Nicola Guy prevailed in a fiercely fought battle to claim her first national full bore/target rifle shooting title at the recently concluded Jamaica Rifle Association National Championship which was contested at the Jamaica Defence Force Twickenham Park Range, in St Catherine, Jamaica.

 On the opening day, Guy earned 145.10 points to finish a breath behind 2019 champion, Denis Lee at 145.11 and ahead of two-time defending champion, Captain Dwayne Ford who had 143.6.

  On day two the in-form lady marksman, threw down the gauntlet by shooting 49.5 out of 50 points in the first event which was 10 shots at 500 yards.

 Although Major John Nelson was able to replicate that score in the first event, Guy cemented her opener with 47.4 out of 50 at 600 yards in the second event, a score only bested by Karen Anderson who shot 48.3.

 However, Guy’s consistency paid off when at 900 yards she shot 61.3 out of 75 points which kept her ahead with an overall tally of 302.22, which enabled her to claim the title.

 Anderson shot 65.4 to amass 299.21 points and take second place overall.

 Claude Russell shot 68.3 to win the 900-yard bank and finish with 298.18 which earned him the third spot on podium.

 Ford was fourth with 298.11, Nelson placed fifth with 297.15, while Lee finished sixth with 296.22, in seventh place was Dr. Derek Mitchell – O Class Champion with 236.5 and eighth was Phillip Scott with 233.8 points to round out the top eight.

22-year-old 6’3” Wycombe Wanderers defender, Chris Forino, has committed his international future to the Saint Lucia Men’s National Team.

He met recently with head coach Stern John and assistant coach Francis Lastic. Saint Lucia return to Concacaf Nations League action in 2023.

Forino was born in London and is of St. Lucian and Italian descent.

He started his youth career in the Brentford Academy from 2010-2016 before spells at Cheshunt and Colchester United.

As a professional, Forino had spells at Wingate & Finchley and Loughborough University before signing with Wycombe Wanderers in 2021. He made 14 appearances for Wycombe in the 2021-22 season and scored one goal as they finished sixth in the EFL League One. They also reached the Championship Playoff final losing 0-2 to Sunderland.

Guyana Under-13 boys went down to Trinidad and Tobago under-13 by nine wickets in the opening encounter of the Bilateral/Goodwill series on Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.  

T&T restricted Guyana to just 43 in 26.4 overs after winning the toss and choosing to field. T&T bowling was led by Shaan Ramtahal, who finished with figures of 3 for 7 off 1.4 overs. Tyler Ramroop ended with figures of 2-5 off 5 miserly overs, Brian Harricharan took 2-6 off 3 overs, while Mikaeel Ali, Ra ed Ali Khan and Jordan Julien had a wicket each.

A revised target of 38 was set due to rain stoppage, and T&T reached the total in 10 overs with the loss of only one wicket. The wicket to fall was Captain and opening batsman Zakarriya Mohamed who stroked an entertaining 23 off just 27 balls. Guyana Captain Brandon Henry dismissed his counterpart with the score on 32.

The series includes four (4) One-Day, 40-Overs matches. Sunday’s game marks the first-ever first Bilateral Under-13 tour to Guyana, initiated by the two board presidents, Bissoondyal Singh (GCB) and Azim Bassarath (TTCB). The three (3) remaining matches will also be played at the Providence stadium on December 13, 15 and 17.

The bad news we all know; the West Indies’ batting is dreadful!

The good news is that help might just be a few years away in the form of a 15-year-old all-rounder from St Lucia.

Theo Edward on Monday scored his second century in two days while helping his country’s U15 team to a massive 403-run victory over Grenada in the Windward Islands WINLOTT Inc. U15 Tournament currently underway at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.

Team captain Edward, who turned 15 in October, scored 101 from 81 balls as St Lucia scored a mammoth 482-8 from their 50 overs. Meanwhile, his vice-captain Johnathan Daniel raced to 142 from just 91 deliveries and smashed 17 fours and eight sixes.

St Lucia also got half centuries from Aaron St Clair and Codi Fontinelle, who scored 68 and 60, respectively, to set up the massive total.

Xzavian Rock was the best of the Grenadian bowlers with 4-90 from his 10 overs.

Faced with incredible scoreboard pressure, Grenada folded for just 79.

Captain Jayon Henry led from the front with 25 but Rock’s 11 was the only other score in double figures  against Leon Alexander, who snared 3-14 and Edward 2-5 to complete the comprehensive victory.

On Sunday, Edward scored 198 in St Lucia’s 435-6 on their way to a 298-run thrashing of Dominica at the same venue. His knock included 30 fours and six sixes that came from 143 balls.

Alexander (58) and Daniel (54) also contributed half-centuries to the match-winning total.

