The teams met in the opening match of the CPL on Friday in St Lucia, with the Knight Riders coming out on top by nine wickets.

In a media conference at the Oval yesterday, TKR captain Dwayne Bravo said he was glad his team got off to a winning start.

“We are happy to get our first game under our belt, it’s always good to win cricket games especially in a tournament like the CPL that is so competitive,” Bravo said.

The Knight Riders will play five matches in the next eight days at home. Bravo wants his team to have a good run at home, but knows the CPL is challenging.

Bravo said, “It is a tough competition.

Ideally we will like to win as much as possible but you got to be realistic.

Playing five games at home I will be happy to win three out of those five.” Bravo is also counting on the support at the Oval.

“Playing home in Trinidad is always good, because we have that crowd factor that always give us that extra boost and support.

We know the conditions very well, but all the teams have a lot of good international players and local players as well.” South African Hashim Amla was set to join the team this week after the conclusion of the South Africa Test series against England.

However, Amla has been ruled out of the CPL due to injury.

Stars captain Darren Sammy knows his team was disappointing on Friday against TKR, but says the Stars will improve. “We were very short, we did not look like a team but it is just the first game of the tournament,” Sammy said.

“Last year in the same fixture we defeated them here at home so hopefully we could get some inspiration from that, but one game does not win you a tournament.

We will definitely improve and there is no better place to start that path to what we want to achieve than right here in their own back yard.” Sammy said it is good to get the poor performances out of the way. “We played a poor game but I am not counting my guys out. I have some excellent quality in my team and it is a game of cricket. It is good to get the bad ones out of the way very early.” After tonight’s match TKR will play Jamaica Tallawahs at 8 pm on Wednesday, Guyana Amazon Warriors at 9 pm on Friday, Barbados Tridents at 9 pm on Saturday and St Kitts/Nevis Patriots at 8 pm on Monday. All matches will be played at the Queen’s Park Oval.

The Isuzu NPR82U CNG truck is currently available as a Demo unit to be test driven by various commercial operators, since this is the first OEM CNG Medium Duty commercial vehicle of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago (TT).

The first person to test drive the vehicle was Rishi Ramroop of 4R’s Hardware in Gasparillo.

Speaking at the vehicle handover on July 14, Southern Sales’ Managing Director, Imtiaz Ahamad, described the decision to bring a CNG truck to T&T as a “pioneering” one.

“This is an important milestone, we have been knocking on Isuzu’s door for a long time to supply this model to the region, it’s a good decision to break into the CNG commercial market segment,” Ahamad said.

While in testing, detailed data has to be compiled and submitted to Isuzu’s parent company, which will analyse the information to maximise the performance on the vehicle.

This Isuzu NPR model uses a naturally aspirated 4.5 litre four-cylinder engine, putting out 130 horse power at 3200rpm and delivering 353Nm of torque at 1400rpm.

This model has two CNG tanks which will have an approximate CNG capacity of 300 litres.

One litre of CNG costs $1.00. This model carries a tray length of 16 feet.

President of the NGC CNG Company Limited (NGC CNG), Curtis Mohammed, said he envisions success for this model of vehicle.

“NGC CNG applauds Southern Sales for taking the lead in this market segment, as TT prefers new vehicles.

The answer to this is “No” but what has taken place is that the gap between labour and employer continues to get larger. The fact remains, if we are going to have any positive advancement in the relationship between the both parties, the gap must be a thing of the past.

There must be a compromise and both sides must listen and understand the point of view of each other. Let us call a spade a spade, our unions do not want to sit down and discuss anything if they are not having their way.

That is the wrong attitude.

So it is no big thing to try to shut down the country while losing millions running investors who are taking notice of what is taking place.

Do not think for one moment that I am in any way against unions, that is far from the truth, they are needed and are necessary.

But what happened to good old dialogue, compromise, looking at the present situation, the ability to do what is requested. All these things must be taken into consideration before hurtful action is taken against both the citizens and country at large.We all are living in trying times and we need to understand this, including our unions.

If we are going to come out of this storm, one of the key elements is learning to work together from captain to cook despite the differences.

Maturity in handling issues before us is important and that goes for all.

This is the way forward as a country and a people.

Arnold Gopeesingh San Juan

Here are some of my favourite humorous books to lighten your holiday. Most of them made me laugh aloud.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – It will take a miracle to ever knock Jonasson’s political satire off my number one spot of humorous literature. The story of Alan Karlsson’s life as an explosives expert is hilarious.

