Former Jamaica U-23 and Montego Bay United forward, Deshane Beckford, is expected to join USL Championship club Colorado Switchbacks on a season-long loan.
The move will mark the second for the Jamaica national over the past several years, after first joining the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros at the end of 2019. Beckford also spent the 2020 season with the Toros.
In 22 USL Championship appearances, the forward has scored three goals. Brown put himself on the radar of the USL after a strong performance at the 2019 Pan American Games where he scored three goals for Jamaica in three games. The forward also previously represented Jamaica at the U-17 level.
The move remains dependent on the player renewing a work visa, but Beckford expressed delight with the opportunity to continue plying his trade in the US second division.
“I'm grateful to be a part of the Switchbacks, the players and staff have been really positive,” Beckford told USL Championship.com.
“I'm excited for the upcoming season.”
The 23-year-old previously trialed for West Ham in 2015. Colorado Springs coach Brendan Burke welcomed Beckford’s addition to the line-up.
“Deshane is a player that impressed us immensely during his performance with the Jamaican U23 team in the Pan American Games,” Burke said.
“His pace, soft feet, and nose for goal should add another weapon to our still-evolving group of forwards.”
Promising West Indies batsman, Kyle Mayers, has expressed confidence at the prospect of becoming a top international Test cricket all-rounder, on the back of encouraging displays with both the bat and ball in recent months.
The attacking-minded Mayers burst on the scene with a stroke-filled 210 unbeaten in the first Test against Bangladesh, in February of this year. However, against Sri Lanka last month, the player also had a good turn with the ball. Not only extracting movement from a placid pitch but taking four wickets in the process, with just a short spell.
The display prompted some pundits to suggest that the player had the ability to become a dependable all-rounder for the squad if he could improve his overall fitness.
Bowling would not have been entirely new to Mayers, however, as he was at one point considered more of a bowling all-rounder, having claimed 71 wickets in 30 first-class matches at an average of 21.54. Having displayed more prowess with the bat in recent months, Mayers is convinced that he can do both at the highest level in the mold of former West Indies captain Jason Holder, or England’s Ben Stokes, the world’s top-ranked all-rounders.
“I have it in me to do it. I just have to become fitter,” Mayer’s told SportsMax’s The Commentators podcast.
“I just started Test cricket and people think watching it on tv, it’s very easy, it’s very hard. I will always say that, and I will always let young people coming up know that if you want to play Test cricket you need to work very hard,” he added.
“Preparation is key for me to be up there with Jason. It will take that hard work, but I believe I can do it for sure. Having number one and maybe number two in the world can’t be so bad. If they had two of the world’s best all-rounders the guys would be happy.”
Catch full interview in the Podcast below
Former West Indies Captain Jason Holder has expressed his delight at being named among Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.
Jamaica’s Isaac Mair has described his B Class victory at the Florida State Championships this past weekend as 'the sweetest' of his wins this year.
Former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd is taking the Guyana Chronicle to court, his lawyer Ralph Thorne confirmed Tuesday night.
Lloyd claims that the newspaper attributed to him, disparaging comments made about all-rounder Jason Holder, himself now a former West Indies captain. However, the man who is also known as the 'Big Cat' insists that he did not speak to the reporter employed by the Guyanese media house.
The offending story published on March 13, was headlined ‘Holder has outlived his usefulness in the position, says Lloyd’ over the byline of Rajiv Bisnauth, who has subsequently been suspended. The newspaper has also apologized for their publication of the story.
However, Thorne revealed on the Mason & Guest talk show in Barbados last night that they were proceeding with legal action against the newspaper.
“I am representing Sir Clive Lloyd in association with Guyanese counsel and if the Chronicle or anybody at the Chronicle is hearing let them understand that we are pressing ahead with the case on behalf of one of the great West Indians of the last 100 years,” Ralph Thorne.
In response to Thorne’s declaration, Editor at the Guyana Chronicle Tajeram Mahabir told Sportsmax.TV that since the story was published online, they had taken several actions that included reaching out to Sir Clive Lloyd with an apology as well as publishing a retraction and apology on the front page of their online publication.
Mr Mahabir also revealed that the newspaper had also reached out to Lloyd’s attorney with an apology, also indicating that the attorney had requested a settlement. He was unable to say whether an agreement was reached on any settlement.
He directed Sportsmax.TV to General Manager Moshamie Ramotar, who was said to be in a meeting when a call was made to her office.