Lybird Tharoux was the best of the Dominican bowlers with 4-53 from eight overs.

With the exception of Earsinho Fontaine’s 53 and Kenneth Valmon (21), Dominica’s batters had no answer for Alexander (5-23) and Edward (2-13) as their side crumbled to 137 all out in just 27 overs. No other batter made double figures while four failed to score in the lopsided affair.

Edward harbours ambitions of playing for the West Indies and lists Johnson Charles as his hero. On his current path, he just might be the hero the West Indies needs in just a few years’ time.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has congratulated Sir Clive Lloyd on being awarded an Honorary Doctorate from The University of Guyana.

The legendary former West Indies captain received the honour for being an exemplar in the field of sport, management and leadership during the university’s graduation ceremony in Georgetown on Friday.

“We want to congratulate Sir Clive on this well-deserved honor bestowed on him by the University of Guyana,” said CWI President Ricky Skerritt.

“Sir Clive’s leadership style brought unity and pride to his team. His vision and passion on the game and his respect and trust for his colleagues were the driving forces behind his immense success as he drove the West Indies to become a sporting dynasty. We celebrate with Sir Clive as he receives this valued award for his service to Guyana and West Indies cricket.”

Sir Clive Lloyd was captain of the West Indies team during a period of unprecedented dominance, which included winning the Cricket World Cup in 1975 and 1979.

He played 110 Test matches between 1966 and 1985, where he scored 7,515 runs with 19 centuries. He also played 87 ODIs and made 1,977 runs with a best score of 102 in the 1975 World Cup final against Australia at Lord's.

Another dismal display with the bat saw the West Indies Women lose the first T20 International against England on Sunday by eight-wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Batting first, West Indies fell into early trouble slipping to 38-4 after eight overs. Rashada Williams scored 23 and Chinelle Henry 21 helped the WIW get past the 100-run mark in the face of incisive bowling from Player of the Match Lauren Bell, who took 3-26.

Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, and Katherine Brunt each claimed a wicket against the hosts who limped to 105-7 from their allotment of 20 overs.

Bell then scored an unbeaten 59 from 34 balls as England raced to victory scoring 106-2 in just 12.4 overs. No West Indies bowler managed to claim a wicket as opener Sophia Dunkley and Lauren Winfield-Hill were dismissed by runout for 25 and 15, respectively.

A distraught Henry was critical of her side’s batting after yet another poor showing against their English rivals.

"To be three, four wickets down in the first 10 overs with no kind of runs on the board, that is where we fell short, since the ODI series we've been struggling with the bat,” she said.

“We just have to pick ourselves up and keep going. A couple of us got short partnerships going to get us to 100 but it wasn't enough. It was really good to see little Djenaba Joseph standing up against Katherine Brunt, facing her head on, and to have an Under-19 player in our squad so fearless is a move in a good direction for us."

The series now moves to the Kensington Oval, where the teams will meet for the remaining four matches on December 14, 17, 18 and 22. All matches start at 6:00pm Eastern Caribbean/ 5:00pm Jamaica time.

Following his team’s humiliating 419-run defeat to Australia in the second and final Test in Adelaide on Saturday night, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite has lamented his team’s lack of fight.

Already trailing 1-0 in the series after going down  by 164 runs to the home side in the lop-sided first Test, at Perth the West Indies once again found themselves behind the eight-ball on Saturday night (Caribbean time).

Their bowlers proved ineffective as Australia declared their first innings at 511-7. Their bowlers then dismissed the West Indies for 214.

Batting a second time after deciding against imposing a follow-on, Australia raced to 199-6 before declaring and then reducing the West Indies to 38-4 to be in complete command heading into the fourth day of the Test.

The hosts quickly completed the victory as the tourists capitulated to 77 all out to lose the two-Test series 2-0.

Brathwaite, the only batter to score a century for the West Indies during the series, said the team failed to put up much resistance.

“It was very disappointing. The first game, we fought to day five which was a decent effort. Coming here we didn't show any fight at all," said Brathwaite who had scores of 19 and three in the match.

"Obviously Australia bowled well but we didn't fight. The pink ball is always different, under lights is always tough. Bad days happen and bad games. This was a bad game for sure, but it's not the end of the world, we have a lot of Test cricket to play next year so we have to look ahead."

The Barbadian batter reserved praise for debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul, who was one of the few bright spots in an overwhelmingly disastrous series. The 26-year-old son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul had scores of 50, 45, 47 and 17 during the series to be the leading run scorer along with Brathwaite.

"It showed that he's tough," Brathwaite said. "You've got Mitchell Starc coming in at 90mph and you see a guy fighting like that, says a lot about his character. I thought he had a good start to his career and can see him really blossoming to have a superb career for West Indies."

