Jamaica middle-distance runner, Aisha Praught-Leer, has signed with sporting goods giants Puma ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held later this year.
The 31-years-old Praught-Leer is Jamaica’s record holder in the 3000m Steeplechase event and represented the country at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships, as well as the 2016 Olympics, where she qualified for the final.
In addition, the athlete also captured gold in the event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Praught-Leer has, however, contemplated switching events to try her hand at competing in the 1500m.
The athlete had hoped to make her 1500m Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games but like many others had to set aside those plans as the event was postponed due to the onslaught of the coronavirus. She has already begun her quest to qualify for this summer's Games by targeting three events, the 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, and 1500m. She currently has personal best times of 15:07.50 in the 5000m, 9:14.09 seconds in the 3000m steeplechase, and 4:05.52 in the 1500 metres.
Praught-Leer previously represented Under Armour after signing a contract with that brand in 2017, earlier this month, however, she announced via social media that her contract with the company had come to an end.
The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has expressed deep sadness at the passing of the Jamaican footballer Luton Shelton.
The 2021 Carifta Games will not be staged on the traditional Easter weekend. Instead, the regional junior track and field championships will take place between July 2 and 4, in Bermuda.
Former Jamaican national striker Luton Shelton died today after being found unresponsive at home.
West Indies legendary wicketkeeper, Jeffrey Dujon, is convinced that out-of-favour Shai Hope remains the team’s best batsman, despite recently running into a rough patch of form.
The 27-years-old Hope was dropped from the team last year ahead of the West Indies tour of New Zealand. The decision followed several months of off-colour form, which saw the player return scores of 16, 9, 25, 7, 17, and 31 during the team’s three-Test tour of England in July. Overall, in Test cricket, Hope averaged 19.48 since December 2017 and just 14.45 since February 2019.
The decision to drop the player, however, still stirred vigorous debate around the region, with many arguing that he should have been allowed to play his way back into form. For his part, Dujon has backed the player to figure things out sooner, rather than later.
“There’s no question in my mind that he is the best batsman that we have,” Dujon told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“Technically he is very good, from the very first time I saw him, I thought he was very good and talking to him and getting to know him, I know he is smart enough to work it out when things aren’t going right,” he added.
“He might have gotten his technique a little bit mixed up because of the competitions he was playing in, but I don’t see that lasting very long because he has quality. You don’t go to England and be immortal and not be able to bat.”
Hope grabbed headlines around the world in 2017, becoming the first batsman to score twin hundreds in a match at Headingly in first-class cricket.
The premier fundraising event of the David 'Wagga' Hunt Scholarship Foundation, (DWHF), The “Jamaica David 'Wagga' Hunt Annual Red Carpet Ball,” will be held virtually this year, on Sunday, January 31, 2021, at 7:00 PM and will be streamed live on YouTube.
West Indies stand-captain, Jason Mohammed, admits the team’s inability to cope with top-class spinners has been the primary reason it has been unable to post higher totals.
Batting first in both ODIs played to date, being inserted to bat in the first and choosing to bat first in the second, the regional team fell below 150 runs on both occasions. The stifling spin bowling of Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan proved to be a major contributing factor in keeping the West Indies batsmen in straitjackets on both occasions.
Al Hasan claimed a jaw-dropping 4 for 8 runs in the first ODI, with an extraordinary miserly economy rate of 1.09 as the West Indies were restricted to 122. In the second, it was Mehidy who applied the restraints, claiming 4 for 25 with an economy rate of 2.59. The West Indies were restricted to 148 before Bangladesh easily chased down the target.
“They are two quality spinners, especially Shakib, one of the best in the world and Mehidy has been playing very well for Bangladesh as well,” Mohammed said of facing off against the pair.
“They have been good, and we haven’t been able to manage them, that’s why we have been getting those low totals.”
Rovman Powell was the team’s top scorer with 41 in the second ODI, while Kyle Mayers led the way with 40 in the first ODI. The West Indies and Bangladesh will face off for the final ODI on Monday at 12:30 am.
