Dr Walton Small has been appointed principal of the Hydel High School with the intention of bringing about a greater balance between sports and academics at the St Catherine-based educational institution.

Corey Bennett, the Director of Sports will assume the role of president of the group of schools.

In the off-season, Hydel brought in Devon Anderson to be head football coach along with Trevin Nairne and Damian Howell, with the intention of building the best schoolboy football programme on the island.

But for the school that is already a powerhouse in track and field, there is a need to bring about a change to the school’s profile as a respected academic institution.

Dr Small is seen as the man to lead that transition.

"Ever since the monster COVID threw everybody online, threw students and people outside the classroom, even to this day students have not been interested in academics," Bennett said. "We're trying to build that back with our new board and our new principal, Dr Small, a renowned educator.

"He presents to us a rounded individual, having been president of ISSA and principal of the country's most prominent all-boys institution, so I think he understands the holistic approach to raising students."

Dr Small is excited by the challenge.

"Even though my focus will be on academics, my 12 years as president of ISSA (Inter-Secondary School Sports Association) will also be an asset in tempering the balance between sport and academics," said Dr Small, who was principal of Wolmer’s High School for Boys from 2008 and who led ISSA for 12 beginning in 2007.

"Even though my focus will be on academics, my 12 years as president of ISSA will also be an asset in tempering the balance between sport and academics.

"I'm like a mentor, a guide, to work with the individuals who have been here and to change the profile of the institution. They already have very competent leaders at the high school and prep school. We're celebrating 30 years, so we want to ensure that when the next 30 years have passed, we would have the profile that we really want. Hydel is very well known to the wider Jamaica for its sporting prowess but let me hasten to say that they do well academically as well.

"However, that is kind of subsumed because of sports. When you speak of Hydel you must say scholarly institution. We want to change the profile from mainly sport to mainly academics."

Hydel High has proven to be a solid performer in sports while winning titles in football, including the Walker Cup KO Trophy, track and field, cricket and basketball.

Situated along Mandela Highway, Hydel opened its doors in 1992 under the leadership of Hyacinth Bennett, who had been the principal of Wolmer's Preparatory for 17 years.

As Director of Sports, Bennett drove the school’s sports programmes to new heights. Now, as president, his responsibilities have been broadened to fit the new mandate.

Recalling his mother’s dream for Hydel, Corey said, "She believed in persons, who could normally not matriculate to a traditional high school, to give them a good chance for education, both in terms of academics and sport. She believes in giving a second chance and she believes in the discipline part as much as the education," he said.

That said, Bennett is looking forward to the new Manning Cup campaign as Hydel is returning to the competition for the first time since 2019.

"Our preparation went very well. We didn't enter the Manning Cup last year, so we're basically starting from scratch, Bennett said.

"We'd have a very few players from the past and we're hoping to build a squad. I don't think it's going to be the most competitive squad this year.

"Coach Devon Anderson and Nairne and Howell have been working assiduously not just to get these boys focused on school, but also on being a student first. I must commend them for mentoring the boys and just ensuring that they're okay and ready for school."

He singled out Anderson saying the coach fits the profile because he's a former Dean of Discipline at Holy Trinity High where he enjoyed success.

"Apart from being an excellent coach, he's a father figure to the boys,” Bennett said.

“And even though soft-spoken, he's firm on discipline and that's the type of person we want. He has all the qualities that we want for our boys. We want them (coaches) to be parents and fathers, mentors. Most of the boys are fatherless. He fits that mode.

"Discipline is paramount in building our school in sport and academics. One of the key goals of Dr Small and the Board and the school is to have rounded individuals."

With that in mind, the new principal said that the Hydel board aims to raise the performance at the PEP level and lift the quality of the CAPE scores and CSEC passes.

"We want to ensure that students who come to the institution leave with a minimum of five subjects because that's what is required for tertiary institutions," Dr. Small said.

"There's a dearth of institutions that cater to specialist students. We want to offer special education. And for all the students in St Catherine, this must be the first stop. There is no need for students to leave from here and go to Kingston.

"So that is why we don't want the country to see the institution as just sport. There has to be a balance between quality sport and quality education."

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The Barbados Royals secured their fifth straight victory of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season with a win over Jamaica Tallawahs by eight wickets on Sunday.

 The Barbados Royals won the toss and chose to field, getting off to a dream start by removing opener Brandon King for a duck. However, once again it was captain Rovman Powell who took charge for the Tallawahs, scoring his second successive half-century to take his side to 153-7 after 20 overs. 

In their chase, Barbados Royals bounced back after the early dismissal of Kyle Mayers with their South African contingent of Quinton de Kock, Corbin Bosch and captain David Miller combining across the innings to guide the side to victory by eight wickets.

