SANTO DOMINGO: Trinidad and Tobago champion Kerston Manswell had to settle for a silver medal in the heavyweight title bout against Cuban world champ Odlanier Solis Fontes at the 14th Pan American Games on Saturday night.`The Cuban, who defeated Manswell in the 2001 World Championships, dominated the Tobago-born pugilist from start to finish, winning by a lopsided 15-3 margin, dumping him to the canvas in the opening round on his way to victory. Manswell was expected to return home last night, and will celebrate his birthday today. This was Manswell’s third silver medal in a major tournament, following the 2002 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. The Tobago-born fighter’s silver medal brought the Trinidad and Tobago medal haul at the games to seven. George Bovell III who won the men’s 200 metres individual medley in the new national, Pan Am and Commonwealth Games time of 1:59.49 won four medals. Earlier at the |Games he splashed to gold in the 200 freestyle and silver in the 100 freestyle and 100 metres backstroke to become Trinidad’s most successful swimmer in the history of the games.
Milton Wynants of Uruguay won the final gold medal of the Games yesterday, taking first place in the men’s 195-km cycling race in four hours, 32 minutes, 41 seconds. Cuba’s Pablo Perez finished second and Jose Medina of Chile took bronze. The United States finished the competition with the most medals won, taking 271 overall, including 115 golds. Cuba were next with 152 medals, 72 of them gold. Canada, Brazil and Mexico rounded out the top five. Host Dominican Republic also fared well, winning 41 medals, including 10 gold, to finish in eighth place overall. On Saturday, thousands of Dominican fans celebrated the country’s final gold medal as the hosts held off a tough Cuban team 3-2 in a dramatic encounter to win its third gold medal of the day. The Dominicans won the first two sets, but Cuba stretched the match to a deciding fifth set before falling 25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 26-28, 15-13. The match was delayed for about 30 minutes after police fired a spray similar to tear gas at a crowd of people trying to get into the arena. The Dominicans also won gold Saturday in boxing and taekwondo. Saturday was another good day for the Americans in the pool, collecting three more gold medals to bring swimming their tally to 21. Cuban Yuriolkis Gamboa, Likar Ramos of Colombia, Patric Lopez of Venezuela and Juan Ubaldo of the Dominican Republic also won boxing golds. On Friday, Cuba won four of the six gold medals awarded, and two silvers.
GEORGETOWN: The Rest of Americas suffered their second straight defeat in the TCL West Indies Youth Challenge three-day competition, at the hands of pre-tournament favourites Trinidad and Tobago at the LBI Sugar Estate Grounds in East Coast Demerara yesterday. The ROA in arrears by 152 runs, were skittled out for 101, in just under one session, to hand the newly-crowned limited overs champions victory by an innings and 51 runs. Dion Stevoll (31) and Allan Douglas (35), were the only batsmen that were able to reach double figures, against the probing spin and pace attack of the Trinidadians. Left-arm wrist spinners, Magnum Nanan (3/14) and Kavesh Kantasingh (2/11), along with pacers Ravi Rampaul (2/17) and Kwesi Roy (2/29) shared the wickets. Earlier, Trinidad and Tobago resumed on 162 without loss and with centuries from skipper Denesh Ramdin (102) and opening batsman Tishan Maraj (110), enabled their team to declare at lunch on 286 for five, in reply to the ROA’ s 135. The duo posted 214 for the first wicket before they were separated.
Summarised scores: At Diamond: CANADA 131 and 141 Shaheed Keshrani 35, Trevin Bastiampillai 25; Gavin Hughes 3/27, Larry Joseph 4/38 vs LEEWARDS 157 – Kieran Powell 46, L Joseph 22; Kurun Jheti 7/63, Soham Anjaria 3/50 and 117/4 – Gavin Williams 50 not out, Daynason David 36; K Jheti 2/53.
LEEWARDS won by six wickets.
At Wales: JAMAICA 124 and 137 – Xavier Marshall 45, Howard Powell 23; Liam Sebastien 5/23, Mervin Matthews 3/23 vs WINDWARDS 134 – Krishmar Santokie 3/25 and 73/1 – Craig Emmanuel 36 not out, Miles Bascombe 26 not out.
At Uitvlught: BARBADOS 273 – Omar Phillips 42 vs GUYANA 179/6 – Assad Fudadin 60, Zamal Khan 37 not out, Sauid Drepaul 31; Barrington Yearwood 2/21, Nickolai Charles 2/37.
