POLICE believe speeding may have caused the death of a 29-year-old computer technician who, while driving home yesterday morning, died instantly when his car overturned several times after the victim lost control of the vehicle.
Kevin Andrew Pantin, employed with Lever Brothers West Indies Limited, reportedly suffered massive injuries to his head. According to reports, around 1 am, Pantin, a father of two, from Southern Main Road, La Romaine, was heading south along the Solomon Hochoy Highway in his green Mazda 323 Hatchback. Reports revealed that on nearing the Couva Flyover, he overtook a van transporting fish and subsequently lost control of the vehicle, which overturned several times.
FORMER Government minister Mervyn Assam disclosed that the other 14 United National Congress (UNC) parliamentarians have been secretly saying for months what Gerald Yetming stated publicly on Thursday in an exclusive Newsday story— Basdeo Panday must go now. Assam told Newsday on Thursday that when he first said that Panday should “ride out into the sunset”, Yetming was one of four people who severely criticised him. He identified the other three individuals as UNC chairman Wade Mark and Opposition MPs Ganga Singh and Kelvin Ramnath. “ I am happy that at last Mr Yetming has seen the light,” he said. However Assam went further, saying his former colleagues were “hypocrites” for not revealing their true feelings about Panday remaining as UNC political leader or being surprised at Yetming’s statements. “Everyone of them, without exception, have said that Panday must go,” he declared. The former minister said all 15 Opposition MPs have been expressing that feeling amongst themselves and at private functions but would not dare say it directly to the UNC leader.
“They are cowards,” Assam added.
Assam said when he first called upon Panday to resign, he was doing it to save the UNC from political demise and Trinidad and Tobago from “a one-party state”. The former Minister maintained that this was the danger the UNC was leaving the country open to if it did not clean house as a matter of urgency. He reiterated that such a scenario, regardless of whichever party holds the reins of government, would not be healthy for TT in the long run. Assam also dismissed a UNC statement which claimed his call for Panday’s resignation was a case of “sour grapes”.
A VISTABELLA teenager, who pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine before a San Fernando magistrate yesterday, was spared a jail sentence by the magistrate, who said she would give the offender “a chance” to change his life around. The 16-year-old was placed on $500 bond to keep the peace for six months by San Fernando Second Court Magistrate Marcia Murray. The Magistrate however warned that if the teen breached the bond order, he would be jailed for two months. The teen pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of 0.5 grammes of cocaine possession. According to court prosecutor Cpl Joey Samaroo, police were patrolling Pointe-a-Pierre Road around 4.30 pm on Wednesday when they noticed the teen standing at the side of the road acting suspiciously.
The complainant, PC Clint Williams of Marabella CID, and other officers stopped and searched Evans and found the cocaine hidden under his arm. He was arrested and taken to Marabella police station where he was charged. The accused claimed he found a small plastic pack containing the cocaine and was going by a friend to try and see if he could “get a sale” to raise money to pay a court-imposed fine for another petty offence.
The West Indies Women cricket team registered a convincing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan and are now on the verge of clinching the second qualifying berth for the World Cup tournament in South Africa next year. The highly ecstatic West Indies team will now need to win their final round match against lowly-rated Japan today to be assured of that historic place. With three victories in four matches, the West Indies women cricketers, led by Trinidadian Stephanie Powers, are second on the points table behind the unbeaten Ireland team who have already clinched the first of two qualifying spots. Yesterday, Powers (wicketkeeper) won the toss and asked Pakistan to take first strike. The move paid handsome dividends as her bowlers Debbie Ann Lewis, Doris Francis, Verena Felicien and Indomatie Goordial produced remarkable spells to restrict the powerful Pakistanis to 93 all out off the allotted 50 overs.
S Sham 20 and Kiran Balauch 18 were the only ones to make an impression.
