St. Lucian and Texas senior Julien Alfred produced another amazing performance to advance to the final of the Women’s 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday.
The 21-year-old defending champion ran a new personal best and championship record 6.96, the joint-fourth fastest time ever, to win heat one and advance to Saturday’s final as the fastest qualifier.
The Commonwealth Games 100m silver-medallist entered the championships as a massive favorite to retain her title as she is unbeaten in the event this season with winning times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.05, 7.00, 7.03 and 6.97.
Alfred, now the joint-fastest Caribbean woman of all time in the event alongside Jamaican legend Merlene Ottey, will be joined in the final by Jamaican Clemson senior Kiara Grant who wan 7.14 for third in the first heat.
Later, Alfred also ran 22.38 to advance to the final of the 200m. LSU's Favor Ofili was the fastest qualifier with a spectacular 22.11, the third fastest time ever behind Merlene Ottey's 21.87 and Abby Steiner's 22.09.
Elsewhere, Jamaican Arkansas sophomore Joanne Reid ran 51.98 to advance to the final of the Women’s 400m.
St Lucia’s batting prodigy Theo Edward wants to break into the West Indies senior team sometime during the next few years. The 15-year-old Edward, a student at the St Lucia Sports Academy, believes Test cricket is the format that suits him best so he is working his way towards that goal.
“My ambitions for the next five years; I want to play in the U19 World Cup and then hopefully go on to play for the senior team,” said Theo, who scored four consecutive centuries for St Lucia’s U15 team during the Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB) Tournament last December.
“I have a lot of patience and I like to bat long. It gives me more time to think about my decision making so I like to play the longer format.”
In a time when most young players are drawn to the T20 format, it is a refreshing proclamation from the teenager, who made his national U15 team at the age of 11, and who recently returned home from Grenada where the Windward Islands Volcanoes staged a two-week special apprenticeship programme for a few U19 players.
Theo described his stay in Grenada as being beneficial.
“It was a good experience. The standard was very high. I learnt a lot about my batting, and mentally,” he said revealing that he has made some technical improvements.
“When I am facing spin I don’t really go deep in my crease. I learned you have to go deep, back and across so you get more time to see the ball,” he said, adding that. “My head was always falling away so I learned to keep my head straight and that helped me play the ball straighter.”
Theo, who WICB President Dr Kishore Shallow has described as a special talent, began showing an interest in the sport at age nine after his father, Cassius, a bus/taxi driver, began taking him on trips while transporting some West Indies stars while they were in St Lucia.
“Everywhere I go I used to take Theo with me,” the elder Edward said. “All the big stars, and he used to hold the bat and the ball and one day he said “Daddy, I am really interested in cricket and I must be a cricketer one day. But I never thought Theo would take that thing so serious.”
How serious?
“Theo’s life is cricket. You will never come home and Theo isn’t having some cricket watching,” Cassius revealed. “He sleeps with a bat and a ball under his head every single night.”
Theo, the second of the Edward’s two children – he has an older sister Cassie – said his father has been his biggest supporter since he first picked up a bat.
“My father offers the most support to me because he is always at my training sessions, he is always at my games, always looking for gears for me,” he said.
In the past week or so, Cassius has been attending games in the St Lucia schools U19 Tournament in which Theo has been filling his boots. He scored 49 in his team’s victory against Choiseul Secondary, 94 out of a score of 173 in a losing cause to Leon Hess Secondary and on Thursday, scored an unbeaten 40 and took five wickets in a comprehensive victory over Patricia D. James Secondary.
The doting father does so with great pride even though he has sometimes taken flak from other members of the family for his unwavering support for his son’s cricketing ambitions at the expense of his academics.
“Theo’s mother and I were in trouble for him playing cricket,” he recalled.
“When Theo wrote exams for Common Entrance, he didn’t do good at all and I got bashed from my own family who said because of me Theo didn’t do good. But right now everybody is following cricket everywhere Theo goes.”
Besides his father’s support, Theo’s development is in good hands. At school he leans on the experience and wisdom of coach Garey Mauthrin, the former West Indies and Windward Islands left-hander and his staff as well as Alton Crafton, who always has Theo’s ear.
“Alton Crafton is a man who knows a lot about Theo when it comes to cricket. Theo has a lot of respect for Alton and I believe that is why Alton loves him so much because of his patience and he is very disciplined,” said Cassius, who believes his unswerving commitment to his son will one day be rewarded.
