West Indies Captain Hayley Matthews and former West Indies All-rounder Deandra Dottin were the only two West Indian players sold at the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL) player auction at the JIO Convention Centre in Mumbai on Monday.
The WPL is the Women’s version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and will run between March 4 and March 26.
The first edition will feature five teams: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz.
Matthews, currently representing the regional side at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa where she made 44 in their opener against England, was sold to the Mumbai Indians for US$49,000.
Dottin, who retired from international cricket in 2022 after representing the West Indies 143 ODIs and 127 T20Is since her international debut in 2008, went to the Gujarat Giants for US$73,000.
Opener Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive Indian player, going to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for US$415,000.
England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia’s Ash Gardner both went for US$390,000 to the Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Giants, respectively, to share the tag of most expensive overseas player.
Leg-spinner Afy Fletcher and pacer Shamilia Connell were the West Indians among the list of unsold players.J
Jamaica opened their campaign in the CONCACAF U17 tournament with an emphatic 4-2 victory over Cuba at the Doroteo Guamuch Flores Stadium in Guatemala City on Sunday.
Playing 4-4-2, Jamaica opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Jahmani Bell buried a volley from inside the box.
The score remained 1-0 until half time.
Orane Watson doubled Jamaica’s lead in the 56th minute before Ashton Gordon put the side up 3-0 in the 70th minute.
Watson put the match beyond the Cubans in the 75th minute to give the Jamaicans a 4-0 lead.
Cuba were never without a fight, however, and got a consolation in the 78th through Didier Reinoso who scored a second in the 89th.
The win means Jamaica temporarily go top of Group G that also has Costa Rica and Guadeloupe.
Costa Rica will take on Guadeloupe later Sunday.
The West Indies hold a slight advantage against Zimbabwe at stumps on Sunday’s first day of the second Test at Bulawayo.
Titans International stars Briana Williams and Ackeem Blake opened their accounts in impressive style over 60m at the Camperdown Classic at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday night.
Williams, the Tokyo Olympics 4x100m gold medallist, clocked a fast 7.22 to win the dash ahead of Legacy Athletics’ Jura Levy, who ran 7.34.
Rohanna Wright of Swept Track Club ran 7.71 for third.
Blake was just as impressive, winning his short dash in 6.63 running into a negative wind, just holding off his more accomplished club-mate Yohan Blake, who clocked 6.64.
Emmanuel Archibald finished third in 6.70.
Williams, who has been training with the group since September, was chuffed about the performance.
“It felt very quick. I am just happy to be here to start the season,” she said, adding that her training has been going well, working on things that will make her better for the coming season.
“We have been working on endurance and the last part of races and this is just the start getting to the 100 and 200.”
The work, she said, is helping her get to her goals of running consistent 10.7s and 10.8s for the season ahead.
After just five months training in Jamaica, Williams said she feels at home and appreciates the support from the fans and her teammates at Titans.
“I am enjoying my coaches, my teammates and I am enjoying training,” said Williams, who races next in another 60m dash at the Gibson Relays o February 25.
“My teammates push me every day and they encourage me and I am so happy to have them.”
Like Williams, young Blake was pleased with pleased with the outcome.
“My training has been going good so far because I am healthy and I am ready," Blake said. "I have been putting in work and so I was expected to go out there, deliver, and that is what I did tonight.”
All-rounder Kevin Sinclair and pacer Ronsford Beaton were the heroes as they batted 17.1 overs to salvage a draw for the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium on Saturday.
The day started with the Harpy Eagles 35-0 off 14.3 overs, needing a further 259 runs to win their second straight game with Matthew Nandu on 18 and Tevin Imlach on 13.
The pair brought the score up to 54 in the 23rd over before Preston McSween dismissed Imlach for 25.
Kemol Savory joined Nandu at the crease and lasted 35 balls before falling to Kenneth Dember for seven in the 31st over.
Captain Leon Johnson made his way to the middle to join Nandu and the pair put on 55 for the third wicket before Johnson was dismissed by Darius Martin for 40 in the 46th over.
The 47th over saw Nandu bring up his half century off 112 balls. The 19-year-old struck 126 in their first-round encounter with the Barbados Pride.
The 51st over saw the Harpy Eagles lose their fourth wicket as Anthony Bramble went caught behind off McSween for three.
Just two balls later, 140-4 became 141-5 as Nandu was bowled for a well-compiled 60 off 123 balls.
