BRIDGETOWN: India “A’s” hopes of qualifying for the Carib Beer Series regional cricket tournament’s semi-finals were dashed by West Indies “B” yesterday in their rescheduled match in Barbados.
India “A”, set 268 to win in just under two sessions, finished on 205 for nine in 57 overs to earn a draw. The Indians needed an outright victory to displace Trinidad and advance to the Carib International Challenge semi-finals. The result means that Trinidad and Tobago finished fourth and they meet Carib Beer Cup champions Barbados in the International Challenge semi-finals here on Thursday. Second place Guyana host third place Jamaica in the other semi-final on the same day.
Left-hander Connor Williams top-scored with 75 yesterday, but once he was sixth out at 160, the Indians’ hopes subsided. The 29-year-old from Baroda hit nine fours off 109 balls in two hours. Last pair Tinu Yohannan (15 not out) and Aviskhar Salvi (19 not out) negotiated 17.1 overs in adding 40 unbroken in 72 minutes to ward off defeat. Earlier, West Indies “B,” resuming their second innings at 115 for seven, resisted until just after lunch, before they were dismissed for 175. Lorenzo Ingram scored an unbeaten 35 off 133 balls with one boundary. His last wicket stand with fellow Jamaican left-hander Andrew Richardson (13) added 40 crucial runs in 48 minutes. Fast bowler Avishkar Salvi claimed the last two wickets to end with three for 40 off 13.3 overs. Medium pacer Jai Prakash Yadav added one, for figures of four for 46 off 25 overs.
TRINIDAD and Tobago leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine is querying the West Indies Cricket Board’s (WICB) relationship with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), which he currently heads.
The 26-year-old Ramnarine also wants the WICB to deal more effectively with two major issues —- full compensation for players injured during tours and an increase in the salaries for players during the regional First-Class season. Ramnarine, who took over as president of the WIPA a year ago, vented his feelings during a local televised interview on Sunday. “We’ve made several requests to meet with the West Indies Cricket Board,” said the Alescon Comet spinner, “but we’ll finally meet this Thursday to negotiate for the Australian series.” The issue of players’ fees will be a hot topic during the discussions, he said.
The West Indies players, led by then captain Brian Lara and deputy Carl Hooper, staged a strike at the Heathrow Airport in London a week before their ill-fated 1998 tour of South Africa while the present squad, during their pre-World Cup camp in Antigua in January, were at odds with the Board over the allocation of sponsorship funds. The players even boycotted a pre-arranged media conference hours after the WICB announced that the LNM Group, the Indian steel manufacturers which is a parent company of Caribbean Ispat Limited (based in Trinidad), will be the team’s official sponsors during the World Cup.
Ramnarine, who was in Antigua at that time, revealed that he learnt about the deal the night before it was announced at a press conference at the Hilton Trinidad and was in total disagreement with the package offered. With regards to the players’ compensation for tour-ending ailments, the WIPA boss, in total disgust, said that players injured during the latter stages of a trip receive little or no redress from the Board. Furthermore, Ramnarine said the players receive a salary of US $195 (non-Test player) and US $320 (Test player) per regional match, therefore his organisation is “looking at an increase of 20 percent for the non-Test player and 10 percent for the Test player.” Stressing that the First-Class fees had not been increased for the past 12 years, he declared he “intends to take some form of action on the failure of the WICB to actively negotiate with the WIPA.”
FIRE SERVICE whipped Caribbean Facilities Corporation (CFC) 48-36 to win the inaugural Jean Pierre Memorial Trophy competition in the All Sectors Netball League.
The Firemen led from the start of Saturday’s match at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo. At the end of the first quarter, Fire Service led 16-9 and while encountering stiff resistance in the second session, remained ahead 27-19. They maintained the pressure though and kept their eight-goal lead at the three-quarter stage 37-29. Goal-shoot Simone Morgan scored 31 goals from 45 attempts and goal-attack Merlicia Lovell 17 of 20 for Fire Service. Patrice Goring got 16 goals from 21 attempts and Janelle Barker, 20 of 26 for CFC. Police clipped league champions Defence Force 43-40 in the third-place match at the same venue. Beverly Hernandez scored 33 goals, Euphemia Huggins, seven, and Beverly Rodgers, three, for the policewomen. For the Army-Coast Guard girls, Anastacia Wilson got 29 goals and Nicole Sparks scored 11.
