Sri Lanka reached 113-1 at the end of a rain-shortened opening day of the second Test against the West Indies at Galle on Monday.
Real Salt Lake continued their giant-slaying run with another upset, this time stunning Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at the death to reach the Western Conference final in the MLS Cup play-offs.
After eliminating Seattle Sounders on penalties in the opening round, RSL were at it again on Sunday as they produced a second-half comeback to end Sporting KC's season in dramatic fashion.
Sporting KC appeared on track thanks to Johnny Russell's 24th-minute penalty before the seventh-seeded RSL – who were making their 10th Conference semi-final appearance, only Seattle have managed more (12) since 2008 – made their move.
After almost falling 2-0 behind when Gadi Kinda's free-kick was headed off the post, RSL substitute Anderson Julio equalised 18 minutes from the end.
Bobby Wood completed the comeback in the first minute of stoppage time, finishing past Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia.
RSL will next face Portland Timbers for a spot in the MLS Cup decider.
Elsewhere, Nashville missed all four of their penalties as Philadelphia Union prevailed 2-0 in the shoot-out to book a spot in the Eastern Conference final for the first time in the club's history.
Penalties were needed after Hany Mukhtar's opener was cancelled out by Union star Daniel Gazdag in Philadelphia.
But it was a painful shoot-out for Nashville, who were unable to find the back of the net as Andre Blake made two saves to help the Union through.
Next up for the Union is a date against either New England Revolution or New York City.
England’s Roses took a 1-0 lead in their three-Test series against Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls after they rallied to win 55-45 before a packed Copper Box Arena in London on Sunday.
Jamaica started well, outscoring their opponents 11-10 and 26-25 at the end of the first quarter and half-time, respectively. Jamaica’s lead was largely down to outstanding performances from Kadie-Ann Dehaney and Shamera Sterling, who caused England’s shooters significant challenges in the first half.
England’s defensive players turned the tables against Jamaica after the interval Eboni Usoro-Brown kept Jhaniele Fowler quiet and forced multiple changes in Jamaica's attack-end as the home side took control of the game to outscore Jamaica 16-9 in the third quarter and 14-10 in the fourth to pull off a commanding victory.
Fowler scored 40 of 41 attempts for the Sunshine Girls, who also got five goals from Shanice Beckford.
Jo Harten scored 30 of 39 and Eleanor Cardwell 20 of 22 for the Roses.
England had lost four of their last five games against Jamaica.
The second and third Tests will be played on December 4 and 5 at the Motor Point Arena
West Indies middle-order batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, says the team’s batting line-up must find a way to get stuck in against Sri Lanka, particularly the spinners if they are to find a way to be compete in the ongoing series.
The Caribbean team is currently 1-0 down after suffering a lop-sided defeat to Sri Lanka in the first Test. In the end, the regional team lost by 187 runs, but that could have been even worse were it not for a 100-run partnership between Bonner and Joshua Da Silva. The duo were the only ones to get above the half-century mark and to say the majority of other batsmen found the going difficult would be an understatement.
Sri Lanka’s spinners were aggressive throughout, with left-arm orthodox Praveen Jayawickrama (4 for 40 runs) and off-spinner Ramesh Mendis (3 for 75) doing the damage in the first innings. In the second innings, it was left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya who grabbed an impressive 5 for 46 and Mendis (4 for 64) and Jayawickrama (1 for 28) also doing more damage.
Bonner, who looked much more comfortable after making an adjustment for the second innings, after being dismissed for just 1 from 11 balls in the first, believes that coping with the spinners comes down to better footwork.
"These are small things we need work on if we want to be more sure in our defense, and when we attack,” Bonner said.
"It's difficult when players don't get a start. In the first innings, the ball was holding and spinning. It was a different challenge in the second innings when the ball was sliding at times, and spinning too. We have to come up with smart tactics in order to play all the left-arm spinners."
The West Indies and Sri Lanka will face off in the second Test, beginning on Sunday.
West Indies T20 star Chris Gayle plans to be at the ICC Cricket World Cup next year, but this time around more than likely as a spectator in the stands.
The 42-year-old ball-smasher was widely expected to retire following last month’s failed ICC T20 World Cup campaign but announced on that occasion that plans might have been underway for a farewell fixture, in his home country Jamaica, at Sabina Park.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has since confirmed that the match will come during the upcoming series against Ireland in January. Gayle, the format’s top runs scorer and holder of more than a few records, admits he is looking forward to the game.
"It's doubtful you will see me playing for West Indies again in international cricket. We have something planned against Ireland. I am just waiting for the board to finalise things. And once we get a date, we would find out what it is. It should be back home in Jamaica, Sabina Park. Final international run so I’m looking forward to it," Gayle told EspnCricinfo.