Jamaica Tallawahs lost King in the first over as Mayers demonstrated his ability with the ball. Amir Jangoo and Powell formed a 57-run partnership that was supported by some power-hitting later on from Raymon Reifer and Fabian Allen. West Indies fast bowler Obed McCoy was the stand-out bowler for the Royals, taking 3 wickets for 24 runs as the Tallawahs finished on 153-7. 

Barbados Royals were in early trouble in their chase as opener Mayers was dismissed in the second over, but a magnificent partnership of 117 runs between de Kock and Bosch stifled the Tallawah bowlers. Once Bosch lost his wicket, Miller came in and scored 16 runs off 8 balls in a nervy finish to take his side across the line with just one ball to spare. 

 The win means Barbados Royals maintain their unbeaten start to the season and retain their spot at the top of the league table, while Jamaica Tallawahs remain second. 

 Rashid Khan will be joining the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad for the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The hugely experienced Afghan leg-spinner will be replacing Wanindu Hasaranga who is no longer available for this year’s tournament.

English top-order batter Adam Hose will also be coming to the Hero CPL, joining the Saint Lucia Kings. Hose, who has scored 2381 T20 runs at an average of 32.17, will replace Tim David who has been called up for international duty with Australia.

Jamaica’s history-making female shooters will be leaving the island starting on Sunday to compete in the Pan American Handgun Championships in Polk County, Florida from September 14-21.

Members of the team, who were feted by title sponsor Spectrum Systems at the Jamaica Pegasus on Thursday, are looking forward to competing in the Production Optics Division. Yeonnie Campbell, Renee Rhickie, Sasha Mullings, Shayon Francis and Kayla Keane will make the trip to Florida where over 28 countries from Central, North and South America will compete over various divisions.

The Super-Six squad had intensified their tactical training under the watchful eyes of coaches Andy Yap and Anthony Johnson and their fitness levels have been enhanced thanks to physiotherapy courtesy of Spectrum Systems.

Team member Shayon Francis is satisfied with preparations going into the championships,

“We will be competing against shooters who have been doing this for years so we started training up to four times per week instead of just twice daily. Our physical training has really helped to improve our agility and speed going into the championships as a result,” she said.

 For this reason and others, Sasha Mullings, the team captain, believes they are ready to perform at their best.

 “I know we will perform well in Florida and I know this will boost more interest in the sport from licensed firearm holders. We are ready," she said.

 The team’s participation at the championships was made possible through a multimillion-dollar sponsorship from Spectrum Systems who will cover airfare, accommodation and match rounds.

Andrew Stanigar, the Managing Director of Spectrum Systems believes the women will represent the country well in Florida.

"I have seen these ladies rise to the challenge to beat the best male shooters in Jamaica and they did that through teamwork, ingenuity and strategy," he said. "I am confident that they are going to make Jamaica proud."

Also in attendance at the send-off ceremony were Jamaica Rifle Association President Major John Nelson and Formula Woman Driver Sara Misir who offered words of encouragement to the women.

Guyana Amazon Warriors secured their first victory of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season with a win over Saint Lucia Kings by six wickets in front of a lively home crowd on Saturday.

 The Guyana Amazon Warriors won the toss and chose to field, yet the Kings got off to a blistering start, racing to 77-0 in the powerplay before being held back by spinners Imran Tahir and Tabraiz Shamsi. The Kings finished on 161-7, with Johnson Charles batting throughout the whole innings and scoring a superb 87 off just 59 balls.

Despite losing early wicket, Guyana Amazon Warriors navigated their chase through Shimron Hetmyer and Heinrich Klaasen, who built a 66-run partnership. Klaasen would go on to score a sublime 61 from 46 balls to take Amazon Warriors to their first win of the season with ten balls to spare.

Saint Lucia Kings got off to a dream start, Charles combining with Faf du Plessis to reach 77-0 after six overs, the highest powerplay score of the season so far. Yet Shamsi and Tahir highlighted their quality by restricting runs and picking up wickets that held up scoring for the Kings. Tim David launched a late counter-attack, but it was Keemo Paul who shone with the ball in the final over, picking up two wickets and giving away just four runs, which saw the Kings end on 161-7 after 20 overs. 

Guyana Amazon Warriors started their chase with intent, Chandrapaul Hemraj scoring five boundaries before being dismissed in the 4th over, with fellow opener Shai Hope being caught two balls later. Nevertheless, Hetmyer and Klaasen worked together to score runs and keep the Warriors close to their target. Despite Hetmyer losing his wicket, Klaasen would bat through to the end, and supported by Keemo Paul, managed to get his side across the line with ten balls remaining. 

 The win means Amazon Warriors have registered their first victory of the season, while Saint Lucia Kings have suffered their second successive loss. 