In Alternative Division knockout action, Government Printery squeaked a 34-33 victory over Holiday Snacks, with Cindy Wilson scoring 20 and Marjorie Jack 14. Helen Curden got 21 and Marcia Daniel 12 for the Snacks girls. Fire Service were comprehensive 44-32 winners over Police in the other match behind 33 goals from Melissa Snaggs, six from Tricia Roberts, three from Cheryl Farris and two from Sandra James. Giselle Norton scored 24, Cinderlee James, five, and Shivaughn Skeete, three for Police. Defence Force ousted Central Bank 39-35 with Carlene Sylvester scoring 34 goals and Danna Chase five. Cathy James, 29, and Susan Squires, six, scored for the bank girls.
LONDON: Teenage star Wayne Rooney was called up by England football coach Sven-Goran Eriksson on Sunday to help the under pressure Swede score European Championship qualifying victories over minnows Liechtenstein and World Cup semi-finalists Turkey.
Scorer of some standout goals for his club this season, the 17-year-old striker is considered a big star of the future. But England’s poor form in their last three matches has brought forward his chance to get a competitive debut. Eriksson, whose team is five points behind the Turks, watched Rooney score Everton’s equaliser in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal before announcing his 25-man squad. He had appeared to have a change of mind. “He is young and his future is bright but it is difficult to pick him for a competitive match when he has so little first-team football behind him,” the England coach said on Saturday.
Everton’s manager David Moyes has been trying to make sure Rooney avoids burnout. “We are trying to nurture him and not give him too much, too soon,” he said. “His ability isn’t in question but he’s not ready to do it all the time. Seven months ago, he was still sitting at a school desk so let’s put it in perspective.” But England’s poor Group Seven performances in a 2-1 win at Slovakia and a 2-2 tie with Macedonia followed by a 3-1 loss at home to Australia in an exhibition match have cast doubts on Eriksson’s ability to get the best out of established players such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen.
MADRID: Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo scored a goal each on Sunday as Real Madrid downed title rivals Deportivo de La Coruna 2-0 and stretched their lead at the top of the Spanish Football League standings to three points.
Zidane netted on the stroke of half-time, while the Brazilian added a second goal in the 50th minute to earn Madrid their fifth league victory in succession. Earlier on Sunday, second-place Real Sociedad conceded two injury-time goals in a 2-2 home draw with Villarreal, after striker Darko Kovacevic had appeared to set up a victory with two earlier strikes. After 27 matches, Madrid have 57 points and Sociedad have 54. Deportivo are next with 51 points, followed by Valencia with 47 and Celta de Vigo with 44 points. In other matches on Sunday, Dutch forwards Patrick Kluivert and Marc Overmars each scored twice as FC Barcelona crushed Racing de Santander 6-1.
Meanwhile, defending champions Valencia could only draw 1-1 at home to Espanyol and extended their winless streak to four matches, while Egyptian striker Ahmed “Mido” Hossam netted on his debut for Celta in a 2-1 win over Athletic de Bilbao. Elsewhere it was: Malaga 0, Real Betis 0, Recreativo de Huelva 1, Osasuna 1; Mallorca 2, Valladolid 1; and Sevilla 3, Alaves 2. Madrid maintained their 28-month unbeaten home record in the Spanish League as Deportivo failed to create clear chances and suffered their first defeat in eight league matches.
NEW YORK: The war in Iraq reverberated across sports at the weekend with protests at a football match in Spain, an auto race in Malaysia and at cricket’s World Cup in South Africa.
In Spain, FC Barcelona players wore anti-war T-shirts before Sunday’s match and carried a banner urging peace. Many of the 100,000 fans stood and applauded. England’s 2004 Eur-opean Championship qualifier in Liechtenstein, scheduled for next weekend, could be called off or moved because of security concerns. At Formula One’s Malaysian Grand Prix, the Minardi team’s cars raced with a “Malaysia for Peace” logo. About two hours before the race, police removed banners at the track entrance reading “Stop War on Iraq” and “Say No to Bush.”