Much like Forest Gump, Alan stumbles into important world events along with the friends he picks up on his escape from an old people’s home. Jonasson has two other books, The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All, which can elicit a chuckle here and there, but they are nowhere near his first novel.

Cakes and Ale by W Somerset Maugham – I first read The Painted Veil, the sad, love story of Kitty Fane and her guilt-ridden sense of duty so I was most surprised to discover Maugham’s light-hearted Cakes and Ale.

In Cakes and Ale, Maugham exposes pretentious writers living between World War I and World War II. When Alroy Kear is selected by Edward Driffield’s wife to write the author’s biography, a comedy of events occur, much of which revolve around Driffield’s first wife, Rosie, a captivating barmaid. Skilfully, Maugham reminds us how humour can highlight serious points.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole – Ignatius J Reilly is a portly and lazy young man who navigates his way through the colourful streets of New Orleans with a pompous air that is totally ridiculous. Still, there is something engaging about Ignatius and his endless excuses for being dysfunctional. A Confederacy of Dunces, published posthumously after Toole committed suicide, makes just about every list there is of the most humorous books. This turned out to be an exceptional audio book because of the narrator’s interpretation of the characters.

Miguel Street by V S Naipaul – Although there are serious and sobering chapters in this novel, Naipaul does manage to captivate readers with the humorous characters that once defined Trinidad.

Who can forget the legend of Man Man? Miguel Street’s humorous characters earn it a place on any top ten list of humorous books.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot – This vet’s recollections of his country clients feature many funny moments because of the way that quirky people project their own weird behaviour onto their pets. Equally funny is Herriot’s relationship with his clients and the pains that he must take to humour their outrageous behaviour. All Creatures Great and Small is a timeless classic in animal literature.

A Fine Romance by Candace Bergen – Humour is not confined to novels. There are humorous biographies as well like this actor’s story of her marriage to French director Louis Malle. A Fine Romance has its fair share of sadness, but Bergen’s wry wit shines throughout the book.

If you ever watched Bergen’s hit TV series Murphy Brown, about an intrepid woman reporter, you will recognise Murphy’s voice shining through this autobiography.

At the end of the day, you’ll find there’s nothing more relaxing than a funny book.

Next week: More humorous literature to discover.

Cuffie said Jones made a significant contribution to this country’s energy sector and gave his best years to public service when he could have chosen a far more lucrative path in the private sector.

Jones worked at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines where he acted in various capacities: Chemical Engineer, Development Engineer, Project Process Engineer, and Associate Project Manager. Thereafter, Jones served as the President of Trindad Nitrogen Company Limited before heading the methanol and urea division of the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago.

He was also Managing Director of the National Gas Company. Jones was subsequently appointed President and CEO of Titan Methanol Company before taking up the chairmanship of the Board of Directors and CEO of Petrotrin.

“With his knowledge and experience Malcolm Jones had the option of a career outside of Trinidad and Tobago which would have made him a wealthy man. I think it’s commendable that he instead chose country over personal enrichment and worked so many years in the state sector although he was aware this meant constant public scrutiny,” the minister said.

Minister Cuffie said this exemplified his dedication to country and showed that Jones took his civic duty seriously.

“Today’s labour force can learn from the example Malcolm Jones has set. He demonstrated discipline and tenacity and was always resolute in his approach to the job at hand. He left a powerful legacy.

“History will be kind to him. His leadership, his work and his ideas will remain with Trinidad and Tobago and will be immortalised in the energy industry,” said Cuffie.

This workshop was attended by Civil Aviation Authorities from Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Instructors from the TSA Office of Global Strategies based in Washington DC provided advance instruction on aviation security, advance technology, and threat recognition and awareness. The TSA continues to recognise the TTCAA as a leader and key regional partner in furtherance of aviation security.

According to a statement, Gittens has over 30 years of banking experience having worked throughout the Caribbean at various banking institutions including Republic Bank Limited, RBC Royal Bank Group, RBTT Bank Jamaica Limited and Bank of Saint Lucia Limited.

According to the statement, his areas of expertise include Commercial and Corporate Banking and Credit Risk Management.

Gittens holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Manchester; a Master of Science in Accounting; and a Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) in Industrial Management, both from the University of the West Indies, St.Augustine.

The TTSE C is responsible for the regulation of the securities industry, ensuring the stability of the financial system and the protection of investors.

The new CEO will provide overall management and administration of the TTSE C’s operations and develop and implement corporate policies and initiatives in furtherance of its objectives as identified by its Board of Commissioners.

They give their lives in exchange for the advancement of their countries when there are wars. We can offer no tangible thanks for self sacrifice.

