Trinbago Knight Riders moved up to second in the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) table with a 27-run victory over the Saint Lucia Kings.
The Kings won the toss and opted to field first and for the first half of the TKR innings, they had full control of the game. However, a late salvo from Kieron Pollard and Tim Seifert helped the Knight Riders to post a challenging total.
In reply, Andre Fletcher played a fine lone hand for the Kings, but the team never got going as a disciplined Trinbago bowling attack kept a firm stranglehold on proceedings throughout.
The Knight Riders opened their innings with the familiar pair of Lendl Simmons and Sunil Narine and they put on a partnership of 23 from 18 balls before Wahab Riaz trapped the former plumb in front.
It took the introduction of Tim Seifert for the Knight Riders innings to gain impetus after Tion Webster, Narine and Colin Munro had all fallen in consecutive overs.
Along with Kieron Pollard the pair put on 78 runs from 44 balls to help post a competitive total.
Just like the TKR innings, the Kings struggled to find any momentum in the first half of their reply amidst some exceptional and parsimonious bowling from Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein that left them needing an unlikely 82 runs from 36 balls.
Despite Andre Fletcher’s unbeaten 81 from 55 balls, three wickets by the tournament’s top wicket-taker Ravi Rampaul ensured no one was able to stick with him to chase down the TKR total.
Jamaica 100m sprinter Nesta Carter has retired from the sport of athletics on the back of recent struggles with an undisclosed medical condition.
The 35-year-old, who was part of Jamaica’s world record gold-winning 4x100m relay team at the London Olympics, made the announcement, on Tuesday, via social media platform Twitter.
“…I am no longer able to give of my best as an athlete to the sport that I know and love. As a result, and for other reasons, I am announcing my retirement from track and field and an athlete,” the release read.
“My ultimate decision to retire from athletics was also precipitated by a private medical condition, which has been getting worse. This condition has hindered me from training and competing since March 2021. A medication prescribed by my doctor to address this medical issue breaches existing anti-doping rules. As such, I had to make a choice between my health and athletics, and I chose my health.”
The athlete was also part of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning relay team at the 2008 Olympics, but the medal was stripped after a retrospective test returned a positive sample from Carter. The athlete was also part of a gold medal-winning relay team at the 2011, 2013, and 2015 World Championships. Carter claimed an individual bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and has the eighth fastest time ever recorded over the distance.
Coming off a successful series against Pakistan, West Indies Women Head Coach Courtney Walsh is expecting greater levels of consistency from his players when they take on South Africa in the first of three T20 Internationals in Antigua on Tuesday.
During the series that the West Indies won 3-2 over Pakistan, the Caribbean women benefitted from players like Kyshona Knight and Britney Cooper stepped up with the bat to support Captain Stafanie Taylor and Hayley Matthews, especially in light of Deandra Dottin’s poor form.
On the eve of the series against South Africa, Walsh says he expects even better performances from his players against a tough South African contingent.
“We are looking to execute a lot better than we did against Pakistan. Obviously, South Africa being ranked above us we have to be a lot more consistent than we were against Pakistan, so we will be looking to execute a lot better and improve. We know that they are a decent team and we have to be ready for that,” said Walsh.
He said it was a good sign to see players other than the ‘big three’ step up and wants to see more of that against South Africa.
“That’s the only way we are going to get the team where I think we can compete against the top teams and give ourselves a chance of winning major competitions.
“We have to move away from one or two players consistently getting us out of trouble so it was very good to see all the other players who performed well in the last series and we want that to continue and to try to extend that consistency from them, and once we can complement it with both departments, batting and bowling it will be good for us.
“And then, if we can complete the whole thing when we are in the field it would be excellent. So we just need to keep improving, raising the bar in those areas that we have to. It’s good to see other players putting their hands up and we want to see more of that.”
Nicole Grant is of the view that the new additions to the board of the Jamaica Amateur Gymnastics Association will bring the required dynamism needed to take the sport forward in Jamaica.
Portland Timbers upset Western Conference leaders Seattle Sounders to win Sunday's derby 2-0 after two defensive blunders to round out the rivalry week in the MLS.
Second-half strikes from Sebastian Blanco and Felipe Mora earned the Timbers the points, ending Seattle's three-game winning run and ensuring they missed the chance to extend their lead to five points.
Portland had failed to win in their past three games, with the result lifting them from 10th in the west, up to sixth.
Blanco's goal was particularly special, having torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the same venue nearly a year ago.
Mora pounced on a poor Yeimar Gomez Andrade back pass, swooping in and setting up Blanco for a 58th-minute tap-in.
Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made numerous saves, including from a rocket 61st-minute Joao Paulo volley, before Mora capitalised on an error from Sounders keeper Stefan Cleveland, sealing the points with a classy lob in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Eight goals were scored in an entertaining Texas derby as Dallas got the better of Austin 5-3 – teenager Ricardo Pepi and Jesus Ferreira both netting braces for the winners.
Dallas raced to a 4-1 lead at the break before Jader Obrian added a fifth shortly after half-time, with Austin pulling goals back via Diego Fagundez and Alexander Ring as Ferreira hit the post late in pursuit of a hat-trick.
