A late penalty from Jahmari Clarke saw Jamaica’s U-20 Reggae Boyz secure a 1-1 come-from-behind draw and share of the points against Costa Rica in Group D of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championships, in Honduras, on Saturday.
After a scoreless first half, which saw both teams unable to take advantage of limited opportunities to find the back of the net, Dorian Rodríguez gave Costa Rica the advantage with a well-placed header in the 58th minute.
The Jamaicans missed a golden opportunity to get back on level terms when Julián González brought down livewire substitute Chad James in the area. Duncan Mckenzie, however, missed the resulting penalty, with Costa Ria custodian Bayron Mora diving sharply to his left to stop the effort.
Los Ticos seemed destined for all three points but Andrey Salmerón’s 87th-minute shot came crashing back off the crossbar as the Jamaicans held on. In a hefty chunk of time added on, however, Clarke was wrestled to the ground by Brandon Calderón for another penalty. This time the forward did make use of the advantage, sending Mora the wrong way to bring the team back on level terms, only just seconds before the final whistle.
In the day’s other encounter, Cuba scored a 1-0 win over Canada in Group E. Kevin Martín got the winning goal in the 42nd minute.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has expressed disappointment on missing out on triple figures against Bangladesh but was satisfied in playing a crucial innings on day 2 of the second Test.
The opening batsman crafted a resilient 94 from 268 balls, a resilient 400 minutes that went a long way towards anchoring the team’s total of 265 and a first-innings lead.
Just short of a deserved 11th Test century, the batsman was, however, deceived by Khaled Ahmed and sent back to the pavilion just four short of the coveted total.
“Obviously, I was a little disappointed but I’m happy that the team has formed a lead and it will be key for us to start well tomorrow,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Friday.
“The most important thing was to build a foundation for me, and my team and I was happy with the time I spent. So well done to the team for getting a lead,” he added.
The West Indies will enter the third day with a lead of 112 runs, after ending the day on 52 for 2.
Former Jamaica captain Nehemiah Perry believes the development of talented fast bowler O’Shane Thompson would have been aided greatly by featuring in more red-ball matches.
The fast bowler got the attention of the region and world in 2017 when he bowled with express pace at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). Despite some promising cameos, however, Thomas has not lived up to that promise and is currently out of the Windies squad.
The player’s conditioning has also been a source of concern with the bowler looking several pounds overweight and not approaching speeds seen earlier on. Perry believes, however, that a part of the problem was the player’s introduction in the shortest format.
“When I saw O’Shane and he was bowling real quick, yes there were some inconsistencies in his delivery but when he gets right he can be very lethal,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“I said to my colleagues in the Caribbean and Jamaica, we need to play O’Shane Thomas in four-day cricket. He needs to play the long version of the game, he needs to learn how to bowl. Learn the art of bowling.
“If you blood someone in T20 cricket where all they have to do is bowl short, not sure were you going to land the delivery. If you play four-day cricket and you are bowling 20 overs a day you are going to learn the art of bowling and bowling more consistently,” he added.
‘Your body will be stronger and you will have a better work ethic.”
Former West Indies batsman and Jamaica captain Nehemiah Perry insists the evident lack of proper fitness programs for several professional cricketers around the Caribbean remains unacceptable.
The topic of player fitness has been a hot-button issue in recent years, with a few cricketers failing fitness tests and others on occasions noticeably overweight. The issue is back in the spotlight following the recently concluded Women's T20 Blaze where Jamaica were crowned champions.
Some critics have pointed to the lack of a regulatory fitness program for the regional, players but Perry insists it must also be an issue of personal responsibility.
“I don’t think enough work is being put into our cricketers and our cricketers are not properly monitoring themselves. They eat anything they want, they eat KFC, they eat Burger King, they eat Chinese, they don’t have a proper program,” Perry told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“A part of the program is nutrition. You have to be eating properly to be a top-class cricketer because your body is going to need it, because, it brings the best out of your body. Rehydration, you go to the beach, you swim, you do all of these things, you follow a specific program,” he added.
“Players aren’t following that, they go on their phones and they go and sit in the dressing room and do nothing and then they go home and put on weight. How can you be a professional cricketer and a be putting on weight? You are not supposed to be putting on weight.”
Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake insists the team would love to focus on solely football issues but insist on being given adequate means needed to succeed.
The custodian made a triumphant return between the sticks for the Jamaica national team and certainly did his part in ensuring the team got at least a share of the points with Mexico. Blake had missed the two previous games after pulling out of the team ahead of the first match with Suriname, following the team’s issues with Jamaica Football Federation general secretary Dalton Wint.
The team and the JFF have had several disputes over the last few years, most notably ahead of the World Cup qualifiers when the team went on strike. According to the player, the team would love to focus on on-the-field issues.
“If we are going to win, we have to be put in the best position to win. For me, leadership is very important. No matter how good you are you need people that are going to appreciate you and set you up to win,” Blake told journalists after the match.
We are going to always demand that, and we are always going to do what we need to do to get that. When we come here to play football and just football. So, when we come and have to deal with issues that aren’t even necessary, it’s toxic.”
Veteran West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has been passed fit ahead of Thursday’s series against Bangladesh.
The Windies front-line bowler was a doubt for the series after sustaining an injury while playing for Surrey in the English County Championship. However, on Wednesday, on the eve of the series, Roach was passed fit and has been added as the 13th member of the squad.
Roach is the highest-ranked bowler West Indies bowler in the ICC rankings and is West Indies’ leading current wicket-taker in Test matches.
The bowler has typically done well against Bangladesh, claiming a total of 34 wickets in 9 matches. His career-best figures of 6-48 came against Bangladesh in 2009. The player will also have fond memories of playing Bangladesh at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, with his best figures at the venue of 5-8 also coming against Bangladesh in 2018.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite insists the team will not make the cardinal sin of underestimating Bangladesh, despite the Asian unit’s dismal record in the Caribbean to date.
In four series in the Caribbean to date, Bangladesh has managed to secure just one win, which came in a 2-0 series sweep in 2009. The team could have even more reason to feel confident having handed the Bangladeshi’s a 2-0 defeat on their home soil last year.
With all that in mind, however, the captain is determined to ensure that the team keeps its feet firmly planted when the series bowls off at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday.
“The biggest thing is that we can’t underestimate them. Not because they are not top 3 in the world means that we are just going to roll over them,” Brathwaite told members of the media on Thursday.
“I think as batters and as bowlers, we have to stay disciplined. We have to go out there and work hard. I thought the England series we did a good job as batters, a batter getting 100 every game. I thought that was very good, but we can’t just go out there and think we will be making a 100 just because it's Bangladesh, we have to work hard.”
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NCAA women’s 100m silver medallist Kemba Nelson is mentally preparing for the prospect of a brutal Jamaica National trials, which she must advance to secure a place at this year’s World Championships.
On Saturday, the athlete put in a strong display to finish just behind another Caribbean athlete, St Lucia’s Julien Alfred who took the event in 11.02, with Nelson clocking an identical time.
To secure a spot in the country’s spot to the Eugene Games, the athlete knows she could have to go a good deal faster. Typically, legendary track stars Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah have accounted for the first two spots.
Recently, however, the two have been joined the upper echelons of world sprinting by Shericka Jackson and the trio top the top three spots at last year’s Olympic Games. If things go according to expectations, it could leave just one spot on the team up for grabs from a deep field of talented young female athletes.
“My National Trials is coming up where I will be running against way faster women,” Nelson said of the event, which will take place from June 23-26th.
“My start is good, so I just have to work on my finish and relax, to get my hips up at the bottom end and that will really help. I really hope I make the team."
Mexico star Luis Romo conceded his side are "not at the best level" after a frustrating 1-1 draw at Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Leon Bailey opened the scoring for the hosts after just four minutes on Tuesday when he headed Shamar Nicholson's cross home.
Jamaica could have doubled their lead soon after, but Nicholson was denied by the crossbar, allowing Mexico a lifeline after a tepid start.
Mexico capitalised on that opportunity in additional time in the first half, with Romo finishing past Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake.
However, Gerardo Martino's side could not find a winner in the second half, leaving them a point behind leaders Jamaica, who have played a game more in their Nations League group.
