Thurton gets the nod because West Indies youth players Kirstan Kallicharan and Cephas Cooper who were at the helm of their respective North and South teams in the annual TT CB Under-19 Classic last Saturday, will be on tour with the West Indies Under-19 team during the first two weeks of August.

Apart from Kallicharan and Cooper, opener Keagan Simmons, fast bowler Tishawn Alleyne and all-rounder Matthew Patrick are also in the WI Youth touring squad which will be involved in two One- Day series against South Africa and Zimbabwe youths.

They will miss the first two rounds on competition but will return in time for the third round.

They will join the Trinidad and Tobago contingent in St Kitts where both the Under 19 two-innings and 50-overs competitions will be staged from July 21 to August 28.

On their return from the South Africa/Zimbabwe tours, all five players will travel to St Kitts and join the TT team.

Central Zone’s Saiba Batoosingh, who was TT ’s Under-19 vice-captain last year, should also be in this year’s squad that will be made up of at least five 15-year-olds who have advanced their chances of national selection with outstanding performances during the 2017 Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) and TT CB Shell Inter-Zone competitions.

Leonard Julien is expected to do duties behind the stumps and will be one of the frontline batsmen along with Avinash Mahabirsingh, Leonardo Francis, all-rounder Ronaldo Forrester and medium pacer Jayden Seales.

All-rounders Sachin Seecharan and Justyn Gangoo have also impressed with their performances while newcomers Jace Assoon and Aaron Mairam, both top orders batsmen, are strong contenders to be in the 14-member squad to be announced shortly. Medium pacers Shaaron Lewis and Jean Phillipe- Barrie are also in line for selection.

The national under 19 selection committee comprises Lalman Kowlessar (chairman) plus former national senior players Roland Sampath, Deonarine Deyal, David Furlonge and Surujdath Mahabir.

They were at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva on Saturday last when inclement weather conditions forced an abandonment of the Under-19 Classic with only eight overs bowled in North’s innings.

Jayden Seales shone brightly in the damp conditions and captured four quick wickets and had the North team in disarray at 24 for five before a heavy downpour soon after ended the match

“Coach has kept saying that we. have our own history to write. So. what happened in 1989 or 2016 is. not on my mind at the moment.

We have a lot more to think about. heading into Thursday’s match. here in Denver,” David told TT FA. Media on Monday evening after a. session at Prentup Field.

David has experienced the conditions. in Colorado before while being. a member of Dallas FC during. his loan deal from Costa Rican club. Deportivo Saprissa and he’s settled. in well under the conditions since. joining the squad on the weekend. for what is another massive. encounter on the road for Dennis. Lawrence’s men. The MLS-based. players such as Kenwyne Jones, Joevin. Jones, Kevin Molino, Mekeil. Williams and Kevan George (while. he was at Columbus Crew) have all. been through the rigours of playing. at high altitude at Dick’s while the. rest of the squad have all undergone. the necessary acclimatisation. strategies and training over the. past 12 days or so, carefully monitored. and assessed by the team’s. medical staff.

“I feel good at the moment. The. sessions have been detailed and. intense when necessary because. the coach has ensured to go about. things in the right manner with the. boys,” David said.

“I’ve been here before with Dallas. so it’s nothing overly new to me. but it was important for the other. players, including the home-based. ones to get here a bit earlier and. settle in. The last couple days were. good in that players were showing. good signs in training and being. able to execute what the coach. wants without any issues,” said the. former Caledonia AIA player.

David believes tomorrow’s match. could turn out to be one that goes. down to the wire.

“At this stage of the competition,. with both teams still in the race,. you can expect it to be very close,. or who knows, if one team gets out. really fast, the other can be caught. playing catch up. But we are not. here to lie down and let the home. team get on top of us. We have that. belief that if we stay in the game for. long periods and stay disciplined. then we can get something out of. it. At the same time, we will not be. complacent at all by thinking it’s. going to be easy. We have to dig. deep and grind out a result before. we go to Costa Rica,” David added.

