N Touch

Imran Jan bats TT to victory

Opener Imran Jan with a polished innings of 69 runs led Trinidad and Tobago to a 102-run victory yesterday over the West Indies Under-19 team to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match cricket series at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain.

Batting first TT scored 210 all out in their allotted 50 overs with the left handed Jan leading the way with a half century. He was well supported by skipper Daren Ganga with 39 and Aneil Kanhai 17. Leading the bowling for the West Indies Under-19s was Guyanese Zamal Khan with five wickets for 35 runs. In their turn at the crease the West Indies “B” slipped to 24 for four wickets early in their reply and eventually folded for 108 to hand the TT the three-match series 2-0. Fast bowler Theodore Modeste was the pick of the local bowlers with three for 27. The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) president followed up his five for 35 against the University team on Wednesday and four for 31 against the West Indies “B” on Saturday with two for 20. The final match of the series will be played on Wednesday at the National Cricket Centre. Both teams are preparing for the 2003 Red Stripe Bowl regional limited overs series which bowls off on October 1 in Jamaica.

Scores: Trinidad and Tobago 210 all out (50 overss) (Imran Jan 69, Daren Ganga 39, Aneil Kanhai 17, Zamal Khan 5/35) def WI U-19 108 all out (Theodore Modeste 3/27, Dinanath Ramnarine 2/20) — By 102 runs.

Jabloteh breeze against Public

UNBEATEN CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh continued to breeze through the T&T Pro League, shutting out Joe Public 2-0 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium yesterday.

New “import” (from Joe Public) Keyeno Thomas headed the San Juan-based  men into the lead in the 33rd minute, when he met a left side corner. And Otis Seaton smashed home a penalty in the 83rd to complete the caging of the Eastern Lions. The victory saw the defending champions extend their lead over nearest challengers W Connection to 10 points. Tobago United got their first victory in the Pro ranks when they made the trip across “the lake” to beat SWIF 1-0 at Palo Seco Recreation ground. A 78th minute free-kick by ex-FC Zurich star Jerren Nixon helped North East Stars to a 2-1 victory over Starworld Strikers at the Sangre Grande Recreation ground, to the delight of the Eastern villagers.

Randolph Jerome opened the scoring for The Stars in the 30th minute, only for  Marc Borde to knot up the match in the 65th. W Connection continue to lose touch with leaders Jabloteh when they were held to a 1-1 draw by on-again, off-again Defence Force at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium. After national midfielder Silvio Spann gave Connection the lead, national defender Anton Pierre grabbed an equaliser. Caledonia AIA, popularly called The Stallions, got their fourth victory of the season when they journeyed to the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima, to edge Arima Fire 3-2.

Crabs, Police in $25,000 Super League shootout

CRAB CONNECTION are crawling stealthily towards $25,000 on offer in the inaugural All Sports Promotions National Super Football League. But Police have a search warrant for them, and a looks like a shootout for the big prize.

The Crabs, al-though not at their best, still shut out bottom-of-the-table Samba Boys 2-0 at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima, on Saturday. And with two more matches to play, could reach a possible 25 points to take the top slice of the purse. Marlon Warner sent The Crabs on the victory road in the 35th minute, and a 70th minute strike by Michael Alexis sealed the deal to give his team 19 points from eight matches. Police blew past Tamana United 15-1 at Skinner Park, San Fernando, like Hur-ricane Isabel, to slip into second spot on goal-difference.

Also on Saturday, WASA Clean and White completed their 10-match schedule with a 2-1 victory over Club Sando at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella. And the WASA men currently enjoy top spot on the table with 21 points, with goals from  Kien Hernandez in the 34th minute and a Gary Jones winner in the 51st, after Kevin Marcelle stunned the winners with a 30th minute goal. Long time leaders Maraval Youth Academy lost their chance of winning the top prize outright when they were held 1-1 by Caroni at Gilbert Park.

Ahmed Moham-med scored for the Sugar Boys in the 12th minute while Darryl Emmanuel got the equaliser for The Academy in the 44th. Tobago team Bi-water Stokelyvale hammered Mayaro Spurs 5-1 at Shaw Park, Tobago. Curtis Job opened the scoring for The Vale in the fourth minute, but Sharlon Hagley equalised in the 12th. And Jamon Quas-hie 16th, Darron Williams 33rd and Marlon Stewart 45th completed a first-half blitz before Keston Yorke topped off the scoring with a goal at the death.