Javier Hernandez missed another spotkick before Riqui Puig took over penalty duties to net a season-saving 99th-minute equaliser in the LA Galaxy's 1-1 draw at Nashville on Saturday.

Nashville had gone ahead in the 28th minute from Hany Mukhtar's penalty but Hernandez was the centre of attention once again.

The former Manchester United forward failed to convert a 97th-minute penalty attempting a Panenka last Sunday against Sporting KC, spurning a hat-trick and winner.

Hernandez stepped up again in the 55th minute after being bundled over by Shaquell Moore but had his low shot tipped around the post by goalkeeper Joel Willis.

With their season on the line, the Galaxy earned a late reprieve after a penalty was awarded for a Walker Zimmerman handball following VAR review, with the defender receiving a second yellow card.

But Riqui Puig grabbed the ball and took the responsibility instead of Hernandez, before firing just beyond Willis' fingertips for the goal.

The result means the Galaxy are winless in three games and sit eighth in the Western Conference on 40 points.

Western Conference leaders LAFC stumbled again, suffering their fourth loss in their past five games with a 2-1 defeat to Dallas.

Jesus Ferreira boosted his claims on a spot in USA's World Cup squad with a double for Dallas, while LAFC were reduced to 10 men after Ryan Hollingshead's 13th-minute red card.

Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union showed why they are arguably the best team in the MLS with a 5-1 thrashing of Orlando City securing their fifth straight victory.

Lewis Morgan scored a 78th-minute penalty to help New York Red Bulls secure a 2-1 home win over New England to firm up their grip on third in the east.

New York City suffered their seventh defeat from their past nine games, going down 1-0 to Charlotte.

Brenner scored a hat-trick as Cincinnati extended their unbeaten run to nine games, winning 6-0 over San Jose Earthquakes

Thiago Almada fired in a golazo as Atlanta United defeated Toronto 4-2, while Inter Miami slumped to a third straight loss with a 3-1 defeat at Chicago Fire.

Seattle Sounders toppled Austin 3-0, Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC drew 0-0, Portland Timbers edged Minnesota United 1-0, Colorado Rapids beat Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 and Real Salt Lake and DC United ended goalless.

Jamaica Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell hailed a complete performance from the team in a 33-run win over the Trinbago Knight Riders on Saturday.

The win was the first for the Jamaica franchise against their Trinidad and Tobago opponents in 7 games, dating back to the 2017 season.  For his part, Powell played a crucial role in snapping that streak, with a patient 67 from 49 deliveries and a crucial fourth-wicket partnership with Raymond Reifer, worth 90 to the Tallawahs in a total of 153 for 7.

With the ball, however, the Tallawahs also made runs exceptionally hard to come for the Knightriders led by Mohammad Amir’s 2 for 15 at 3.75 at an economy rate of 3.75.  Powell was delighted by the team’s all-around effort, which restricted the Knight Riders to 119 for 8.

“In all three aspects of the game, the guys played well.  We haven’t beaten Trinidad in a long time so we wanted to do that,” Powell said following the match.

“We came out of the Power Play a little bit shaky but we got stuck in and I think the guys bowled really well,” he added.  

The Jamaica Tallawahs secured their third victory of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) season with a win over Trinbago Knight Riders by 34 runs.

The Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and chose to field, Ravi Rampaul making early inroads by removing both openers, Brandon King and Kennar Lewis. However, Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell would lead by example, hitting ten boundaries in his innings of 67 to take his side to 153/7 after 20 overs. 

Trinbago Knight Riders in turn lost the wickets of Sunil Narine and Tion Webster early on, and largely due to superb bowling spells from Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, were unable to find any fluency as they consistently lost wickets, ending up on 119/8 and losing by 34 runs.

Jamaica Tallawahs lost both of their openers in the PowerPlay, and were struggling to score runs in the first ten overs, before Powell combined with Raymon Reifer in a 90-run partnership stand to aid their side. Sunil Narine bowled exceptionally well and was rewarded with the wickets of both Powell and Fabian Allen to restrict scoring in the final overs, with the Tallawahs setting a target of 154 to win.

Trinbago Knight Riders once again utilised Narine at the top of the order but he was bowled in the first over by Amir. After Webster was run-out, Colin Munro and Tim Seifert attempted to rebuild but eventually, both lost their wickets. Amir struck again to remove Nicholas Pooran as the Knight Riders were unable to build any partnerships, with Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell also falling. In the end, they scored 119/8, falling 34 runs short of their target. 

The win means Jamaica Tallawahs have now won three of their first four games, while Trinbago have lost two successive matches. 

Jamaica Tallawahs spinner Sandeep Lamichhane will play no further part in this season’s competition after being suspended by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in lieu of an arrest warrant being issued in his hope country of Nepal.

