Retiring Russell cherishes WC semis vs India, two trophies as special moments
Russell, who was a member of West Indies' T20 World Cup winning squads in 2012 and 2016, will play his last two international matches on July 20 and 22 when the hosts' take on Australia in the first two T20I games at his homeground in Sabina Park.
'Definitely, the 2016 World Cup. That semi-final game against India where I took the team home, me and Lendl Simmons. Obviously, the start that we got from the other batters, chasing 190 plus in that semi-final in India with a crowd supporting India only.
'I think that was already a bit of pressure, but the wicket was a very good wicket. The confidence that we had in the changing room and the batters that were left to come, it gave me the confidence and the freedom to go out and play the role that I did. Obviously, two World Cups, it's just a different emotion.'
'You sleep, you wake up and you realise you've only been sleeping for two hours. But you feel well rested because you just want to see what's going on the internet.
'You want to see all of those memories and all of those good comments. I think those are the two most important moments (of me) playing for West Indies,' said Russell in a video by Cricket West Indies' (CWI) after the end of a training session.
In 84 T20Is for the West Indies, Russell, 37, amassed 1078 runs and picked 61 wickets so far. 'It's a pretty good feeling.
The first time I came to Sabina Park as a kid, and then to actually walk on the grass and feel the atmosphere and look in the stands and everything, and now I've achieved so much out of cricket for the last couple of years.
'I've done my best in every chance I got representing West Indies. I think it's the perfect ground and the perfect series against a good team like Australia to end my international career.
'By just seeing the posts and seeing stuff going around on the internet, I got a bit emotional to be honest. But decisions are already made and I think I've done well enough to actually say yes that's it for me towards international cricket,' he added.
Once the Jamaica leg of T20Is will be over, Russell will follow Nicholas Pooran into becoming the second high-profile West Indies player to quit international cricket in a very short span. Amidst all this, Russell said his focus is still on making West Indies win in the two games at his home ground.
'First, I would say I want to make sure that we win these two games, and give the fans something good to celebrate. Especially, cricket hasn't been played here in a while.
'So I think whoever comes out to support, any series, any form of cricket which is played back in Jamaica, fans will want to come out.' 'I think once the last game that people watch, they tend to remember the good or the bad. So once we play two good games here and we finish on a high, definitely, who knows cricket can be back and the love and support in Jamaica will always be there.' 'Definitely, I want to see Sabina Park full with all the cricket fans around the country. When the team moves on to St. Kitts, definitely I want to see that support as well.
'I'll be watching and I want to make sure that we start off well here at Sabina Park. Fans, support whether you're watching us on the telly or you're here in the stands,' he elaborated.
Agencies
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
English grit beats Spanish skill to secure Euro glory
England were on the ropes often at the Women's Euros, and they always found a knockout blow, before beating Spain in a final penalty shootout to show that skill may be a way to dominate games, but it takes the heart of a lioness to win them. Chloe Kelly was the hero, firing in the spot-kick to ensure the defending champions retained their crown, but every English player had to dig deep to thwart a Spanish side who were best everywhere except on the final scoreboard. Down 2-0 at the break, England's tournament almost ended in the quarter-finals as Sweden looked set to cruise through, but Kelly and Michelle Agyemang dragged the champions back into the game with late goals before they won the penalty shootout despite having four kicks saved. They made heavy weather of Italy in the semis and again Kelly came to the rescue, scoring a 119th-minute winner to send them into the final despite another flawed performance. In contrast, Spain cruised, purring like the engine of one of the many sports cars that can be seen zipping along city streets in the more affluent parts of Switzerland. They beat the host nation, and eased past Germany in the semis to make the final. They met England in the 2023 World Cup final when a first-half goal set Spain on course for victory and their first major title. The story was almost a carbon copy on Sunday as they took the lead through Mariona Caldentey in the 25th minute. Led by playmaker Aitan Bonmati, the Spaniards sensed a weakness on England's left flank and probed it relentlessly until Ona Batlle came up with the cross for Caldentey to score. KELLY INTRODUCTION The introduction of Kelly before the break for the injured Lauren James strengthened that wing, and when Kelly set Russo up for the equaliser the tide did not exactly turn, but the belief of the English players certainly grew. Battered by a number of crunching tackles, fullbacks Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood continued to throw themselves into every challenge, while captain Leah Williamson made a lung-bursting run to create a late chance that hinted at reserves of energy not even she knew she had. Having been to the brink so many times, England believed. When the game finished 1-1 and the penalty shootout awaited, the English players seemed relaxed and confident, with their Spanish counterparts looking slightly more on edge. The Spaniards had the game in the palms of their hands for 120 minutes, but it began slipping away as Hannah Hamton started to save their spot-kicks, first from Caldentey and then from Bonmati, before Paralluelo fired her effort wide. Kelly made no mistake, lashing the ball into the net as the English fans in the stadium erupted in joy. "This is England, I think this is our moment, we've dug in for the 120 minutes, we've done what we needed to do to keep Spain out. It was just one kick and that was it and so we did that this time," Hampton said. For all their dominance, this is a final that Spain will feel got away from them. Despite all their success in recent years, they lacked the cutting edge they needed to get the job done, and when it really mattered, England had it in spades.
