President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), Alloy Lequay is not happy with the batting of the Under-19 team despite their victory in the TCL Group Cricket Challenge limited overs cricket tournament in Guyana on Sunday.
Lequay relayed his concerns to manager of the team Roland Sampath yesterday. He told Sampath: “I am a bit worried about the batting of our team. The guys need to buck up a bit on the batting. They are putting the bowlers under too much pressure and this they must take a close look at.” The TT boys whipped defending champions Windwards by five-runs in the rain affected 30-overs match at Bourda. Sampath said yesterday in a telephone interview that he was happy with the victory but the job is only half done. “The guys played well, but I must say but they need to improve their game in order to capture the league title now,” Sampath said. TT begin their challenge for the league title today against the Windwards, their third meeting so far in the TCL Group competition.
Batting first on Sunday TT made 157 for seven wickets in 30 overs, before bowling out the Windwards for 152 to register a five-run win. Sampath was quick to add that although the Under-19s won, the technical team was able to spot certain flaws and will be working quickly to correct them ahead of the rest of the playing programme. “We are going to continue to work with the players in order to get them in top condition for the rest of the tournament. They have played well so far but need to improve. “All the players are fit and ready and with the one-day triumph has come a renewed confidence. They are focused on the job at hand and will be going after the opposition today, looking for full points in the opening encounter,” Sampath said. Sampath said his team has enjoyed playing at Bourda and the spinners should get assistance on the slow track. TT team: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Aaron Ragoonath, Tishan Maraj, Petrock Nicholas, Dion Bennett, Kavesh Kantasingh, Jonathan Augustus, Ravi Rampaul, Magnum Nanan, Kwesi Roy, Capil Subran, Lendl Simmons, Rishi Bachan and Vishnu Narine.
The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) have sent messages of condolence to the South African Football Association and the family of South African striker Lesley Manyathela who was killed in a vehicular accident on Saturday.
The young forward played against Trinidad and Tobago in June’s friendly international at Port Elizabeth, netting against the “Soca Warriors” and was one of South Africa’s rising stars. South African President Thabo Mbeki led the tributes to international striker Manyathela. The Orlando Pirates striker Manyathela died instantly when his car overturned near his home town of Mussina. He was driving home after scoring in Pirates’ 2-1 Super Eight Cup defeat against Jomo Cosmos in Johannesburg. Two companions of the 21-year-old were injured, one seriously. Police added that no other vehicle was involved in the accident, which happened at 10.30 pm local time. Manyathela was the leading scorer in South Africa’s Premier League last season and had been on trial at French champions Lyon earlier in the week.
BRIDGETOWN: West Indies captain Brian Lara fell cheaply on debut for club team Maple in the Barbados Fire and Commercial Cup Limited overs competition on Sunday.
Lara was trapped leg before wicket by the Police left-arm spinner Sadiq Hill for eight in front of a large crowd at Trents on the Barbados west coast. With Edison Rock scoring an attacking 93, Police posted 249 for nine off their 50 overs and bowled out Maple for 148 in 41.2 overs to record an easy 101-run victory. Hill had an outstanding all-round game, hitting 45 off 42 balls and returning to capture five for 25 off 10 overs. In another match, Barbados captain Courtney Brown hit a fiery half century and led Cable and Wireless BET to a three-wicket victory over YMPC.
ACE swimmer George Bovell III, fifth in his pet 200 metres freestyle at the recent World Swimming Championships in Barcelona, Spain, was focusing on striking gold for Trinidad and Tobago in last night’s final in the same event at the XIV Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Bovell III cruised to victory in his heat yesterday morning, the second best time of 1:51.00 seconds. He was set to match strokes with Brazilian swimmer Rodrigo Castro who posted the fastest qualifying time. Last night’s final was scheduled for 8.36 pm. Younger brother Nicholas Bovell will swim the “B” final earlier, after qualifying with a personal best time of 1:55.56 in the 200 metres free. Also down to contest “B” finals are teenagers Ayeisha Collymore who was clocked in 5:26.60 for her swim in the 400 metres individual medley heat and Sharntelle McLean in the 100 metres freestyle, with a clocking of 59.52 seconds in her heat. But Linda McEachrane managed only eighth in her 100 metres freestyle heat timed in 1:00.21 seconds, and was ousted. According to Chef-de-Mission Brian Lewis yesterday, Trinidad and Tobago hockey men take on United States in a battle for fifth position, while the women meet Canada for a similar position.
Both matches are on today.
Top amateur heavyweight boxer Keston Manswell trade punches with Dominican Republic hometown hero Francisco Nunez tonight in a bout which would put him in the bronze medal round with victory. Manswell holds the psychological advantage over Nunez whom he beat in El Salvador last year, on his way to the silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Cheryl-Ann Sankar will begin her battle for a medal when taekwondo action gets underway on Thursday. On a sour note however, Lewis said badminton queen Sabrina Cassie will be returning home from the Games tonight, after suffering a severe knee injury. Lewis said he hopes the athletes compete to the best of their ability and do not put too much expectations on themselves. To date, Trinidad and Tobago have collected two bronze medals at the Games.
