ROSEAU, Dominica: The Windward Islands enjoyed a solid lead on first innings in their match against the West Indies “B” yesterday, the third day of the Carib Beer regional cricket series match.
Scores: WINDWARD ISLANDS 338 and 97 for four. WEST INDIES “B” 273.
Resuming on their overnight score of 194 for five wickets, West Indies “B” batted up to tea time as they frustrated any effort by the Windward Islands to push for an outright win.
LONDON: Terry Venables’ nightmare season at Leeds got even worse yesterday when Division One Sheffield United completed a rare double by ousting his team from the FA Cup four months after knocking it out of the League Cup.
Steve Kabba’s goal 13 minutes from the end was the only goal of an untidy quarter-final game at Bramall Lane where the Blades had beaten Leeds 2-1 in early November in the third round of the League Cup. The shock result, which means struggling Leeds still have not reached the semi-final since 1987, was one of three quarter-final games being staged yesterday after Saturday’s 2-2 tie between defending champion Arsenal and last season’s runner up Chelsea at Highbury. Southampton managed to avoid an upset by winning Wolves 2-0 at St Mary’s while Watford beat Burnley 2-0 in a matchup that guaranteed another division one team made it to the semi-final.
The results mean that two Premier League teams will be in the semi-final and two from division one. At Bramall Lane, Leeds’ Harry Kewell had two great chances in the first half, breaking clear of the Blades defence only to have his first shot blocked by goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and blasting his follow up drive over the bar into the crowd. The Aussie star failed to appear in the second half because of a back strain and Leeds created few dangers to the Blades defence before the home team went ahead. Leeds failed to clear a Michael Brown cross and, after Michael Tonge’s shot had been blocked by Danny Mills, the ball rolled back to the unmarked Kabbe who fired home from 12 metres. Venables was expected to lead Leeds to trophies and a strong European campaign this season.
Instead his team have been knocked out of both domestic cups by a team from division one, didn’t make it past the third round of the UEFA Cup and have been sailing close to the relegation fight in the Premier League. The club lies 15th out of 20. At St Mary’s, an overhead kick by Chris Marsden put Saints ahead against one of his many former clubs in the 56th minute with the ball bobbing around the penalty area. Then Southampton striker James Beattie failed to connect with a rightwing cross only for the ball to strike Wolves defender Paul Butler and deflect inside the far post nine minutes from the end. Goals in the last 14 minutes by Tommy Smith and Stephen Glass put Watford into the semi-final for the first time in 16 years in a 2-0 victory over Burnley at Vicarage Road.
JOHANNESBURG: America is bidding to host several matches at the 2007 World Cup and Disney World could even be used as a venue. The West Indies will host the tournament in four years’ time and the proximity of the USA makes it an attractive option to host some matches.
Florida is thought to be the likeliest option because of its weather, large Caribbean community and novelty value. A number of American cities, including Orlando, have officially approached World Cup organisers offering to stage games. Roger Braithwaite, chief executive of West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), admitted it remained a realistic prospect but said nothing had been decided yet. “No venues have been allocated at this stage,” he said. “That process is still to be decided upon.” Chris Dehring, managing director of the 2007 World Cup, said the idea of playing part of the tournament in America remained a “distinct possibility”. But he told the BBC Sport website: “We have had expressions of interest from several cities in the US as to whether they can be a part of the World Cup. “While this remains a possibility, at the moment it is not highly probable.” If America gets the go ahead, Disney World, the huge entertainment complex in Orlando, could be chosen as one of the venues.
But the proposals are said to have upset some of the Caribbean islands, which are worried attention could be deflected away from them in 2007. “The tournament organisers are going to invite bids from countries and islands which want to host matches in 2007 and, yes, America is in with a shout for some of those games,” International Cricket Council (ICC) spokesman Mark Harrison told The Observer newspaper. “The idea of games in America is very intriguing, but it’s also a legitimate prospect, because the West Indies are quite close to America and there’s a big population in America that’s interested in cricket.” The USA are ranked 16th of the ICC’s 84 member countries. They failed to qualify for the current World Cup after finishing fifth in the ICC Trophy qualifying tournament behind Holland, Canada, Namibia and Scotland.
A NATIONAL Youth Games will be inaugurated this year, according to Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Roger Boynes. These Games will be a three-month-long league tournament featuring windball cricket, small-goal football, basketball and netball events, to be held throughout the country.