The arrest warrant, which was issued in Kathmandu, lists the charges as coercion of another person and was announced publicly on Thursday.  The decision to suspend the player was made by the CAN after a meeting and a statement from the body indicated that the cricketer would remain suspended until the matter was investigated.

 Lamichane, who previously played for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Barbados Tridents was yet to take the field this season.  In 2020, however, the player was the leading wicket-taker for the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise.

In response, the 22-year-old tweeted to address the issue and announced that he would be leaving the Jamaica franchise and prepare to defend himself against what he called baseless allegations.

“I am innocent and keep complete belief in the respectable laws of Nepal.  I have decided to take a leave from the CPL and go back to my country within a few days.  I am ready to face all these baseless allegations.  May justice be served to the innocent and right investigations to be done,” the player posted on Instagram.

Barbados Royals maintained their 100 per cent record with a dominant victory over the Saint Lucia Kings in the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Thursday.

The Royals won the toss and opted to field first and that proved an inspired decision as they made regular inroads into the Kings' top order to leave them teetering on 90-5.

However, the international pair of Tim David and David Wiese put together a rescue act to ensure the Kings posted a respectable total for their bowlers to try and defend.

That total never looked enough in the Barbados Royals' reply as Corbin Bosch arrived with the bat in the Hero CPL to lead his side to victory.

 Earlier on the Kings had posted what looked like a competitive total of 169-6. Reaching 50-1 at the end of the PowerPlay a solid foundation was established for their middle and lower order to capitalise on.

 However, the Royals were excellent in the middle section of the innings. Led by Hayden Walsh’s miserly leg-spin bowling they took wickets in regular clusters to reduce the Kings from 57-1 to 90-5.

 Tim David and David Wiese refused to succumb to the pressure and they counter-attacked brilliantly to put on a 79-run partnership from 43 balls to ensure a potential defendable total was put on the board.

 170 to win should have proved tricky for the Royals to chase but despite losing opener Quinton De Kock for a golden duck, Kyle Mayers and Corbin Bosch plundered 84 runs from 48 balls to put their side well ahead of the game.

 Even after Mayers departed, Bosch continued to have fruitful partnerships with Azam Khan and David Miller respectively until the all-rounder was eventually dismissed by Alzarri Joseph for 81 from 50 balls.

 After Bosch departed it was Miller and Holder who saw out the rest of the chase with minimum fuss to make it four wins from four for the impressive Barbados Royals.

Jamaica Tallawahs captain Rovman Powell has praised his team’s batting after their first three games of the 2022 edition of the Caribbean Premier League.

The 2013 and 2016 champions are currently second in the table with four points after getting two wins in their first three games. The Barbados Royals lead the table with a perfect record after four games.

The Tallawahs have batted first twice, defending 183-2 against the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots in their first game and suffering their lone loss after making 163-8 against the St. Lucia Kings in the third.

Against the Guyana Amazon Warriors, they successfully chased down 142, reaching 143-6 in 19.2 overs.

From an individual standpoint, Brandon King is the Tallawahs leading run-scorer after the first three games with 140 followed by Powell with 81 and Kennar Lewis with 73.

“I’m pretty pleased. The guys have been batting well. In the first two games I think the guys got stuck in. Even against the Kings, I’m very pleased with how the guys played after we came under some pressure early out,” Powell said in an ESPN Cricinfo interview on Friday.

“It’s encouraging signs from the batters but it’s early in the season and there’s always room for improvement so I hope, as a batting unit, we keep improving,” he added.

The Tallawahs will next oppose the Trinbago Knight Riders on Saturday. The Knight Riders have one win, one loss and one no result in three games so far and boast a powerful batting line-up including former West Indies white ball captain Kieron Pollard, current West Indies white ball captain Nicholas Pooran and hard-hitting Jamaican all-rounder and former Tallawahs star Andre Russell.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots captain Dwayne Bravo insists the team has plenty of work to do, despite a narrow 4-wicket win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Thursday.

The win was the first of the campaign for the Patriots, but it did not come easily.  In fact, chasing 162 for victory, the team seemed set for a third straight loss after needing 22 from the final over.  Some big hitting from Dwaine Pretorius, however, put away some wayward bowling by Romario Shepherd.

The team’s campaign began with losses to the Jamaica Tallawahs and Barbados Royals and despite getting on the board Bravo, who has himself battled injuries early on, believes the team has plenty of adjustments to make.

“Even with this win we still have a lot to improve and when we get into the dressing room we will highlight those moments,” Bravo said following the match.

“To restrict them to 160 odd we would have been happy at the halfway stage because they are a very good batting line-up.  We know they have quality spinners but with our line-up, we don’t believe spin is a threat to our line-up.  At key moments we kept giving our opposition some momentum to come back into the game.  These are the things we have to talk about, even though we won, we made a lot of mistakes.”