Following the team’s unceremonious exit from the World Cup the player had mused about wanting to go to another tournament, it appears that might still very much be in the plans.
"I will be in Australia one way or the other next year. I will be there because I haven’t been there in some time. The World Cup will be in Australia so I would be there. You know, it might take some extra effort. Sit in the stands, have a cold one and says ‘Hi guys, I’m here. I ain’t leaving. So yeah, I am looking forward to it."
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken the decision to abandon the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2021, which had been taking place in Zimbabwe due to uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.
Global concerns regarding the emergence of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has seen travel restrictions imposed for several African countries, including Zimbabwe. Those conditions would make travel difficult for players involved in the event.
The tournament was expected to provide the final three spots for the ICC Women's World Cup in New Zealand next year as and also decide the remaining two spots for the next cycle of the ICC Women's Championship.
The places will now be decided based on team rankings, in keeping with the tournament's playing conditions.
As a result, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the West Indies will now progress to the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, with Sri Lanka and Ireland occupying the other slots for the 2022-25 cycle of the ICC Women's Championship.
On Saturday, the scheduled games were already underway with Zimbabwe facing Pakistan and USA taking on Thailand. The West Indies were scheduled to face Sri Lanka but that game was called off after a member of the Sri Lanka support staff tested positive for the virus. The event was later abandoned. In their first encounter, the Windies Women cruised to a six-wicket win over Ireland.
Veteran Manning Cup coach Jerome Waite is confident of turning the St Jago schoolboy football program around in short order, having recently taken the reigns, after parting ways with Charlie Smith a team that he has been associated with for several years.
Waite who has been associated with the school’s football program in some capacity since 1987 has been an unfamiliar sight on the bench of the Monk Street-based team this season. After over 30-years at the Charlie Smith, however, he looks forward to a new challenge.
“After changing so many lives you just have to know that it’s time to move on to another region and see how many lives you can change there,” Waite said of the move, which occurred two seasons ago.
During his time as part of the Charlie Smith coaching unit, Waite has managed to claim three Manning Cup titles and believes that some level of success could soon be replicated at St Jago.
“It can happen in three years (competitive team) once we spend a lot of time to get them it will happen. You would classify this as a crash program because Covid messed up the whole season, but you have to give ISSA some credit.”
St Jago has never won the title but went to the final in 2003.
Charlie Smith defeated Calabar High 1-0 in game one of a group A doubleheader at Stadium East as ISSA Digicel Manning Cup action continued today.
Andre Gibbs got the goal for Charlie Smith in the fourth minute.
Charlie Smith now have three wins in five games and join group leaders, Kingston Technical, on nine points.
Jamaica College got their second win of the season in the second game of the doubleheader with a 6-0 thrashing of St. Georges College, who lost their second game in a row and are now in danger of missing out on qualification to the quarterfinals.
Captain, Duncan McKenzie, got a hat trick for JC with goals in the 11th, 25th, and 39th minutes with the other goals coming from Marlon Pennicooke in the 15th, Dwight Merrick in the 52nd, and Tarick Ximines in the 63rd minutes.
That win now moves JC to third in group A on seven points, one more point than St. Georges on fourth.
Kingston High and Bridgeport played out a 0-0 draw in the third group A game of the day at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
In group C, Wolmer’s officially got their first points of the season with a 3-0 win over Clan Carthy at Jamaica College.
They originally won their first game against St. Mary’s College 13-0 but that result was deemed null and void after St. Mary’s College withdrew from the remainder of the competition.
They are now fourth in group C on 3 points with three matches left.
In daCosta Cup action, Garvey Maceo and Vere Technical officially booked their spots in the next round from zone F.
Garvey Maceo won five out of five for a perfect 15 points after beating Foga Road 3-1 at Foga Road in their 3:30 match.
Earlier, at Foga Road, Vere secured their spot in the next round with a 3-1 win over Kemps Hill.
Old Harbour beat Central High 3-1 in the other zone game at Garvey Maceo.
Garvey Maceo topped the zone with 15 points and will be joined in the next round by Vere who finished second with ten points.
In zone B, Mannings and Godfrey Stewart were both winners in a doubleheader at Llandilo.
Mannings got by Petersfield 2-0 in the 1:15 pm game, while Godfrey Stewart beat Green Island 3-0 in the 3:30 pm encounter.
Rusea’s beat Frome 1-0 at Wespow Park in the other zone game.
Mannings lead zone B with 10 points followed by Frome on nine with Petersfield third on seven.
Bellefield clipped Belair 1-0 at Manchester in zone D action.
