N Touch

WASA hard hit by the dry season

THE WATER and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has been forced to reduce water production at the Courland Water Treatment Plant in Tobago by 50 percent. According to a  release from WASA, production is down from two million gallons per day to one million gallons per day.

This reduction, it was revealed, has become necessary because of the intense dry season which is currently being experienced and which is adversely impacting water storage reserves at all of the Authority’s major impounding reservoirs. Where the Courland plant is concerned, WASA is utilising neighbouring well sources at Diamond Estate, Carnbee and Government Farm Road to supplement, on a scheduled basis, the shortfall from the Courland system. The Authority has been forced to introduce scheduling and provide a limited supply of truck-borne water in an attempt to meet the requirements of its customers.

The following dry season schedule will apply:
Crown Point, Bon Accord — from 5 am to 10 am and 6 pm to 10 pm every day. Canaan — from 5 am to 10 am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Plymouth, Turtle Beach, Black Rock, Grafton, Mt Pleasant, Prospect, Mt Irvine, Buccoo — from 5 pm to 10 pm on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays.
Sou Sou Lands, Upper Sherwood, Bethany — from 12 noon to midnight on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Carnbee Main Road — from 12 noon to midnight on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Stone brothers lead TT in Davis Cup

UNITED States-based top tennis players Shane and Troy Stone will lead the challenge for Trinidad and Tobago’s  promotion in the world’s biggest team tennis competition from March 29 to April 5.

The Stone brothers, men’s doubles bronze medallists at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in El Salvador last December, are joined by Ivor Grazette, leading TT-based player and the promising Dexter Ma-hase. Reserves are Winning-ton Grazette and Jonathan Gomez. Coach is Lennox Francis with Ashton Wharwood as manager. TT come up against seven other countries in the American Zone III Davis Cup competition which will be contested on the newly relaid Rebound Ace surface of the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo. The other teams are Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, St Lucia and Bolivia. Competition will be in two groups, with singles and doubles matches on the same day.

At the end of the round-robin competition the two top teams in each group will bid for promotion honours in a play-off. The tournament was officially launched yesterday at the Crowne Plaza in Port-of-Spain. Those in attendance were Dave James, president of the Tennis Association; Ashton Wharwood, Public Relations officer of the TTTA; Melvin Black, Tournament Director; Oswald Downes, chairman of the Davis Cup Committee; Tim Naf-ziger, director of The X-cel Company Limited and Caira Cudjoe, Corporate Communi-cations Manager of Guardian Life Limited, representing the major sponsors of the tournament.

Downes appealed for assistance in staging the tournament which will cost approximately $300,000, the benefits of which he said will outweigh any contribution towards enabling TT to take their place among the leading tennis playing countries of the world. He also pointed out that Government, along with Crowne Plaza, is also making a significant contribution. Others assisting are international clothing manufacturers Hugo Boss who are supplying the uniforms of the ball boys/girls; and Wilson Sports from whom a supply of balls will come. Downes said because the Davis Cup is sponsored by France-based international financial institution BNP Paribas, the Organising Commit-tee is prohibited from approaching rival financial companies for sponsorship. He however hoped that the local gas/oil industries would respond to the tennis plight will play their part in making the tournament a success.

The theme underlined by Downes of corporate responsibility towards the development of healthy pursuits for the young people was also taken up by Nafzifer whose company is marketing the Xcel Health/Sports Drinks. Nafziger said he was especially proud to be associated with the Davis Cup American Zone III tournament since it was the first sponsorship offered by his company with an option to renew the relationship with the Tennis Association next year. Nafziger, who plays tennis five days a week, said his association with tennis started with the support of Shane Stone on the professional circuit for the past several years.

He said Xcel, produced by Solo Beverages and distributed and marketed by Blue Waters have put in all the ingredients to maximise local value.  Nafziger said the US-based manufacturers of Xcel isotonic exertion and isotonic cardiovascular drinks are on the verge of signing a major sponsorship deal with the United States Tennis Association who have endorsed the product for their members.


 

Kenyans create cricket history

BLOEMFONTEIN: Kenya secured an historic seven-wicket victory over fellow-Africans Zimbabwe yesterday to become the first non-Test nation to qualify for the Cricket World Cup semi-finals.