“I am so proud. I will turn down any trip, big trip, big money to take Theo anywhere there is cricket, you know. I am very proud now and it is about to pay me all my time.
“Theo always tells me ‘Daddy, don’t worry. All that money and all that time you spend with me I will triple that for you. Don’t worry’.”
Temba Bavuma led South Africa's resurgence against West Indies after a slow start to finish day three of the second Test with a lead of 356 with three wickets remaining.
A strong opening session for the visitors provided hope with the deficit just 138 at lunch, with South Africa already four wickets down at the Wanderers.
However, captain Bavuma turned the tide with a valiant display with the bat to put his side in cruise control and finished the day unbeaten on 171.
Just four runs shy of 3,000 in his Test career, Bavuma could start day four with two landmarks if he adds another 29 on Saturday.
Kyle Mayers struck twice early as West Indies took momentum, with Kemar Roach then landing the big wicket of Aiden Markram (18) as he forced an edge to Joshua Da Silva.
Bavuma led South Africa's recovery, putting on 37 with Ryan Rickelton (10) for the fourth wicket, but Raymon Reifer removed Rickelton in the last over before lunch to end the session on a high.
The Proteas responded in the second session, despite losing Heinrich Klaasen for 14, with Bavuma and Wiaan Mulder (42) adding a partnership of 103.
Mulder eventually fell to Alzarri Joseph after pulling a short ball to Tagenarine Chanderpaul, before Simon Harmer (19) was trapped lbw by Jason Holder.
South Africa will resume on 287-7 on day four assuming they do not declare overnight, with Bavuma presumably eager to complete his first ever Test double century.
Unstoppable Bavuma
When the South Africa captain walked out to bat, his side were 8-2 and had already lost Markram, but Bavuma repaired the innings and established a commanding lead with his second Test ton.
His tally leaves him sat on 2,996 runs in his Test career, with a landmark on the cards if South Africa do not declare overnight.
Mayers' strong start
Dismissing Dean Elgar (5) and Tony de Zorzi (1) inside the opening eight overs, Mayers looked to have put West Indies on course to clawing their way back into the Test.
He only conceded 25 runs from his 13 overs, but the tourists had no answer to Bavuma's stunning display.
Brian Lara is the greatest batsman the West Indies has ever produced. The 53-year-old Trinidadian terrorized bowling attacks all around the world from 1990 all the way to his last game for the regional side against England in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup.
During that span, Lara scored 11,953 runs in 131 Tests at an average of 52.88 including 34 hundreds and 48 fifties, the biggest of those hundreds coming at the Antigua Recreation Ground against England in 2004 when he scored a world record 400*.
His ODI numbers were equally impressive as he scored 10,405 runs in 299 matches at an average of 40.48 with 19 hundreds and 63 fifties.
Now, Lara hopes to give back to West Indies cricket as a member of the support staff of the senior Men’s team.
Before the team’s ongoing Test series against South Africa, Lara joined the coaching staff as a performance mentor.
Lara described the feeling of wearing the West Indies colors again in an interview with Cricket West Indies on Thursday.
“These are the colors that made me who I am today. It’s a different set of emotions. I remember several years back when I was a youngster living out my dream spending 17 years plying my trade in these very colors,” he said.
“Now, it’s a bit different being a member of staff, looking at present day players and trying to implement a style of play and a philosophy of the game that was successful in the past. I feel that, in time, we will see the benefits of this,” he added.
The former West Indies captain also described what his role will be with the team moving forward.
“I think it’s pretty simple. We have to improve our performances and not just sporadically, we have got to do it on a consistent level and I’m not going to pretty it up. That is what I’m here to do as a performance mentor; to get the players to play better cricket more consistently and to get the West Indies back competitive with the best cricket playing countries in the world,” Lara said.
Inter Miami take on New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Saturday aiming to become just the third side in MLS history – after LA Galaxy in 2010 and Seattle Sounders in 2009 – to open a season with three straight shutout victories.
NYCFC have by far the better record in this fixture, though, having won six of their previous seven meetings with Inter, the most recent of those encounters coming in the first round of last season's MLS Cup playoffs when Nick Cushing's side cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Gabriel Pereira and Maxi Moralez scored six minutes apart in the second half and Heber added a late third to seal the win for the then reigning MLS Cup champions, although they tasted defeat against Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference Final.
It was a familiar feeling for Inter, who have lost all three of their away games at NYCFC, losing by an aggregate 7-0 scoreline – the other two fixtures finishing 2-0 in the Pigeons’ favour.