CL FINANCIAL San Juan Jabloteh maintained their unbeaten streak in the T&T Pro League with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Defence Force at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo yesterday. The game was pushed back by an hour due to lack of match officials but, at the end of the 90 minutes, Jabloteh remained atop the standings with 33 points after 13 matches. Two matches were postponed because of the absence of officials, the Joe Public vs South Starworld Strikers matchup at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Macoya, Tunapuna, and the W Connection vs Arima Fire clash at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima, while the Jabloteh vs Defence Force Under-20 fixture was also put off for the failure of officials to turn up at the Mucurapo venue. Up to press time last night, South West Institute of Football (SWIF) were leading “The Stallions” of Caledonia AIA 2-1 in the second half. In their U-20 clash, the Southerners prevailed 2-1.
Defence Force were pushed on the back foot from as early as the second minute, when a Michael Celestine left-footed attempt, from a feed from fellow midfielder Otis Seaton, hit the upright and went out of play. But Jabloteh made amends in the seventh, with defender Corey Rivers tapping into his own net when attempting to clear out a header from fellow national Under-23 team–mate Devon Mitchell. Another Trinidad and Tobago U-23 selectee, right-winger Josh Johnson also had a hand in Jabloteh’s second goal — sending a low centre which eluded defenders Kelshall Alexander, Anton Pierre and Owen Matthews, with Otis Seaton blasting past goalkeeper Selwyn George inside the six-yard box. Rivers atoned for his earlier error, collecting a Ronald Boyce pass and slotting home, with the aid of a Cyd Gray deflection, in the 28th. The Army-Coast Guard combination had a golden opportunity to level the scores, but Boyce sent his shot overbar following excellent work on the left by Akudu Goodridge. Celestine will put the game beyond Defence Force with a fantastic strike in the 56th.
FORMER West Indies and Trinidad and Tobago spinner Rangy Nanan believes the quality of spinners in the Caribbean at the moment is not that good. Speaking to Newsday, the man who got 256 wickets for Trinidad and Tobago in regional cricket said: ”The spinners of our era were definitely of a higher quality. “When you look back at Lance Gibbs, Inshan Ali and Raphick Jumadeen you saw quality. Now this is sadly lacking in the Caribbean. “If I were to be playing right now, I would have taken a lot of wickets because spinners of a lesser quality are taking wickets. “Back in our time, we could have taken mountains of wickets, yet it was very difficult to get on a West Indies cricket team. “Now you have guys like Omari Banks who really started off as more of a batsman than a bowler, making the West Indies team with ease. The standard of spin bowling has deteriorated in the Caribbean and we must arrest this decline before it is too late.”
Nanan who once held the regional record for the most wickets before being surpassed by Guyanese Clyde Butts pointed out that there is talent , but attitude seems to be the problem. “I am not saying that we don’t have talented spinners in the Caribbean. I will use our very own Dave Mohammed as an example. “He is a very talented bowler but has fallen off badly. I think the problem with the spinners now is that they are not working aggressively at their game. “The only way you can gain success is by playing cricket consistently and not making excuses with petty injuries. “You also need to practice a lot and things will fall into place. I remember Jumadeen telling me that I should bowl at one stump when practicing. I took his advice and bowled thousands of deliveries at one stump during practice sessions. This helped me develop as a consistent wicket-taker.” Nanan was unlucky to have played just one Test for West Indies. He played against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1981 and took four wickets in the match. His victims included Wasim Raja who always got runs against the West Indies and Imran Khan. A spinner getting four wickets in a Test at present will be a fixture on the West Indies team.
Nanan continued: ”The players seem to be waiting for the cricket Board to set up programmes for their development. I waited on no one, I read books as well as watched videos. “When I observed that spinners were bowling a different ball that I hadn’t in my armoury, I visited the nets and practiced that delivery over and over until it was perfect.” Nanan also made a call to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) to increase the number of spin bowling sessions at the National Cricket Centre (NCC). “A while ago Deryck Murray arranged a spin bowling clinic and a number of former national and West Indies spinners were called up to tutor. “We were placed in different zones and were told to bring forward the best five spinners for further training at the National Cricket Centre. “We then held some sessions with them and since then they have not been called to the centre to do any work. “I think the Board should have at least had one programme a week for them to continue their education in spin bowling.”