Ginger Bay could stop ‘The Class’

BARBADIAN trainer Robert Pierce has fallen in love with Top Of The Class but still thinks he has the ammunition to stop the “big horse” from winning the Royal Oak Derby on Republic Day, Wednesday,  at Santa Rosa Park, Arima,  and deny him the prestigious triple crown.

Pierce who will be saddling Ginger Bay in the 2000 Blue Riband event for West Indian-bred three-year-olds, was high in praise for the Glenn Mendez-trained triple crown aspirant and thinks Top Of The Classs is the type of horse to do well at the Garisson Savannah racecourse in Barbados. “He is not an exceptionally big horse and with his speed will adapt nicely to the tight right-handed course at home,” he said at the yesterday’s Arima Race Club brunch at the trainers’ stand at the Santa Rosa facility. Pierce promised to send out Ginger Bay, the Sir David Seale-owned colt, bred by Sandiford Prince out of Country Clover with guns blazing. Ginger Bay who has won twice from 15 lifetime starts does not have good tactical speed but is the type of  runner who puts in his best work at the end of his races. “He was unfortunate in most of his races at home,” Pierce said. “Because of his come-from-behind style of running he has met with a lot of traffic which was responsible for him not winning  more races,” he said. “The track here, besides it’s beauty, is much larger and will suit Ginger Bay’s laid-back style of running,” he added.

Ginger Bay was the last of three Bajan invaders  to arrive here for Wednesday’s “big race.” The bay colt flew in on Monday for the tough 2000 metres assigment for which 15 runners would be vying for the top six prizes in the event worth $200,000, with $120,000 going  to the winner. Pierce said  his runner is accustomed to the sand and has been working left-handed at home in preparation for the Grade One race. Jamar Maughn who has been booked to partner Ginger Bay in the the Derby was expected to fly in yesterday. Pierce said Ginger Bay who is still in quarantine will be having his final preparatory gallop today.  

Following are gallops recorded yesterday:
400 METRES: Phantom Bidder – 22.77, good (Boxes); Shezabute – 23.53, good; Seductive – 23.68, good; Magen – 23.37, good; Toronto Star and Lovely Pearl – 23.03, good. Affirm Decision – 24.17, good; Jay Low and What Left – 22.87, good (Boxes); Speedfuhso – 23.2, good;  Bold Fapp – 26.52, handily; Carnival Messiah – 29.07, pacing. Game High – 26.21, handily; Sugar Mike – 28.05, pacing. Miss Emma – 26.89, handily. In Swinger – 25.16, handily; Alamanamou – 28.97, pacing; Mandela – 26.00, handily; Alibi Iki – 26.55, handily; First Time – 25.93, handily; Alex – 28.50, pacing; J D Great and River Way – 25.90, handily; Ex I Love Jazz – 26.18, handily; Java Takeover – 28.99, pacing; Outburst – 25.50, handily; Cold Risk – 26.20, handily.


600 METRES: Return To Sender and Sure Wager – 36.56, good (Boxes); New Star and Maid Of Honour – 37.03, good; The Chairman and Honor Bound – 34.97, good (Boxes); Sou Sou Moni and Kay Gee Bee – 36.92, good; Squeezed Moment and Hollywood Star – 34.83, good; Wild Life – 35.09, good; Gaza Strip – 35.56, good; J D’s Express and You’ve Got Mail – 35.98, good; Undercover Angel and Zalyam – 36.31, good; Politics and Tricky Guy – 35.69, good; Twist N’Turn – 36.70, good; Bonus Point – 41.68, pacing; Ring Dang Do and Punto A Punto – 37.17, handily; Iron Will – 38.49, handily; Winning Trick – 38.40, handily; Finest Gem – 42.03, pacing; Kaser’s Gold – 38.37, handily; Tribal Place, Principle and Chief Of Staff – 37.25, handily; Poetry – 44.56, pacing; Due Dilligence – 40.34, handily; Takeover, Runaway Rocket, Angelino and Privilege – 42.78, pacing; Chief Commander and Atlantic Breeze – 38.08, handily; Morgan Heritage – 38.74, handily; Sir Vidia – 38.44, handily; 2 Sharp – 41.35, handily; Kalyan – 41.35, handily; Undisputed – 41.04, handily; Lady Secret and Twice The Jet – 40.50, handily; Mystile – 39.98, handily; Naturelly Classy – 44.05, pacing; La Nina – 44.77, pacing; Top Of The Class – 37.90, handily; Sheer Magic, Miss D D Walton, and Pysite Tale – 41.40, handily.