After holding out for the past two weeks, Liberta Sports Club will play its first game in the Antigua and Barbuda Premier Division this Sunday but its president, Kenneth Benjamin, has continued to express his concerns over the silence of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Associations’ (ABFA) on the matter of player insurance.

Liberta has been at odds with the ABFA since earlier this year when it’s president wrote to the ABFA asking about the presidency of the association and insurance coverage for players for the 2022/2023 season of the Premier Division.

ABFA General Secretary Rohan Hector told Sportsmax.TV that President Everton Gonzales, who fell ill shortly after he was elected in April 2022, is still in charge and is aware of the daily running of the association as per his instructions.

A week ago, Hector said, Gonzales in a missive, sent word to the clubs updating them on football-related matters including plans to support the clubs with a second tranche of Covid-19 relief funds as well as additional support funding for the teams that have been without competition for two and half years prior to three weeks ago when competition resumed in the Premier Division.

However, Benjamin remains skeptical about the veracity of that missive and is even more concerned about the ongoing silence over player insurance.

Hector told Sportsmax.TV that the FA sent out a form to collect contact information from the players in an effort to speed up the process for new and more robust insurance coverage for players, coaches and officials in the premier division.

However, Benjamin claims that the association already had contact information for the players and that he does not believe that the players are covered even as the premier division enters its third week.

“A member club had a concern and they didn’t even have the courtesy to respond to us,” Benjamin told Sportsmax.TV in response to Hector’s claim and perceived threat about sanctioning Liberta with the possibility of expulsion from the league.

“Before the league, we wrote to them and said what is the situation with the insurance and they didn’t respond and we wrote and said we can’t let our players play without insurance they are working men and they haven’t responded up to now,” Benjamin said Wednesday.

“So for the first two games we didn’t turn up because they haven’t said anything to us. They sent a general email that is not addressing our issue.”

Benjamin indicated that the FA suggested that what the clubs must do is that if there is an injury, the club should spend the money for rehabilitation, submit an invoice and the FA would reimburse the club. This, Benjamin said, was not satisfactory.

“When we saw that we asked them, how much will be reimbursed back, what if someone gets injured in practice are they covered. All of these questions need to be answered before we just jump up and say okay,” he said.

“So those were our concerns, mainly insurance. They are trying to avoid this issue. That is not the way an association functions. All we wanted was a dialogue with them to clear up whether the players are covered.

“We are an organized club. We are not just a team. We have to answer to our members, auditors and all these things. We do those things so we want to know what is it that we are covered for, how much are you (the FA) going to give back if we spend x-amount of money.”

Two members of the West Indies Women U19 squad have been included in a 14-member squad set to face England Women in the first two T20 Internationals at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on December 11 and at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on December 14.

Djenaba Joseph and Trishan Holder have been called up as replacements for Shakera Selman, who has been ruled out and Chedean Nation, who sustained injuries during in the CG United ODI series that the home side lost 3-0.

Joseph and Holder are currently in Antigua for a high-performance camp with the U19 Rising Stars ahead of the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup in South Africa in January 2023.

Meanwhile, off-spinner Karishma Ramharack returns to the squad after missing the CG United ODI series due to injury.

“The upcoming T20 series is vitally important as the team continues its preparations for the World Cup in February 2023. With some of the senior players missing out through injury, it is an ideal opportunity for the other players to start cementing a place in the World Cup team,” said lead selector Ann Browne-John.

Full squad: Hayley Matthews (Captain), Shemaine Campbelle (Vice Captain), Aaliyah Alleyne, Afy Fletcher, Cherry Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Sheneta Grimmond, Chinelle Henry, Trishan Holder, Djenaba Joseph, Kycia Knight, Karishma Ramharack, Kaysia Schultz and Rashada Williams.

Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith both paid tribute to Scott Boland after the right-armer took 3-16 to help seal a ruthless 419-run win over the West Indies.

The Victoria quick was only drafted into the hosts' XI for the second Test in Adelaide following an injury to captain Pat Cummins sustained in their opening match.

Though only playing in his fourth red-ball match for his country, Boland repaid the faith with a terrific second innings performance, as the tourists were skittled for 77.

Both Michael Neser and Starc also produced three-wicket hauls, and it was the latter who got the plaudits for his turn with the ball at Adelaide Oval.

"It was the MCG all over again," he said, in reference to Boland's ruthless 6-7 against England in Melbourne last year. "The batters were giving him a hard time, as he did not get the wickets, but he was at his consistent best.

"Neser, Boland, Morris, [they] have all been brilliant and shown off the depth in our bowling. [It has been] great individual and team performances."

Smith, who returned to the captaincy he was previously banned from in Cummins' absence, was also full of praise for Boland.

