Coach of local track and field club Sprint Tech, Maurice Wilson, admits that he is eager to see local track and field meets return to the island, with the Olympic Games just a few months away.
With the island still firmly in the grips of battling the coronavirus pandemic, local track meets have for the most part remain shuttered. However, following an announcement by prime minister Andrew Holness last week, expectations are high that the situation will be remedied over the next few weeks.
“I’m hoping that it will be four weeks, five weeks, no more than that before we can get back to competition, sooner rather than later,” Wilson told Television Jamaica.
With COVID-19 protocols remaining in effect, however, meets that restart will not be business as usual and several adjustments will have to be made in order to comply with the regulations.
“I’d like to think that the longer we take to get back to regular competition is the more creative we will have to get. We did that in the summer when MVP organized the Velocity Fest meets and we were a part of that…I think that we will have to be creative as well and move forward until things are regularised.”
West Indies stand-in captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, has backed off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall to make a telling impact in the upcoming Test against Bangladesh.
The spinner showed himself to be in good form after claiming five wickets against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI last week. Outside of taking the wickets, Cornwall proved hard to get away and boasted an economic rate of 2.82. Brathwaite backed the spinner to carry that form into the series, on a pitch that is suited for spinners.
“He did a very good job in the practice game, created a lot of pressure, bowling dot balls and such. I think he’ll do well in the series. He’s a quality off-spinner, we all know this,” Brathwaite told members of the media via an online press conference on Tuesday.
“We just need to stick to our plans, support him in the field, support all the bowlers not only Rahkeem but we look forward to him doing well this series, all the bowlers."
Cornwall’s best performance so far for the West Indies came in Asia when he claimed 7 for 75 in an innings against Afghanistan and claimed 10 wickets overall. The West Indies will begin the first Test against Bangladesh at 10:30 pm on Tuesday (9:30 pm ECT).
West Indies head coach, Phil Simmons, insists the team must be ready to take advantage of any rustiness on the part of the Bangladesh team but insists the hosts are firm favourites heading into the series.
The Bangladesh team has not played a Test since February when they faced Zimbabwe at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium. The West Indies has in the meantime, played two-Test series against England and then New Zealand.
Relying on that statistic would, however, be slightly misleading as several of the West Indies' first-team players opted out of the tour, leaving the unit to rely on more inexperienced players for the tour. In such circumstances and Bangladesh’s home record, Simmons is skeptical of there being any advantage but hopes the team will be able to captilise once there is.
“There could be a little bit of vulnerability early in the Test because they haven’t played any international Test cricket for a year now and getting back into it might expose some vulnerability early on," Simmons told members of the media.
“I’m sure that, that would be taken care of because they have a fairly experienced team, with the likes of Tamim and Shakib. The experience is there so it might not last too long, but if it does happen, we have to take that opportunity and seize on it,” he added.
“Bangladesh will always have the edge no matter who they are playing at home. They are a very strong side when they play at home. So, they will always have the edge even when they haven’t played any cricket for a year.”
Bangladesh won the previous series, which consisted of three ODI matches, against the West Indies 3-0.
Kiara Grant equalled her 60m personal best while winning the event at the Virginia Beach Invitational earlier today.
A special fund to assist former Jamaica’s national representatives who have fallen on the hard times is to be established by the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport.
Fidel Edwards is harbouring ambitions of representing the West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup later this year.
A disappointed but not disheartened Terry Fenwick, coach of Trinidad and Tobago said the team failed to stick to the game plan which resulted in the 7-0 drubbing at the hands of the United States on Sunday night.
Natoya Goule picked up another win on the indoor circuit this season when she sped to victory on the 800m at the Clemson Bob Pollock Invitational on Saturday.
An 82-run eighth-wicket partnership between Joshua Da Silva and Raymon Reifer was the highlight of the final day of the three-day ‘warm-up’ match between the West Indies and the Bangladesh Cricket Board XI that ended in a draw today.
Jamaica sprinter and Oregon junior Kemba Nelson clocked a blistering 7.19 to claim victory in the women’s 60 at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Saturday.
In surging to the line, the 20-year-old turned the tables on USC all-American TeeTee Terry. Terry, the 2019 NCAA champion in the event, finished second in 7.24. Oregon senior Brianna Duncan was third in 7.30. Nelson’s time is seventh fastest all-time at Oregon.
On the previous day in the 200m, it was Terry who took top billing finishing in 23.35, ahead of Nelson who ran second in 23.53.