Thomas Odoyo struck a powerful 43 as Kenya easily reached their meagre victory target of 134 in the Super Six match. He shared an unbeaten partnership of 73 with Maurice Odumbe (38 not out) as the Kenyans won with 14 overs to spare. Kenya, who have still to meet the unbeaten defending champions Australia in the second round, will play India in the semi-finals. Zimbabwe were eliminated. “Our target was the Super Sixes but then we reviewed our target,” said captain Steve Tikolo. Kenya took 10 points through to the second round after beating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They were awarded four points when New Zealand refused to play in Nairobi because of security fears. “We just decided to go out and be positive,” Odumbe said. “Normally low scores are very tricky so we just decided if there was a ball to hit we would hit it. “It’s a great feeling and I’m sure people back home are happy.”

For Zimbabwe only Andy Flower came to terms with the slow pitch and accurate bowling, scoring 63 as Zimbabwe were dismissed for 133 off 44.1 overs. It was their lowest total in 15 matches against Kenya, who had never beaten them before. Opening bowler and “Man-of-the-Match” Martin Suji dismissed Craig Wishart (5), Alistair Campbell (7) and Grant Flower (7).  Leg spinner Collins Obuya then had wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu caught behind for three with the fifth ball of his first over, Dion Ebrahim stumped for 13 and captain Heath Streak caught at slip for a duck. Andy Blignaut was run out for four after a horrible mixup with Andy Flower and Flower was bowled by Odoyo. “Credit must go to Kenya, they stuck to their disciplines as they have done all tournament,” said Streak. “Unfortunately our batters got out to some soft shots.”

Cuban gets top ICC cricket prize

JOHANNESBURG:  The International Cricket Council, bidding to enhance the sport’s global appeal, have  announced special awards for people and associations stretching from Argentina and Cuba to Indonesia.

The Argentina Cricket Association, with a fulltime staff in Buenos Aires and employing eight coaches in youth development, won the ICC development programme’s inaugural award for best run national organisation. The Argentine board conducted the America’s Cricket Championships last March, as well as hosting the South American championships for the fourth time in five years. Leona Ford won the award for the volunteer of the year for her work in developing cricket in Cuba. Uganda scooped African awards, while Samoa got first prize for the best overall development programme and Indonesia took the award for best junior development.

FIFA President remembers Under-20 captain

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has expressed his deep sympathy on the death of former Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 football captain Marvin Lee. The statement below was addressed to TT Football Federation President Oliver Camps on Tuesday by Blatter, who visited Lee at his Santa Rosa, Arima home in September 2001.

“Dear President, dear friend
The news of the death of Marvin Lee came as a great shock to me. You are all very familiar with his story marked by the tragic accident he suffered when devoting himself to his greatest passion, the game of football. I had the opportunity to meet Marvin at his home, while I was in Trinidad and Tobago during the FIFA U-17 World Championship in September 2001. I discovered an extremely engaging youngster, who although lucid about his physical limitations was brimming with hopes and dreams. He was an incredibly mature young man, who was eager to fight to enjoy life despite his handicap. Meeting him was a moment of intense emotion for me and it was an attempt to retain a lasting and symbolic memory of that moment that I awarded Marvin the very first FIFA Presidential Award later that year. Both personally and on behalf of the extended international football family, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to his family, particularly his mother Dawn, his friends and his former teammates, as well as all of those who loved and cared for him, among them the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, and FIFA Vice-President Jack  A Warner. The memory of Marvin will forever remain engraved on my memory.”

Also extending condolences was former Technical Director Rene Simoes who met with Lee at different events during his tenure here. England-based goalkeeper Shaka Hislop as well as Stern John, Clayton Ince and Russell Latapy, who all visited Lee’s home in 2001, also paid their tributes. Birmingham City striker Stern John who met Lee in 2001 was also shocked. “It’s certainly came as a shock to me. “Knowing everything that he passed through to come and leave this way is very sad. It shows that the Almighty has his plan for everyone and we have to abide by this and be grateful for what we have in life,” said John.

Crewe Alexandra goalkeeper, Clayton Ince, a former member of the Defence Force where Lee had also been attached said: “This is very sad. It’s difficult for his family especially after what he went through with the injury and then to come and go so suddenly. I got the news through the internet and I was really saddened by it”.

Marvin Lee to be buried today

FORMER Trinidad and Tobago Under-20 football captain Marvin Lee will be buried at the Tunapuna Cemetery today, following a funeral service at the Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Tunapuna from 3 pm.

Lee died on Sunday morning at the Arima Health Facility after suffering from pneumonia. The Santa Rosa, Arima resident was paralysed from the neck down following an injury during the CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup qualifier against the United States, also at the Centre of Excellence, on March 20, 2001. FIFA vice-president Jack Warner, who attended to the late 21-year-old’s needs after his crippling injury, has agreed to foot the bill for Lee’s funeral expenses.