Peace activists demonstrating near the NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway were outnumbered by flag-waving counter-protesters. Hundreds demonstrated in Johannesburg, South Africa, at cricket’s World Cup final between Australia and India. Some signs were critical of Australia’s participation in the war.
At a marathon in Washington on Sunday, known as The Unofficial Washington DC Mar-athon, no streets were closed along the route and runners stopped for red lights. Organisers decided on Wednesday to call off the real race because of security worries. Some of the 500 people who ran through the capital’s streets wore T-shirts that read, “Can’t blow up what you can’t catch.” More than 6,800 runners from 50 states and 14 countries had registered for the official race. Paul Rades and Kevin Kozlowski won the makeshift race, crossing the finish line together. Hockey fans in Montreal cheered the US anthem before the Canadiens’ win over Carolina on Saturday. The anthem also was greeted warmly in Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto this weekend. The applause in Montreal was a reversal from the jeers greeting “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Thursday’s match against the New York Islanders.
In Montreal, a videotaped message from former Canadiens player Jean Beliveau was played on the scoreboard. The Hall of Famer invited fans to sing both anthems “to celebrate the game of hockey.” After Thursday’s game, Canadiens president Pierre Boivin expressed “deep regret” for the booing. “O Canada” drew steady boos on Saturday in Sunrise, Florida, before Ottawa’s victory over Florida. The Panthers said they were disappointed “a number of fans behaved disrespectfully.”
ORLANDO: Trinidadi-an golfer Stephen Ames finished 10th as world number one Tiger Woods copped a fourth consecutive Bay Hill Invitational title on Sunday with a commanding performance.
Woods battled severe food poisoning and still managed a compelling final round 68 for an unchallenged 11-stroke win at 19 under 269 and the winning prize of US$810,000, as Ames slipped to a five-under 283 total with a 74 on the last day at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge Course.
The 38-year-old Ames who shot a superb third round 66 on Saturday to start the final day joint fourth, was achieving his second top-10 finish of the 2003 US PGA Tour and collected US$93,375 for his effort. He was eighth at last month’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in La Quinta, California. Sickened by some bad pasta that made him vomit through Saturday night and a rainy Sunday, Woods underlined his class and became the first player since Gene Sarazen in the Miami Open (1926-30) to win the same event four times in a row. Walter Hagen, who won the PGA Championship from 1924-1927, also shares record.
Brad Faxon, who began the final day only five shots behind Woods, missed a six-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 74 that dropped him into a four-way tie for second with Kirk Triplett (70), Kenny Perry (71) and Stewart Cink (72) at eight-under 280. Aaron Baddeley finished sixth at seven under 281. Ames ended 10th in an eight-man group that also included Ty Tyron, Jeff Brehaut and Billy Andrade, repeating his 10th place finish at the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational.
TORONTO, CANADA: The Caribbean, already prominent in horse racing in Canada, is making an immediate impact mark on the new Woodbine season, securing five wins on Sunday.
Top jockeys Patrick Husbands and Emile Ramsammy were among the winners as personnel from the Caribbean captured half of the 10-race programme — jockeys Simon Husbands and Slade Callaghan and trainer Laurie Silvera claiming victories as well on the second day of the 2003 season. Barbadian Patrick Husbands, the undisputed king of race-riding in Canada with an unprecedented four consecutive Sovereign Awards, staged a smart front-running 1-1/2 length win aboard 8-5 chance Thats the Problem in the fifth race. His older brother Simon Husbands, advertised his proficiency as a sprint rider, when he upset the fourth-race field astride 16-1 outsider Sceptical in a two-length-win over the 9-5 favourite A View Indeed.
Ramsammy, a two-time champion jockey of Canada, fought off 6-5 favourite Dolly Dynamite to win the seventh by a neck astride 3-2 second favourite Big Cheque, before finishing second aboard Dreams Go Bye (5-2) in the feature CAN$107,000 La Voyageuse Stakes, won by Acting Deputy (10-1) with Todd Kabel riding. Callaghan pushed Mille Feville, the 7-5 favourite, to a 3-3/4 length win in the ninth race. Silvera had his win earlier, saddling first race winner Madam Nightingale to a 3-1/2 length victory with Julia Brimo riding. Patrick Husbands and Ramsammy also had wins on Saturday’s opening day.