KINGSTON: Dexter St Louis won twice but Trinidad and Tobago were still edged 3-2 by Puerto Rico, as action in the 43rd Caribbean Table Tennis Championships opened at the Dr Alfred Sangster Audi-torium, University of Technology here. Trinidad and Tobago were to meet Jamaica in their second match in yesterday’s morning session, while the Jamaicans were due to play Dominican Republic in the afternoon session. Jamaica men’s team made a winning start against Curacao as the three-time Caribbean champion, Stephen Hylton set Jamaica underway on Saturday with a brisk 3-1 win over Ronaldo Vos 11-7, 11-1, 7-11, 11-8. England-based Darren Blake then followed up with a similar 3-1 whipping of Eldret Van der Hout 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6. Nigel Webb then sealed the victory by brushing aside Jaysrom Mathilda 3-1, 11-6, 13-15, 11-3, 11-6.
The women’s team of Kadian Carney, Nina Burton and Collette Palmer however put on a poor showing as they went down 3-0 to Dominican Republic. Also making a winning opening to the defence of their men’s team title were Barbados who defeated Guyana 3-0. Trevor Farley defeated Paul Muesa 12-10, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7, Robert Roberts beat Matthew Khan at 6, 9 and 5 while Kevin Farley finished off Guyana with a hard-fought 11-3, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7 win over Andrew Daly. In the morning session, Venezuela defeated neighbours Guyana 3-0, St Vincent and the Grenadines tagged Dom-inica 3-1 in Group 1 while in Group 2 Dominican Republic stopped Curacao 3-0. The championships were expected to resume yesterday morning with the continuation of team matches.
LONDON: Windsor stage the last of their popular Monday evening fixtures for the season with Michael Bell’s Naughty Girl looking the best bet on the card in the Tote For Football Betting Handicap. Just touched off over six furlongs at the track at the end of July — the winner has since run second off a considerably higher mark — she was then almost pulled up at Lingfield next time out. Traffic problems that day caused several horses to be withdrawn due to prolonged times in their horseboxes. Naughty Girl was one of those affected, and although she ran, she finished distressed and can be forgiven the run, allowing her the chance to follow up her recent Hamilton success. Trainer Andrew Balding sends Opera Glass to Windsor to contest the OKI Colour Printer Challenge Fillies’ Rated Stakes. Although the same grade as the race she contested at Goodwood, Opera Glass is unlikely to meet another Hoh Buzzard — who went on to score in Listed company at Salisbury last Wednesday.
Hoh Buzzard was three lengths in front of Opera Glass at Goodwood and she in turn was over a length ahead of the rest of the field, form which can see her home today. The second race on Windsor’s card, the Reading Evening Post and Wokingham and Bracknell Classified Stakes, can go to Shasta, who put a decent performance at Newmarket nine days ago. The four-year-old has only gone up one pound for that second and another bold show is on the cards on this less testing track. However, the day’s best bet looks to be Maltese Falcon in the Weatherbys Bank Conditions Stakes at Nottingham. Maltese Falcon, from the in-form Paul Cole yard, is a very progressive sprinter and although without a win this season has nonetheless run with credit in his three starts. His best effort coming last time when he was beaten just half a length by Victorieux in a Listed race at Deauville. Maltese Falcon would not have to improve too much to land the nap at Colwick Park.
GUARDIAN LIFE’S cricket programme “In Safe Hands” now in its second year, will focus on wicketkeeping. This will be the primary focus according to Deryck Murray, former West Indies wicketkeeper, now vice-president of Group and Affinity Marketing at Guardian Life. “In Safe Hands” is funded through a partnership between Guardian Life and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). The 2002 programme featured 40 youths, aged 11 to 20 years old, all of whom received coaching from a group of ex-Trinidad and Tobago and Test wicketkeepers. Next phase will be in September/October this year for the under-19 team and the first graduates of the Sir Frank Worrell Development Centre. Sports psychologist Dr Mar-garet Ottley also worked with the youngsters during the August vacation. Guardian Life president Dou-glas Camacho said he hoped his company’s support continues to play an invaluable role in the development programmmes of cricket in Trinidad and Tobago, not just through financial support, but also by extending the services of Deryck Murray and branch manager Randall Lyon, who are both part of the coaching panel.