Akshya Persaud, who replaced Chandrapaul Hemraj who retired hurt on day three, then combined with Sinclair to form a crucial 64-run sixth-wicket partnership. The partnership ended when Persaud was dismissed by Justin Greaves for a 62-ball 24 to leave the Harpy Eagles 205-6 in 70th over.
Between the 73rd and 74th over, Veerasammy Permaul (4), Shamar Joseph (0) and Nial Smith (0) all fell, bringing Ronsford Beaton to the crease to join Sinclair and try to save the match.
Sinclair brought up his fifty off 82 balls in the 79th over and the pair put together a masterful display of grit to bat out the last 17.1 overs to finish 250-9 off 91 overs.
Sinclair ended up 77* off 138 balls while Beaton made just one but, more importantly, faced 24 balls.
Preston McSween ended up with 3-58 from 21 overs while Justin Greaves and Kavem Hodge took two wickets, each.
Scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 294 off 80.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 141, Ryan John 51*, Sunil Ambris 47, Veerasammy Permaul 4-70, Ronsford Beaton 2-50, Kevin Sinclair 2-66) and 168 off 56.3 overs (Justin Greaves 27, Sunil Ambris 26, Preston McSween 25, Shamar Joseph 5-41, Ronsford Beaton 3-35)
Guyana Harpy Eagles 169 off 63.1 overs (Veerasammy Permaul 53, Kevin Sinclair 23, Justin Greaves 5-24, Ryan John 2-52) and 250-9 off 91 overs (Kevin Sinclair 77*, Matthew Nandu 60, Leon Johnson 40, Preston McSween 3-58, Justin Greaves 2-35, Kavem Hodge 2-36)
Darren Bravo got his second century of the game and 13th of his First-class career as the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes played out a tame draw on Saturday’s day four at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium.
The Leewards started the fourth and final day 243-7 after 87 overs, trailing the Red Force 175 runs in their first innings with Rakheem Cornwall (33) and Hayden Walsh (18) at the crease.
Cornwall and Walsh had put on 43 for the eighth wicket before the end of play on day three and they continued their solid batting to start day four, stretching their partnership to 83 in the 95th over before Cornwall fell at the hands of Bryan Charles for 67 off 95 balls.
Eleven runs and three overs later, Colin Archibald became the ninth wicket to fall, going off the bowling of Khary Pierre for 10.
Walsh was the last man to go for 31 as the Hurricanes were bowled out for 302 in 100.1 overs, allowing the Red Force to bat again with a lead of 116.
Bryan Charles led the way with the ball for the Trinidadians with 4-84 in 29.1 overs while Khary Pierre provided good support with 3-63 in 30 overs.
In a change, Darren Bravo joined regular opener Keagan Simmons at the top of the innings to begin the Red Force’s quest to set a good total.
Their quest did not get off to the best of starts as Simmons was bowled by Sheeno Berridge for one off seven balls.
Regular opener Jeremy Solozano batted three this time around and put on 85 with Bravo for the second wicket before Berridge added to his tally, getting him caught behind for 26 in the 21st over.
During that partnership. Bravo brought up his fifty off 66 balls in the 19th over with the score on 73.
Upon the fall of Solozano’s wicket, the vastly experienced Jason Mohammed then joined his captain and the pair put of 28 before Mohammed fell to Kofi James for 12 in the 29th over.
Tion Webster then joined Bravo but fell quickly for just three in the 31st over.
Terrance Hinds was next up and he made a spritely 12-ball 16 before he became James’ third wicket, going in the 35th over.
That was the last wicket to fall as Bravo and Amir Jangoo put on a 37-run partnership before the red Force declared their second innings on 183-5 in 43.4 overs, leaving the Hurricanes needing 300 to win.
The declaration came as Bravo brought up his second century of the match off 153 balls. His knock included 10 fours.
The Leewards reached 72-1 off 23 overs when the game was declared a draw with Montcin Hodge on 34 and Kacey Carty 11. Kieran Powell earlier made 21.
Scores: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force 418-9 declared off 126.5 overs (Darren Bravo 100, Imran Khan 92, Yannic Cariah 52, Terrance Hinds 51, Jeremiah Louis 3-78, Colin Archibald 3-111) and 183-5 declared off 43.4 overs (Darren Bravo 100*, Jeremy Solozano 26, Kofi James 3-39, Sheeno Berridge 2-32)
Leeward Islands Hurricanes 302 off 100.1 overs (Keacy Carty 95, Rakheem Cornwall 67, Bryan Charles 4-84, Khary Pierre 3-63, Yannic Cariah 2-24) and 72-1 off 23 overs (Montcin Hodge 34*, Kieran Powell 21)
President of the Jamaica Gymnastics Association, Nicole Grant, is excited about the association’s ongoing partnership with Supreme Ventures that, she hopes, will help Jamaica conquer the world of Gymnastics in the future.