MARK GUERRA, alias Abdul Halil, 35, the main suspect in the 1989 shooting at a car transporting former First Lady Zalayhar Hassanali around the Queen’s Park Savannah, was gunned down in Wallerfield around 6.10 pm on Sunday. His bullet riddled body was discovered in a forested area known as Block Three.
The body bore bullet wounds to the head and back of the head. Guerra is the 52nd person to be killed for the year so far. Guerra was never charged with the 1989 offence but he was questioned by now deceased Deputy Police Commissioner Selwyn Headley. The file on the shooting was sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions but was sent back for further investigations. Guerra, a father of 14, was employed as a Special Project Supervisor with the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP). Local Government Minister Jarette Narine said yesterday he did not know Guerra personally, but he knew that he was employed in the Programme last year as a coordinator. He was promoted to Special Project Supervisor for the Morvant/Laventille district. Narine claimed he learned of the death only from the radio news. According to reports, Guerra was one of the persons who met with Prime Minister Patrick Manning a few months ago to discuss gang-related killings in Laventille.
Guerra, who had described himself as a community leader, had put forward proposals to the Prime Miniter to deal with the killings. He was described by the police yesterday as a gang leader who distributed guns to teenagers to carry out crimes, a high ranking member of the Jamaat Al Muslimeen, a close associate of Muslimeen leader Abu Bakr and a suspect in several murders. Guerra was also a deportee. He lived at John John with his wife and eight of his 14 children. Reports revealed that around 7 pm on Sunday, officers of the Arima Police Station received a report of a shooting in Wallerfield. Officers led by ASP Moore and including Sgt Moses, Cpl Jones and others went to Plot 35, Block Three, Wallerfield, where they saw a BMW, registration number PBL 3311 parked on the western side of the roadway with several bullet holes.
Hayden Scott, 32, and Marvin Pierre, 34, were interviewed by the police and claimed that around 6.30 pm on Sunday an unknown vehicle with three occupants fired several shots at Guerra’s vehicle. They claimed that they along with Guerra fled into bushes in a bid to escape. Almost an hour later, they managed to walk out of the bushes, but Guerra was nowhere in sight. Police officers using trackers dogs combed several forested areas in Wallerfield in search of Guerra. His body was discovered around 2 am yesterday. It was viewed by District Medical Officer Dr Emmanuel Hosein who ordered its removal to the Forensic Science Centre. The bullet riddled car was towed to the Malabar Police Station and was checked for prints.
Newsday learned that a cell phone belonging to one of the suspects was discovered near the scene of the shooting death. When Newsday visited Guerra’s sprawling mansion in John John yesterday relatives said they were too distraught to speak. Jamaat Al Muslimeen Leader Yasin Abu Bakr said yesterday that the Jamaat wishes to urge its membership and those who are otherwise aggrieved to exercise restraint and calm at this time of intense grief and anger, due to the slaughter of one of its own. He added that the Jamaat was now urging members to desist from participating in speculation and rumour mongering as it relates to the matter. “We will do all in our power to assist the police,” said Bakr.
WEST END police are investigating yesterday’s shooting death of Kareem Marcelle, 22, of Bagatelle Road, Diego Martin.
Police sources told Newsday yesterday that around 3pm, nurses at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital contacted officers of the St James Police Station telling them that a man was brought into the institution nursing a gunshot wound. However, by the time officers under ASP Badal and including Insp Narcis Cadette and Sgt Nandram Moonilal got there, Marcelle was already dead. Marcelle had a gunshot wound to the chest, police said. Police said they were unable to gather any information from Marcelle, nor could they say who took him to the institution. However, lawmen said they are of the opinion that the shooting took place in the Bagatelle area sometime yesterday. Marcelle’s body was taken to the Forensic Science Centre for storage and a post mortem is expected to be performed today. The West End Police were contacted and officers there, under Sgt Anthony Lezama went to the Bagatelle area, but police said residents there were not forthcoming with information. Investigations are continuing.