Meanwhile, Mr Mahbir, who said he was disappointed and appalled by the headline and the story saying that had he seen it before it would not have been published. The editor, who described Lloyd as an icon, also said that the newspaper has also engaged the reporting staff in libel training.
On Tuesday night, Thorne said regional newspapers needed to be more responsible with their reporting.
“This region is what it is because we have some people called cricketers. This region derives much of its identity and much of its respect in the international community because of cricket, and therefore because of our cricketers you are not going to meet a more distinguished West Indian than Sir Clive Lloyd,” he said.
“And therefore, newspapers must be very careful how they portray our heroes. Sir Clive Lloyd is a West Indian hero, an authentic West Indian hero and when a reporter is going to say to the world in an online edition that Sir Clive Lloyd spoke to him and he quoted Sir Clive Lloyd as having said that he disavowed Jason Holder.
That is unkind, not only because Sir Clive Lloyd is a West Indian hero speaking about a West Indian captain but Sir Clive Lloyd never said that. These men must not be defamed by newspapers simply because they have the power of the pen.”
Retied Jamaica international, Fitzroy Simpson, has called for the return of the spirit of togetherness for the Reggae Boyz, expressing the hope that the current squad can go on to match the exploits of his historic 1998 unit.
Up until recently, some members of the Jamaica national team and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) were embroiled in a bitter contractual dispute, which saw several members of the team unavailable for the Caribbean team’s clash against the United States last month.
With the dispute now settled, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers coming later this year, Simpson is urging both parties to come together.
“Unity is so important,” Simpson said in a recent interview with the Irish Mirror.
“The set-up now has to be unified and improvements made on the business side,” he added.
Simpson was one of several English-based players to join the Jamaica national team ahead of their historic qualification for the World Cup in France. The former Manchester City and Portsmouth player started all three games at the tournament and has fond memories of not just playing at the final itself but also the build-up.
“It was breathtaking. It was the greatest honour in my playing career to lead Jamaica to history,” Simpson said.
“I remember my mother, my brother, and my uncle in the stadium when we qualified. I looked at them and couldn't believe what we had achieved because Jamaica wasn't recognised as a footballing nation. The whole country really drove us on, the support was incredible.”
Slightly disappointed over her times on the weekend, Kiara Grant believes there is no reason why she should not break 11 seconds this season as she plans to fight through a competitive field to make Jamaica’s team to the Olympics this summer.
Based on how well she has been training, “there is no reason why I shouldn’t break 11 seconds,” she said.
The 20-year-old Grant, a junior at Norfolk State University, ran 11.29 for second place in the 100m and 23.25 to win the 200m at the Gamecock Invitational at Gregger Park on Saturday.
“This was my opener. I could have been better but they’re okay times for an opener,” she said, “so I know what I need to fix in practice. It’s to see how I can lower my times before regionals asap.”
She has about two weeks to those regionals and she believes that is more than enough time to get the required work in. “I have two meets to get those times down. I am a lot stronger and I have been putting the background work, so with the right competition I can get my times down,” she said confidently.
Grant, who has a personal best of 11.04, said she was expecting to run 11.1 or 11.0x on Saturday and around 22.9, said running her intent to go faster is not just for regionals but for the much bigger event this summer.
“That’s the biggest goal right now. I am up for the Olympics. It doesn’t get better than that. That’s why I am working on getting my times down,” she said.
“Sha’ Carri Richardson ran 10.7, we have to do something over these next two weeks. We have to apply some kind of pressure,” she declared.
Monday’s Minnesota Twins’, Minnesota Timberwolves’ and Minnesota Wild’s games are not being played a day after Duante Wright was killed by police in a Minneapolis suburb.
The Twins were set to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Target Field, the Timberwolves were scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets at the Target Center and the Wild were slated to host the St. Louis Blues at Xcel Energy Center.
The decisions were made after Mr Wright, a 20-year-old black man, was fatally shot on Sunday following a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.
Shortly after the shooting, protesters descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department and were met by a police contingent in riot gear amid scenes of unrest.
''Out of respect for the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Brooklyn Center, and following the additional details in this evolving situation, the Minnesota Twins have decided it is in the best interests of our fans, staff, players and community to not play today's game,'' the Twins said in a statement on Twitter.
In their own statement, the NHL team said: "The Minnesota Wild organization extends its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Daunte Wright."
A body camera video released on Monday by the Brooklyn Center Police Department showed Wright got out of his car during the traffic stop, but appeared to try to escape from the police officer’s attempts to handcuff him before getting back into the driver’s seat.
A police officer then shouted "Taser!" several times but fired a gun at Wright.