The Supreme Ventures Gymnastics Classic and National Trials will take place at the Jamaica School of Gymnastics in Kingston from February 11-12.
The juniors will be vying for one spot at the Junior World Championships scheduled for March 25-April 3 in Antalya, Turkey.
The seniors will be vying for five spots at the Pan Am Championships scheduled for Medellin, Colombia from May 22-29. The Pan Am Championships will serve as a qualifier for this year’s Pan Am Games scheduled for October 6-October 22 in Santiago, Chile as well as the World Championships scheduled for Antwerp, Belgium from September 29-October 8. This year’s World Championships will be used as a qualifier for next year’s Paris Olympics.
For the second year in a row, Supreme Ventures, through the connection made by the Jamaica Olympic Association, has signed on as the sponsor for the event, something that Grant is very thankful for.
“We have always been in a partnership with the Jamaica Olympic Association as we are affiliated. In Jamaica, we are a minor sport so the JOA has really helped us form these kinds of partnerships,” Grant said ahead of day one of the trials on Saturday.
“They connected us with Supreme Ventures and they were quite happy with what they saw last year. We did not disappoint them and, as a result, they have come on board for the second year in a row to work with us,” she added.
When asked what she expects from the athletes on display this weekend, Grant encouraged them to show spirit, noting that winning does not mean you will make the respective teams.
“I expect the girls to do the best that they can and show us what they have. Show us how they can fight because when you go out to major competitions you must have that fight,” Grant said.
“We want to see that. You do not necessarily have to win for us to select you. We have a selection process that we use but we want to see what you have to offer or what you are capable of,” she added.
Jamaican Lamara Distin continued to prove that she is a class above the rest in the NCAA Women’s High Jump by breaking her own national indoor record to win the high jump at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University on Saturday.
Texas A&M’s Distin, who has yet to lose indoors this season, jumped 1.97m to win ahead of teammate Bara Sajdokova who produced 1.87m while Georgia’s Elena Kulichenko jumped 1.84m for third.
Distin’s mark equals her own outdoor national record which she did on her way to winning gold at the NCAA Championships.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist has now achieved winning clearances this season of 1.90m at the Razorback Classic on January 27, 1.94m at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on February 3 and 1.97m on Saturday.
Elsewhere, 2019 World Championships shot put silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 18.74m to comfortably win the event ahead of Hannah Hall who threw 16.71m and Ana da Silva who threw 16.60m for third.
Jamaicans also occupied the top two spots in the Men’s triple jump as Virginia’s Owayne Owens produced 16.59m for victory ahead of Kentucky’s Luke Brown who produced 16.43m. Ohio State’s Clarence Foote-Talley was third with 15.88m.
Antiguan Tennessee junior Joella Lloyd got her second 60m win of the season at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University on Friday.
The 20-year-old clocked a season’s best 7.17, narrowly short of her personal best and national record 7.15 set back in 2021, to win ahead of Tennessee teammate Jacious Sears who did 7.22 and Jamaican Ohio State senior Yanique Dayle who did 7.34.
This performance marked an improvement from Lloyd’s first appearance of the season where she ran times of 7.34 and 7.21 in the heats and the final to finish first and third, respectively, at the Bob Pollock Invitational on January 27.
Elsewhere, Jamaican World Championships representative Charokee Young, who has now turned professional, finished fourth overall in the Women’s 400m.
The former Hydel High and Texas A&M standout ran 52.11 to win the first of 20 heats but her time saw her finish fourth overall behind USC’s Jan’Taijah Jones and Texas A&M’s Jermaisha Arnold, who both did 51.89 while Arnold’s teammate Kennedy Wade did 52.10 for third.
Meanwhile, Barbadian Texas senior Jonathan Jones finished fourth overall in the men’s equivalent. He ran a time of 45.78 to finish as runner-up in the first heat behind Texas A&M’s Auhmad Robinson who ran 45.65. Robinson’s time was good enough for second overall behind Georgia’s Elijah Godwin who produced 45.63. Tennesee’s Emmanuel Bynum ran 45.67 for third overall.