"He is a second innings specialist," he added. "He was spectacular yesterday evening, and he bowled well in the first innings too. 

"That's what you want, to keep challenging and get better. It gets exciting."

Australia will next kick off a three-Test series with South Africa at the Gabba on Saturday, before further games in Melbourne and Sydney.

They look likely to be without Josh Hazlewood however, in another blow to their bowling attack, after he picked up a strain.

Australia made light work of the West Indies' resistance on day four to claim a dominant 419-run victory at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday and round out a comfortable 2-0 Test series win.

The West Indies collapsed to lose 35-6, with the defeat confirmed within an hour-and-a-half of the resumption of play, as Michael Neser claimed three of the six fourth day wickets in his second Test match.

The tourists had resumed at 38-4, chasing an improbable target of 497, but were all out for 77.

Left-arm Mitchell Starc grabbed the opening two wickets of the fourth day, including an inswinging gem to clean bowl Jason Holder.

Nathan Lyon took his 450th career Test wicket, when he bowled a heaving Alzarri Joseph who had danced down the pitch. Lyon was denied another when Travis Head dropped a chance close in from Marquino Mindley.

Neser, who finished with 3-22, closed out the job with wicketkeeper Alex Carey pulling off an excellent one-handed catch off his bowling to dismiss Mindley for a duck.

Carey took four catches on Sunday, including a brilliant juggling pluck when he stood up at the wicket off Neser's bowling to remove Joshua Da Silva who offered the only real resistance from the tourists on the fourth day with 15 from 40 balls.

Local batsman Head was named Player of the Match after scoring 175 from 219 deliveries in Australia's first innings, which set up the win. Marnus Labuschagne was named Player of the Series after making 502 runs in two Tests, the most-ever by an Australian in a two-match Test series.

Day-night dominance

Australia's win means they have claimed 11 from 11 victories in day-night Tests, relishing the pink ball conditions. Australia are also seven from seven in Adelaide in recent times.

The 419-run victory was also Australia's largest-ever win by runs against the West Indies, who had not lost a Test this calendar year prior to this lopsided series.

Quick turnaround for Aussies

Australia will be delighted to have secured victory with more than a day to spare, given they are due to take on South Africa in a three-match Test series starting Saturday.

Josh Hazlewood is highly unlikely to be available for the first Test against the Proteas due to a side strain, with Neser and Scott Boland vying for that spot, assuming Pat Cummins is fit to return.

West Indies Women head coach Courtney Walsh has expressed disappointment with an overall tepid batting display in a 3-0 One Day International series loss to England Women.

After losing the first two matches by margin of 142 runs, things did not get better for the Caribbean team as England closed out the series with another dominant display in 151 run win margin on Friday.

At the crease for the series, overall, while England averaged 274, the Windies could only manage 131, producing their lowest total of in the final game, avter limping to 105.  On the back of a battling display against New Zealand Women, in September, Walsh admits that he was expecting a better performance from the team.

“I thought that it was a poor series by us.  We did not play the type of cricket that we wanted to play.  England outplayed us,” Walsh said.

“The bowling was not bad and the fielding was not bad but in all three games the batting wasn’t what we expected, wanted or were looking for,” he added.

“It was a lot of disappointment because I know we can play better cricket than that and we did not show that.”

Rashada Williams was the team’s highest scorer over the 3 matches, making a combined total 93 after scoring a half century in the first match.  The team will now turn its attention to the T20 series, which bowls off on Sunday.

England Women completed a 151-run victory in the third CG United ODI against the West Indies women, to claim a 3-0 series clean sweep at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.

Head Coach Courtney Walsh told CWI Media,”It was a poor series by us, we didn’t play the type of cricket we wanted to play, England outplayed us. I know we can play better cricket than that, so I am disappointed. We bowled and fielded better in the last two matches; we have to focus everything now on the T20 series.”

Walsh added, “We have to make sure we get something out of this series as we have a tri-series and World Cup early next year. What is pleasing to me is the bowling we were able to rally in the last two games. I am pleased with Hayley’s captaincy and her rotation of bowlers. The highlight was Rashada Williams have two good peformances with the bat. And the debut of Kaysia Schultz, she’s been around the team for a long time so we wanted to see how she performed so it was very pleasing to see her get the two early wickets, she will only get better from this exposure and experience.”

Scores: England Women 256 all out from 43.3 overs (Nat Sciver 85, Amy Jones 32, Shakera Selman 3-29, Hayley Matthews 3-56) West Indies Women 105-9 (Hayley Matthews 28, Sophie Ecclestone 3-9, Nat Sciver 2-16).

Sciver finished with 180 runs from three innings and was named player of the series.

The five-game T20I series bowls off on Sunday at the same venue.