The TT team has trained twice at. Colorado Rapids training ground. which is opposite Dick’s Sporting. Goods (game venue) and the rest. of the days at Prentup Field, which. is 5430 feet above sea level – which. is higher than the game venue located. at 5200 feet.

“The altitude issue is a big issue,”. US head coach Bruce Arena told. the US press on Monday. “If you. come in for one or two days, you. can get through it because your. body still hasn’t understood fully.

Now all bodies understand, so. we’re playing through that a little. bit. Hopefully by Thursday, we are. going to be a little bit more adjusted. and ready to be a little bit better. prepared for Mexico City.”. Thursday’s match is a reported. sold out with US Soccer adding. temporary seats on the north end. line and in the corners of the mezzanine. level to lift capacity by about. 1,500 to approximately 19,500.

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He assured stakeholders that both Caricom and it’s global partners are taking all measures to maximise their fight against global terror networks.

Joseph was speaking yesterday on day two of the Caribbean Fraud Conference which focused on issues of terror-financing and cyber crime.

He said the threat of international terrorism has far-reaching consequences and called on private sector institutions to partner with intelligence agencies in monitoring the flow of cash between suspected terror networks.

“All terror groups share the common interest that they need money in order to operate,” Joseph said.

“Even the simplest attacks require some level of finance and coordination and that is why it is important that we focus, not only on dealing with a terrorist act but, on the preparation that goes into committing the act.” Joseph said global terrorism is everyone’s business as tracing financial transactions between suspected terror cells is especially difficult in the age of social media, as extremists can mask their intentions and obtain cash for their activities.

“Crowd-funding schemes have really changed the game as far as international monitoring is concerned.

Whats more, terrorists often pose as people in need of surgery or some operation and this is how they obtain their cash.” Also covered at the event was the illicit gaming industry in this country and the role of such activities in drug trafficking and money laundering.

Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit Nigel Stoddard said while casinos are illegal, there are over 70 different private members clubs which are not monitored by government. He said a revision of existing legislation was needed in order to better treat with illegal transactions, citing the gaming industry’s growth in recent years.

Allum will look to defend his crown in the light middleweight up to 80kg category at the National Championships at Cascadia Hotel in St Ann’s which flexes off at 7 pm on Saturday.

The 28 year old said every year there are new faces at the tournament and as a contender you have to be at the top of your game.

“You have to keep telling yourself somebody out there training harder than you and eating better than you. You have to keep training, even when you are doing your best you have to keep telling yourself somebody doing better than you and that is your ultimate motivation for the competition. It is kind of a surprise when you reach there Friday night (for the weigh-in) and see who are your competitors,” he said.

Allum, who hails from San Fernando, said after getting married in April, he has had a solid training regimen since May 1.

The father of one said he has to make a lot of sacrifices, and he often makes his own lunch when he leaves home. “What I do is I pack my own food. Even to the movies I hide and pack my own food. It is a lot of sacrifice and a lot of discipline.

In a lot of family events also, you have to be disciplined when it comes to your diet because any changes in your meal will affect your body.” Allum, who has been competing since 2008, got involved in the sport as a teenager because of his father. Talking about his diet, Allum said, “It is basically about dieting.

A lot of chicken breast, a lot of vegetables, mainly broccoli and natural brown rice. That is basically my meals during the day. For breakfast I have seven egg whites, one yellow and a cup of oats and at night time I have tilapia and broccoli.

It is basically seven meals for the day.” Allum has aspirations of competing abroad in competitions such as the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the Arnold Classic, but sponsorship is key because maintaining a specific diet is costly.

This match was started on March 19 but was re-scheduled to June 4 because of the international fixture between West Indies and Pakistan at the Queen’s Park Oval with TT CB officials allowing local cricketers and club officials the opportunity to witness the high profile encounter.

On March 19, PowerGen were bowled out for 244 and HYO, in their first innings, had reached 46 for one. And 77 days later, which could be a world record time for the completion of a two-innings match, HYO dominated the proceedings and toppled their opponents in dramatic fashion to collect full points and overhaul Woodland Sports Club’s tally of 87 points.

HYO started the last round with 62 points and needed the outright victory to be declared overall winners of the Senior Division crown.