Jones’ time was slightly faster than the 45.83 he did to open his season with a win at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on February 4.
The West Indies Women started their 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket loss at the hands of England Women at Boland Park in Paarl on Saturday.
The 2016 World T20 champions made 135-7 from their 20 overs, their highest total since December 2022, after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
Captain Hayley Matthews was the top run getter for the Windies with a 32-ball 42 including eight fours while Shemaine Campbelle chipped in with 34 off 37 deliveries including four fours.
Left arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, the number one ranked T20I bowler in the world, led the way with the ball with 3-23 from her four overs.
The English then made quick work of the modest total, needing only 14.3 overs to reach 138-3.
Nat Sciver-Brunt exercised her usual dominance with 40* off 30 balls while skipper Heather Knight ended 32* as the pair guided the 2009 champion home.
Sciver-Brunt’s knock included six fours and a six while Knight’s innings came off 22 balls and included four fours and a six.
Sophia Dunkley had earlier made an 18-ball 34 including four fours and a six.
Chinelle Henry took two of the three wickets to fall while conceding 30 runs off three and a half overs.
The West Indies will next play India on February 15 while England will next face Ireland on February 13.
Scores: West Indies Women 135-7 off 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 42, Shemaine Campbelle 37, Sophie Ecclestone 3-23)
England Women 138-3 off 14.3 overs (Nat Sciver-Brunt 40*, Sophia Dunkley 34, Heather Knight 32*, Chinelle Henry 2-30)
A maiden First-class five-wicket haul from pacer Shamar Joseph gave the Guyana Harpy Eagles a fighting chance going into day four against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium.
The Windwards began day three 48-2 off 17 overs in their second innings, leading the Harpy Eagles by 173 runs with Kavem Hodge (3) and Sunil Ambris (18) at the crease.
The second ball of the day saw Hodge fall to Ronsford Beaton after failing to add to his overnight total.
Justin Greaves joined Ambris at the crease and the pair put on a further 37 runs for the fourth wicket before Ambris fell caught behind off the bowling of Shamar Joseph for 26 in the 30th over.
Not long after, with the score on 101, Greaves went in the exact same way as Ambris for 27 in the 34th over.
Ryan John and Tevyn Walcott added only two runs before John was dismissed by Joseph for one in the 36th over.
Walcott was joined at the crease by Kimani Melius and the pair added 15 runs before Walcott became the seventh man to fall, going for 23 to leave the Volcanoes 118-7 in the 40th over.
Regular opener Melius, who made a career-best 192 in round one, batted at eight after being off the field with a groin injury and could only manage six runs before falling to Joseph with the score on 129 in the 42nd over.
Preston McSween and Kenneth Dember then put on the second highest partnership of the innings with 33 for the ninth wicket before McSween fell to Beaton for 25 with the score on 162 in the 54th over.
Dember was the last man to fall, going leg before wicket to Verrasammy Permaul for 15 as the Volcanoes were bowled out for 168 in 56.3 overs, meaning the Harpy Eagles would need 294 runs to record their second outright win of the season.
Shamar Joseph took a career-best 5-41 from 12 overs while Ronsford Beaton took 3-35 from 15 overs.
Rain then brought an end to the day’s proceedings with the Harpy Eagles on 35-0 off 14.3 overs requiring a further 259 runs on the final day for victory.
Matthew Nandu (18) and Tevin Imlach (13) are the batsmen at the crease. Chandrapaul Hemraj earlier retired hurt while on three.
Scores: Windward Islands Volcanoes 294 off 80.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 141, Ryan John 51*, Sunil Ambris 47, Veerasammy Permaul 4-70, Ronsford Beaton 2-50, Kevin Sinclair 2-66) and 168 off 56.3 overs (Justin Greaves 27, Sunil Ambris 26, Preston McSween 25, Shamar Joseph 5-41, Ronsford Beaton 3-35)
Guyana Harpy Eagles 169 off 63.1 overs (Veerasammy Permaul 53, Kevin Sinclair 23, Justin Greaves 5-24, Ryan John 2-52) and 35-0 off 14.3 overs (Matthew Nandu 18*, Tevin Imlach 13*)
Imran Khan and Keacy Carty each scored 90s for their respective teams as Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and Leeward Islands Hurricanes seems head for a draw at North Sound in Antigua.
At stumps on day three of their second-round West Indies Championships encounter, Trinidad and Tobago declared on 418-9 with the Leewards responding with 243-7.