A beatdown at Kirkvine saw Manchester High put 12 past Alston while conceding none in their 3:30 pm fixture.
Manchester now leads zone B with 10 points and are still yet to concede a goal in the group stage.
Christiana are second in the zone, also with 10 points while Bellefield are third with eight.
In the lone zone H match of the day, Brown’s Town beat St. Mary High 7-0.
Nani has confirmed he is leaving Orlando City after three years with the Florida side.
The former Manchester United forward joined Orlando in 2019, having left Serie A club Lazio.
Nani led the club to their first postseason appearances, while Orlando also reached the final of the MLS Is Back Tournament in 2020.
The 35-year-old scored 12 goals in his first season with the Lions, a further nine in 2020 and 10 this season as Orlando lost in the first round of the playoffs, going down 3-1 to Nashville SC.
He explained it was not his decision to leave, but rather Orlando choosing not to extend his contract.
In a statement posted to his official social media channels, Nani said: "All good things must come to an end. After three amazing seasons, full of great moments, new friendships and sporting success, I am leaving Orlando City.
"Orlando is a city I can call home, with great people and fantastic supporters, but my contract has ended and there was a decision by the club not to extend it.
"It was an honour captaining the club for its first ever playoff appearances and reaching the final of the MLS Is Back Tournament.
"I shall never forget how the fans and community supported me and my family ever since the moment we arrived in Florida. You will have in me a friend and a fan for the future. I wish you all the best."
West Indies T20 star Chris Gayle believes some of the format’s openers have taken some of the excitement out of the game in recent times, after what he believes has been a more cautious approach to the powerplay.
The towering left-hander has made his name at the top of the batting order by taking apart opposition bowlers. As such, the batsman’s feats in the shortest format are unequalled, having racked up a world-leading 14,000 plus runs in an explosive career. In recent years, however, strategic adjustments have seen a few batsmen opt for a more considered approach to the innings.
Gayle believes such adjustments have made T20 cricket less explosive in the first six overs and as such less entertaining.
''I think, with T10 cricket, that's how T20 cricket started. From the first over, batters used to go but T20 cricket has slowed down dramatically and T10 cricket has now raised the bar a bit,'' Gayle, who is currently taking part in the Abu Dhabi T10 League,” said.
''They're killing the entertainment in T20 cricket, straight up, because in those first six overs, we can get more as openers but guys are taking their own time,” he added.
''Sometimes they bat to get a score and they take away from the fire they should be bringing to the batting department in the first six overs, but T10 is spot on and hopefully, we'll see more T10 coming around.''
Five student-athletes on Friday received cheques ranging from J$50,000 to J$60,000 under Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s Pocket Rocket Foundation scholarship programme that rewards beneficiaries based on outstanding academic performance whilst competing and representing their respective schools in any sporting discipline.
Several newcomers including Justin Greaves, Gudakesh Motie and Odean Smith have been called to the West Indies squads that will play three One Day Internationals and three T20 Internationals in Pakistan from December 13-22 at the National Stadium in Karachi, Cricket West Indies announced today.
Meanwhile, Jason Holder is being rested for this tour due to workload management and Fabian Allen and Obed McCoy are unavailable due to injury and rehabilitation. Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell and Lendl Simmons are all unavailable due to personal reasons, CWI said.
Greaves, Motie and Smith have been called up for the ODIs along with middle-order batsman Shamarh Brooks.
Smith and Motie are also selected in the T20I squad for the first time, along with left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Dominic Drakes. Motie was a travelling reserve for the recent ICC T20 World Cup, while Drakes and Smith were net bowlers before the start of the tournament
“There are a number of talented newcomers in each format that will have the opportunity to show what they are capable of at the international level,” said Chief Selector Roger Harper.
“Justin Greaves is a very talented player, had a good CG Insurance Super50 tournament and performed well in the President’s XI match against Ireland in 2020. Odean Smith really grabbed our attention in the last CPL. His pace was never in question, however, he has added greater control and has displayed the ability to be a wicket-taker.”
Brooks gets called after his performances in the last Super 50 Cup.
“Shamarh Brooks batted well in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup and followed that up with good performances in the CPL,” Harper explained.
“He will lend greater depth to the batting line-up. Gudakesh Motie has been rewarded for his outstanding performance in the CG Insurance Super50, followed up by his showing in the CPL. Dominic Drakes has the potential to be an outstanding all-rounder as he displayed during the last CPL.
“The ODIs in Pakistan are part of the ICC ODI Super League where points gained work towards qualification for the ICC World Cup 2023. So these ODI’s are very important to us and are being treated as such.”