Pepi, who turned 18 in January and last month became the youngest player in MLS history to score a hat-trick, has netted 11 times this season for Dallas.
Meanwhile, Vancouver Whitecaps continued their resurgence under interim head coach Vanni Sartini with a 4-1 rout of Real Salt Lake.
The Whitecaps piled on three goals inside 16 second-half minutes after Marcelo Silva's own goal had given them a 1-0 lead at the interval.
Cristian Dajome was dangerous down the right flank, as Brian White, Ryan Gauld and Florian Jungwirth netted before Anderson Julio's consolation for RSL.
St Kitts & Nevis Patriots maintained their unbeaten start to the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a dramatic six-wicket victory over the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The Saint Lucia Kings claimed their first victory of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League with a thrilling win over the Trinbago Knight Riders by five runs.
Tim David was once again the star for the Kings with 43 from 32 balls that saw his side post 157-5 from their 20 overs.
The Knight Riders looked to take the game deep thanks to a brilliant 40 from 16 balls from Tim Seifert but the Kings claimed a last-ball win.
The Kings started brightly after being put in to bat with Andre Fletcher and Rahkeem Cornwall putting on 51 for the first wicket. It was Cornwall who went first when he lobbed a ball from Ravi Rampaul to extra cover.
A burst of three wickets for the addition of just four runs pegged back the Kings and they looked to rebuild. A partnership of 68 between Roston Chase and Tim David brought the Kings back into the match with Chase playing the anchor role to David’s more aggressive approach.
An enterprising stand between Chase and Keemo Paul took the Kings to 157-5 with Chase finishing on 30 not out.
The Kings bowlers kept things tight at the start with the Knight Riders scoring at less than a run a ball inside the PowerPlay with Jeavor Royal particularly impressive with his left-arm spin.
In the face of some excellent bowling, Lendl Simmons and Colin Munro struggled to kick on with Simmons falling to Paul for 25 from 30 balls. At the fall of Simmons wicket, the Knight Riders needed 88 from 43 balls.
When Kieron Pollard fell for nine from 10 balls it was down to the New Zealand pair of Munro and Tim Seifert to get their side home. Seifert’s brilliant hitting took his team tantalisingly close to a victory, but Wahab Riaz successfully defended 14 runs from the final over.
Saint Lucia Kings 157-5 (David 42, Chase 30*; Wahab 1-17, Chase 1-17) beat Trinbago Knight Riders 152-3 (Munro 40*, Seifert 40*; Hosein 3-27, Rampaul 3-29) by five runs
President of Cricket West Indies (CWI), Ricky Skerritt and Vice President Dr Kishore Shallow have offered words of encouragement and support to the members of the West Indies Rising Stars U19s ahead of their tour of England. They spoke to the squad via Zoom meeting before their departure for the trip, which will feature six Youth ODIs.
Skerritt also congratulated the players on their selection to the 18-member squad. He also reminded them of their responsibility to represent the people in the West Indies and to be ambassadors for the region on and off the field.
“We congratulate you on your selection to the West Indies Rising Stars U19 team for this tour. You have been chosen to represent the people of the West Indies and this is a great honour. This is a stage in your development we want to assure you that you have our full support as you embark on this stage of your journey,” Skerritt said.
“We want you to work hard, to support each other and always give us your best. You are from different countries, but you are now representing the West Indies and that is the most important thing.”
The West Indies Rising Stars U19s will be led by Ackeem Auguste, a left-handed top-order batsman. The vice-captain is Giovonte Depeiza, a right-handed middle-order batsman who also bowls left-arm spin. The six matches will be played at The County Ground, Beckenham and The Polo Farm, Canterbury from Saturday, September 4 to Friday, September 17. This is part of their preparations for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to be hosted by CWI from January 4 to February 3, 2022.
Waterhouse FC whipped Arnett Gardens 4-1 and to climb into third spot following their Jamaica Premier League match at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
Tivoli Gardens moved into a playoff spot Saturday following a hard-fought 1-0 win over league leaders Vere United at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.
Barbados Royals got their first win of the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a comfortable 15 run victory over the Jamaica Tallawahs.
The Royals won the toss and opted to bat first and Glenn Phillips ensured that they put a competitive total on the board with an unbeaten 56 from 46 balls.
In reply, the Tallawahs chase was over before it really began as they lost four wickets in the PowerPlay and as a result never kept pace with the run rate.
The Royals opted to make a change to their opening pair – with Shai Hope partnering with Johnson Charles and it appeared to work with them putting on a 32-run partnership from 20 balls.
However, once Hope was dismissed it sparked a flurry of wickets that left Barbados teetering at 48 for 3 at the end of PowerPlay. It should have been even worse but Haider Ali dropped Glenn Phillips when he was on 2 runs.
Phillips punished that mistake in the back end of the Barbados innings hitting a half-century with 56 runs from 46 balls and he was ably assisted by Raymon Reifer as they put on a partnership worth 79 runs.
161 always looked like 15 runs too many and the Tallawahs got their chase off to the worst possible start losing four wickets inside the PowerPlay.
