St. Catherine High secured back-to-back Walker Cup titles with a 1-0 win over Kingston Technical in the final at Stadium East on Saturday.
Despite what the final score suggests, it was a dominant display from St. Catherine who came close to opening the scoring in the 5th minute when Dwight Gentles hit the crossbar with a left-footed strike.
They once again found themselves unlucky when a right-footed shot from Jevin Parkinson cannoned off the left upright in the 57th minute. Their persistence was eventually rewarded when they took the lead with the only goal of the game, a well-placed 89th-minute header from substitute Dillion Richards.
Sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah and sprint hurdler, Hansle Parchment, were named Jamaica’s National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year for 2021, at the RJRGleaner Sports Foundation National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards ceremony held on Friday night.
The event was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thompson-Herah had a phenomenal 2021 season, which included her winning the 100m at the Diamond League final in Zurich and running 10.54 at the Eugene Diamond League to become the fastest woman alive and second fastest woman of all time.
Her greatest achievement in 2021, however, would have to be when she became the first woman in history to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympic Games.
Backing up her exploits from Rio in 2016, Thompson-Herah produced times of 10.61 and 21.53 to win gold medals in both the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo Olympics, in addition to being a part of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team, alongside Briana Williams, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished as runner-up for the Sportswoman of the Year award, and Shericka Jackson, that won the gold medal in a national record 41.02.
Parchment shocked the world to win gold in the Men’s 110m Hurdles in Tokyo, nine years after his bronze medal performance at the London Olympics.
He ran 13.04 to win gold in Tokyo ahead of prohibitive favourite Grant Holloway of the USA.
The past student of Morant Bay High and Kingston College was also third at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
His teammate Ronald Levy, who was the runner-up for the Sportsman of the Year Award, took home the bronze medal in Tokyo.
Other major awards given out on the day include the Chairman's Award to veteran journalist Lance Whittaker; the People's Choice "Performance of the Year Award" to Fraser McConnell; the VM Group Y.O.U.T.H Award to sprinter Tina Clayton and the Gleaner Newspaper Iconic Award to Michael Holding.
Former Ireland batsman turned commentator, Nyle O’Brien, believes the West Indies batsmen have become caught-up playing an old fashion type of cricket, which has little chance of success in the modern game.
The Caribbean side was beaten by Ireland, in a One Day International series, for the first time in their history earlier this week. The team had a poor showing all-around but as has become custom in recent times their substandard display at the crease was noticeable.
The team struggled to come to grips with not just the surface, but also the Irish bowlers, particularly Andy McBrine who took 10 wickets over the three games. O’Brien believes a major part of the issues at the crease stems from the batting unit’s outdated philosophy of run-scoring.
“The West Indies, they’re playing a very old school type of cricket. They just stand around in the crease and either block or try to hit the ball for four or six. Unfortunately, when you are playing international cricket that doesn’t happen very often. Very rarely do you see a West Indies batter come down the pitch, using their feet, knock it to long-on, or long-off for singles, rotate the strike, or manipulate the field. We saw very few sweeps, when Shamarh Brooks did play a sweep he was out lbw,” O'Brien told the Mason and Guest radio show.
“When you’re a batter if you’re going to stand in the crease waiting for a bad ball, this is international cricket, the bad balls don’t come very often…It’s a technical thing, it’s a tactical thing…it’s something for West Indies cricket, it’s been a pattern for many, many years they don’t play spin very well. They really on their brute force and teams are getting more clever with how to go about that.”
Edwin Allen High School won their first trophy in schoolboy football after defeating St. Elizabeth Technical 3-2 in an enthralling final at STETHS on Friday.
Negus Daley followed up his goal in the semi-final against Frome Technical with the opener for the home side in the 16th minute.
Edwin Allen got the equalizer in the 47th minute through a right-footed strike from close range by Alwayne Bryan.
Jahiem Harris scored the first of his two goals on the day to give Edwin Allen a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute.
Substitute Davin Wright got the goal that he thought would send the game to penalties for STETHS with a header in the 85th minute to make it 2-2 before Harris got his second of the game, a brilliant left-footed strike from outside the box to give Edwin Allen a 3-2 lead and secure their maiden Ben Francis Cup title.