800 METRES: Gold Conveyor – 46.84, good; Isle Be There – 50.85, good; Bazodee Gal – 50.56, good; Smart And Lucky  and Fabulous risk – 48.34, good; Digital Alarm – 59.17, pacing; Invincibility – 56.56, pacing. Hundred Percent – 53.56, handily; Napoleon – 58.42, pacing; Van Nistelrooy – 51.71, handily; Super Grey – 53.81, handily; Not This Time – 58.27, handily; Serah’s Trick – 51.86, handily; French Academy – 53.03, handily; Outswinger – 51.88, handily; Dutchess Trembley – 53.64, handily; Golden Shufleur – 59.27, pacing; Red Hill – 55.27, handily; Ex Smoothawn – 54.40, handily; Ex Cabaret – 57.30, pacing; Under Influence and Yaa Asantewaa – 51.09, handily; Sure Honey – 59.40, pacing; Indian Trouble – 54.91, handily.


1000 METRES: Fortalezza – 1:08.56, handily.  

Milan upset Hills; St Clair’s surge ahead

HOPE VILLAGE Milan scored a stunning upset when they edged Pepsi Hills United 2-1 in their Warner’s Group of Companies-sponsored Tobago Football Association Semi-Professional League at Shaw Park, Tobago.

Devon Edwards got the Hope Village boys off  to a good start in Friday’s match when he blasted home in the 41st minute. But Eustace Stewart knotted up the scoreline in the 63rd, and it appeared the men from the Hill were back on track. Hardly did they envisage when Revielle Adams scored for Milan in the 79th minute, that goal would stand up as the winner.

After a goalless first half, St Clair’s Coaching School shut out Georgia FC 2-0 in the later encounter at the same venue, to end a two-match losing streak. Kareem Robley put Coaching School ahead on the hour, but Jeron Balfour had a “legal” headed goal from a corner kick disallowed in the 72nd. Whatever thoughts Georgia were nurturing of getting back into the match was however snuffed out in the 83rd minute, when Hugo Blake latched on to a through pass and smashed home. Victory sent Coaching School four points clear of nearest challengers Pepsi Hills, and still with  a match in hand.
































































































































Current Standings
P W D L F A Pts. 
Coaching School 12 9 1 2 47 17 28
Pepsi Hills Utd 13 8 0 5 35 19 24
1976 Phoenix XS 12 6 3 3 30 20 21
Sidey’s 12 5 3 4 20 15 18
Bethel Utd 12 5 1 6 21 24 16
HV Milan 12 5 1 6 13 27 16
Stokelyvale 11 4 3 4 29 16 15
Charlotteville 11 3 2 6 13 44 11
Georgia 13 3 1 9 20 32 10
Earlbrokes 11 2 3 6 12 26 9

TT women f/ballers 40th in the world

TRINIDAD and Tobago women footballers have been ranked 40th of 113 countries in  the world  by FIFA.

This ranking also makes Trinidad and Tobago the top women’s team in the entire Caribbean, ahead of Haiti rated 55th and arch-rivals Jamaica, who are 73rd. And according to the FIFA rankings, the Trinidad and Tobago girls are the fourth best among their CONCACAF peers behind No 1 United States, Canada the 12th ranked team in the world and Mexico, ranked 31st. FIFA president Joseph Sepp Blatter has described women football as “an inspiration to us all.”

In a recent statement, Blatter said when the first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in China in 1991, many saw it as a niche event. But he pointed out, the women’s game has made enormous progress in recent years in every respect. Blatter said while only 45 teams were in the qualifiers for the 1991 tournament, 99 were in the fray for the 16 places in this fourth FIFA Women’s World Cup which opens today in Philadelphia, United States, and close on October 12. And he indicated that FIFA have played their part in the development of women football by setting up a department dedicated to the task and organising many symposiums.

Blatter said delegates from 120 national associations have enrolled for the two-day Women’s Football Sym-posium in Long Beach, California, next month. He said women football has seen a huge increase in spectator interest, with approximately 75,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for a play-off match between Mexico and Japan for the last place in this year’s World Cup. And Blatter pointed out, there was 90,000 fans to see the 1999 final between United States and China at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.

Primary Schools kick-off in Tobago

PRIMARY Schools football action in sister-island Tobago will get underway at various venues from Friday.