With the World Cup in Qatar just five months away, Romo admitted his country have been far from their best but backed them to deliver at world football's historic tournament.
"Inside we realise that we have to overcome everything, the criticism we must take. We know that we are not at our best or maximum level, but we are very aware of what we can achieve," he told TUDN.
"A World Cup and an opportunity to make history motivates us a lot."
Mexico were somewhat fortunate to not fall behind again in the second half, with Kevin Alvarez making a goal-line clearance after the break.
El Tri arguably deserved to share the points, though, after forcing numerous saves from Blake in the final 45 minutes, and Romo believes Mexico may have even deserved to win.
"In the second half we got stuck," Romo added. "I think we deserved a bit more."
Coach Martino was left satisfied with June's internationals nevertheless.
"All the players adapted well to this training camp. It is complicated to work with 38 players, and they did well," he told reporters.
"Each match had situations that will help us analyse the future."
Mexico are not next in action until August 31, when they face Paraguay in a friendly in Atlanta.
United States coach Gregg Berhalter believes salvaging a late draw in the CONCACAF Nations League at El Salvador will help his side to grow.
Alexander Larin scored in the 35th minute to put El Salvador on course to end a 19-game winless streak against USA, which has spanned 30 years.
But Jordan Morris popped up in the 91st minute with his 11th international goal, and first since November 2019, to steal a 1-1 draw on the road in difficult, rainy conditions.
That was after both teams had players sent off, with American Paul Arriola dismissed for a lunging tackle on Larin and Ronald Gomez for a challenge on Yunus Musah.
Berhalter has two more friendlies to evaluate his side before the World Cup in Qatar, and says the performance at El Salvador will go a long way to developing their character.
"The group grows with moments like this," Berhalter said. "After the game, Jordan Morris walks into the locker room and everyone starts cheering.
"Everyone's uniform is a dark brown colour, the shoes are a mess, the staff is all dirty. This is what builds teams."
Morris' Seattle Sounders team-mates were hammering Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 in MLS while the El Salvador clash went on, and he reminisced on youth football in America leading to this moment.
"These are kind of some of the fields I used to play on as a kid," Morris said.
"Being from Seattle, obviously, it's not the mud – the rain. I love playing in the rain. So I was just embracing that moment. I think the team as a group just embraced the challenge."
Christian Pulisic captained his country but all eyes were on Haji Wright as the forward competes with the likes of Jesus Ferreira, Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent, Jordan Pefok and Daryl Dike for a place up top.
While Berhalter was left somewhat underwhelmed by Wright's performance, he assured that it will not be his final chance in the side.
"It's always difficult when players get an opportunity and don't fully capitalise on it," Berhalter said. "It's not nice for a coach. It's not nice for the player. It's not nice for the group.
"We were all rooting for Haji to be a force. We purposely played more direct in the first half because we thought he could be the force that would unsettle them.
"And it just wasn't his night. That doesn't rule him out for anything in the future. We don't work like that."
The Seattle Sounders moved into the Western Conference playoff spots in the MLS, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps 4-0 on Tuesday.
The Sounders took the three points via a double from Raul Ruidiaz along with goals from Nicolas Lodeiro and Alex Roldan, in this MLS season's first match of the Cascadia Cup.
In the rivalry that dates back to the NASL in the 1970s, the Sounders claimed their 18th win over the Caps in the MLS era with Tuesday's victory.
Ruidiaz was instrumental for Seattle in scoring the opener, breaking clear and playing Fredy Montero in, before he was brought down by Cody Cropper. Lodeiro converted from the penalty spot.
He pounced again in the 28th minute, reacting quickest to Jimmy Medranda's heavy first touch to finish, before scoring a second in the 54th minute. Alex Roldan added a fourth in the 89th minute.
After winning two of their opening seven league games, Brian Schmetzer's side have won four of their past six since claiming the CONCACAF Champions League title in May.
Seattle are now seventh in the Western Conference on 19 points, moving ahead of the three-way tie on 18 points between Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United and Colorado Rapids, with a game in hand as well.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz and Mexico were forced to settle for a share of the spoils after a feisty 1-1 draw in group A of the Concacaf Nations League Group A on Tuesday at the National Stadium.
