MANCHESTER: Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper smashed a rapid half-century and helped Lancashire whip Hampshire by 70 runs in England’s National Cricket League limited overs tournament on Sunday.

Australian Stuart Law hit 98 and Hooper 51 as Lancashire piled up 231 off 30 overs and bowled out Hampshire for 150 in 23.3 overs. Hampshire were chasing a Duckworth/Lewis System revised target of 221 off 28 overs. Law struck seven fours and three sixes and faced only 81 balls in falling two short a century, while Hooper — in his second game for Lancashire — fluently stroked five fours and two sixes in his run-a-minute 51, off only 37 balls.

Pacer Dimitri Mascarenhas, who shared the new ball with Wasim Akram (0-44) took two for 38 to lead the Hampshire bowling, and returned to hit an attacking 37 in his team’s failed run chase. Mark Chilton (3-20) was Lanca-shire’s top bowler, while Hooper picked up one for 31 off 4.3 overs, ending the match when he dislodged Nic Pothas (16). Hooper, who withdrew from the current Cable and Wireless series in the Caribbean against Australia after he was replaced as West Indies captain by Brian Lara, gained special dispensation last week to play for Lancashire as substitute for the injured Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

KNOXVILLE: Top Caribbean competitors Elva Goulbourne, Candice Scott and Leevan Sands emerged champions this past weekend at the South-East Conference (SEC) track and field championship.

Jamaican Goulbourne and Trinidad and Tobago’s Scott, who smashed Penn Relay records in Philadelphia last month, continued their fine form by capturing the women’s long jump and hammer events respectively. Sands, of the Bahamas, landed the men’s triple jump title. Commonwealth champion Goulbourne, who won the NCAA Indoor title in March, posted 6.83 metres to win the women’s long jump for Auburn with fellow Jamaican Camille Rhule third at 6.45 metres. Scott hurled the hammer for a winning 66.41 metres, beating her Florida teammate Jukina Dickenson (63.82m). Scott also took silver in the shot put at 16.74 metres. Sands was measured at 16.82 metres for his triple jump win and he took second in the long jump at 7.77 metres, representing Auburn. Grenadians Hazel-Ann Regis and Neisha Bernard-Thomas, and Jamaicans Aileen Bailey, Latonel Williams, and Maurice Smith snatched top-three finishes at the meet, staged at the University of Tennessee.

Bernard-Thomas lowered her national record for the second time within a month as she placed second in the 800 metres in two minutes 03.32 seconds. Regis also finished second in the 400 metres, clocking 51.75 seconds. Grenadian sprinter Sean Lambert (Tennessee) failed to make any of the sprint finals, but he helped Tennessee win the 4X100-metre relay in 38.92 seconds. Bailey was third in the women’s 100 metres in 11.24 seconds and third as well in the 200 in 22.94, while Williams (10.30) took third in the men’s 100 in which Trinidadian Marc Burns was fifth in 10.38. Smith gathered 7,739 points for second in the decathlon.

A South Senior team recorded a comprehensive win over the National Under-17 team on Friday as the Courts Interzone Series continued at the National Cricket Centre, Couva.

Batting first, the southerners put up 202 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 40 overs. Krishna Narine hit 39 runs while Brent Lezama made 34 and Dale Cummings contributed 25. Under-17 bowler Castri Singh had the best figures of three wickets for 42. In their turn at the crease the Under-17s could only reach 154 with D Basdeo ending on 49, just missing his half century while Clifton Halls got 33 before falling to the dominant South bowlers. Junior Joseph was especially effective taking four for 29 while Brian Dookie accounted for three Under-17 wickets for 23 runs. The South team will be in action again on Friday against Central.

EXCHANGE Sports are the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control Central Zone Division One champions.

They achieved the feat with still one match to complete against Milton, in which they need just 79 runs in 51 overs for victory. On Sunday, Exchange scored a 10-wicket victory over Spoliers at their  Couva ground, to total an unassailable 158 points. Kevin Narine took four wickets for 21 runs and Edwin Lakhan, two for 32, to rout Spoilers for 96 in their first innings. Exchange replied with 221 of which Mohan Mano scored 68 and Ashmeer Backreedee, 30. Trailing by 125 on first innings, Spoilers managed 141, with Kissoon Rampersad getting 29. And Exchange got to the winning target without loss. Exchange will now defend their Ramsingh Sports World Sunday League title against league runners-up Brickfield on Indian Arrival Day, May 30, in the final to be played at Brickfield Ground.