HYO received 28 points for the victory which pushed them to the top of the standings on 90 points.

South Zone’s secretary Elvis Ramdeo confirmed that HYO are the new champions of the Senior Division.

“The Woodland team was leading on 87 points but HYO won their match outright and collected full points and that put them at the top of the standings. They are the new Zonal champion team,” he said.

Resuming at the 62 for one, HYO’s Richardo Beekie, Adrian Adams and Brian Deosaran showed the fighting spirit and chalked up top-notch centuries in a powerful batting display that pushed them to 404 for four declared.

Beekie and Adams featured in a superb third-wicket stand of 166 while Adams and Deosaran knitted a 94-run fourth wicket partnership that proved enough at the end.

Beekie slammed two sixes and 20 fours in a topscore of 130 while Adams smacked two sixes and 15 fours for his 117. Deosaran entertained with a quick-fire unbeaten 101 that was studded with five mighty sixes and 15 fours which allowed HYO to declare with an overall lead of 160.

Despite a valiant 62 by Krishindath Persad, following his 108 in the first innings, PowerGen were crushed in their second innings to be bowled out for 95 through the efforts of Adrian Adams (3/24) and Brian Deosaran (3/32).

HYO won by an innings and 65 runs and the players and their supporters, including manager, Phillip Achan, celebrated a most convincing and long-awaited victory.

The Woodland Sports Club players also witnessed the drama and left the ground knowing that their chances of being crowned champion had evaporated.

South Zone Seniors Summarised Scores: PowerGen Sports Club 244 (Krishindath Persad 108; Adrian Adams 3 for 42, Sterling Bissoon 3 for 62) and 95 all out (Krishindath Persad 62; Adrian Adams 3 for 24 and Brian Deosaran 3 for 32) lost to Hermitage Youth Organisation (HYO) 404 for 4 declared (Richardo Beekie 130, Adrian Adams 117, Brian Deosaran 101 not out).

Passengers travelling between Trinidad and Tobago via the TT Express and the TT Spirit over the past few months have been frustrated as mechanical problems, delays and cancellations have become common with the Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley taking a trip to the sister isle on Sunday to see firsthand what citizens have been enduring.

Hundreds of people will be going to Tobago over the next few days for the annual triathlon event with the boat the preferred option for many athletes and supporters in the past.

Gooding is optimistic that the Rainbow Cup will run smoothly on Saturday, but is hoping CAL can assist.

Gooding said, “I think a lot of people have changed their minds from taking the boat to flying, making alternate arrangements.

I have written somebody in CAL to let them know that we have a race coming up, and a lot of people did not get tickets so they will be coming on as a standby. They said they will try their best.” Gooding said it is often difficult to get to Tobago on any given weekend, but it is even more difficult on Rainbow Cup weekend.

“On a regular weekend you get so many problems (to get to Tobago), and then now you have a Rainbow Cup weekend.

The athletes, participants and spectators that are coming for this event will be a lot.

The majority of people will be coming from Trinidad.” On Monday, sailing was cancelled by the Port Authority with their official reason being inclement weather.

The T&T Express is the only passenger boat available as the T&T Spirit has been pulled from the sea bridge to undergo maintenance works.

“It affected us yesterday (Monday), because we were supposed to be in Tobago yesterday, but we are now on our way to drive onto the boat. We are now leaving Trinidad, so we have lost two days in setting up. That should not affect the race, it would not take us too long to set up.” The Rainbow Cup is one of the most popular triathlon competitions in the Caribbean and also doubles as the National Championships.

It has attracted athletes from the US, United Kingdom and the Caribbean in the past and this year promises to be another fun-filled event.

The commotion yesterday began at about 6 am when a group of men, accompanied by police, went to Ralph Narine Trace and informed the occupants about the demolition. Occupant Leena Patram, 43, said her husband Kumar Deonath, 36, had been living on the property for the last 36 years.

In destroying the two-bedroom ply house, Patram said damage was done to several religious items including murtis (Hindu statues).

He is also alleging that $8,000 and grocery items were stolen. “We are not going anywhere,” Patram said.