The Mexicans began the game in an enterprising fashion and almost took the lead minutes after the kick-off. A sweeping attacking move ended with Santiago Gimenez being brilliantly thwarted by Jamaica custodian Andre Blake who snuffed out the 2nd-minute attempt no more than four yards away from goal.
It was the Jamaicans who, however, took the lead, against the run of play, through a sweeping move of their own, punctuated in the 7th minute by a bullet-header from Leon Bailey, who was picked out in the box by Shamar Nicholson.
Nicholson almost got on the scoresheet himself five minutes later but his towering header, after rising from a corner, crashed on to to the top of the crossbar.
After continuing to dominate the majority of the play, the visitors seemed set to end the half empty-handed but got some reward for their enterprise in time added on.
Luis Romo brought the team back on level terms after beating the Jamaican backline to a ball whipped into the area and heading past Blake just before the whistle.
In an entertaining second half, Nicholson almost restored the Jamaican's lead but saw his chip to goal cleared off the line by two Mexican defenders after successfully dinking the ball over the head of onrushing Mexican keeper Rodolfo Cota, after being played through on goal by Bailey.
The visitors, however, had plenty of attempts of their own, and Blake was kept busy, most notably diving full stretch to parry a fierce drive on goal from livewire Diego Lanez in the 68th minute.
With the result the Jamaicans remain at the top of the group on 5 points, while Mexico picks up their first point of the competition, joining Suriname on 1.
2019 World Championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts produced a 14.35m effort to win the triple jump at the Paavo Nurmi Games, at the Paavo Nurmi Stadium in Turku, Finland, on Tuesday.
Ricketts, who has a season’s best of 14.43m, finished ahead of Slovenia’s Neja Filipic (14.26m) and the USA’s Tori Franklin (14.05m) at the meet, which is a part of the World Athletics Continental Tour-Gold.
Also in action was 2019 World Champion and current world leader in the Men’s javelin, Anderson Peters of Grenada. He produced a distance of 86.60m for third in the event behind Indian Olympic Champion Neeraj Chopra who, in his first competition of the season, threw a personal best and national record 89.30 to finish second. Finland’s Oliver Helander threw a personal best 89.83m for the win.
Jamaican Olympic finalist Britany Anderson had to settle for second in the 100m hurdles in 12.59 after being narrowly out-dipped at the finish line by Nigeria’s reigning Commonwealth Games Champion Tobi Amusan (12.57). Nadine Visser of the Netherlands was third in 12.72.
The West Indies entered their three-match One-Day International series against Pakistan on a high after a 3-0 away series sweep of the Netherlands just a few days before.
What a difference a week makes as the regional side are now reeling from suffering their own 0-3 sweep at the hands of the Pakistanis after a 53-run loss in Sunday’s third ODI in Multan.
West Indies ODI and T20I captain Nicholas Pooran believes there are some positives his team can take from the series despite the result.
“One positive from this series is definitely character. The character shown by the players, especially coming out here in 45-degree temperature. A lot of guys got sick as well and we kept fighting,” Pooran said in an interview after the third game.
“We said at the start of this series that we’re going to stick together, no matter the result we’re going to stick together and that’s what happened,” he added.
As is almost always the case when the Windies suffer a series defeat, fans will be frustrated but Pooran promises a change in fortunes sooner than later for the team.
“A lot of people will be upset that we lost and bash us but I feel like we got really close as a team. It’s my second tour as captain and I felt like we were actually really building a family here and that’s a positive,” he said.
“Despite the result, I think we had a good showing, especially in the first game. Looking forward, we’re definitely going to be winning some games and hopefully make the fans proud,” he added.
Before the third ODI, Pooran had bowled only two deliveries in his previous 42 ODIs as he spent the majority of those as the wicket-keeper.
He took 4-48 from his 10 overs on Sunday and said we may see more of him bowling his off-spin in the future if the situation presents itself.
“For sure. Today was amazing for me and the guys in the dressing room know I’m going to talk a lot about it. I’m not going to get overconfident but, hopefully, there are two left-handers in the next series so I can bowl as well,” he said.
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