Guyanese 17-year-old Goordial was once again the bowling heroine and captured four wickets for 17 runs from her impressive 10-over spell. Francis snapped two for 21 from 10 overs while Lewis finished with one wicket for 15 from her seven-over stint. Felicien returned splendid figures of 10-1-15-0. In reply, West Indies raced to victory in the 34th over as Trinidadian star player Shane DeSilva remained unbeaten on 21 and was accompanied to the pavilion by the jubilant West Indians and Felicien who was also unbeaten with 12. Trinidadian Nelly Williams topscored with 27 while Nadine George contributed 16. The good news for the West Indian women cricketers was the defeat of host Holland that succumbed to the unbeaten Ireland outfit, which clinched the first of two qualifying berths to the 2004 World Cup. Ireland recorded the only victory over the West Indies team in the opening round encounter. Yesterday, they whipped hosts and pre-tournament favourites Holland by 48 runs in their rain-affected match played at The Hague. In the final round matches, Ireland will clash with neighbours Scotland, West Indies take on cellar-placed Japan while Holland will entertain Pakistan. All matches are carded for Amstelveen. The Japanese team is undoubtedly the weakest and West Indies coach Ann Brown-John is elated and overjoyed with the developments and her team’s position of securing the vital spot on the WC. Should there be a tie on points with the second and third place teams, there is a provision for a play-offs between the two teams to decide the other qualifier. Also provisions have been made tomorrow to a be reserve day should the final round matches today be affected by rain. On all accounts, West Indies are favourably placed for an historic achievement.
Summarised Scores:
PAKISTAN 93 all out off 50 overs (S. Sham 20, Kiran Balauch 18; Indomatie Goordial 4 for 17, Doris Francis 2 for 21, DebbieAnn Lewis 1 for 15) lost to WEST INDIES 94 for three wickets off 34 overs (Nelly Williams 27, Nadine George 16, Shane DeSilva 21 not out, Verena Felicien 12 not out).
Result: WI won by seven wickets.
IRELAND 156 off 50 overs. HOLLAND 86 for 8 off 41 overs. Rain-affected match. Reduced target was 134 off 41 overs.
Result: IRELAND won by 48 runs.
SCOTLAND 143 off 50 overs. JAPAN 83 all out.
Result: SCOTLAND won by 60 runs.
POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 rounds)
Ireland- 8
West Indies- 6
Holland- 4
Pakistan- 4
Scotland- 2
Japan- 0.
BARCELONA: Top Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean swimmer George Bovell, yesterday placed fifth in the final of the 200 metres Individual Medley at the World Swimming Championships. Bovell, who entered the pool with the third fastest semi-final time of 1:59.86 could not repeat his form of the previous day and finished in a slow 2:00.06. The 6-foot 5-inch tall Bovell, a student at Auburn University in the USA, later said that he was using the meet as preparation for next month’s Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. According to the TT team coach Anil Roberts, “it was his backstroke (stage) that let him down, and he swam a slow time of 35.79 (seconds).” Roberts, who also has fellow Piranha Aquatics swimmers Nicholas Bovell, Sharntelle McLean and Ayeisha Collymore under his wings at the two-week event, added, “he (George) lost his timing then and couldn’t catch up with Phelps, who swam an amazing race.”
The 20-year-old Bovell finished behind Australia’s Ian “Thorpedo” Thorpe, who took the silver medal in 1:59.66, more than 3.5 seconds behind Michael Phelps —- which is an eternity in this event —- Italy’s Massimiliano Rosolino (1:59.71) and Finland’s Jani Sievinen (1:59.98). Phelps an 18-year-old American became the first man to set two world records in two different individual disciplines on the same day when he broke world marks in the 100-metre butterfly and the 200 individual medley yesterday. Phelps concluded his night at the World Swimming Championships with a spectacular performance in the 200Im, winning the gold medal in 1:56.04, shattering his own world record of 1:57.52 set in Thursday’s semi-finals. Completing the field were Japan’s Takahiro Mori, who clocked 2:01.29, American Kevin Clements 2:01.51 and Canadian Brian Johns 2:01.62. Two other swimmers also swam world record times yesterday. Andrii Serdinov of the Ukraine started the frenzy by setting a new mark (51.76) in the 100m butterfly semi-finals, only to have his record broken five minutes later by Phelps (51.47) in the second semifinal heat. In the next event on the programme, Phelps’ fellow American Amanda Beard tied a world record when she won the gold medal in the 200 breaststroke. In all, nine world marks have been broken and one equalled in these championships, which ends tomorrow.