This disclosure was made by Minister Boynes during the WITCO Sports Foundation Awards 2002 ceremony at Trinidad Hilton on Thursday night last. The Minister added that the tournament “targets employed and specifically, unemployed youth, leaving them no time for crime while fostering community spirit and involvement.” The Minister was also adamant that a Trinidad and Tobago Boxing Board will soon be appointed, while his Ministry will stage a number of symposiums to ensure institutional strengthening, both in boxing and basketball. Another strategy proposed for the year is Sport Plus, a sport training vocational and academic programme which targets youths between the ages of 15 and 25.
Those plans, according to Boynes, will see the Caribbean Sport Academy establishing Trinidad and Tobago as a premier sporting hub in the region and, by extension, the world. With regard to the Ministry’s bilateral agreement with Cuba which offers support for boxing and volleyball, Boynes revealed that track and field will be added to the mix. In addition to the seven persons currently pursuing studies in Physical Education and Sport, “four more persons under the age of 25 will soon be selected to join those already in Cuba as we (the Ministry) aggressively increase the pool of trained persons to lead sport in the future in Trinidad and Tobago.” And the five football stadia, Hasely Crawford, Mucurapo; Larry Gomes, Arima; Ato Boldon, Couva; Manny Ramjohn, Marabella; and Dwight Yorke, Bacolet, Tobago, will be heavily utilised during the next three years.
Boynes stressed that “through the ministry’s football development programme, which will be conducted in collaboration with all major partners, Trinidad and Tobago will become, once more, the football capital of the region.”
LONDON: Jonjo O’Neill can get Cheltenham Week off to a great start by taking the opening race at Stratford today with East Tycoon.
The Bigstone gelding looked a smart prospect when a smooth winner on his debut but found things against him in a hot race last time. However, he can redeem his reputation in the gg.com Series Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle. O’Neill has a mighty team assembled for the Festival and this one had Triumph Hurdle aspirations after scoring with some authority at Doncaster, justifying strong support with real ease. He then ran in the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton won by Martin Pipe’s Well Chief but that race turned into a sprint after the runners dawdled embarrassingly early on and he actually finished well enough after finding himself outpaced.
Today’s contest represents a huge drop in class. Henry Daly’s team for Cheltenham is not in the same league as O’Neill’s but he too can enjoy a confidence-boosting start to the week courtesy of Jakari in the Irish Field Novices’ Chase. He is lightly raced but has plenty of scope and looked pretty good last time when jumping well to account for Iris Collonges at Hereford. He missed most of last year with a problem but things look to be coming right now and it may pay to keep on the right side of him. Ruby Walsh looks a very interesting booking by Gary Moore for Bhutan in the Ian Williams Handicap Hurdle. The eight-year-old has been in good heart on the all-weather recently and has plenty of winning form to his name over hurdles. Thesis was a beaten favourite behind Well Chief last time but that form has obviously been boosted by the winner’s exploits since. Expect the Venetia Williams-trained runner to go one better in the C Brewer & Sons Novices’ Hurdle at Plumpton with Tony McCoy once again in the plate. Island Sound can gain a deserved victory for David Elsworth in the Malt Whisky Novices’ Chase at Taunton.
The six-year-old has been coming up against some truly top-class company this season and he was certainly not disgraced when finishing some way adrift of Arkle Chase favourite Azertyuiop at Wincanton. Previously he had unseated his rider when running against another Paul Nicholls hotpot, Epervier D’Or, at Kempton. Island Sound faces nothing of that class here and this former smart Flat performer can get off the mark.
SELECTIONS: PLUMPTON: 10.00 Buckby Lane; 10.30 Villair; 11.00 Ressource; 11.30 It’s Beyond Belief; 12.00 Thesis; 12.30 Irbee, 1.00 Major Shark. STRATFORD: 10.20 EAST TYCOON (NAP); 10.50 Jakari; 11.20 Carnoustie; 11.50 Scotia Nostra; 12.20 Bhutan; 12.50 Splash And Das; 1.20 Thieves’glen. TAUNTON: 10.10 Maiden Voyage; 10.40 Island Sound; 11.10 Dispol Rock; 11.40 Danimas; 12.10 Salford; 12.40 Charlies Future. DAY’S DOUBLE: East Tycoon and Island Sound.
FIRE SERVICE are on the fringe of capturing the inaugural Jean Pierre Challenge trophy in the All Sectors Netball League.