"It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet," Brooklyn Center Police chief Tim Gannon said, as per the New York Times.
"It appears to me, from what I viewed, and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright."
The Twin Cities region was the epicentre of the Black Lives Matter movement last year when George Floyd was killed in police custody.
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering Mr Floyd, is taking place in a courtroom less than 10 miles from where Mr Wright was shot.
"Yesterday's tragic event, involving the life of Daunte Wright, once again leaves our community mourning,” the Timberwolves said in a statement on Twitter.
Former West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been appointed to lead the senior selection panel of the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). His appointment is one several made at a meeting of the newly elected board on Saturday night.
At the meeting, which was the second held since the March 29 elections, and chaired by President B Bissoondyal Singh, several sub-committees were established for senior selection, junior selection as well as for cricket development, finance and public relations.
Sarwan will head the senior panel while Andre Percival, the most successful youth captain in the West Indies, will head the junior selection panel. Vice President Hilbert Foster will lead cricket development, Claude Raphael, the Public Relations Committee while Acting Treasurer Dr Cecil Beharry, heads up the Finance Committee.
Also arising from the meeting was the GCB decision to make available several positions on the different committees for the Essequibo Cricket Board.
Natalliah Whyte was well pleased with her 100m outing at the Miramar South Florida Invitational on Saturday but she is hoping that she will go much faster as the season progresses. Whyte was third in 11.16 behind runaway winner Sha’ Carri Richardson, who ran a jaw-dropping 10.72s, the fastest time in the world this year.
The 23-year-old Jamaican, who ran the lead-off leg for Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 4x100 relay team at the World Championships in Doha in 2019, had run even faster in the preliminary round clocking 11.07s, her season-best.
However, taking the two races together, Whyte said she was happy with the overall performance.
“The first 100 metres of the season after not competing or doing much due to Covid this time last year, and with a time of 11.07 in the heats and 11.16 in the finals, I am satisfied,” she told Sportsmax.TV following her race.
She explained that the races were meant to provide her and her coach with indicators of what her progress is this season.
“It’s really just taking each race at a time and finding out my weak points and working on those so I can put everything together to get that perfect race,” said Whyte, who trains with Puma MVP International at their base at the Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
“I was hoping to go faster in the final run but, as I said, the race wasn’t perfect but there is still room for improvement. It’s the first race of the season and I think everything will come together as I move forward.”
Whyte did not compete indoors during the winter but does not believe it had any impact on her performances outdoors where she has run two 200m races recording times of 22.88 and 23.28 on March 20 and April 4, respectively.
“Not competing indoors doesn’t give you that early push that pushes you into outdoor. So basically, just training doesn’t give you a true benchmark of where you would want to be,” she explained.
“Competing with world-class athletes is what really sets the standard for what to work on and to just see where you are in your progress. So this meet was a great meet. It had a lot of world-class athletes so it was a true test of progress.”
Having run both short sprints so far this season begs the question, does she plan to compete at both at the Olympic this summer should she qualify at her national championships set for June? Whyte said it’s too early to say.
“Both events complement each other so at the moment I am using each event to get better at the other. The 200m really helps with speed endurance but eventually, when it gets closer to that time, my coach and I will decide based on how the season progresses, what will be best,” she said.
“At the moment, I am delighted for the opportunity to compete. I haven’t run the 200 consistently for the past few years so I am just trying to familiarize myself with the event again. So it’s really a learning process as I go along. I am also trying to stay injury-free, which is my number one goal.”
Commenting on Richardson's phenomenal time, Whyte said: "Richardson's run was spectacular, she’s a very talented athlete."
Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow have been re-elected unopposed to the posts of President and Vice President respectively, of Cricket West Indies (CWI). They will serve a second two-year term. The re-election process was conducted as one of the key items on the agenda of the 22nd Annual General Meeting of CWI, today Sunday, April 11, 2021.
“I am humbled and deeply honoured to be re-elected to serve as CWI President for a second term,” said Skerritt, whose leadership was briefly challenged by former Secretary of the Guyana Cricket Board, Anand Sanasie.
“I take the responsibility to lead the Board of this prestigious organization, most seriously. We have much-unfinished work to do, and we renew our pledge to work untiringly to help achieve sustainable improvement, both on and off the field, for West Indies cricket.”
Meanwhile, CWI Vice President said expressed gratitude for being able to continue to serve regional cricket.
“I am again grateful for the continued support of the member representatives for Ricky and myself. This re-election is a victory for West Indies cricket as we continue on the path of growing the game across the region, and achieving good outcomes on all fronts and at all levels,” he said.