Some good bowling and electric fielding by Hayden Walsh Jr had the Tallawahs on the back foot throughout.
Carlos Braithwaite and Shamarh Brooks threatened to bring them back into the game with a 66-run partnership but a double strike from Reifer got rid of Braithwaite and Andre Russell in the same over.
Despite some late blows from Miguel Pretorius that made the last few overs interesting there was always too much for the Tallawahs to do once Russell had departed.
A solid opening partnership between Evin Lewis and Devon Thomas helped St Kitts & Nevis Patriots make light work of an insufficient total from Guyana Amazon Warriors to secure an 8-wickets win at the 2021 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) on Saturday.
Batting first, the Warrior put up 146 for 8 in their 20 overs, but in pursuit, the Patriots, who were anchored by a stunning opening stand of 113 between Lewis and Thomas, only lost two wickets to secure an easy second win.
The Warriors won the toss and elected to bat, but they struggled to get their innings underway in the face of some tidy bowling from the Patriots. Dominic Drakes was the star but there were excellent spells inside the PowerPlay from Sheldon Cottrell and Paul van Meekeren.
It was Cottrell who got the first breakthrough when he had Brandon King caught by Sherfane Rutherford off a leading edge. The Warriors once again pushed Odean Smith up the order as a pinch hitter but he didn’t have the same success as in the first game against the Knight Riders, falling for a seven-ball duck.
Wickets continued to fall throughout the Warriors innings, and they found themselves 75 for 5 in the 12th over with Drakes finishing with 3 for 26 and Fawad Ahmed claiming 2 for 33.
However, some lusty blows from Nicholas Pooran and a measured innings from Mohammad Hafeez got them to a respectable total.
In pursuit, Thomas and Lewis were in fine form, and they made the Guyana total look under par as they batted with controlled aggression to put the Patriots in complete control of the chase.
There were few stumbles for the Patriots as Evin Lewis top-scored with 62 from 39 balls, an innings that guided his team to an eight-wicket victory with eight balls to spare.
Dejan Joveljic scored twice and Kevin Cabral netted a last-gasp equaliser as LA Galaxy salvaged a dramatic 3-3 draw against rivals Los Angeles FC in El Trafico.
LAFC led 2-1 and then 3-2 heading into the 86th minute but Cabral's late heroics earned a share of the points for the Galaxy in an MLS thriller on Saturday.
Signed from Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt this month, Serbia international Joveljic – experiencing his first El Trafico derby – broke the deadlock in the 20th minute.
LAFC – who had lost a club record four consecutive matches as part of their record seven-match winless run heading into the fixture – were back on level terms courtesy of Cristian Arango's penalty on the stroke of half-time.
A moment of brilliance from Brian Rodriguez in the 58th minute gave LAFC a 2-1 lead, his stunning individual run evaded several Galaxy defenders before lashing home.
LAFC and the Galaxy traded goals as Jovejlic struck again in the 64th minute before Rodriguez restored the former's lead just two minutes later.
However, there was to be late drama – Cabral pounced on Araujo's cross and scored in front of a stunned home crowd.
The Galaxy are fourth in the Western Conference, six points behind leaders Seattle Sounders and 12 points clear of ninth-placed LAFC.
Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders New England Revolution were beaten 2-0 by New York City, who were fuelled by Valentin Castellanos' brace.
New York City equalled the longest home winning streak in club history, having also enjoyed a seven-game run from November 2017 to June 2018.
Nashville celebrated their first away victory of the season after taking down Atlanta United 2-0, DC United came from behind to defeat Philadelphia Union 3-1, Chicago Fire edged New York Red Bulls 1-0, Minnesota United topped Houston Dynamo 2-1 and Sporting Kansas City drew 1-1 with Colorado Rapids.
Jamaica track and field star Elaine Thompson-Herah has made it clear she is more than satisfied with her accomplishments for this season, without breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s longstanding record.
On Saturday, it was a familiar sight as the Jamaican coasted to the line in a time of 10.72, fast by any standards, except perhaps her own recent lofty achievements.
Thompson-Herah clocked 10.61 to claim the 100m at the Olympics, but it was a 10.54 clocking two weeks later that set tongues really wagging as the mark was just 0.5 seconds outside of the American’s immortal time. For now, however, the Jamaican is happy to be healthy and more than content with her achievements so far.
“I am thankful I crossed the line healthy. I am already in the books, so I am happy about that. I am just focusing on myself - on my start, on my execution and to be confident,” Thompson-Herah said.
“Obviously, it is more about the time after all these events and my health always comes first. I know everybody is thinking I am targeting the world record, and... I know it is close but for this season I am already super happy."
At the Lausanne Diamond League on Thursday, Thompson-Herah finished second in 10.64, an unfamiliar position in recent weeks but it was her decorated compatriot Fraser-Pryce who clocked a new personal best 10.60 for first place. For her part, she believes it would have been nice to have her compatriot and fiercest competitor in Paris.
"It is a pity that she is not here, because we push each other to be better. She is the only athlete on the planet who can approach 10.5,” Thompson said ahead of the race.
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