Sharjah 24
2 hours ago
- Sharjah 24
England beat Spain on penalties to win Women's Euro 2025
It looked as though Spain would repeat their victory over England in Sydney in 2023 as they dominated the game at St Jakob-Park in Basel and led through Mariona Caldentey's first-half header. But England did not panic, having already trailed against both Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semis before finding a way to win. Alessia Russo headed in their equaliser just before the hour mark, and no further goals meant a shoot-out in which Kelly -- who once again had a huge impact off the bench -- netted the winner. "I was cool, I was composed. I knew I was going to hit the back of the net," Kelly told the BBC of her penalty. It was an agonising way to lose for Spain, but they failed to score three of their spot-kicks, with reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati seeing her effort saved. Sarina Wiegman's England are therefore back-to-back European champions, three years after they defeated Germany in extra time at Wembley to win a first women's major tournament. "What a team. What a game. What drama. You dug deep when it mattered most and you've made the nation proud. History makers," British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was at the match, wrote on X. Defeating Spain helps make up for the pain of losing the World Cup final in 2023, and England's victory also confirms Wiegman's place among the coaching greats. She has now won three consecutive European Championships, having led her native Netherlands to victory in 2017 before doing the same with England three years ago. "We said we can win by any means and that's what we have shown again today. I am so proud of the team and the staff. It is incredible," said Wiegman, whose team lost to France in their first match at the tournament. "Losing your first game and becoming European champions is incredible," she added. Spain fell short in their quest to add a maiden European Championship title to the World Cup they won in Australia. La Roja dominated possession as expected, but ultimately paid the price for not killing the game against an England side who never know when they are beaten. "I am in shock," Bonmati told broadcaster TVE before apologising for failing from the spot. "Football is cruel. Everything seems bad right now, but I think we played the best football during the tournament." English resilience England, meanwhile, had been 2-0 down against Sweden in the last eight before scoring twice to force extra time as they eventually won on penalties. Then substitute Michelle Agyemang's 96th-minute equaliser denied Italy in the semi-finals, when Kelly netted the extra-time winner. Wiegman took a gamble here on the fitness of Lauren James which paid off, albeit not quite as planned -- having come off with an ankle injury against Italy, the Chelsea winger did not last until half-time and was replaced by Kelly. By that point Spain were in front, scoring when Ona Battle crossed from the right for Caldentey to head in. They had already been in control before that and it felt like England's best hope was for complacency from their opponents. The best example of that came with the game still goalless, when Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll played a careless short pass to Laia Aleixandri in her own area. Lauren Hemp was alive to the opportunity and pounced, but Coll made the save. Yet even at 1-0 England were still in the game, and they took their chance in the 57th minute when Kelly crossed from the left for Russo to level. England -- with more fans on their side in the crowd of 34,203 -- sensed yet another comeback win was on the cards, and it took Coll's fingertips to keep out a Kelly effort midway. The game continued into extra time, and from there to the gripping tension of penalties, in which Beth Mead's first kick for England was saved after she was forced to retake. Captain Leah Williamson also had her effort stopped by Coll, but Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles both scored, while Patri Guijarro was the only successful taker for Spain before Kelly won it.