“She could have given us first preference if the land is hers. These people came here and showed us no documents. But, they claimed to have a court order. They told him come outside then started breaking down everything. They broke up my murtis. My flour and grocery gone,” said Patram.

Up to last evening, the couple was rebuilding the structure and efforts to contact the accused land owner proved futile.

Both are among new or revised provisions of the bill to amend the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act.

The amended act is to introduce a system of traffic violations for certain breaches, and to implement the red light traffic system, a demerit points system, and the reform of the fixed penalty system and related matters.

As the bill proceeded at the Committee stage in the Senate yesterday, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said, on the use of the red light camera system to track speeding vehicles, some cameras were already in place and just awaiting the legislation to come into effect.

Noting that people have “wilfully ignored” traffic wardens, he said no one has been imprisoned for obstructing traffic wardens in the execution of their duties. The $300, he said, was not a deterrent.

While the prison term was removed for drag racing on highways without the consent of the commissioner of police, the $2,000 fine was increased to $6,000.

However Al Rawi said when Parliament resumes in September after the recess, he intends to review the fines for some traffic offences.

Amendment has also been approved to increase the penalties for driving without being the holder of a driver’s permit. The fine will be $1,500. Also removed as offences but deemed violations, will be driving without a seatbelt which will attract a fine of a maximum of $8,000, and driving with a child under the age of five without a car seat which would attract a fine of $4,000.

The amended act would also extend the power of the Licensing Authority to refuse to issue a driving permit to a person who has committed a traffic violation.

Chief organiser Prakash Ramkissoon yesterday thanked profusely the Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan for fulfilling his promise of commencing the paving of the North Oropouche road which had been in dire need of repair.

Ramkissoon said the deteriorating state of the road had affected the league last year with a few regular teams deciding not to participate.

He noted though that the Fishing Pond road has not yet been paved for several years and is also in need of attention. Ramkissoon expressed gratitude to title sponsor Caribbean Welders and its Managing Director Peter Park for again donating the first prize and continuing to partner with the league which has been going strong for over a decade.

He said plans to introduce a women’s league continue to be shleved because there is no proper changing faciloity for female players at the ground.

He reiterated his call for floodlights to be installed at the Fishing Pond Recreation Ground which he says is a hub of activity year-round with cricket and football. Second- place for this year’s football will take home $7,000 and a trophy with the third-place team getting $3,000 and a trophy.

The winner of the round robin stage will get $1,000 and the Raffie “Morock” Mohammed Trophy.

There will also be trophies for MVP, Golden Boot, First Hat-trick, Most Disciplined Team, Best Defender, Best Goalkeeper etc.

The league opens July 1 with the annual march past of teams.

The march past winner will get $1,000 and a trophy. Registration is $2,500 per team which includes 14 players. Any additional player registered costs $300.

The deadline for registration is June 20. For more info call Ramkissoon at 339-6778.

These observances are intended to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature, the oceans and planet Earth by extension; but simple yet compelling education must be shared.

In doing so, we must develop a greater sensitivity to the impact of the food industry, water usage, the ecological and environmental footprint created by food production, and an appreciation of the challenges faced by rural and coastal TT .

Put another way, statistics from the Food and Drug Administration of the US show that the average human consumes an estimated one ton of food a year.

Further, waste produced by the food industry, food loss and the wastage of food pose several challenges and missed opportunities that are perhaps immeasurable.

At a national level, we need to look at building the resilience of farming and fishing communities to strengthen their adaptive capacity and reduce their vulnerability to exogenous issues such as climate change, but importantly to give them a voice in governance.

We also need to expand consumer thinking to an interest in where our food comes from, how it is produced, and the circumstances of the men and women who feed our country.

There is a greater awareness of our dependence on food imports, especially of commodities which can be grown/produced locally and those of dubious nutrition and quality, coupled with the change in economic climate which has encouraged food sufficiency to develop in different ways, especially at the household level.

I believe that educating about and understanding the food industry will bring people closer to the land, the oceans and encourage greater respect for the men and women who feed us.

By connecting with nature, we begin to focus on sustaining people and their livelihoods, the future.

OMARDATH MAHARAJ agricultural economist