In addition to the election for President and Vice President, the following persons were duly elected as Member Directors of CWI:
Conde Riley – Barbados Cricket Association
Calvin Hope – Barbados Cricket Association
Bissoondyal Singh -– Guyana Cricket Board
Hilbert Foster – Guyana Cricket Board
Wilford Heaven – Jamaica Cricket Association
Dr Donovan Bennett – Jamaica Cricket Association
Enoch Lewis – Leeward Islands Cricket Board
Leon Rodney – Leeward Islands Cricket Board
Azim Bassarath – Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board
Arjoon Ramlal – Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board
Julian Charles – Windward Islands Cricket Board
Dwain Gill – Windward Islands Cricket Board
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting took place virtually via video conference. All of the Territorial Board Member Associations were fully represented.
Texas A&M's Tyra Gittens was super excited about her new personal best in the heptathlon this weekend but acknowledged that there is still room for a lot of improvement. This is especially true if he wants to achieve her goal of competing in the multi-event discipline at this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The 22-year-old Trinidadian, the 2021 NCAA pentathlon champion competing in her first heptathlon is more than two years scored an NCAA-leading 6274 points after completing the seven events at the Texas A&M Invitational held at Bryan-College Station in Texas on Friday and Saturday.
She won all four disciplines in windy conditions on Friday. She opened up with a time of 13.14 in the 100m hurdles for 1103 points, cleared 1.82m in the high jump, scoring 1003 points and won the shot put with a throw of 12.85m that earned her 717 points. In the final event of the day, she won the 200m sprint in 23.33, scoring 1046 points.
She returned on Saturday morning winning the long jump with a leap of 6.67m that earned her 1062 points. She only managed 631 points for the javelin and then rounded out the competition with a 2:28.52 run in the 800m for 712 points.
“Mood for a huge personal best, new school record, and an NCAA leading 6274 points in my first heptathlon in forever! Still so much to work on and I can’t wait to recover and get back into training” she posted on Instagram afterwards, very much aware of the work that she needs to get done if she is to book a ticket to Tokyo.
The 6247 points she scored is still 173 shy of the Olympic qualifying standard of 6420 points.
World Championship long jump finalist Chanice Porter jumped a personal best 6.77m to finish third in the long jump at the Spec Town Invitational in Georgia on Friday.
Porter, who had a previous best of 6.75 set in 2018 hit the mark with her first jump which she followed up with 6.60. Her finally jump was a creditable 6.48m.
However, while she opened with a personal best, she was second after the first round as Jasmine Moore got 6.83m on her first jump.
Both women then fell to second and third, respectively as Kendall Williams won the event with her personal best effort of 7.00m.
The 26-year-old Porter needs a mark of 6.82m to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Former West Indies captain, Daren Sammy, insists veteran batsman Chris Gayle would be a sure pick in his squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup as the player’s experience and explosive ability remain invaluable.
The recent decision by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to recall the batsman for the recent series against Sri Lanka was met with criticism in some quarters, with some believing the selectors should have opted for younger talent. The player's struggles in the series did little to dispel that notion.
Sammy, the two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, however, does not agree.
“After watching Chris Gayle play in the Pakistan Super League, the IPL late last year, and looking at his career, I think he should definitely go to the World Cup,” Sammy told Line and Length on SportsMax.
“Whether he plays in the final XI is a matter for the guys on tour because you will have Evin (Lewis) and (Lendl) Simmons, but Chris’ experience in India and what he brings to the team, I would have him with me,” he added.
“Chris is a batting leader! He has over 20 hundreds in T20s and the next person after that has eight or nine and his experience cannot be underrated so I would have him with me. He knows the big occasion and you bet he can still turn it on…. I will go with him,” said Sammy from his home in St. Lucia.
Gayle has played 31 T20s for the West Indies and scored two centuries and 13 half-centuries, with an average of 31.24 and a strike rate of 140.81. At the last World Cup, he scored an unbeaten 100 in the first match against England but ended the series with 113 runs from four innings.
Sammy, who was at the helm when the team won the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, in 2012, versus the hosts, and in 2016 against England, thinks that the West Indies can win again if they improve their bowling attack.
“We have the batting firepower, but we are missing two x-factor bowlers. Fidel is back and brings some pace, but I think our best chance will be chasing totals. We don’t have that Sunil Narine type of bowler and, to be honest, that’s the missing link. We can win but we need a couple of bowlers to put pressure on for eight overs,” explained Sammy.
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