QUEEN’S PARK squeezed past Malvern 8-6 as the Ventures Indoor Hockey Tournament flicked off at the Chinese Association, St Ann’s on Thursday night. Luke Govia netted a hat-trick for the Parkites in their Men’s Group “A” tussle, with Peter Kam adding a double, Nicholas Govia, Derek Tang Nian and Paul Weekes one apiece. Albert Marcano and Colin Byron netted three goals each for the Malvern squad. In a Men’s Group “B” fixture, Notre Dame needed a hat-trick from Selwyn King and two strikes from Sean Olton to overcome a tough Paragon squad 5-4. Kiel Murray hit the backboard three times and Keston Paul once for the St James-based losers. Action in the four-day tournament continues today from 9 am.
OTHER RESULTS –
Women’s: CARIB MAGNOLIA (6) – Candice De Freitas 2, Kristi Ann Chin, Laura D’Abadie, Natalie Nieves, Gayle-Ann Nieves vs MALVERN (3) – Lisa Marcano 2, Yolanda Whitehall; PARAGON (4) – Kristin Thompson 2, Avion Ashton 2 vs VENTURES (3) – Melissa Pascall, Camille Robinson, Kristine Jardine.
Mixed Veterans: QUEEN’S PARK/VENTURES (9) – Nicholas Govia 5, Robert Mouttet, Sheldon Cockburn, Cheryl Evans, Eddie Aleong vs MALVERN (5) – Albert Marcano 4, Gary Hercules.
Today’s Matches: 9 am – Malvern vs Notre Dame (Women); 9.45 am – Paragon vs Fatima (Men’s Group A); 10.30 am – Ventures vs Magnolia (Women); 11.15 am – Queen’s Park vs UWI (Men’s Group B); noon – Queen’s Park vs Paragon (Mixed Veterans); 12.45 pm – Paragon vs Malvern (Women); 1.30 pm – Malvern vs Chinese (Men’s Group B); 2.15 pm – Magnolia vs Notre Dame (Women); 3 pm – Notre Dame vs Carib (Men’s Group A); 3.45 pm – Malvern vs Notre Dame (Mixed
Veterans); 4.30 pm – Ventures vs Malvern (Women); 5 pm – Paragon vs Carib (Men’s Group A); 5.45 pm – Notre Dame vs Paragon (Women); 6.30 pm – Queen’s Park vs Chinese (Men’s Group B); 7.15 pm – Queen’s Park vs Notre Dame (Mixed Veterans); 8 pm – Malvern vs Paragon (Mixed Veterans); 8.45 pm – Notre Dame vs Fatima (Men’s Group A); 9.30 pm – Malvern vs UWI (Men’s Group B).
MEXICO CITY: Rafael Marquez floated in a 45-metre strike on Thursday to give Mexico a 2-0 win over Costa Rica and secure a CONCACAF Gold Cup football finals berth. Mexico will play Brazil in the final on tomorrow. Brazil advanced on Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory against the United States in Miami. Because Brazil are invited guests to this tournament, the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean, Thursday’s win earned Mexico a berth in the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. A crowd of 35,000 braved a driving rain at the 105,000-seat Aztec Stadium to see Mexico beat Costa Rica for the first time in a decade. Costa Rica earned a shocking 2-1 victory over Mexico in the qualifying rounds for the 2002 World Cup.
Marquez’s improbable goal came in the 18th minute of the match that marked the defender’s first international appearance since he signed this month with Spanish super-club Barcelona. “The goal surprised me, like everyone else,” Marquez said. “It was a pass with a lot of luck and it surprised the Costa Rican goalkeeper.” Jared Borgetti gave Mexico a 2-0 lead nine minutes later. The goal followed a powerful free kick from midfielder Rafael Garcia that Costa Rican goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzalez deflected into the centre of the penalty area. Costa Rica’s best scoring chance came in the 24th minute when forward Winston Parks fired a shot that Oswaldo Sanchez managed to stop with a fine save. “The first goal against us took the wind out of our sails,” Costa Rica coach Steve Sampson said. “I think it’s disappointing because at that point the game was very even.” Sanchez has yet to give up a goal in the tournament, which features nations from North and Central America and the Caribbean. Mexico topped Brazil 1-0 and battled Honduras to a scoreless tie in the opening round, before routing Jamaica 5-0 in the quarterfinals. “We are going to show Brazil how much we have progressed,” Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe said.