The inaugural $160,000 Superleague Semi-professional Football League will kick off this Saturday with matches throughout Trinidad.
The league will be managed by All Sports Promotion and was launched yesterday in the pavilion of the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. Managing director of All Sport, Anthony Harford revealed that a shortened version of the league will be played this year with the promise of a much larger tournament next May. “We have been in negotiations with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) and only recently we struck a deal. With such little time to market the league it was not possible to play an expanded tournament at this time. We will play one round and expand the league next year to two rounds with a promotion and demotion system,” said Harford. The new competition replaces the Semi-Professional Football League played a few seasons ago. First vice-president of the TTFF, Lennox Watson said that when the professional league was formed, a void was left in local football. He said the Superleague will fill that crucial position. A total of 66 matches will be played this season and there will be no promotions or demotions. ”With only one round to go it is a bit of a lottery, so demoting and promoting a team is not really fair,” Harford said.
The teams chosen for the Semi-Professional Superleague are the two winners of the different regional associations. The champion team will walk away with $25,000, the runners-up $12,000 and third place $7,000. The league carries no title sponsor this season and Harford stated that there will be category sponsors instead. Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Roger Boynes was also on hand at the launch and promised to assist the semi-professional league. “The government is putting aside $7 million to assist football in this country and we are going to meet with the TTFF this week to put plans in place to help football. We are confident that we can raise the level of football in this country to what it once was and even better. “I am particularly pleased with the fact that you now have the semi-professional league. Teams can now move from the semi-professional league to the professional league, as now there is a structured system in place,” said Boynes. The teams taking part in the series this season are: Caroni FC, TCL Samba Boys, Mayaro Spurs, Tamana United, WASA Clean and White, Crab Connection, Defence Force, Maraval Youth Academy, Police FC, Club Sando, St Clair Coaching School and BI Water Stokely Vale.
GAZA STRIP, Tactical Bid and Cornerstone were each handed topweights of 56.5 kilos in the three handicaps framed on the Arima Race Club “Friday Lime” programme at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Friday.
Gaza Strip will tote the top impost against five runners in an 1150 metres event for imported maiden three-year-olds and over. In the dash, the Sydney Shim inmate will give three kilos to nearest rival Crimson Tower and 9.5 to bottom weight Cyber Five. Tactical Bid will tote her burden in an extended 1300 metres sprint. The American-bred three-year-old daughter of Tactical Advantage/Bida Distraction will face off against seven West Indian and Imported-bred rivals in the same age group. Mandela and Morgan Heritage were given a similar 53.5 kilos by handicappers Wayne Shockness and Robin Jaisingh in the same event to oppose the Cyril “Grey Patch” Arneaud-trained runner, last seen out in June in the Santa Rosa Dash. Ruby Rich who got on the score sheet last month will take along the pennystamp of 47 kilos against the top trio in the contest. Cornerstone who finished runner-up to Sweet Tempo in the Glen Eagle Stakes, before she followed-up with being fourth behind Top Of The Class in the Midsummer Classic, will have 12 runners to contend with in the 1250 metres race. Baggy Green who switched trainers from Sydney Otway to Edmund De Freitas after turning in his maiden certificate, is set to race one kilo off the topweight. Hatrick will come in at 48 kilos.
TRAINER Juan Mosca has lodged an appeal with the Trinidad and Tobago Racing Authority against the decision of the Arima Race Club to cancel turf races on their Day 24 card at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Saturday.
And, he is claiming the $7,500 winner’s purse in the event for which his runner Small Axe was entered. Mosca paid the $500 fee yesterday to file his appeal. In his letter of protest, Mosca is claiming that the ARC breached Section 15 of the Provisional Programme and did not implement proper procedure before deciding to switch four races on the day’s 10-race programme from the turf course to the main prepared track. The Rule under which Mosca is basing his protest states. The deadline for moving a race from the turf to the main course must be five hours prior to the post time of the race. And in the case of an emergency situation, the stewards must have the track surface inspected. Following same, should they consider that in the best interest of racing the race be moved from the turf to the main track, they should so advise immediately and cause an announcement to be made over the public address system.
The first event on the turf on Saturday was the third race of the day and had a scheduled post time of 1.45 pm. Mosca said he understood ARC track and paddock manager Stephen Jardim and jockeys Ricardo Jadoo and Haniff Emamalie did an examination of the course early in the morning. And based on their findings, the decision not to race on the turf was taken. Mosca claimed the stewards erred and claimed the proper procedure was not followed. A follow-up examination by an inspection team comprising a steward, jockey, trainer, track and paddock manager and a member of the ARC management committee was necessary before such a decision could be made, he said. Mosca, who had Small Axe entered in the first of the quartet of turf races, was peeved that he waited for three months to have a race framed on the turf for his charge. He is claiming the $7,500 first prize in the 1100-metres event..
