Top seed Chris Binnie got off to a strong start at the Jamaica Squash Association's senior trials defeating the number-five seed Bruce Burrowes in straight sets 11-9, 11-9 and 11-8 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston on Thursday.

As the scores indicate, all three sets were competitive with Burrowes enjoying the lead over Binnie briefly in each set but was not able to convert any to a win.

 "Good game. I think that shows, you come, you have to play and everyone is competitive and today he (Burrowes) took it to me and it was really close so I am happy to get a 3-0 win and I am looking forward to tomorrow (Friday)," said the nine-time Caribbean men’s singles champion.

 "When you start playing events, you want to get that first win under your belt, you want to get that first match done with as well so little nerves to start getting used to the court. I am not based here so the courts I play on are a lot colder so getting used to all of that. I am super happy with how it ended. Hopefully tomorrow (Friday) I can be a little bit better and hopefully get another win."

Despite the loss, Burrowes was not unhappy with his play.

"Chris is a top notch player; Caribbean national player, Caribbean top player, top national player. He is definitely of a different level than the local boys that I am able to train with here but I was able to hold my own against him in the game with points 11-9, 11-9, 11-8,” he said.

“That's not bad even though it’s a 3-0 loss. (I) just have to move on to the next match. Wish Chris all the best in the rest of his matches and just hope that Jamaica can put together our strongest team of these trials."

The trials opened with number-four seed Dane Schwier defeating the number-six seed Stephan Morrison in straight sets.

Meanwhile, reigning national champion and number-two seed Julian Morrison beat the U19 champion and number-seven seed Tobias Levy 3-0.

 The four-day trials to select Jamaica's team to the upcoming PanAm Games in June and the Senior Caribbean Squash Championship in August, continue on Friday with matches starting at 6:00 pm at the Liguanea Club.

St Kitts and Nevis defeated St Martin 3-1 in their Concacaf Nations League Group B encounter at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre in Anguilla on Thursday.

St Kitts, playing a 4-3-3 formation started with Julanni Archibald in goal with Lois Maynard at left back Raheem Hanley and Andre Burley at centre back while Gerard Williams marshalled the right side.

Romaine Sawyers, Omari Sterling James and Yohannes Mitchum played in the middle of the park while Tyrese Shade, Keithroy Freeman and the SKNFA Premier League’s leading scorer Tiquanny Williams in the attacking positions front.

St Martin, meanwhile, playing 3-5-2, started with Jordan Etienne in goal with Mickael Clio, Stephan Varsovie and Donovan Fils Aime protecting the goal.

Across midfield were from left to right Belony Dumas, Kevin Zonzon, Ismael Petchy, Emmanuel Richardson and Randy Gentes.

Pierre Bertrand Arne and Jeremy Peterson were the starting forwards.

Williams gave the Sugar Boyz the lead in the 26^th minute. However, the lead did not last long as St Martin pulled level five minutes later through Pierre-Bertrand Arne.

Sawyers sent St Kitts and Nevis into the break with a 2-1 lead when he scored in the 35^th minute.

That score-line would hold until Harry Panayiotou, who came on as a substitute for James in the 77^th minute, secured all three points scoring the game winner a minute from full-time.

The win takes St Kitts and Nevis to the top of Group B with seven points from their three games to date.

Aruba lie second with four points while St Martin have two points from four games played.

St Kitts return home to face Aruba on Monday.

Opener Zachary McCaskie fell eight runs shy of a maiden first-class hundred as the Barbados Pride hold a 37-run lead over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force after day two of their fourth-round fixture at the Queen’s Park Oval

At lunch, the Pride were 108-3 off 40 overs. Zachary McCaskie and Shane Dowrich were the batsmen at the crease on 71 and two, respectively.

McCaskie carried on after lunch and looked set for his maiden first-class ton before he fell for 92.

At tea, the Pride were 222-6 off 72 overs. Roshon Primus and Akeem Jordan were the batsmen at the crease on 38 and 22, respectively.