West Indies white ball captain, Kieron Pollard, says the team will be starting from scratch in their Betway T20 International series against England beginning on Saturday in Barbados.
The last outing for the regional team in the format came in January with a 3-0 defeat in an away series against Pakistan.
The majority of that squad will get another opportunity to represent the region and Pollard, speaking in a pre-match press conference today, says the team is eager to get started.
“For us, it’s like starting from scratch. These guys got a run out in Pakistan in the three T20Is and I’m sure they’re looking to build on their own personal performances and that, in extension, will help us get victories,” he said.
If the West Indies are to come out victorious in the five-match series, Pollard says execution in all three phases of the game will be critical.
“We have to execute in all three facets of the game. It’s been mentioned over the last week or so, batting has definitely been a problem for us but a good thing about it is that we have some new faces in the group again. Guys are looking to make a name for themselves on the international scene and so we just need to be able to do the basics and play according to the situation of the game,” Pollard added.
With the team coming off a disappointing ODI series loss to Ireland, Pollard says it will be important to leave that in the past and focus on what they can do going forward.
“It’s a new series. We can’t take the disappointment from that series into this one. There’s a different sort of mindset and approach that is needed to come into this series,” Pollard said.
The first match of the T20I series between the West Indies and England bowls off at the Kensington Oval in Barbados at 3:00 pm Jamaica time.
West Indies fast-bowling allrounder Odean Smith is taking his ascension to the West Indies limited overs team in stride.
Speaking to the media, on Thursday, before the team’s five-match Betway T20 International series against England, Smith said he has ambitions to be a fixture in the West Indies white-ball setup for years to come.
“Definitely. I think I have a long way to go and a lot of work to do but it’s all a learning process. Cricket is a learning process. I just have to work on my game along the way and I think I’ll definitely get to where I want to be when the time comes,” he said.
One of the biggest talking points across the regional cricket landscape over the last few years has been player fitness and Smith said he is fully aware that if he wants to achieve his goals, he must prioritize taking care of his body.
“I think it’s very important. If you’re not taking care of your body then you probably won’t have far to go so, I work a lot on my fitness. Cricket is a lot of running so I tend to do a lot of that. I don’t really go to the gym to do a lot of strength work. Running and eating well are the things I take pride in,” Smith added.
A member of the triumphant 2016 West Indies Under-19 team, Smith also stated that it is an ongoing process because of a busy schedule.
“I’m not where I want to be right now because, as I said, it’s an ongoing process and there’s a lot of cricket going on so it’s hard to get anything done during the season. When I get a little time, I’ll focus on distance running and my eating habits,” he added.
Smith has, so far, played 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is for the West Indies.
With the team coming off a disappointing ODI series defeat to Ireland and England coming off a 4-0 defeat to Australia in the Ashes, Smith believes the upcoming series will be an important one for both teams.
“Both teams have an equal opportunity to go out there and win this series. England has a very good team and we also have a very good team as we’re trying to rebuild. We have a few new guys so the coaches are trying to figure out roles for everyone. This series is going to be very important for both teams going forward,” he added.
The series between the West Indies and England gets underway at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
Life under interim manager Paul Hall got off to a shaky for Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz following a 3-0 loss to Peru at the Estadio Nacional, in Peru, on Thursday.
Following a scoreless, even first half the game burst into life when Lewis Iberico outjumped the Jamaican backline to head past goalkeeper Amal Knight in the 48th minute. Another bit of poor defending saw Alex Valera intercept a ball played across the area to double the host’s lead in the 66th minute.
Given too much room just outside the area, Yosimar Yotune finished things off with a long-range blast, which saw a diving Knight come up empty-handed. The mostly locally-based team put together enterprising play at times but seemed to lack ideas and accuracy in the final third of the pitch.
The full squad will be back in action next Thursday when they host Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers. Three days later the team will head to Panama, before hosting Costa Rica at home. Hall replaced Theodore Whitmore as head coach of the team last month, following a string of disappointing results.
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts has expressed disappointment with the government’s decision not to allow fans to attend the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Mexico, and possibly Costa Rica.