Phil Neville's Inter did come out on top in the home regular-season encounter last time out, though, as second-half goals from Ariel Lassiter and Alejandro Pozuelo earned them a 3-2 comeback win.
City certainly had home comforts last season as they won 10 regular-season matches on their own patch – only Los Angeles FC (13) and Philadelphia Union (12) recorded more victories.
Inter did not fare so well on their travels in the 2022 campaign, winning just four of their 18 matches away from home, two of those coming in back-to-back outings prior to losing against NYCFC in their playoff showdown.
Inter, who are reportedly hoping to persuade Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi to make the move Stateside, have seen off CF Montreal and Philadelphia Union by the same 2-0 scoreline in their opening two games.
They join New England Revolution at the top of the Eastern Conference standings as the only sides with perfect records so far and are one of four teams overall in MLS to have won two from two.
It marks the best start the Herons have made to a season in what is their fourth campaign in MLS, with the aim for Neville and his men to improve on last season's sixth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference standings.
Neville has opted for the same starting line-up across both games so far, led by Josef Martinez up top. Landing 2018 Golden Boot winner Martinez was a big acquisition for Inter, but the Venezuela international has yet to find the net, while Miami have also had to cope without injured forward Leo Campana.
Instead, the goals have been shared between Sergii Kryvtsov, Shanyder Borgelin, Corentin Jean and Robert Taylor, while four different players have claimed an assist.
As for Cushing's side, the 2021 MLS Cup winners, they followed up a disappointing 2-0 loss at Nashville SC on the opening weekend with a 1-1 draw away to Chicago Fire.
Pereira opened the scoring for NYCFC at Soldier Field in the 39th minute of that most recent outing, but the Fire snatched a point through Fabian Herbers' deflected 75th-minute strike.
Cushing will take comfort from the fact his side are playing on home soil for the first time this season, with City having won six of their eight home openers in MLS.
Players To Watch
New York City FC – Gabriel Pereira
Pereira was the man who scored City's deserved breakthrough goal in the most recent match versus Inter Miami, and the Brazilian is also the only NYCFC player to score so far this campaign.
There is certainly a South American feel to the City attack, with 44 of their past 45 MLS goals (excluding own goals) being scored by players from that continent, including each of the past 19.
Pereira scored nine goals in 29 league appearances in 2022 – an overperformance from his expected goals (xG) return of 4.75 – while also chipping in with three assists. The former Corinthians winger will be looking to better both of those tallies this campaign.
Others, including Talles Magno, will also need to step up in the post-Maxi Moralez era, and the return of midfielder Santiago Rodriguez will go a long way to helping provide more creativity in the final third.
Inter Miami – Josef Martinez
Martinez arrived at Inter Miami in the close season boasting a CV that includes an MLS Cup, an MVP award, an MLS Golden Boot and also the U.S. Open Cup, all of those coming during his successful spell with Atlanta United.
While Miami have impressed early on, however, their star acquisition has attempted just two shots in his first two starts and has failed to hit the target with either of those.
Should Neville be worried? Martinez only failed to register a shot on target in successive starts on two occasions in his previous six seasons in Major League Soccer, doing so in May-July 2021 and September 2018.
New York City FC v Inter Miami CF prediction
NYCFC may have made a slow start to the season, taking just one point from six on offer, but being back on home soil this weekend provides a chance to kickstart their season.
Stats Perform's prediction model has given the hosts a 58.7 per cent chance of victory, compared to 16.8 per cent for Inter Miami. A draw is given a 24.5 per cent likelihood.
Momentum plays a huge factor in sport, though, and Neville's side make the trip to Yankee Stadium with a spring in their step as they look to prolong their best start to a season and remain at the top of the league table.
If they are to do that and come away with victory, they will need to score their first goal away at New York City in what is their fourth visit. Having a motivated Martinez up top will certainly help in that regard.
Jason Holder's defiant 81 not out helped West Indies recover from an early collapse against South Africa, but the tourists still trail by 73 after day two of the second Test.
The former captain arrived at the crease with his side at 116-6, after a Proteas attack led by Gerald Coetzee had torn through their top order at Wanderers Stadium.
With a diligently impressive performance however, the former number one all-rounder in the world dug his side out of dire straits for a final total of 251 all out in Johannesburg.