Shortly after tea, Primus brought up his fifty before being dismissed for a 71-ball 53.

Eventually, the Pride were bowled out for 271 in 85 overs, a first innings lead of 68 runs.

The Red Force were 31-2 in their second innings at stumps, trailing by 37 runs with Darren Bravo (20) and Brian Charles (5) at the crease.

Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul and wicket-keeper/batsman Tevin Imlach notched late half-centuries as the Guyana Harpy Eagles ended day two of their fourth-round fixture against the Jamaica Scorpions with a 301-run second innings lead at Providence.

The hosts began the day 268-9 off 86.3 overs.

Harpy Eagles captain Leon Johnson carried on from his overnight 142 to finish 150* as Guyana were bowled out for 278 off 88.1 overs.

Marquino Mindley ended with 3-34 while Ojay Shields and Derval Green both ended with two wickets.

The Scorpions endured a horrendous start to their reply losing half of the team for just 24 runs inside six overs and three balls.

Eventually, they found themselves 64-9 in the 18^th over before a39-run 10^th wicket partnership between Derval Green and Nicholson Gordon meant they entered the lunch break 103-9 off 27 overs.

The pair added 12 more runs after lunch before Green fell for a top score 42 as the Scorpions were dismissed for 115 in 35.5 overs.

Nial Smith ended with 5-39 while Veerasammy Permaul and Ronsford Beaton took 3-22 and 2-22, respectively.

Mindley then led a Scorpions fightback before tea as he grabbed four quick wickets, including that of Leon Johnson, within the first 12 overs of the Harpy Eagles second innings.

The score at tea was 37-4 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 14 and Tevin Imlach yet to get off the mark.

After tea, Chanderpaul and Imlach continued on to leave the Harpy Eagles 138-4 at stumps, a lead of 301 runs with Chanderpaul on 60 and Imlach on 50.

Windward Islands Volcanoes captain Alick Athanaze and Leeward Islands Hurricanes all-rounder Kofi James both got centuries on day two of their fourth-round fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Thursday.

The Hurricanes began the day 271-6 off 90 overs with Karima Gore on 87 and James on 61.

Gore went on to make 93 off 198 balls including 13 fours and a six.

At lunch, they reached 338-7 off 116 overs with James on 96 and Jeremiah Louis on 18.

After the break, James carried on to bring up his maiden first-class ton before he was the second-to-last man to be dismissed, falling for 107 off 248 balls. Jeremiah Louis also made a valuable contribution with 45 as the Leewards declared their innings on 382-9 off 121.5 overs.

Shermon Lewis took 3-76 for the Volcanoes while new ball partner Preston McSween provided good support with 2-68.

At tea, the Windwards were 65-2 off 15 overs with in-form batsmen Kavem Hodge and captain Alick Athanaze at the crease on 33 and 21, respectively.

Athanaze and Hodge continued after tea, with the former bringing up his second hundred of the season, bringing his overall tally past 500 for the season. Hodge also brought up his third fifty of the season.

At Stumps, the Volcanoes were 206-2, trailing the Hurricanes by 176 runs with Athanaze and Hodge on 105 and 85, respectively.

Julien Alfred, Ackera Nugent and Lamara Distin are among ten women named to the watch list for the 2023 Bowerman Award after standout performances at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico from March 10-11.

The Bowerman is an award given to the year’s best student-athlete in American collegiate track & field.

There was also a pre-NCAA Indoor Championships list revealed earlier in March that included Alfred and Distin.

St. Lucian Texas senior Alfred capped off a spectacular indoor season with a personal best and collegiate record 6.94 to defend her NCAA Indoor title. Her time made her the fastest Caribbean woman ever in the event and put her joint-second all-time behind Irina Privalova’s 6.92.

The 21-year-old also won gold in the 200m in 22.01, another collegiate record and the second fastest time ever behind Jamaican Merlene Ottey’s 21.87 done 30 years ago in Lille.