The ODI Series will be West Indies fourth series of 12 in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League in which the top seven teams can secure automatic qualification for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. West Indies currently lie in eighth position out of 13 teams and have the opportunity to move above Pakistan into seventh position.
The full squads are as follows:
One-Day Internationals: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Justin Greaves, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Anderson Phillip, Nicholas Pooran, Raymon Reifer, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Hayden Walsh Jr.
T20 Internationals: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Captain), Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas and Hayden Walsh Jr.
TOUR SCHEDULE
December 13 – 1st T20I, Karachi
December 14 – 2nd T20I, Karachi
December 16 – 3rd T20I, Karachi
December 18 – 1st ODI, Karachi
December 20 – 2nd ODI, Karachi
December 22 – 3rd ODI, Karachi
West Indies batsman, Nkrumah Bonner, says the team will need to come up with a plan to cope with Sri Lanka’s spin attack if they are to get a better result in the second Test match of the series this weekend.
Bonner was one of the few batsmen to provide any resistance against the spin onslaught from the hosts.
He compiled an unbeaten 68 in the second innings in which the Windies were bowled out for 160 to lose the game by 187 runs.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Jamaican top-order batsman said the Caribbean side will need to get together and devise a plan to counter the Sri Lankan spinners.
“Moving forward, we have to come up with small tactics for when we’re playing the off-spinners or the left-arm spinners. That’s something we’re going to sit down as a team and look at,” said Bonner.
The Windies problems against spin are mental rather than physical, according to Bonner.
“It’s mental for us. Everybody has the ability to play spin but we need to be clear on how we want to play against them. Obviously, the Sri Lankan spinners got the better of us in this match. We’re trying to work on that in training to try to give a better showing in the next match,” he said
Bonner also spoke about how the Windies can improve their approach to playing spin, given the fact that it is the biggest threat in sub-continent conditions.
“We have to be more precise with our footwork, whether we’re going to come forward or go back. There are some small things we want to work on if we want to be more assured when we’re defending and when we’re attacking,” he said.
The second test match begins Sunday at 11:30 pm local time.
As group play in zone F of the daCosta Cup comes to an end tomorrow, there are still four teams in contention to progress to the next round.
Garvey Maceo have already booked their place in the next round as zone winners on the back of a perfect four wins from four games so far.
Their opponents tomorrow, Foga Road, currently third in the zone on six points, need a win to maintain any chance of qualifying for the next round as second-place finishers in the zone.
The match between those two is the second of a doubleheader at Foga Road and will kick off at 3:30 pm.
The first half of the doubleheader will give Vere Technical, who are second in the zone on seven points, a chance to ensure qualification with a win over Kemps Hill.
The 3:30 pm game at Garvey Maceo between Central High and Old Harbour features the other two teams with an outside chance of getting to the next round.
With both teams on four points, whoever wins that match has an outside chance of advancing if both Vere Technical and Foga Road lose.
Central High has the best goal difference out of those four teams with +2, while both Vere and Foga Road have a goal difference of +1.
Old Harbour has a goal difference of -1.
On Saturday, zones C, E and G will all be decided as well.
Zone C is the most exciting with five teams having a chance to qualify.
Munro College and B.B. Coke are the top two teams in the zone with nine and seven points respectively.
Those two will meet in the 1:15 pm match at STETHS and whoever prevails will advance as zone winners.
STETHS are currently third in the zone on seven points and would secure qualification to the next round with a win over Mt. St. Joseph at Kirkvine in their 1:15 pm clash.
Lacovia and Maggotty are fourth and fifth with six points each and one could qualify with a win and losses from both B.B Coke and STETHS.
In zone E, Lennon High, Clarendon College, and Edwin Allen all have a chance to advance.
Lennon and defending champions, Clarendon College, are both on 10 points with Lennon ahead on goal difference while Edwin Allen has nine points in third.
Lennon will play Edwin Allen in a 3:30 pm game at Turners Field while Clarendon College will battle Glenmuir in a 3:30 pm game at Glenmuir.
If Lennon wins against Edwin Allen, they will advance to the next round, along with Clarendon College, regardless of the result of Clarendon College vs Glenmuir.
If Edwin Allen beats Lennon, Clarendon would only need a draw with Glenmuir to advance.
With only five teams in zone G, St. Thomas Technical have already advanced as zone winners with eight points from their four matches.
Paul Bogle are second in the zone with four points from three games and would join them in the next round with a win over Seaforth at York Oval in their 3:30 pm encounter.
Port Antonio are third in the zone, also with four points, and would advance with a win over Happy Grove and a Paul Bogle draw or loss.
Port Antonio and Happy Grove will square off at Lynch Park at 3:30.
Seaforth and Happy Grove both have two points and could have outside chances to advance with wins.
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