His efforts will have spared the blushes of Kraigg Brathwaite's men, though Temba Bavuma's side will still feel they have the advantage heading into the rest of the week.
West Indies had made the best possible start to the first session, dismissing South Africa for a final total of 320 after taking their remaining three wickets for the loss of just nine runs.
Any hope of mounting a steadfast pursuit though appeared to crumble quickly though, with the loss of openers Kraigg Brathwaite (17) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (1) inside the first dozen overs.
Coetzee, who finished with figures of 3-41, subsequently removed Reifer and Blackwood in quick succession, reducing the visitors to 51-4.
Roston Chase (28) and Kyle Mayers (29) mustered a half-century partnership before they too were dismissed, leaving West Indies over 200 behind with just four wickets in hand.
South Africa likely had high hopes of finishing off the tail with little further effort, but they did not count on the stubborn resistance offered by Holder, who guided their fightback on the front foot.
A 58-run stand for the 10th wicket saw him drag West Indies within three figures of the Proteas, before Gudakesh Motie was caught off Simon Harmer for 17 to curtail their resistance.
Dean Elgar (3 not out) and Aiden Markram (1 not out) added four without loss for the hosts in the final three overs of the day, but at stumps, they could yet come to rue their inability to maintain their cushion.
Holder sets number eight record
Arriving as the late-breaking cavalry for his team, not only did the 31-year-old put his side firmly back in contention but he entered the history books too.
His score of 81 is the best by a batter at number eight in a Test at Wanderers Stadium, exceeding the 78 set by Mark Boucher for South Africa against Pakistan in 1998.
Coetzee justifies inclusion
Having only made his Test bow in the pair's first game last month, it was a less-than-auspicious debut for the 22-year-old, with three wickets across both innings.
Here, he matched that figure in less overs, though his ultimate average was hurt by West Indies' late resistance.
Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert has been selected as the SEC Indoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.
Hibbert produced a winning leap of 17.10m to win the triple jump at the SEC Indoor Championships and was the only freshman to claim a field event victory. His winning mark leads the NCAA for the 2023 season and is the 14th-best mark in collegiate history.
The teenaged Jamaican becomes the third Razorback to receive the accolade indoors, joining Nkosinza Balumbu (2006) and Andrew Irwin (2012), since the award was first presented in 2004.
Arkansas has also had three individuals receive SEC Freshman Runner of the Year – Chris Bilbrew (2008), Patrick Rono (2012), and Omar McLeod (2014).
Hibbert, the 2022 World U20 champion, recently became the youngest athlete to surpass 17m indoors as an 18-year-old and moved to No. 3 on the World U20 all-time list while improving his Jamaican indoor national U20 record.
Powerhouse performances with the bat from Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi helped South Africa to a solid total of 311-7 on day one of their second Test against West Indies.
The duo both came close to centuries for the hosts at Wanderers Stadium, with individual scores of 96 and 85 each forming the bedrock of a sturdy Proteas attack.
But a superb third session with ball in hand from the tourists saw them take five wickets for just 64 runs to keep this encounter firmly in the balance heading into day two.
After an 87-run win in the pair's first Test at Centurion, Temba Bavuma's hosts are looking to wrap up a series victory in Johannesburg this week.
Having won the toss at the top of the day and elected to bat, they certainly looked as if they could build a convincing advantage at the crease.
Though Dean Elgar (42) fell short of a half-century, both opening partner Markram and third man De Zorzi crossed the mark with composed innings of their own.
West Indies kept the run rate from dramatic levels, they looked to be frustrated for wickets after taking only two across the first two sessions.
But after dismissing Bavuma (28) shortly after starting the final period of the day, they found a tighter response to keep South Africa from building a head of steam.
Gudakesh Motie (3-75) led the attack, with Jason Holder (1-39) and Alzarri Joseph (1-59) helping them to regather some equilibrium.
Kyle Mayers struck twice in the final three overs to tip the scales back towards the tourists at the end of the day, dismissing Wiaan Mulder (12) and Simon Harmer (1) to leave Heinrich Klaasen not out at the crease on 17.
Promise for De Zorzi aids Proteas
After a less-than-auspicious debut Test saw him post 28 and a duck at Centurion, the number three will be delighted to have answered his early critics.
With 11 boundaries in his knock from 155 deliveries, he worked diligently to help South Africa build their total across the day.
Motie slows matters down
The left-arm slow bowler was integral to the tourists keeping themselves in the first innings before the final session though, continuing to deliver key wickets at big moments.
