 5-0 in 86 was expected but we when I was part of the team that that wrote the bid for this workup that was sent to ICT one of the pillars upon which we we we approached it was with the re-energizing of cricket fans and following in the West Indies we want to ensure that fans are excited again and want to be part of cricket again and cricket becomes the number one thing I know we did the Olympic year this is a corporate America year this is a Euro year this is every everything has happened this year but cricket is sitting right alongside everybody and it's literally a dominant attention grabber in the whole scheme of things and we believe that this tournament will reignite the passion for cricket in the Caribbean they already sold out Pakistan and India in half an hour 34,000 seats you know that's crazy and then a final with West Indies and India on the 29th of June in Barbados would be out of this world. He has a plan. You heard Mariah saying at the top that June is her birth month so she would like a birthday present from the West Indies team. We have a trophy. We get Rob Monroe speed dial and tell him sorry though. Thank you. But she likes Rob Monroe. She thinks he's a solid all-rounder and a good leader of the West Indies team as well. Coach Coley when we look at the quality of T20 cricket at the moment and the IPL is a good advert for the quality of T20 cricketers I've said on this show a few times that I think as far as how prolific they are in producing match winners India is very very irresistible at the moment in the quality of players that they are producing and I've lightened them to the West Indies from the 70s and the 80s only from the standpoint of the proliferation of talent because there's no team that has been dominant as the West Indies were but from the standpoint that India can almost pick a second 11 team now and be competitive globally in the way that the West Indies were in the 70s that's where the comparison ends because the West Indies on the Lloyd and Richards were unbeatable and India isn't unbeatable so let me just put that put that put that there they all say it's our strong tournament competitors very hard-nosed cricketers and so on. What do you think are favorites to win the World Cup? I know we want the West Indies to win but if you look at the quality and the rosters which I haven't been finalized yet but we pretty much know who may play aren't India favorites? They would have to be because of their dominance in this format of the game obviously we are playing at home so we also be strong favorites I think what would be the decider in the tournament is the state of the pitches yes you know if they spin too much then you know it could be an issue for teams who you know like the ball coming on but you know but I'm sure that the ICC will ensure that the pitches are good quality and then it becomes more of an even playing field towards the back end now is where you'll actually know who is who but when the pitches started deteriorate a little bit more and then now your skills need to be brought to the four etc so I would say India West Indies but in that in not in that order though West Indies. You just mentioned pitch conditions because spoons we had a curator workshop a couple of weeks ago which is geared towards you know preparation and world-class preparation of these pitches what would have come out of that workshop? That was outstanding and that was led by Roland Holder who himself is a former Barauder's captain of West Indies cricketer and along with Kent Crafton from St. Lucia and Travis Ferris out of at CCG in Antigua and they went around the six host nations just speaking to and educating all of the curators and groundsmen and women on the what's necessary for the cricket World Cup that's upcoming T20 cricket World Cup that's coming and then there was a document curator's document that was put together by Roland and his team on what's required for the World Cup but it's also beyond the World Cup and we're looking now at again re-energising and preparing the generation of ground staff that we have and the next generation behind them as to what ideal cricket pitches and conditions should look like so that was a blessing really for all these ladies and gentlemen across the Caribbean there were over 100 participants and that's the sort of the definitive document as to what pitches and outfields should look like and should look like for the World Cup but also beyond the World Cup because we got to set a standard we got to maintain a standard and we got to increase on that standard and the quality of everything that we do so Roland could also Roland and his team Travis and Kent for doing a fantastic job and everybody everybody who participated they said they learned so much and one of those person was Winston Reed the former Barbados cricketer who left arms left farms when who's the head of grounds head curator Ken's and over right now and he was he was like you said they should have sent this to me 15 years ago I would have been we have we're higher now in my level of skill and stuff but it was it was a brilliant a brilliant initiative yeah you've said on the show before what we had linked with you a few months ago previewing the World Cup that T20 cricket now is not what it was five or six years ago and you said that to say that this T20 World Cup without question will be the best and biggest T20 World Cup in history can you you know elaborate on that it's the biggest from the point of view of number of teams 20 teams have never been an ICC event with 20 teams before 20 teams 55 matches spread over a month venues in the Caribbean and the US so it's going across borders but to have 20 teams that goes show the sport is growing spreading you've got Uganda you've got Namibia you got Nepal you've got Ireland you've got Holland and then you've got the big guns India Pakistan West Indies Australia New Zealand Bangladesh Sri Lanka so you've got everybody you literally you got USA and Canada literally got everybody across the world this is not a proper world event and you've got fans from everywhere wanting to be part of it I mean everybody just wants a ticket and they print there's some premium tickets and we know that we won't get too deep into that there's some premium tickets which people are willing to pay a good good top dollar for but in addition to that you've got a global audience of a billion which is like Super Bowl I mean we talking Super Bowl numbers here in terms of cricket and a billion people watching on TV is mind-blowing it's really really out of this world I mean if you to tell anybody in Barbados that an event in Barbados is gonna have a audience of a billion people they say what the hell is that yeah you know so it's so quick is really grown and we are really honored and it's a privilege