In my estimation, trade unions had to come into being because there had to be guidelines about how we treat the working classes of the world. There had to be honour and respect for the working poor.

We do have it in TT but, when our trade unions decide that theirs is the one and only yardstick to measure success, we have a problem. Somewhere, along the way the politics of envy has invaded and is slowly poisoning the goodness of effective trade unionism and destroying worker attitudes regarding entitlement.

Out there on the ground, we have an out of control level of crime and criminality that appears to be based on envy. The expression, “’So poor as to thief” is really a poverty of thought and education.

We envy the success of others without caring how hard they worked to get their possessions.

Cars are stolen, houses broken into, money, farmers’ fruits, anything that can be moved and resold, gets taken. The must have syndrome of envy is killing us off in TT .

We have become a derisive nation. We intentionally use negative remarks to damage opponents.

Shortness of stature, blackness of skin, ugliness of face, over weight, under weight and remarks about sexuality, gender and mental capacity are thrown negatively at people to diminish them.

We need to get out the dictionary and look up the word “respect”. We also need to understand what is true self-respect because we are drowning.

There is a dangerous paucity of self belief holding back individuals.

T here is no race but the human race. All human life is reputed to have begun in Africa.

But, hear this-The face of the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt, many thousands of years old, is that of an African man.

Until the African people know their true history we will continue to self destruct and remain buried in the Sands of Time, forever.

Lynette Joseph Diego Martin

Actors, singers, dancers, musicians and drummers will take to the stage in a hotly contested competition this year.

Villagers from North and South Trinidad will participate in the Folk Theatre competition as well as Village Chat, Poetry, Short Story, and Spoken Word.

The 12 villages that qualified for the finals in folk theatre competition will come up against each other vying for top spots this year.

This as Best Village Competition presents two shows per night.

The list of the villages in folk theatre and the days they will staging their production are: Three Road Youth Group and I See (Aug 7), San Juan South Central Organization and Cocorite Ujamma Folk Performers (Aug 8), Soul Oasis Cultural Ambassador and Ah We People Theatrical Horizon (Aug 9), Princes Town Theatre Workshop and Bon Bassa Productions (Aug 10), Arouca Community Council and Northwest Laventille Cultural Movement ( Aug 11), and on Aug 12 the Tobago Drama Guild and Hampden Lowlands Village Council will go up against Malick Folk Performers. Show begins at 6.30 pm and will run till 10.30 pm.

The La Reine Rive finals will take place on August 12 at NAPA, Port of Spain.

The finalists in this competition will be participating in self -expression and talent contest.

Cancer survivor Magan Ramroop, took the La Reine Rive crown in 2016. Magan represented the Swastika Dancers from Couva.

Malick Folk Performing Company was the overall winner of Best Village in 2016.

Last year’s grand finals of Best Village was held at Queen’s Park Savannah in Port-of- Spain.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley was there to crown the winners in the competition.

Ahye was sixth in 11.01 seconds and Baptiste was eighth in 11.09. American Tori Bowie won gold in 10.85, Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast earned silver in 10.86 and Dafne Schippers of Netherlands copped bronze in 10.96. Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson had to settle for fifth place in 10.98.

Earlier in the day, Ahye (11.04) and Baptiste (11.07) qualified for the final after finishing third in heat one and heat three respectively in the semi-finals.

Machel Cedenio and Lalonde Gordon did not qualify for the men’s 400m final. In heat two of the semi-finals, Gordon was fifth in 45.20 in a heat won by South African Wayde Van Niekerk in 44.22. In heat three, Cedenio was seventh in 45.91 in a race won by Isaac Makwala of Botswana in 44.30. The first two in each of the three heats and the next two fastest athletes qualified for the final.

It was a rough day for TT in the women’s 400m and men’s 110m hurdles events. Domonique Williams did not advance to the semi-finals of the women’s 400m after finishing eighth and last in heat four in 53.72. Winning the heat was Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain in 50.57 in a new Bahrain record. The top three in each of the six heats plus the next six fastest athletes qualified for the semi-finals. In the men’s 110m hurdles, the TT duo of Ruebin Walters and Mikel Thomas failed to advance to the semi-finals.

Walters was sixth in 13.63 in heat two which was won by American Devon Allen in 13.26.

Running in heat five Thomas was seventh in 13.98, while Orlando Ortega of Spain won the heat in 13.37. The first four in each of the five heats advanced to the semi-finals plus the next four fastest athletes.

Today, national athlete Sparkle McKnight will compete in heat one of the women’s 400m hurdles.

In the men’s 200m heats, Jereem Richards will line up in heat two and Kyle Greaux will run in heat five.