Resuming from their overnight score of 369-8 with Imran Khan on 68 and Khary Pierre on nine, the Red Force declared after Colin Archibald dismissed Khan for 92.
His was the only wicket to fall after Archibald claimed his third wicket of the match to end with figures of 3-111.
Pierre remained unbeaten on 33 at the other end.
Jeremiah Lewis ended with figures of 3-78 while Sheeno Berridge picked up 2-72.
Carty was head and shoulders above his teammates when the Leewards replied, scoring 95 before he dismissed caught and bowled by Khary Pierre.
The Leewards were in some trouble then at 196-6 as several top order batters got starts but failed to carry on. Monctin Hodge scored 21, Kofi James 23 and Terrance Ward 21 were the only scorers of note.
However, Rahkeem Cornwall once again showed his worth with the bat and was unbeaten on 33 when stumps were drawn.
Hayden Walsh was at the crease with him on 18.
Pierre has so far taken 2-51. Bryan Charles 2-65 and Yannic Cariah 2-24 did the damage for the Red Force.
Defending champions Barbados Pride secured a six-wicket win against the Jamaica Scorpions with a day to spare at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Friday
The Scorpions started the day 6-0 after four overs, trailing the Pride by 69 runs.
The day started terribly for the Jamaicans as the second ball of the day saw Akeem Jordan bowl Leroy Lugg for two.
Debutant Tevin Gilzene was next to go for nine, caught by Shayne Moseley off the bowling of Jordan in the seventh over.
Captain Paul Palmer Jr then joined Kirk McKenzie at the crease but didn’t last long, becoming Jordan’s third victim of the day for one to leave the Scorpions in a spot of bother at 21-3 after 11 overs.
Two and a half overs later, Jamaica lost their fourth wicket when Aldane Thomas was dismissed by Shamar Springer for three.
Not long after, Abhijai Mansingh became wicket number four for Jordan on the day after nicking off for a duck to leave the Scorpions 25-5 in the 15th over.
Jamie Merchant was next in and added 12 for the seventh wicket with McKenzie before he fell for 10 in the 19th over with the score on just 36.
It was then Marquino Mindley’s turn to face the music alongside McKenzie. The pacer reached one off seven balls before he became Springer’s second wicket to leave Jamaica reeling at 56-7 off in the 22nd over, with debutant Ojay Shields joining McKenzie in the middle.
In the midst of the carnage at the other end, McKenzie brought up his maiden First-class fifty off 67 balls in the 28th over.
McKenzie (54) and Ojay Shields (17) were the not out batsmen as the Scorpions entered the lunch break 101-7 from 29 overs, holding a slim 26-run lead over the Bajans.
After bringing up their 50 partnership shortly after lunch, McKenzie finally fell for a top score of 56 off 78 balls to leave the Scorpions 106-8.
Gordon Bryan joined Shields at the wicket and the pair put on 17 before Shields was next to go for 22 in the 37th over with the score on 123.
Bryan, playing only his second First-class game, then provided some handy runs at the end, putting on 28 for the final wicket with Patrick Harty before being the last man dismissed for 42 off 64 balls.
In the end, the Scorpions limped to 151 all out in 45.5 overs, leaving the Pride needing just 77 to win.
Pace did the job for Barbados as Akeem Jordan continued his excellent form with the ball with 4-65 off 17 overs while Jair McAllister finished with 3-35 from 11 overs and Shamar Springer picked up two wickets.
The defending champions then needed just 29.2 overs to get to their target, reaching 78-4 to complete a six-wicket win.
Zachary McCaskie scored 26 against Patrick Harty’s 3-26 from 9.2 overs.
Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 140 off 54.5 overs (Jamie Merchant 35, Tevin Gilzene 32, Abhijai Mansingh 27, Shamar Springer 3-11, Camarie Boyce 3-26, Akeem Jordan 3-48) and 151 off 45.5 overs. (Kirk McKenzie 56, Gordon Bryan 42, Akeem Jordan 4-65, Jair McAllister 3-35, Shamar Springer 2-38)
Barbados Pride 215 off 69.5 overs (Shayne Moseley 82, Shane Dowrich 64*, Patrick Harty 4-23, Marquino Mindley 2-25, Abhijai Mansingh 2-30) and 78-4 off 29.2 overs (Zachary McCaskie 26, Jonathan Drakes 19, Shemar Springer 11*, Shane Dowrich 5*, Patrick Harty 3-26)
Jamaica's reigning 800m champion Chrisann Gordon-Powell is pregnant.
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