The Reggae Boyz will return to action against El Tri on the 27th of January, in a crucial World Cup qualifier at the National Stadium. The team has played the majority of home matches so far with empty stands, impacted by the government’s Covid-19 management protocols.
The exception came against the United States in the last round, where up to 5,000 vaccinated fans were allowed to attend the fixture. The JFF was hoping to have the same number of fans, if not more, but the recent increase of coronavirus cases, however, meant they had other ideas.
“Covid will be here if not forever, for a very long time so you just have to put things in place and figure out how best you are going to navigate this pandemic,” Ricketts said.
“We must live with Covid, so we must adhere to the protocols and be as careful as we can, but we must also understand that life goes on.”
The Reggae Boyz have been the only team in the octagonal round that has been affected so severely by coronavirus restrictions, with many other teams sticking to the practice of limiting the numbers of fans allowed at the venues.
Jamaica, however, has the lowest vaccination rate of all the countries participating in the qualifiers.
Legendary West Indies batsman, Viv Richards, has once again decried what he believes to be the role of poorly prepared playing surfaces in the underdevelopment of both the region’s batsman and bowlers.
The regional team is in the grips of a particularly bad spell, after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Ireland in the most recent One Day International series. The series was the first the Irish have won again them and sent shockwaves around the region.
The team’s batsmen were in particularly woeful form with only Sharmarh Brooks, Shai Hope, and Odean Smith managing to average over 30. Albeit on a pitch that held moisture early on, and losing the toss three times, the West Indies only managed to make over 250 runs in the first match, well short of the total typically required for a good innings in modern ODI cricket.
With many of the batsmen continuing to look out of sorts, despite often putting in strong spells in regional cricket, Richards believes substandard pitches are partially to blame for the situation.
“I don’t think there is enough preparation being put into wickets, and wickets play a huge part because sometimes you get some individuals who would be selected because of some good performances on some dodgy tracks,” Richards told Antigua’s Good Morning Jojo Radio program.
“So, when you get to the bigger picture or they take a step up, then you find individuals are found wanting because these wickets are rather inferior on either sides of the coin, whether it’s batting or bowling. We need to pay a little more attention to having proper wickets that can be quite competitive for bat and ball,” he added.
Defending champions Cavalier got the new Jamaica Premier League season underway with a win against Arnett Gardens FC in an enthralling encounter at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence in Kingston.
Central defender, Jamoi Topey, gave Cavalier the lead in the 60th minute before Chavany Willis got an equaliser that he thought would salvage a draw in the 96th minute.
Cavalier forward Shaniel Thomas had other ideas as he slotted home a right-footed effort in the 97th minute to secure a win and three points for the two-time champions.
The second match on Sunday was also an exciting one between four-time champions Waterhouse FC and Montego Bay United, who have also won the title four times.
Montego Bay United took the lead in the 57th minute through Giovanni Reid before Waterhouse equalised in the 72nd minute through an Andre Fletcher penalty.
Waterhouse completed the comeback in the 81st minute through a goal from Devroy Grey. The action then shifted to Monday, January 17 with two more matches.
Dunbeholden FC and Vere United FC contested the first game with Dunbeholden securing a 2-1 victory.
They took the lead in the eighth minute through an excellent header from Atapharoy Bygrave before Lampard Neil tied things up for Vere in the 57th minute.
Substitute Jahmiel Hardware secured the three points for Dunbeholden with a well-placed free kick in the 92nd minute.
In the second match, goals from Warner Brown in the 42nd minute and Shai Smith in the 87th minute ensured that five-time winners Tivoli Gardens FC and seven-time winners Portmore United FC played out a 1-1 draw.
On Tuesday, four-time champions Harbour View FC and Molynes United FC played out a 2-2 draw thanks to double strikes from Trayvon Reid and Nicholas Nelson.
Nelson gave Molynes United the lead in the 42nd minute before Reid made it 1-1 in the 45th minute.
The 58th minute saw Nelson get his second to give Molynes United a 2-1 lead before Reid once again equalized in the 90th minute to ensure the points were shared.
In the second game on the day, goals from Daniel Green in the 14th and 43rd minutes, as well as strikes from Allan Ottey in the 17th, Ricardo Morris in the 45th, and Donovan Segree in the 90th helped Mount Pleasant FA secure the biggest win of the round, a 5-1 rout of Humble Lion FC.