Scores: SPOILERS 96 —- K. Rampersad 22, K. Narine 4/21, E. Lakhan 2/32 and 141 – K. Rampersad 29 vs EXCHANGE 221 —- M. Mano 68, A. Backreedee 30, M. Jaglal 4/102, K. Rampersad 3/59 and 22 for no wicket.

ROYAL Extra Lions roared to an overwhelming 95-47 victory over Off Limits as Royal Extra North Zone Basketball Premier Division action continued at the St Paul’s Street Multi-Purpose Facility in Port-of-Spain.

The match on Friday night last was over from the first quarter when the Lions led 19-7. Jamerson Williams led the charge with 23 points, Emmet Collette added 13, Junior Scott, 12, and  David Barrow, 10. Pompey Shornell got  17 points for Off Limits. In women’s action, national netballers Anastascia Wilson and Rhonda John led Defence Force to a 73-30 blowout of Malick Tigers also on Friday. The Army-Coast Guard girls held the Tigers to just one point in the first quarter which they led 16-1. They continued their dominance and led 36-10 at the halftime break and 58-13 at the three-quarter stage. Wilson led the scoring with 28 points while John added 10 for Defence Force. No player from Malick Tigers reached double figures, but Ayana Mack scored seven points including a three-pointer

NEW YORK: Unranked Glen Johnson won the vacant USBA light heavyweight boxing  championship with a unanimous 12-round decision over sixth-ranked Eric Harding.

Johnson, a 34-year-old Jam-aican who lives in Miami, improved to 39-1-9. Harding, who’s from Philadelphia, was fighting for the first time in a year; he dropped to 23-1-1. There were no knockdowns on Sunday, but Johnson opened a cut over Harding’s right eye with a left jab in the third round. Johnson inadvertently head-butted his opponent in the seventh round, opening a cut over Harding’s left eye. Johnson stayed away from Harding in the final round, preserving the victory. “I was never hurt,” Johnson said. “The fight was mine at that point, and I didn’t want to give him an opening for a knockout.”

The jockeys will be batting away at their charges to get the best runs, while cricketers from Test playing nations Australia and West Indies will be  rallying them on from the stands on Friday.

This  party-like atmosphere takes place on Friday when the Arima Race Club host their “Friday Evening Lime’ at Santa Rosa Park, Arima. Ex-West Indies cricketing greats Sir Vivian Richards and Ambassador Michael Holding are among the invited guests. This ARC seven-race programme is expected to see the West Indies and Australia teams in attendance, as they will be in Trinidad over the weekend for the fourth and fifth one-day internationals in their seven part series at the Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday and Sunday. All races will be named after the cricketers of both teams with the feature and co-feature carrying the names of the captains.

The Brian Lara Starter Allowance which will hold spotlight, will be run over   1100 metres on the turf course, and the Ricky Ponting Restricted Handicap is a 1250 metres sprint on the main track. An autograph session will be held in the winners’ enclosure for fans to get an opportunity to meet and greet their heroes. Also holding invitations to attend are the national men and women hockey teams, Joe Public footballers and the Under-19 national cricket team. The “Lime” will carry a true Trini flavour with local delicacies such as bake and shark, souse, doubles and corn soup on the menu. And there will be misic supplied by DJ Cin between races, to set the mood with a mix of top calypsos and soca.

The Carib Girls will also help to make the day exciting, and there will be several Carib bars strategically placed at the track to accommodate the Limers. There will also be several giveaways through the Lucky Losers draw, with  prizes including Newsday T-shirts,  autographed bats, umbrellas, and Carib hampers. Two races on the card will be handicaps, a Restricted 1250 metres contest for West-Indian bred three-year-old winners and Imported three-year-olds and over, and a 1100 metres dash for West Indian-bred three-year-olds and over winners. Red Hill and Francesca have been allotted the top weight of 56.5 kilos in both sprints. In the Restricted event, Red Hill has been asked to hand out 1.5 kilos to nearest rival Isle Be True and as much as 12 kilos to Indian Decision. Francesca will give away between two kilos to Mir On Fire and 12 to bottom weighted Sweet Laura Lee.