“Tobago have a lost of talented sportsmen and we want to give the youngsters a chance to develop their cricket and land spots on the national cricket team.” This intention was expressed by Corporate Communications Manager at PowerGen, Omar Khan, after the launch of the PowerGen Youth Cricket Coach-ing Programme in Tobago yesterday. Khan was addressing the youngsters at the Shaw Park cricket facility . “Tobago is an integral part of PowerGen’s development trust. We cannot launch a youth coaching programme in Trinidad and leave out Tobago. You have a lot of talented youths and we are here to give you a chance to learn the game in the proper way so that you can make a serious challenge for a pick on any of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket teams,” Khan said. “Our aim at PowerGen and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) is to have a strong unit of cricketers in Tobago so that the national team can get a constant supply of good players to choose from,” he added.
Cricket Board coaching director Baldath Mahabir who was also on hand to launch the programme said there was a new enthusiasm in Tobago cricket. “With the new dispensation comes a renewed enthusiasm for the game of cricket in the sister isle. I am sure with the efforts of the Tobago Cricket Association under new president Neil Beckles, as well as PowerGen and the Tobago House of Assembly, we are going to get great results from this programme and growth in Tobago’s cricket, which is so essential to the national make-up,” Mahabir said. The TCA will be utilising some former national cricketers as well as qualified coaches to assist in the programme. Leading the coaches will be former Trinidad and Tobago spinner John Pollard. He will have on his staff Garnet Gillman, Ken Williams, Clint Yorke, Alston Daniel, Lester Alleyne, Richard Murray, Morgan Sobers, Ashworth Sheppard, Mervyn Kerr and Clem Hercules. Last Thursday, PowerGen and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) launched the Trinidad leg of the youth coaching programme at the National Cricket Centre (NCC), Balmain Village, Couva.
GEORGETOWN: Tournament coordinator Clyde Butts, assures that plans for this year’s TCL Group West Indies Under-19 Tournament are going well, despite concerns about the Guyanese weather. “Grounds are being prepared and all plans are in place, though the weather is not what we would like it to be at the moment,” said Butts, who is also the Cricket Development Officer of the Guyana Cricket Board. “The weather is getting better so we are able to do more work in order to be fully prepared for the start of the competition,” the former West Indies and Guyana off spinner explained.
There has been persistent rain for several weeks in Guyana where the tournament is scheduled to take place. However over the past week there has been progressive improvement as the showers have dissipated, allowing the grounds to be cut of the lush grass which blossomed during the rainy period. Eight grounds in the county of Demerara and one in Berbice will be utilised during this year’s tournament. The tournament, which is being sponsored by Caribbean cement magnate TCL, will commence with the limited overs competition on August 5 and conclude on August 30.
KINGSTON: The Jamaica Cricket Associa-tion (JCA) yesterday announced plans for an annual mini-academy for 15-19 year old cricketers at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town. The first session will be spread over three weeks next month (August 2-25) involving 28 teenagers, including four girls. To be named The George Headley Centre of Excellence, the mini-academy, which, it is hoped, will serve as a feeder for the regional Shell Cricket Academy at St George’s University, is one of several now springing up around the Caribbean. It had its roots in ideas put forward by the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB’s) Cric-ket Development Unit. Acclaimed West Indies wicketkeeper /batsman of the 1980s and early ’90s, Jeffrey Dujon, will be the technical director while the WICB’s Development Officer with responsibility for Jamaica, Phillip Service, will be the administrative director.
Service yesterday described the project as “another cog in the development process as we undertake to return West Indies cricket to winning ways”. His major concern, just over a week before the start of the first session, is money. Financial constraints have already forced a revision from the originally-planned five-week session to three weeks. The budget for this year is $1.5 million, of which $500,000 has come from the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