He dismissed the top three of Elgar, Markram and De Zorzi, one in each session, with a fine performance on a track that proved favourable to batters.
Samuel Badree has been named as an Assistant Coach of the West Indies senior Men’s team for the upcoming six-match white ball series against South Africa. Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced that the former West Indies leg-spinner will join the squad for the three One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three T20 Internationals (T20I) from 16 to 28 March.
Badree said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be asked by CWI to join the team and work with this great group of players in South Africa for the white ball leg of the tour.” Badree, who has previously assisted CWI as a spin bowling consultant and worked in the IPL, believes this opportunity to be “a continuation and an extension of that”.
He added: “I look forward to catching up with the players, some who I played with and most I already know, as we seek to acquit ourselves well on what is expected to be a challenging tour of South Africa. I also look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences with the players as we look to bring some positive results to our loyal fans.”
Jimmy Adams, CWI’s Director of Cricket said: “I’m happy that Samuel is going to be spending time with our white ball teams in South Africa. He brings plenty of international experience and a strong desire to assist our slow bowlers in becoming world class. We believe this combination makes him ideally placed to add tremendous value to our support staff in South Africa, and specifically for our slow bowlers."
Badree is a two-time T20 World Cup winner. He played a vital role in both T20 World Cup winning campaigns in Sri Lanka in 2012 and in India in 2016. He played 52 T20Is and picked up 56 wickets between 2012 and 2018 – during which time he was the world’s Number 1 ranked bowler in the T20 format.
West Indies are presently in South Africa playing in a two-match Test Series ahead of the white ball Series. The first Test at SuperSports Park in Centurion ended last Thursday. The Proteas won by 87 runs. The second Test starts on Wednesday 8 March at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
The white ball matches start on 16 March with the first ODI at Buffalo Park in East London. The T20Is start on 25 March at SuperSports Park.
West Indies white ball match schedule
16 March: 1st ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
18 March: 2nd ODI at Buffalo Park, East London (day/night)
21 March: 3rd ODI at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom
25 March: 1st T20Is at SuperSport Park, Centurion
26 March: 2nd T20I at SuperSport Park, Centurion
28 March: 3rd T20I at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg (night)
Barbadian jockey Rico Walcott has decided to move to Toronto’s competitive Woodbine racetrack after 15 years in Western Canada where he has been dominant with multiple championship titles.
A 13-time champion at various tracks in Alberta, Walcott is expected to begin his Toronto stint when the Woodbine season starts next month.
Woodbine will be far more challenging than his lengthy sojourn in Edmonton but Caribbean riders have won multiple championship titles at the world-famous Woodbine in the past, Barbadian Patrick Husbands, Trinidad and Tobago’s Emile Ramsammy and Jamaica George HoSang and the 33-year-old Walcott is hoping for a successful transition.
“I am going to do my best like a did out west and hope for the best,” Walcott told ex-jockey Sean Hall’s Journeys Horse Racing Talk Show.
Walcott, who left Barbados for Canada in 2007, has won 1,524 races in North America including 160 stakes triumphs with mounts’ earnings of just under US$20 million. He won eight jockeys’ titles at the now defunct Northlands Park and was also champion three times at Century Downs and twice at Century Mile.
Walcott survived a career-threatening medical issue in March 2019 when -- after suffering sudden seizures -- he was diagnosed with a brain tumour “the size of a golf ball”, doctors said. After surgery, Walcott returned to race-riding a few months later and would remarkably win the late season Century Downs title in October 2019.
Several Barbadian jockeys are currently based at Woodbine, including seven-time champion jockey Patrick Husbands, Slade Jones, Juan Crawford and Jason Hoyte who all finished as top-20 riders in the 2022 season.
Walcott placed seventh in last Saturday’s Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup at the Garrison Savannah aboard the 7-1 bet American Diamond, and is now targeting the 2023 Woodbine season which opens on Saturday, April 22 and runs through Sunday, December 10.
With the second and final Test between the West indies and South Africa scheduled to start on Wednesday in Johannesburg, West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite is urging his team to build on positives he saw in the first Test last week.
The tourists lost the first Test by 87 runs but had some bright spots, including bowling out the hists in both innings.
“I think it was very good for us as a bowling group to get 20 wickets. That was very important. I think it shows we are not far off,” Brathwaite told reporters in a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“It gave us that belief that we could do it and just have to keep believing and it doesn’t matter which team we’re playing, we’ve always got to believe. We had a lot of positives in the first Test and we must just keep improving,” Brathwaite added.