The Firewomen shocked league queens Defence Force 48-46 in a thriller at the Eastern Regional Indoor Facility, Tacarigua, on Saturday night. Now Fire Service need only a tie with lowly Caribbean Facilities Corporation in their final game of the series on Saturday, to get the first lien on the tropohy named in honour of the late Netball Queen Jean Pierre, who died in December last. Fire Service led 10-9 at the end of the opening quarter, but were outscored 17-13 by the Army-Coast Guard women who led 26-23 at the half-time interval. But the firewomen surged back into the lead at the end of the third quarter 37-36 before holding on grimly for the victory. In the other game, CFC whipped Police 45-42, led by Janelle Barker with 32 goals from 47 attempts and Patrice Goring 13 from 28. Beverly Hernandez led Police with 27 goals from 41 attempts and Euphemia Huggins had 15 from 17. After leading 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, Police took over and led 22-21 at the half and 32-29 at the three-quarter stage before sliding to defeat.
DALLAS: Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points as the NBA’s best team, the Dallas Mavericks, won their fourth straight game in convincing fashion, crushing the Utah Jazz 101-77 in NBA action on Saturday night. Adrian Griffin added 16 points for Dallas (48-14), as the Mavericks improved to 27-5 at home while opening up a five-game lead atop the Midwest Division standings.
In HOUSTON: Cuttino Mobley had 18 points to lead the Rockets past the New Jersey Nets 83-71. Steve Francis added 17 points for Houston, now 32-30. Yao Ming had 12 points and 10 rebounds. New Jersey have lost four straight and seven of their last eight games.
In ATLANTA: Vince Carter scored a season-high 43 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Hawks 107-98. Voshon Lenard added 23 points for the Raptors, while Antonio Davis chipped in 13. In CLEVELAND: Pau Gasol scored 27 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the stumbling Cavaliers 115-89. Mike Miller added 21 points for the Grizzlies.
In MIAMI: Rookie Junior Harrington scored a career-high 19 points as the Denver Nuggets ended a 14-game losing streak, downing the Heat 98-92. Nene Hilario added 16 points for Denver, which also snapped a 16-game road losing streak.
In CHICAGO: Corey Maggette scored 28 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past the Bulls 103-97. Quentin Richardson added 21 points for the Clippers, who ended a season-high eight-game losing streak. Jalen Rose had 30 points for Chicago.
In MILWAUKEE: Sam Cassell sank five free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the Bucks 138-133 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors. Gary Payton scored 28 points for the Bucks, including a three-pointer that sent the game into overtime with 3.4 seconds left to play. Cassell finished with 28 points and had 13 assists as the Bucks rallied from a 16-point deficit with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation.
In PORTLAND: Rasheed Wallace had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Trail Blazers past the Indiana Pacers 94-80.
CLICO PREYSAL led by a brilliant 92 from Dinesh Ramdin overcame two-time defending champions Alescon Comets in the quarter-finals of the 2003 edition of the Carib Sunday Cricket League yesterday. Ramdin’s knock added to aggressive contributions from skipper Shazam Babwah 65 and Aaron Ragoonath 56, enabled Preysal to tally a massive 293 all out.
Comets were well placed on 215 for four wickets with 12 overs to go, but slumped badly, losing their remaining six wickets for only 23 runs and were dismissed for 238. Opener Imran Khan slammed a quickfire 108 which included 10 fours and two sixes for Comets in a losing cause. At Wilson Road, a century by all-rounder Sean Siloch led Clarke Road United to a seven-wicket victory over Merryboys. Merryboys scored 171 off 47.5 overs with former national wicketkeeper-batsman Keno Mason scoring 44 and Rajindra Dhanraj 32. Mahadeo Bodoe took four wickets for 34 runs and Alan Mahabir two for 26.
Clarke Road then romped to victory reaching 174 for three wickets, thanks to Siloch’s century and a well crafted unbeaten 32 from Bodoe. At St Mary’s ground, Caroni Wanderers defeated Queen’s Park by 29 runs to move on to the semi-finals. A score of 165 all out by Wanderers would not have looked much at the lunch break, but Kishore Lalchan snapped up three wickets for 24 runs and Narine Bideshi three for 19 to rout the Parkites for just 136. At Syne Village, defending Carib Cup champions PowerGen beat Police by 82 runs after Guyanese import Hemnarine Chatergoon smashed 111 runs to lead his team to 217, to which the lawmen responded with 135. Summarised scores: At Wilson Road: CERAMIC MERRYBOYS 171 — K Mason 44, R Dhanraj 32, Denis Rampersad 30, A Mahabir 2/26, M Bodoe 4/34 vs FIRST CITIZENS CLARKE ROAD 174/3 (38.1 overs) — S Siloch 109, M Bodoe 32 not out.