Arkansas sophomore Nugent, who was absent from the list released before the championships, earned her way on to the new one when she won gold in the 60m hurdles in 7.73.

On day one of the meet, Nugent, 20, set a new collegiate and Jamaican national record when she ran 7.72 in the prelims. That time puts her fourth on the all-time list for the event.

23-year-old Texas A&M senior Distin completed another unbeaten indoor season with a 1.91m clearance to win the high jump. In February, Distin cleared 1.97m to equal her own Jamaican record.

The other seven athletes on the watch list are Florida’s Jasmine Moore and Talitha Diggs, Kentucky’s Masai Russell, NC State’s Kaetlyn Tuohy, Oregon’s Jorinde Van Klinken, Stanford’s Roisin Willis and Arkansas’s Britton Wilson.

Chaim Holder’s five-wicket haul has put Barbados Pride in control at stumps on day one of their fourth-round West Indies Championship match at Queens Park Oval on Wednesday.

Holder was the spearhead of the Barbados attack taking 5-71 as the Red Force were bundled out for 203 in 75-3 overs. At the close, Barbados were 40-0.

Jason Mohammed spared the Red Force blushes with his score of 55 but other than Tion Webster, who contributed 46 and Joshua Da Silva 32, the other batters failed to show. Darren Bravo who has two hundreds and a 95 in the competition so far managed only seven as Trinidad crawled to 76-3 from the first 33 overs.

Jair McAllister also got in on the wickets taking 3-31 as the hosts struggled to find runs.

At the close, Barbados trail by 163 runs with all wickets intact.

Zachary McCaskie is at the crease on 21 while Sheyne Moseley is unbeaten on 19 at the other end.

Half-centuries from Kieran Powell, Karima Gore and Kofi James steered Leeward Islands Hurricanes to 271-6 at stumps in their fourth-round West Indies Championship match against Windward Islands Volcanoes at Toruba on Wednesday.

Powell scored 75 and shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 42 with Jahmar Hamilton that helped rescue Hurricanes from 51-3 after Monctin Hodge (6), Akeem Saunders (0) and Devon Thomas were all back in the hutch within 17 overs.

The Leewards slipped again from 93-3 to 121 -6 as Hamilton (12), Powell and Rahkeem Cornwall 14 fell in relatively quick succession before Gore and James came together mounting an unbroken stand of 150 that took the Hurricanes to close of play.

Gore, an American, will resume on Thursday on 87 while James will pick up from 61.

Preston McSween 2-42 and Kenneth Dember 2-66 were the primary wicket takers for the Windwards.

West Indies captain Shai Hope and fast bowler Alzarri Joseph have made big strides in the ICC Men’s One-Day International plyer rankings, announced on Wednesday.

Following the recent series in South Africa, Hope has moved up two places in the batting to 12th position. He made a match-wining 128 not out – his 14th ODI century – in his first match as captain which the West Indies defeated the home side at Buffalo Park in East London.

 Joseph made a giant leap of eight places to 11th spot after the two matches. He bowled with genuine pace and penetration and took 3-53 in East London which was followed up by 3-50 in the next match at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. He now has an impressive record of 93 wickets in 56 matches at an average of 27 runs per wicket and strike rate of just under 31. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein is the other West Indies bowler in the Top 20. He took 3-59 and 2-49 in the two matches to break into the top tier.

 West Indies and South Africa played to a 1-1 result in the series. The first match was washed out, West Indies won the second by 48 runs while the Proteas won the third by four wickets.

The series now moves to Centurion for the first T20 International which will be played at SuperSports Park on Saturday. First ball is 2pm (8am Eastern Caribbean/7am Jamaica

A confident Sugar Boyz team arrived in Anguilla on Tuesday where they will face French St. Martin on Thursday in the first of two Concacaf Nations League matches.

“Everything is under control,” said team manager Jamir Claxton.