Following are the entries and their weights:
RACE 6: RESTRICTED HANDICAP – W.I BRED 3 Y.O WINNERS AND IMPORTED 3 Y.O & OVER – 1250 METRES.
1. RED HILL – 56.5, 2. ISLE BE TRUE – 55, 3. BON VOYAGE – 51, 4. MANDELA – 51, 5. LOVELY HONOREE – 50.5, 6. NANDO – 48, 7. SQUEEZED MOMENT – 46.5, 8. RUBY RICH – 45.5, 9. INDIAN DECISION – 44.5.

RACE 7: W.I BRED 3 Y.O WINNERS AND W.I BRED 4 Y.O & OVER NON-WINNERS OF THREE RACES IN CAREER – 1100 METRES.

1. FRANCESCA – 56.5, 2. MIR ON FIRE – 54.5, 3. SUNNY – 53.5, 4. TIME TO FLY – 52.5, 5. BALLYBUNION – 52.5, 6. WHAT LEFT – 50, 7. RICHIE RICH – 50, 8. HYARIMA – 49, 9. LOUD MUSIC – 49, 10. SWEET LAURA LEE – 46.5

KINGSTON: Captain Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden hit assured half centuries yesterday to follow up an impressive Australian bowling performance as the cricket team cruised to an eight-wicket win over the West Indies in the second One-Day International.

Ponting (57 not out) and opener Hayden (51) made sure there would be no hiccups after the Aussie bowlers routed West Indies for 163. Australia won with 14.5 overs to spare in racing to 166 for two off 35.1 overs. Ponting lashed five fours and a six off 71 balls in notching his second straight half century. Hayden counted four fours and a six off 87 deliveries. The visitors took a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series and extended their record streak to 19 wins in a row. It was Australia’s ninth consecutive victory over the West Indies in the 100th one-day match between the teams. Australia’s bowlers sliced through the West Indies top order after Brian Lara chose to bat first after winning his second straight toss.

Glenn McGrath claimed four for 31, but Andy Bichel (two for 27) earned the key wickets of Chris Gayle and Lara. Fellow fast bowler Brett Lee took two for 22, while hard-hitter Ricardo Powell top-scored with 32 off 42 deliveries with six fours. Lee made the early breakthrough with the wicket of Devon Smith (1) in his first over at four for one and the home team never recovered. Smith miscued a pull for a return catch. McGrath reduced the West Indies to 21 for two when Marlon Samuels (6) top-edged a hook through to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist. Bichel took over from McGrath and gained immediate success with Lara’s crucial wicket in his third delivery. Lara under-edged a slash to provide Gilchrist with the second of his four catches.

Gayle launched a few authentic strokes and hit four boundaries in 28 off 55 balls before Bichel removed him in his next over. The left-hander was also caught behind as he edged his drive. Jason Gillespie joined his pace mates in the wicket-taking when he got rid of the dangerous Ramnaresh Sarwan for 14 at 75 for five. Sarwan edged to first slip, where Matthew Hayden pouched a fine, low catch. Powell and Omari Banks added 28 for the sixth wicket to stall the rampant Aussies, but left-arm spinner Brad Hogg ended the stand. The 24-year-old Powell batted with calm assurance before pulling a catch to long on, where McGrath hauled in a comfortable catch. Banks and Carlton Baugh, both in only their second match, made sure the score reached some respectability in a further partnership of 54 for the seventh wicket. But the pair never managed to lift the tempo.

Banks made 29 off 76 balls with two fours before Lee’s bouncer on return ended his innings by way of another Gilchrist catch off a top-edged pull.
Baugh’s 29 was more enterprising, spanning 54 balls and spiced with one four and the only six of the innings. But McGrath plucked out his middle stump before also removing Vasbert Drakes (1) and Corey Collymore (0) in the same over. Once Hayden and fellow left-hander Adam Gilchrist (27) gave Australia a rousing start of 50 in 11.3 overs, the home team were never in the hunt. Corey Collymore had Gilchrist caught at deep square leg, but Ponting and Hayden added a further 70 for the second wicket. Hayden fell just after passing fifty, holing out to long on off Omari Banks. Andrew Symonds (17 not out) blasted his only boundary for the winning runs. The third match in the series is on Wednesday in St Lucia.