Cory Hylton got Humble Lion’s consolation goal in the 83rd minute.
The second round of matches kicks off on Saturday.
Former West Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been appointed Jamaica Tallawahs new Head Coach.
The 47-year-old left-hander, who has played 164 Tests, 268 ODIs and 22 T20Is, scoring a total of 20,988 runs for the West Indies, will take charge of the team for the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
"Shivnarine has had an illustrious playing career and is one of the greats of the game. He has served West Indies cricket with distinction, and I know that he will take the Tallawahs to new heights," said Krishna Persaud, owner of the Jamaica Tallawahs.
For his part, Chanderpaul is excited to join the unit and hopes to lead the team back to winning ways.
"It’s an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Jamaica Tallawahs and I am really looking forward to working with the players and support staff to bring another championship to Jamaica," Chanderpaul said.
Sir Curtly Ambrose has also joined the Jamaica Tallawahs support staff for Hero CPL 2022.
The legend, one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time with 405 Test wickets and another 225 in ODIs, will serve as the Tallawahs bowling coach.
“Sir Curtly brings a lot of technical expertise and experience to the Tallawahs and we look forward to having him with the team,” stated the Guyanese Businessman.
Jamaican Andre Coley has also been appointed assistant coach of the team.
Coley was a member of the inaugural management team at the High Performance Centre Programme based in Barbados from 2010 – 2013.
He was the former Head Coach of the Windward Islands Volcanoes first-class franchise between 2017-2019 and is currently the Head Coach of the Jamaica Scorpions first-class franchise from 2019 to the present.
“We are excited and welcome Chanderpaul, Sir Curtly and Coley to the Tallawahs family,” stated Jeff Miller, General Manager of the Tallawahs.
West Indies opener, Brandon King, is looking to keep things simple on his return to international cricket after recently returning to the team.
King was named as part of the Windies T20 squad who will play against England in the upcoming five-match series. The batsman looked in solid form after returning to the team against Pakistan last month, after more than a year away from the team. He scored 111 runs in three matches, with an average of 37 and a high score of 67.
On the back of another controlled showing against a BCA President's XI in a warm-up match at Kensington Oval, on Tuesday, King will be looking to provide solidity against the English for a Windies team that has struggled as of late.
“For me mentally, I play my best cricket when I am keeping things simple out there while I am batting. I just try and play the situation as it is and that has really helped me to do better out there,” King said of his form since returning to the team.
Despite the World Cup coming up later this year, however, and the West Indies in rebuilding mode, he insists he is not looking too far ahead in terms of regular selection.
“I try to focus on the things that I can control. For me, that is just every game that presents itself I just try and do my best and perform. Selection and those other aspects I don’t have any control over it but I just try and put myself in a position to be in the conversation.”
Mona High has been removed from the final of the ISSA Walker Cup after being found guilty of using ineligible players.
Mona was expected to face defending champions St Catherine in the final of the competition, on Saturday, after securing their spot last week with a resounding 5-0 win over Kingston Technical.
However, following a decision handed down by ISSA on Tuesday, it is Kingston Technical who will now replace Mona in the final. The issue stems from the school’s use of two ineligible players during the semifinal of the Walker Cup.
During the Manning Cup quarterfinal against St Andrew Technical, two Mona players, Ronaldo Jones, and Carlton Brown received red cards. While Jones received a straight red card, Brown got two yellow cards. Neither should have been eligible for the Walker Cup semifinals but were still used in the fixture.
"If a player receives a “red card” he automatically misses the next scheduled match in the competition in which he is eligible,” the release issue by ISSA stated.
Mona is coached by Phoenix All-Star Football Academy manager Craig Butler.
Edwin Allen High and St. Elizabeth Technical will contest the final of the Ben Francis Cup Knockout after winning their respective semi-final fixtures on Tuesday.
The double-header at STETHS saw Edwin Allen secure a comfortable 4-0 victory over Manchester High in the opening fixture and the host school pulling out a 1-0 win over Frome Technical in the second.
The final will be played at STETHS on Friday, January 21.
The hosts will be looking to secure their seventh Ben Francis Cup while Edwin Allen will be seeking their first.
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