really to be hosting an event of this nature you know on our shores and you know it's it's a it's it's also the level of confidence that the ICC is putting cricket wrestling is that able to manage a project of its magnitude and you know everybody people from across the Caribbean working crossing borders to work people from all over the world coming to the Caribbean to work and stuff like that sharing knowledge and you know I'm putting it out there and then in a couple years there's Concord Calf co-hosting the football world cup to FIFA so it's happening and then there's cricket any world cup in 2020 sorry Olympics in 2028 hopefully one of our teams in the Caribbean can make it you know so it's all happening cricket is really growing and it's when people say cricket is taking biggest sport in the world people think oh well I can't be true but one year number show it one game has an audience of a billion show me another sport I have that yeah it's really really growing and you know as we get ready to wrap this segment spoons I know the trophy is here in Jamaica and it has a couple other countries to go to so where are you off to next and what's happening in Jamaica that that's so important because is it that you're just bringing the trophy to Jamaica what what's happening is there a party well it's carnival in Jamaica actually when they told me that when they told me that the trophy is going to be going to Jamaica I said okay that's great and then somebody said it's carnival in Jamaica I said also this trophy is going to carnival in Jamaica well that's what I want to know so you'll be on the road with the trophy if you know a school trophy no but I'm Jamaica is one of the pillars of West Indies cricket and world cricket Jamaica's produced some of the greatest cricketers I've ever lived George Hadley is probably arguably the best West Indies batsman we've ever had arguably I don't you don't compare heroes so you just said George Hadley was a great West Indies batsman we had Courtney Walsh you had Michael Holden we've had Lawrence Rowe Jeffrey do John Jimmy Adams Chris Gayle we have you know you had a lot of great Jamaican cricketers I've done extremely well for West Indies and proud West Indian even the West Indies teams that won the World Cups in 75 79 2004 champions trophy and the World Cup T20s Jamaicans in everything so you can have a trophy tour and not come to Jamaica and that's one of the things that we decided that we would do even though Jamaica is not hosting matches we decided that we would honor the legacy of cricket in Jamaica and we were at Bob Marley Museum you know the iconic played Bob Marley the top tier greatest musician of all time and we took it to Bob Marley Museum they were absolutely delighted to have it there and we had a good interaction with some cricket fans they're great they seem to be cricket fans everywhere in the world because you put on anything you put on anything cricket and you people gravitate towards anything so some fans had a fantastic time at Marley Museum and tomorrow we are at Devon house okay nice you should come along we're hosting a small event with the Jamaican girls that won the double in these cricket West Indies T20 blasts and 50 over super 50 so it's not a big massive activation where we have it in a big mall and 20,000 people pass through and take pictures we appreciate that it's not that but we also want to honor the legacy of Jamaican cricket and ensure that the T20 World Cup trophy comes to Jamaica and one of the stops is clearly in the sportsmax studio and that goes to show the level of respect that we also have for sportsmax. Thank you very much Mr. Spoon. We appreciate that. Thanks Chris Gale he made it he made it mandatory that yeah that it passed. Okay before we wrap the segment I know this is T20 World Cup discussion but and the T20 World Cup is the biggest thing happening in cricket for 2024 but Coach Kohli you have a test team that you are preparing not allowed to have staction in 2024 unfortunate that the number of test assignments for the West Indies not that great these days but how are you looking forward to your next assignment with your boys? I'm definitely looking forward to that I mean the biggest chunk of our first championship actually is in 2024 so we have five test matches in the summer three in England and two against South Africa in the West Indies so that's very significant for us because because of where we are on the table six or not six thirty three point three percent point rating yeah man yes so it is very important for us this summer so we're definitely looking forward to that I mean at the end of the first class season we put in our squads together we're also hosting South African and 18 series so all of that is centered around preparing for the red ball and then towards the back end of the year we have Bangladesh for a couple of test matches so quite a few test matches available to us this year so it's very important for us yeah and Coach Kohli I know that there are mostly white ball focused at the moment but a lot of fans are asking about Brandon King and Shay Hope for for for the red ball game and white clothes you're the coach your thoughts wow serious bones to that no no but you know we have had we have had conversations with with with bullshit and and and Brandon and they're very keen to play a red ball the timing of some of these white ball tournaments have not necessarily aligned with when we have test cricket you know so we're looking forward to over the next six to twelve months to continue those conversations and you know coming up with alongside Desmond Haynes and Craig the best the best team you know we talk about T20 no we're focusing on that but if you think about the general pace of play in ODI T20 test cricket has increased and and quite a few players play cross formats so definitely something to think about and you know looking to re-energize our team as best we can okay well I just bowled Andre Kohli a bouncer there I must say that when I was 15 years old I was a fast bowler but I didn't get any faster so by the time I was 19 I became medium pace and then when I started playing as an adult or continued playing as adult I pretty much stopped bowling because the pace at which I bowl was was insignificant bowling to adults but happy that I could have bowled a bouncer there to coach Kohli gentlemen great having you on the sports max zone a really fabulous time here for cricket great having the World Cup trophy in here let's hope that the Westiners will lift it on the 29th of June at Kensington Overland Barberos thank you very much gentlemen and have a great rest of your time in Jamaica well Kohli is Jamaica so he understands the place Spooner is a Barbadian but he's been here many times we'll be back with more on the sports mat zone after this