“Everything has been well-coordinated. We have a very good team working in the background as well supporting me, including the General Secretary Techell Mclean, Mr. (Cuthbert) Caines, the Head of Delegation, and other members of the SKNFA Secretariat.”

Meanwhile, the players are in good spirits and looking forward to the games ahead.

Chief among them is Lois Maynard, who is based in the United Kingdom and is excited about wearing national colours again. He knows a victory will be significant for St. Kitts and Nevis to advance to the next round for Concacaf Gold Cup qualification and said the team is ready.

“It’s always a proud moment for me. I can speak for the rest of the (UK-based players) as well,” he said. “We are all proud to be here representing St. Kitts and Nevis. We have a good chance this time around of reaching the Gold Cup.”

Maynard said that the camaraderie between overseas-based and local players has been good.

“We’re all one. We all link up together as if we’ve never been apart. I think that is the most important thing to be successful as a team,” he noted.

Jamal Jeffers, a local-based player concurred.

“There are not many new players. A lot of the UK-based players have been here before so they are not new to the system or new to the country,” he said. 

Jeffers urged the country to rally behind the team, especially when they play their home match on Monday against Aruba.

“We are going to put up a strong fight because we want to reach the Gold Cup,” he said.

The Sugar Boyz play French St. Martin at 3 pm Thursday in Anguilla and on Monday, March 27th at 6 pm at Warner Park Cricket stadium.

A confident Tobias Levy dominated the Jamaica Squash Association's national junior trials for the U19 and U17 age groups for girls and boys at the Liguanea Club in Kingston. The trials ran from Friday March 17 to 19 with 16 players vying for spots to represent Jamaica at the Caribbean Junior Squash Championship in July.

Competing in the U19 category, Levy, who also benefitted from a walkover, won three of his other four matches in straight sets but was taken the distance by Arjan Trehan, who eventually lost 5-2. At the end of it all, Levy won 15 of 17 games for a winning percentage of 88 per cent.

Alex Chin, meanwhile, was second with a 12-8 win-loss margin while Rhys Greenland was third with 11-9 margin.

Levy credits his dominance on the court to his work ethic.

"I have been playing squash since I was young. I have been dominant from I came on the scene,” he said. “I would say my racquet skills and how smart I am on court definitely puts me above everyone else. I think I understand the game very well. I have been training hard. It's not just talent, I have been training hard from when I was young so it helps me stay dominant,” said Levy, who said winning the U19 category was crucial.

"It means a lot, especially because I get to go represent my country as the best player in the junior age. It also feels good because I have a lot of competitors that are out for me and train hard to beat me but I keep training hard and play well so I stay dominant."

Thomas Overton won his three matches to top the Boys U17 ahead of the very competitive Lucas Thompson.

Savannah Thompson emerged top of the Girls U19 matches after beating Eleanor Hind in straight sets 3-0 before beating Katherine Risden 3-2.

Risden finished second overall.

Sanjana Nallapati did not drop a game to come out the victor in the Girls U17, despite being pushed by Mehar Trehan, who won half her six matches.

Nallapati said that it was tough to play her.

"Mehar and I go far back. It's always a tough battle because we are family and going against family is very tough because you don't want to whip them,” she said.

“With the two of us it’s always a five setter. It’s been that way for a really long time and its never really known who is going to win. This time Mehar played phenomenally. I thought I played well as well. We definitely played at a high intensity like we usually do.

"For the Caribbean Championship I hope to do extremely well."

Vice President of the Jamaica Squash Association expressed optimism about Jamaica’s chances of doing well at the Caribbean Championships.

"We have some strong players here in these categories, experienced players who have been to the Caribbean tournament before,” said Levy, who is also chairman of the selection committee.

“I think we have a good opportunity to win a couple of categories and hopefully also the team event. Hopefully we can bring home the Caribbean trophy this year for the team event and one or two of the individual events as well. It would be great."

The trials for the U15, U13 and possibly U11 players, will be held in June.