Nelson, the national junior double sprint champion in 2019, joined Oregon last fall after three years at the University of Technology (Utech), in Jamaica.
The Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) has vowed to keep a watchful eye on its parent body, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) after pointing out that it had ‘misgivings’ with its management of the country’s football.
Among the concerns highlighted in a press release issued on Friday, KSAFA mentioned a lack of transparency regarding its restructuring proposal. The local football bodies had clashed last year when the JFF had expressed the desire to implement wide-ranging reform to the island’s clubs and competition structure.
In addition, KSAFA expressed concerns regarding plans being in place for the start of the World Cup Qualifying campaign and youth development programs. The body has resolved to establish a subcommittee responsible for monitoring and evaluating the actions of the JFF.
“At its meeting held to deliberate wide-ranging missteps of the local governing body, KSAFA was unified in expressing misgivings about the JFF’s plans to chart the course for Jamaica’s football,” the release read.
“KSAFA is committed to not only highlight the JFF’s missteps and to express misgivings, but is also insisting on greater accountability and transparency from the JFF.”
Former West Indies Under-19 captain, Emmanuel Stewart, hopes to insert himself in the debate for selection in what he believes could be a big year for regional cricket.
The 21-year-old Windwards Islands Volcanoes batsman was part of the squad that contested the 2018 Under-19 World Cup. Since making his First-Class debut in 2019, for the Volcanoes, he had made three half-centuries in 9 matches.
For the upcoming season, the middle-order batsman will once again form part of the Windward Islands squad looking to claim a 5th Regional Super50 crown. With plenty of international cricket on the horizon this year, including Caribbean tours for Sri Lanka, Australia, and Pakistan, Stewart knows a solid season could place him squarely in the thoughts of the Cricket West Indies (CWI) selectors.
“I think it’s an important year for cricket in the Caribbean, a lot of teams are touring the Caribbean,” Stewart told Grenada’s Talksport.
“So, I think what I have control over is my performance and once I continue putting the numbers up, then that is the most I can do,” he added.
“As long as I continue playing, I will continue putting my focus on those numbers and keep progressing for the Windwards and hopefully eventually the West Indies too.”
Off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall grabbed a five-wicket haul as the West Indies dismissed Bangladesh Cricket Board XI for 160, before ending the day at 175 for 5, when they batted again, on day two of the three-day warm-up match.
In the morning session, Cornwall got the key wicket of Mohammad Naim, who was bowled five runs short of a half-century, before later accounting for Yasir Ali. His victims also included Akbar Ali, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and Khaled Ahmed.
A left-arm spinner, Jomel Warrican, also had a splendid showing as he swept through the middle order. Warrican took the wickets of Shahadat Hossain, captain Nurul Hasan, and Towhid Hridoy.
Batting a second time, the West Indies lost Shayne Moseley first ball, but his opening partner John Campbell and Nkrumah Bonner carried the team to 130 for 1 with a solid second-wicket partnership. Campbell’s dismissal on 68, off the bowling of Saif Hassan, then prompted a collapse. Jermaine Blackwood (4), Kyle Mayers (8), and Kavem Hodge (19) all departed without really settling in at the crease. At the close of play, Bonner remained unbeaten on 80, with Joshua Da Silva yet to score at the other end.
The West Indies will head into the third day and final with an overall lead of 276.
West Indies all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, has hailed the role of big-hitting teammates Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard in inspiring a new generation of exciting batsmen.
For decades the Caribbean has created some of the world’s most exciting stroke players, with the likes of Everton Weekes, Gary Sobers, and, later on, Viv Richards and Brian Lara thrilling crowds with their incredible run-scoring ability.
The likes of Pollard, Gayle, and Andre Russell have fallen very much into that mold and a new generation that includes players like Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmeyer, and Brandon King have followed in their footsteps.
The 37-year-old all-rounder Bravo, one of the T20 cricket’s most devastating wicket-takers in his own right, was quick to commend Pollard and Gayle for passing the torch.
“I think these young guys look up to players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, what these guys have done in white-ball cricket,” Bravo told Khaleej Times after leading the Delhi Bulls to a win in the Abu Dhabi T10 league on Friday.
“The players from the younger generation now aspire to be like them (Gayle, Pollard) you know. Before them, they had Sir Viv (Richards) or (Brian) Lara and (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul, these players and the likes of Gayle and (Ramnaresh) Sarwan. The young players were looking up to those players,” he added.
“But now because of Pollard, Andre Russell, Gayle, you know, you have seen the likes of Pooran, Heytmayer, Rutherford, and Brandon King.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