The Tobago Primary Schools Football League had their formal opening with a march past of teams on Friday last. And 21 teams, boys and girls, are listed to bid for honours this season. Because of the large entry, action has been sub-divided into four zones. Defending national and Tobago champions Castara Government are expected to be seriously challenged by Scarborough RC, Bon Accord Government and Speyside AC. Play will kick off at 10 am in all zones.

Some candidates for a whipping

THE EDITOR: Here are some other candidates for “licks” in the New School Of Learning And Behaviour Modification:
1. Members of Parliament boorish enough to put their feet up on the tables, and those lazy enough to fall asleep during sittings.
2. Members of Parliament who are disrespectful to the Chair, because they did not learn parliamentary procedure.
3. Lawyers with cell-phones that go off in court.
4. Lawyers who get postponement after postponement, wasting their client’s and the court’s money because they are not ready.
5. Doctors who are late for the public hospitals and refer clients so encountered to their private clinics.
6. Doctors who misdiagnose client’s illnesses.
7. Business owners who overcharge and whose return policy stinks.
8. Public Servants who are rude and who do not give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.
9. Garbage droppers who think the street is a dustbin.
10. Drivers who use their cell-phones while driving.
11. Drivers who drive rudely, dangerously and whose music threaten to deafen.
12. Policemen who think they are a law unto themselves.
13. Citizens who pay their public utilities bills late.
14. All protesters who block streets, burn tyres and contribute to disorder.
Since we already whip criminals in some cases and execute others and we want licks back in the schools, obviously yesterday’s wayward children did not get sufficient of this salutary form of social control. So, let’s line them up and whip their butts. That’ll teach ’em! Let the teenage boys in Laventille and the beach idlers all over the island, the hangers on and never-do-wells do the whipping. We will have full employment then.

LINDA EDWARDS
Laventille

Market Day to solve vendors problem

THE EDITOR: I have often watched the attempts of the authorities to deal with street vending without success. The more facilities we provide the worse the problem seems to get.

Obviously the provision of “Tent Cities” are part of the solution but until unemployment is reduced to five or six percent there will be an inexhaustible supply of vendors to take the place of those that are relocated. We must acknowledge that vendors are breaking the law and also obstructing legitimate business activity, not to mention harassing pedestrians. The society has enough “lawlessness” without officials condoning more. But having said that, one must also recognise and even applaud the attempts by individuals to “make a dollar” especially when the only other alternative is to turn to crime. What puzzles me is that we treat this problem as if we are the only country in the world that has to deal with it. Why can’t we learn from solutions adopted elsewhere? For example why not organise a “Market Day” in different parts of Port-of-Spain and San Fernando on each day of the week. For example, on Monday lower Frederick Street could be closed to traffic for the street vendors to fully exhibit their wares.

On Tuesday a car park or street in Maraval could become the authorised place for vending. On Wednesday the “Market Day” could be in St James and so on. Similarly in San Fernando, on Monday lower High Street could be closed to traffic for a Vendors Fair. On Tuesday the authorised area could be in Les Efforts, on Wednesday in the Gulf City car park etc. This would have several advantages:-
(1) Vendors would only disrupt legitimate business in any area for one day a week.
(2) The residents of a given area, who may not be able to afford the taxi fare or who may be unable to travel due to age etc, would be able to take advantage of the choice and prices offered by the vendors.
(3) Vendors could be justifiably moved by the police on days other than the appointed one because a alternative has been provided.
(4) Merchants would welcome the vendors one day a week as they would bring a class of business they would not normally see. Their other “clients” could come to patronise their establishments on the other five days without having to fight their way through the vendors.
(5) Plus we would have given the vendors a way to earn a living.
As a little boy, I used to look forward to the “Market Day” in the small town where I lived as the vendors brought a air of excitement to the town. Many were gypsies who moved from town to town just for the “Market Day.” My mother used to do her weekly shopping on that day because the vendors were there with all their bargains etc.
Just a thought.

PETER QUENTRALL-THOMAS
Maraval

Advice for TUCO President

THE EDITOR: It is a fact that Michael Leggerton is the President of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians Organisation. All presidents would want the best for their organisations. However, one has to be careful when making public statements.

Last year his comments regarding the Lil’ Rick (Barbados) and Denyse Plummer issue, when he said “Ban Bajan kaisonians from entering the island” showed a high level of immaturity. Now this public attack on his fellow executive members. Internal business must remain internal. As a media consultant in the Ministry of Community Development and Gender Affairs, Mr Leggerton seems to not understand the workings of the media. He should stop, look and listen before he leaps. This will certainly help him in his many pursuits.

SHIRLEY GITTENS
Santa Cruz