Roberts (99) pilots MerryBoys

Superb batting by discarded national middle-order batsman Lincoln Roberts (99) and national youth player Richard Kelly (63) piloted Ceramic MerryBoys to an thrilling eight-wicket victory over British American Aranguez in their Group “A” third round match at the Diego Martin Recreation Ground yesterday.

Omitted from the TT squad for the seventh round Carib Beer Cup match against Leeward Islands starting tomorrow, Roberts proved his worth with a match-winning innings which was decorated with thirteen blistering fours.  But he was not alone in the fireworks as MerryBoys form batsman Kelly continued with another important half-century which was seven fours. Keno Mason, with an unbeaten 26, saw his team home with one ball remaining. They topped Group “A” with three consecutive victories and was joined by Queen’s Park Cricket Club who raced to a comfortable six-wicket win over Moosai Sports through Jonathan Augustus (40) and Brent Augustus (54).

Defending champions PowerGen Sports romped to a convincing nine-wicket victory over Cosmos Sports while Group “D” rivals FCB Clarke Road United clinched a 93-run win over Mayo Valley Boys. Both winners are through to the quarter-finals. However, the net run-rate will be used to determine the final qualifier in Group “C” as three clubs — Tile It Central Sports, Caroni Wanderers and Transbrokerage Couva Sports — finished with one win each and three points. Yesterday, Andrew Gonsalves 61 (two sixes and nine fours), Jaggernath Ramnanan 60 not out (eight fours) and skipper Allan Ramroop 36 (one six and three fours) combined to pull off a sensational two-wicket win with two balls remaining against Caroni Wanderers at the Brechin Castle ground. Former champion Alescon Comet scraped home off the final ball against Texaco Police at the Pierre Road Recreation Ground.

Summarised Scores
Group “A”
At Honeymoon Park: Moosai’s Sports 156 for 8 (30 overs) vs QPCC 157 for 4 off 26 overs (Jonathan Augustus 40, Brent Augustus 54 not out). Result: QPCC won by six wickets. MoM: Brent Augustus (QPCC).
At Diego Martin: British American Aranguez 212 for 8 off 30 overs vs Ceramic MerryBoys 213 for 2 off 29.5 overs (Lincoln Roberts 99, Richard Kelly 63, Keno Mason 26 not out). Result: MerryBoys won by 8 wickets. MoM: Lincoln Roberts (MerryBoys).
Group “B”
At Pierre Road: Texaco Police 190 for 8 (30 overs) vs Alescon Comet 191 for 8 off 30 overs (Junior Sadhoo 46, Avinash Jaggernauth 39, Robert Mahabir 2 for 40).  MoM: Robert Mahabir (Police) Result: Comet won by two wickets.
At Endeavour: Low Cost Munroe Road 123 all out in 29.1 overs vs S&J Endeavour Sports 124 for 9 off 30 overs (Jodhan Manohar 31, Hemant Ballai 20, Narine Roopnarine 25 not out). Result: S&J Endeavour won by one wicket off last ball. MoM: Narine Roopnarine (S&J Endeavour).
Group “C”
At Inshan Ali Park: CLICO Preysal 182 for 7 (30 overs) vs Tile It Central Sports 160 all out off 30 overs (Reyad Emrit 46, Derwin Christian 29, Satish Naidoo 25; Keith Arthurton 4 for 21. Result: Clico Preysal won by 22 runs. MoM: Keith Arthurton (Preysal).
At Gilbert Park: Caroni Wanderers 212 for 8 (30 overs) vs Transbrokerage Couva Sports 213 for 8 off 29.4 overs (Andrew Gonsalves 61, Jaggernauth Ramnanan 60 not out, Allan Ramroop 36; Avidesh Samaroo 3 for 20, Kishore Lalchan 2 for 46). Result: Couva Sports won by two wickets. MoM: Jaggernath Ramnanan (Couva Sports).
Group “D”
At Kumar Recreation Ground: Cosmos 150 for 8 (30 overs) vs PowerGen Sports 151 for 1 off 21.2 overs (Winston Duncan 52, Ahmed Mohammed 52 not out, Sherwin Ganga 33). Result: PowerGen won by nine wickets. MoM: Ahmed Mohammed (PowerGen).
At Wilson Road: FCB Clarke Road 261 for 5 (30 overs) vs Mayo Valley Boys 168 for 8 off 30 overs (Lalchand Persaud 37, David Lee 35, Anil Rooplal 24, Kenton Thompson 3 for 40, Rajesh Moonan 3 for 31). Result: FCB Clarke Road won by 93 runs. MoM: Gibran Mohammed (Clarke Road). 