Gulf Today
2 hours ago
- Gulf Today
England women down Spain on penalties, retain Euro title
Defending champion England has won the Women's European Championship after defeating Spain in the final. The match in Basel was a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final where Spain defeated the Lionesses 1-0. Coincidentally, the same countries played in the men's European Championship final last year. Spain won that match 2-1. England has defended its European title by defeating Spain in a penalty shootout. The game was tied at 1-1 after extra time. England won the shootout 3-1 with Chloe Kelly scoring the winning penalty kick. It's 1-1 at full time and the players are coming off the pitch for a quick break. England equalized when Alessia Russo made it 1-1 in the 57th minute. Chloe Kelly whipped one of her trademark crosses into the box from the left and Russo rose above the defense to make it 1-1. England's Chloe Kelly celebrates after winning the penalty shoot-out. Reuters Spain heads into the break in the lead after Mariona Caldentey's goal in the 25th. Both teams traded early blows but Spain looked stronger after the goal. La Roja kept most of the possession and did not allow England to threaten much. England also trailed at halftime in the quarterfinal against Sweden and semifinal against Italy, but still won both games. Mariona Caldentey has made it 1-0 for Spain in the 25th minute. Ona Batlle whipped in a cross from the right, after good work by Aitana Bonmati, and Caldentey headed it powerfully home. Swiss former player Lara Dickenmann carried the trophy out onto the field after the closing ceremony of Euro 2025. A large circular banner was unfurled in the center of the field in tribute to the host nation, while smaller banners were displayed nearby with "Thank You' in Switzerland's four official languages -Italian, French, German, and Romansh. England's players celebrate after winning the UEFA Women's Euro final match against Spain. Agence France-Presse Two large Alpine-inspired shapes were then carried onto the field, with the England flag on one and Spain's on the other. Nearly 30,000 inflatable clappers had been distributed to the fans beforehand, while 40 members of the closing ceremony cast also had them on the field. The Asturia Quartet, an all-female string ensemble, performed the national anthems. In somewhat of a surprise change, Athenea Del Castillo has been named in Spain's starting lineup in place of Claudia Pina. Del Castillo's only other start in the tournament was in the final group-stage match, against Italy, when many regular starters were rested with Spain already through. The Real Madrid forward scored one and set up another. She also scored the opener in the quarterfinal win against Switzerland just four minutes after coming onto the field. Pina was decisive the last time Spain played England, scoring twice to help her team to a 2-1 comeback victory in the Nations League last month. The only other change to Spain's lineup from its semifinal victory over Germany is the return of defender Laia Aleixandri from suspension, with María Méndez dropping back down to the bench. Lauren James has recovered from injury and starts for England with coach Sarina Wiegman making just one change. England's players celebrate after winning the UEFA Women's Euro final match against Spain. Agence France-Presse James had to come off at halftime in England's semifinal victory over Italy on Tuesday with an ankle problem and was seen applying ice to her injury during the match. James has started all five of England's games at Euro 2025 and has been named in the lineup for the final. Defender Jess Carter returns after being omitted from the starting lineup for the first time against Italy, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament. Basel's soccer stadium has a capacity of 34,250 during Euro 2025 and no empty seats are expected at the final. With an hour to go until kickoff, thousands of fans have already taken their seats. Even before the final, the tournament has broken the total attendance record for a Women's European Championship. A total of 623,088 spectators have attended the 30 matches so far, surpassing the previous total attendance record of 574,875 from Euro 2022. There have been intermittent torrential showers and thunderstorms but that has not dampened the spirits of thousands of Spanish and England fans that have been gathering in the fan zones in Basel. The rain teemed down about two hours before kickoff but the sun came out shortly afterward and the skies above St. Jakob-Park have cleared up for now. England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women's Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales. Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout. There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2. England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming. Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy - scoring 14 goals and conceding three. Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times. Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany. Agencies