At St Mary’s ground: CARONI WANDERERS 165 (43 overs — Alvarado Bryce 31, Ryan Sieuchan 26, Avalon Cuffy 26, Sanjeev Maharaj 3/25, Shiva Samaroo 2/34 vs QUEEN’S PARK 136 (43.4 overs — Jonathan Augustus 51no, Sanjeev Maharaj 28, K Lalchan 3/24, N Bideshi 3/19. At Syne Village: POWERGEN 217 — H Chatergoon 111, David Williams 37, Robert Neptune 4/38, Syed Mohammed 2/45 vs POLICE 135 — Garvin Apparicio 33, S Mohammed 28, Damian Hanuman 28, Samuel Badree 2/21, Afzal Dean 3/37, Brent Harriot 2/31. At Pierre Road: CLICO PREYSAL 293 — D Ramdin 92, S Babwah 65, A Ragoonath 56, William Perkins 36, Anil Balliram 5/46. Vs ALESCON COMETS 238 — I Khan 108, Suruj Ragoonath 50, Eugene Antoine 2/39, Keith Arthurton 4/32.
Jamaica’s resolute middle-order batting secured first innings points after the second day of their Carib Beer Series regional cricket match against Trinidad and Tobago at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
Scores: TT 218 vs JAMAICA 285/6.
Sharing the honours on the day was all-rounder Dave “Tadpole” Mohammed who bowled his heart out for TT to finish with the impressive figures of four wickets for 63 runs in Jamaica’s reply which left them in command. After capturing the last TT wicket for the addition of just four runs to the overnight score of 214, the Jamaicans, led by skipper Robert Samuels (40) and all-rounder Gareth Breese (81 no) gave their side a lead of 67 runs with two days remaining. TT lost their last wicket, that of Mohammed, for 32 to Jerome Taylor in the first over of the day and from there it was all downhill for the hosts. When the Jamaicans began their reply they got off to a tremendous start. They raced to 46 by the eighth over when Theodore Modeste in his first match of the season removed Brenton Parchment for a boundary-studded 25.
Fellow opener Leon Garrick played some handsome strokes which lit up a very dull day at the Oval with only a scattering of spectators on hand to appreciate his artistry. In partnership with David Bernard Jnr, they pushed the score along nicely to 88 before skipper Daren Ganga brought in the highly rated Mohammed. Bowling left-arm back of the hand spin, the PowerGen player removed Bernard caught and bowled for 18 and quickly followed up with the wicket of Maurice Kepple for 13. The score at that stage stood at 129/4 and at that point no one could have blamed the locals for entertaining thoughts of first innings points. Their fielding however let them down badly with Samuels the benefactor of two dropped catches. The left-hander was given a reprieve in the slips with his score on 19 and again at 24 with his team’s total at 150/4. TT paid dearly for this slip-up as the southpaw batted responsibly for his 40 in a partnership off 112 with Breese. His vigil ended when “the man with the golden arm” Mohammed bowled him for 40.
In the meantime, Breese was in his element and quickly brought up his half-century with the help of eight fours. Keith Hibbert joined Breese and never looked comfortable against the top quality spin of Mohammed. His short stay at the crease ended with his score at 12 as Mohammed had him leg before wicket. At 245/5 TT encountered Nehemiah Perry who added 40 runs for the seventh wicket with Breese to take Jamaica to the close. Perry is unbeaten on 29 and the impressive Breese was undefeated on a whirlwind 81. Manager of the Trinidad and Tobago team Omar Khan said his team would have to up their game tremendously if they are to get back into this one. “I have stressed that they need to get into the final four and to get there they must focus on their work at hand. So far I have not seen that in this match but I am confident that the boys can come through. This match is far from over,” he said.
ROSEAU: The West Indies “B” team reached 194 for five wickets yesterday, responding to the Windward Islands’ first-innings total of 338 on the second day of the sixth-round Carib Beer Series match.
The highlight of the day was a century by the Windwards wicketkeeper Junior Murray —- his first so far for the season —- after resuming on his overnight score of 84. The Windies began shakily, losing two early wickets with only 20 runs on the board. But a 126-run partnership between Denzil James and Narsingh Deonarine brought them out of danger. However they seemed to be in trouble again losing three wickets with the score on 146, those of James for a well-played 64 and Aniel Kanhai and Gregory Mahabi, both for ducks. Carlton Baugh came in to join Deonarine, and the two have shared a useful partnership seeing the score to 194 at the end of the day’s play with Deonarine on 74 not out. The Windwards could have done better, but with some shoddy fielding which resulted in seven catches being put down, they could have had the upper hand. As it is now, the match appears evenly poised.