Bangladesh took an unassailable 2-0 lead following their seven-wicket win over West Indies in Dhaka this morning.
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph has ambitions of someday blossoming into an all-rounder but, for now, he is content to be focussed on providing whatever the team needs to succeed.
With 13 Test match appearances and 29 One Day International (ODI) games under his belt, the 29-year-old fast bowler has done most of his damage with the ball. Joseph has taken 32 Test wickets and 48 ODI wickets, on occasion, however, he has shown plenty of ability with the bat.
In the recent series against New Zealand, the bowler’s 85 in the first Test was one of the batting highlights in an overall poor showing at the crease for the West Indies. Despite showing flashes of ability, the player is yet to display any type of strong consistency with the bat, but he admits he is working towards it.
“Personally, I’m aiming to be an all-rounder, but, as of now, I’m just taking everything step by step,” Joseph told members of the media from Bangladesh on Thursday.
“I’m looking to first do my main attribute, which is to contribute with the ball, and then when it comes to batting, I will give my best, whatever performance I can put in with the bat I will put it in,” he added.
Justin McMaster and Javain Brown were selected by Minnesota United and the Vancouver Whitecaps, respectively, in the MLS Super Draft earlier today.
Newly appointed West Indies women’s team assistant coach, Corey Collymore, insists the unit must be given time to get back to its best form.
The regional team claimed the ICC Women’s World Cup with a surprise won over Australia in 2016. Since then, not only have the Windies failed to win another title but seem increasingly unable to compete with the game’s biggest teams.
At the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup the team failed to advance from the group stage after winning just one game. In September of last year, the team found itself on the wrong side of a one-sided 5-0 loss at the hands of England. Collymore, the specialist bowling coach, believes that based on their talent the Windies could once again be battling against the top teams, but it will take work.
“As I said to them, it will take some work. I was with the U19s in 2016 but now being here with these ladies, and judging from England, I spoke to them and I said our overall game definitely needs some serious work,” Collymore told members of the media.
“We’ll put that in, but it will take time. We’re not here to say you need five years or whatever the case may be, but we need a pool of players that we can put some consistent work in, then we can be able to choose a squad that will be able to go forward and deliver performances like the one in 2016.”
The team, which has been inactive since September, is currently at a training camp in Antigua with one eye on the World Cup qualifiers later this year.
Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor is set to make his indoor debut on Sunday as the American Track League gets underway this season, meet organizer Paul Doyle has confirmed.
The Jamaica Football Federation and the Reggae Boyz made the first important move towards rapprochement and a unified, happy and prepared team leading into the World Cup qualifiers this September, said a statement from the JFF on Thursday.
The players are out of contract and both sides say they are willing to work as hard as possible to arrive at an agreement before the next FIFA window in March.
More than 20 players met with a committee put together by JFF President Michael Ricketts in what they described as a ‘very amicable atmosphere’ on Tuesday.
The players agreed that the meeting went well and that it augurs well for future discussions.
"The players can confirm that we did in fact have discussions with the JFF on Tuesday,” the Reggae Boyz said in a statement obtained by Sportsmax.TV on Thursday.
“They have promised to share a draft contract, and we have asked that they give us two weeks after receipt of that contract for consultation and review. We consider this a step in the right direction".
The players, including captain Andre Blake and Damion Lowe, were presented with the current JFF financials and brought up to speed with the immediate to medium-term plans of the federation, the federation said.
“They were allowed as many questions as needed and then presented with documents which they will peruse among themselves for two weeks. Another meeting will be scheduled then.”
The JFF team was led by Head of the JFF Financial Committee Dennis Chung and was comprised of former President of the Cricket West Indies Dave Cameron, JFF Vice Presidents Raymond Anderson and Peter Reid as well as Technical Committee chairman and Chartered accountant Rudolph Speid.
West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph believes he and his teammates need to strive to be better for the second ODI against Bangladesh that bowls off on Friday. The Windies trail 0-1 in the series following their six-wicket loss to the home side on Wednesday.
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