REIGNING World junior sprint champion Darrel Brown and his relay teammates Marc Burns, Nicconnor Alexander, Ato Boldon and Julieon Raeburn will be racing for coveted medals and big US dollars at the 9th World Athletics Championships in Paris, France. The premier world Track and Field Championships, organised by the International Athletics Association Federation (IAAF) will be staged at the massive Stade de France with a capacity of over 55,000. IAAF officials expect over 2,500 athletes from over 213 nations to be vying for top honours in the biennial competition, which showcases the world’s leading athletes. In addition to getting the prized gold, silver and bronze medals, the top three finishers will also be rewarded with US$40,000; US$30,000 and US$20,000 respectively. Even the fourth placed athlete stand to benefit with a US$10,000 reward.
The Trinidad and Tobago relay quartet of Alexander, Burns, Boldon and Brown copped the bronze medal at the just concluded Pan-American Games in the Dominican Republic. Together, they established a new national sprint relay record of 38 point 53 seconds. Two years ago, Burns, Boldon, Jacey Harper and Brown got the bronze medals at the World Championships at Edmonton, Canada. They also shared in the US$30,000 prize reward. Clearly, the youngsters Brown and Burns have held their own and are improving while Alexander has also shown marked improvement. However, there is cause for concern about Boldon’s form and fitness, and all Trinidadians are hoping he can recapture something of his former self, which will prove advantageous among the world’s elite sprinters. On the other hand, all Trinidadians and athletics fans worldwide are following, with great appreciation and amazement, at the dazzling speed of 18-year-old Brown who registered his personal best in his first major professional outing.
At the Pre-Fontine Classic in Oregon, Brown was second the 100 metres in a high-quality field with 10 point 08 seconds clocking, the same time registered by Hasely Crawford when he won the 100 metres gold at the Montreal Olympics. He skipped the 100m flat race at the Pan-Am Games but will definitely be facing the starter and matching strides with the “big guns” in Paris, which include Olympic and defending world champion Maurice Greene, along with fellow American world record holder Tim Montgomery. Hammer thrower and Pan-Am Games bronze medallist Candice Scott and US-based female long jumper Onika James are the others who will battle for supremacy from Friday. The full national squad is expected to assemble in France on Wednesday. National Amateur Athletic Association (NAAA) president Ken Doldron is head of delegation to the IAAF World Congress which starts today while senior vice-president George Commissiong is team manager and Dr Ian Hypolite coach. All three officials are already in Paris and will represent the country at the Congress.
GLASGOW: Hibernian joined champions Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday after Garry O’Connor scored a stoppage-time winner in their 1-0 win over Edinburgh rivals Hearts at Easter Road.
Trinidad and Tobago dreadlocked defender Brent Sancho featured for the first 68 minutes of play, his first match for the club at home. Hibernian, who like Rangers have six points out of six, achieved their win despite playing most of the match with 10 men after Grant Brebner was sent off eight minutes before halftime. Dunfermline won 2-0 at Dundee on a goal by Stevie Craford and an own-goal by Dundee’s Lee Wilkie.
THE EDITOR: I am of the view that Pantrinbago’s president, Patrick Arnold and his executive members should be given high honour by the Caricom Secretariat for their efforts to forge Caribbean unity. The cultural missions mounted by Pantrinbago to the Carnival celebrations of the other West Indian islands have been a big plus for regional unity.
The Trinidad and Tobago cultural contingent has been interacting and forging links with the cultural fraternity of the islands, thus laying the basis for the development of a potent and viable culture industry in the Caribbean. Arnold and his executive members such as Vice President Keith Byer, Secretary Richard Forteau, PRO Milton ‘Wire’ Austin, Assistant Secretary Ricardo ‘Bachac’ Herbert, and Zonal Chairman Vernon Morancie, have all been an integral part of the process. Surely, it is such efforts, which will give real and practical meaning to Caribbean integration as culture impacts on a wide cross section of regional peoples. Credit must also go to the hundreds of Trinidad and Tobago nationals who take time off to make these trips to the islands’ carnivals because in so doing they are contributing to the unification of Caribbean peoples.
Government Ministers Senator Joan Yuille Williams and Pennelope Beckles must be given credit for their role in facilitating this project. However, the time has surely come for our regional governments to move swiftly to eradicate the unnecessary red tape which frustrates regional unity. For example the immigration process between islands should be relaxed to ease the frustration it causes passengers. For example in Grenada passengers on the MF Panorama had to stand in line for three hours to be processed. As we move to unite our people of the islands there must be ways our government could find to deal with such matters. Let’s ‘play one’ for Patrick Arnold and Pantrinbago.
OPOKU WARE
Scarborough