Quarter-Finals..
Group A: Ceramic MerryBoys (9 points), QPCC (6 points).
Group B: Aleson Comets (9 points), S&J Endeavour (6 points).
Group C: CLICO Preysal (9 points),
Group D: FCB Clarke Road (9 points), PowerGen (6 points).

Sarwan, Chanders back in Guyana team

GEORGETOWN: Knocked out of the cricket Cricket World Cup in South Africa during preliminary stages, two West Indies Test players have returned for a seventh-round Carib Beer Series regional match.

Middle-order batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been named to Guyana’s squad to oppose the Windward Islands tomorrow. The two returned to Guyana last week and come into the squad at the expense of batsman Hoomchand Pooran and medium pacer Naresh Roopnarine, who played just one match against Jamaica in early March. Sarwan, regarded as a future West Indies captain, said on  Tuesday that he wants to help Guyana repeat their feat of winning the tournament against Jamaica last year.

Unsponsored Kenya cash in on success

BLOEMFONTEIN: Kenya came to the Cricket World Cup without a major team sponsor but made sure of leaving with at least US $500,000 after reaching the semi-finals yesterday.

Former captain Maurice Odumbe, who hit the winning runs in a shock seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe yesterday, was not aware of those figures. Told that each team to reach the semi-finals won US $400,000, he responded: “Is that it? “Our manager is currently doing the calculations now. We will come to know about that later. “We’re just thinking about the matches to come.” Kenya’s individual match earnings have also netted them $50,000 dollars in the first round, for four wins and two losses. They have already made another US $60,000 in two Super Six matches, with one match against world champions Australia still to come. Defeat in that match would add another US $20,000. The World Cup winners will earn US $2 million as well as match winnings, with US $800,000 for the runners-up. Kenya’s players are professionals but reaching the Super Sixes will assure them of their biggest pay day ever. Their real ambition, however, is to win Test status to go with their one-day status. They have beaten Test sides Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the tournament to date.

UWI Games on Sunday

TOYOTA MOTORS and the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) are the major sponsors in the $200,000 24th Bi-annual Intercampus Games (UWI Games).

The Games will be staged from Sunday, March 16 until Saturday March 22 at the newly-built Sport and Physical Education Centre (SPEC), on the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies. The St Augustine athletes will compete against those from the other campuses — Mona, Jamaica and Cave Hill, Barbados in six disciplines — football, cricket, netball, basketball, volleyball and track and field (which will be staged at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo). According to Dr Iva Gloudon, head of SPEC, the facility “is the attempt within the region to develop scientific knowledge which will drive our athletes to a higher level.” Action begins on Sunday with the opening ceremony and aerobic burnout at the SPEC Indoor Court at 5 pm.  Admission for all events is free.

Full Schedule:
March 17: CRICKET – St Augustine vs Mona, Sir Frank Worrell Ground, 9 am; FOOTBALL – St Augustine vs Mona, SPEC football field, 3.30 pm; VOLLEYBALL – Cave Hill vs Mona, SPEC Indoor Court, 6 pm; BASKETBALL – St Augustine vs Cave Hill, SPEC Indoor Court, 8 pm.

March 18: CRICKET – Cave Hill vs Mona, Sir Frank Worrell Ground, 9 am; NETBALL – Mona vs Cave Hill, SPEC Indoor Court, 3.30 pm; VOLLEYBALL – Mona vs St Augustine, SPEC Indoor Court, 6 pm.

March 19: NETBALL – St Augustine vs Cave Hill, SPEC Indoor Court, 3 pm; FOOTBALL – Cave Hill vs Mona, SPEC football field, 4 pm; CULTURAL EVENING – SPEC Indoor Court, 8 pm.

March 20: CRICKET – Cave Hill vs St Augustine, Sir Frank Worrell Ground, 9 am; BASKETBALL – Cave Hill vs Mona, SPEC Indoor Court, 3 pm; VOLLEYBALL – St Augustine vs Cave Hill, SPEC Indoor Court, 6 pm; NETBALL – St Augustine vs Mona, SPEC Indoor Court, 8 pm.

March 21: FOOTBALL – St Augustine vs Cave Hill, SPEC football field, 3 pm; BASKETBALL – St Augustine vs Mona, SPEC Indoor Court, 7 pm.

March 22: TRACK AND FIELD – Hasely Crawford Stadium, 8 am; FOOTBALL – Garth Taylor Memorial All Star Match, SPEC football field, 2.30 pm; CLOSING CEREMONY – SPEC Indoor Court, 7.30 pm.