Mosca also said he made it his duty to inspect the course, and Racehorse Trainers’ Association president Shaffique Khan was of the opinion the track was perfect for racing. He said: “When rain falls, races are removed to the main course because the track is deemed slippery. When it is dry, it is too hard and dusty, and when it is perfect another excuse is found.”. He then asked: “What is the ideal condition for having races on the grass course? Whenever you have a horse that likes turf it is best to give it away.”
Residents of Princes Town and environs are calling on the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs to complete the Yolande Pompey Recreational Facility. They claim that the project which was started in 2000 by the previous United National Congress (UNC) administration has since been neglected. Princes Town sports enthusiast, Balraj Harry said scores of youngsters from the Princes Town area witnessed the turning of the sod by the then Minister of Sports Manohar Ramsaran. This started the renovations and upgrading of the main sporting facility in the deep south.
Today the ground remains in a terrible condition forcing footballers to play on the Princes Town Senior Comprehensive School ground instead. Cricketer Wayne Ali is calling on the ministry, headed by Roger Boynes, to shed some light on the project, since there are hundreds of sportsmen and women in the area who are waiting for the ground to be upgraded. He also said that Princes Town residents are being victimised by the present administration. “We don’t know what is going on at the project. It starts, it stops, it starts again and then it stops. We don’t know what is going on and it is because Princes Town is a known UNC stronghold,” charged Ali. According to another villager, Naresh Singh, the project has been filled with irregularities. Singh told Newsday that building materials for the upgrading project were dropped off by trucks of Princes Town Regional Corporation. “Materials coming and going and no work is being shown. There are many who would pass by during the course of the night helping themselves to the gravel and boulders destined for the completion of the ground,” he noted.
Former chairman of the Princes Town Regional Corporation Winston Chindra said that the project was not finished because of the changing of contractors. Chindra noted that contractors of NIPDEC are controlling the project, which falls under the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. “When the project was started in 2000 the PTRC was invited to many meetings on the site. But this is not the case during the course of this year. “The government of the day has shown absolutely no interest in the further development of this sporting facility. There is nothing the PTRC can do but wait on a directive from the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs,” Chindra said. He pointed out that the first phase of the programme would have been completed by now if the work had continued. The UNC administration had plans for a public swimming pool and basketball court on this facility. “Therefore,” Chindra said, “the youths are the ones who will suffer. They are being deprived of facilities that would encourage sports activities in the area.” He joined the residents in their call for the sports facilities to be completed. “Princes Town is being deprived of the making the next Daren Gangas and Dave Mohammeds and I am appealing to the Ministry of Sports on behalf of Princes Town residents, to look into this matter urgently so the facilities can be completed as soon as possible,” said Chindra.
INTERESTED IN becoming a football referee or, just simply, become more knowlegeable in the rules of the sport?
Then you can participate in a recruitment course currently underway at the Referees’ Office, 103D St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain. The course, which is being run by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Referees Association (TTFRA), will last for for ten weeks. The programme entails two sessions per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for a duration of two hours apiece. Aim of the exercise is the produce officials of the calibre of Douglas James, Ramesh Ramdhan, Merere Gonzales, Boni Bishop and Michael Ragoonath, who have officiated in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Men’s World Cup as well as the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Cost for the entire course is $100 and, for further information, call Ricardo Camps, secretary of the TTFRA North Zone at 678-6054, or the Referees’ Office at 627-9461; via e-mail at referees@tstt.net.tt.
President Professor Max Richards is about to receive the nation’s highest award, the Trinity Cross. Richards, as Chancellor of the Order, is to receive the honour “before August 31,” highly placed sources confirmed yesterday.
The award would be conferred by the Chief Justice. There is the strong likelihood that the President will be the only recipient of the Trinity Cross, sources said. Richards conferment ceremony would precede the national awards ceremony. The tradition has developed for all Presidents to be accorded the Trinity Cross based on the thinking that as the nation’s “first citizen” it is only appropriate that they should be bestowed with this award. Every President therefore has been given the Trinity Cross while in office. Sir Ellis Clarke was already a recipient for distinguished service prior to his assumption to office. In fact, he was among the first group of TC recipients — which included HOB Wooding, Finbar Ryan and others — when the national awards were first instituted in 1966.
When Arthur N R Robinson received his award in October 1997, then Chief Justice Michael De La Bastide said there were two bases on which the President received the TC — he received it on the basis of merit, and by virtue of office. “As the Chancellor of the Order it would be a little harder for him not to be a holder of the Trinity Cross,” De La Bastide then stated. The national awards are given in the name of the President. The Chief Justice as Chairman of the Awards Committee sends recommendations which are made by members of the public to the Prime Minister, who submits a list, as amended by him (the Prime Minister) to the President. The President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, make the awards. On Independence Day all the recipients of the national awards are formally presented with their medals by the Head of State. Richards, a former Principal of the St Augustine Campus of the UWI became the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in March this year.