With that being said, the Windies had another tough game with the bat, being dismissed for 212 and 159 in their two turns at the crease.
Brathwaite says this has to change if they are to tie the series.
“As a batting unit, we have got to improve. We have got to spend more time out there. South Africa will come hard, no matter the eleven they play, so we must be ready for it,” he said.
“South Africa is a tough team at home and with a little more application from the batsmen, myself included, we could do well here in these conditions,” he added.
Chelsea midfielder Omari Hutchinson is one of five English-based players that were, on Tuesday, named in the Reggae Boyz squad for two friendlies against Trinidad & Tobago to be held on the 11th and 14th of March in Montego Bay.
The 19-year-old, who spent seven years at Arsenal before moving to Chelsea last year, played his first game for the Reggae Boyz in an unofficial 0-6 friendly loss to Catalonia in May 2022.
The other four England-based players in the squad are Tyler Roberts (Wolves), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Delano McCoy-Splatt (Fulham) and Dante Cassanova (Tottenham Hotspur).
Also selected in the squad for the first time is 17-year-old Kingston College standout Dujuan “Whisper” Richards who was recently on trial at Premier League outfit Newcastle United.
The full squad is as follows: Tyler Roberts (Wolves), Collin Anderson (Cavalier), Trivante Stewart (Mt. Pleasant), Dujuan Richards (Phoenix Academy), Jourdain Fletcher (NEROCA), Lamar Walker (Portmore United), Demario Phillips (Mt. Pleasant), Delano McCoy-Splatt (Fulham), Ravel Morrison (DC United), Dante Cassanova (Tottenham Hotspur), Alwayne Harvey (Mt. Pleasant), Jahshaun Anglin (Harbour View), Omari Hutchinson (Chelsea FC), Dwayne Atkinson (Cavalier), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Ricardo Thomas (Dunbeholden), Jamoi Topey (Mt. Pleasant), Richard King (Cavalier), Fitzroy Cummings (Vere United), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached), Sue-Lae McCalla (Mt. Pleasant), Oshane Staple (Harbour View), Jamali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), Kemar Foster (Waterhouse), Asher Hutchinson (Arnett Gardens)
All Saints United and FC Aston Villa are now level on points at the top of the table after week 14 of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League held at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter.
All Saints United moved to 34 points from 14 matches with a 2-0 win over Willikies on Sunday.
Shafeeq Joseph and Daryan James got the goals for the new league leaders in the 57th and 77th minutes, respectively.
FC Aston Villa boast a similar record in 14 matches thanks to a 1-0 win over Piggott’s Bullets on Saturday.
The game seemed to be heading for a draw before Shahoi Dorsett sealed the crucial three points for Villa with a 95th minute penalty.
Former leaders Grenades are now third, one point behind All Saints and FC Aston Villa after suffering a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Greenbay Hoppers on Sunday.
The Hoppers went 4-0 up in the span of 28 minutes as Rodney Lawrence (26’), Javorn Stevens (31’), a 45th minute Chad Williams own goal and an Akeem Christian own goal in the 54th sealed the fate for Grenades.
They got a consolation goal through Barrington Blake in the 56th minute. The Hoppers are now fifth with 21 points from 13 games.
Old Road is fourth, nine points behind Grenades after a 5-1 win over Swetes in the week’s opening game on Friday.
It was Swetes who took an early lead when Shackwon Simon scored in the 16th minute.
Stefan Smith equalized for Old Road eight minutes later and the teams went into half-time with no further goals added.
Things changed quickly in the second half as Jaheim Hazelwood gave Old Road the lead six minutes after the restart before a Raheem Deterville double in the 61st and 71st minutes gave them a 4-1 advantage. Jabarry Chandler put the final nail in the coffin in the 88th minute. Swetes are sixth in the table with 21 points from 14 games.
Saturday’s other matches saw Empire beat Ottos Rangers 3-0 and Parham secure a 3-1 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays.
Empire’s goals came from Rakeem Joseph in the seventh minute, Nyque Watkins in the 13th minute and Shemar Scott in the 45th minute.
They are now 10th in the league with 17 points from 13 games while Ottos Rangers are eighth with 19 points from 13 outings.
Parham took the lead J’Twan Brown in the 45th minute before Malcolm Stewart doubled the lead in the 48th minute. The Blue Jays got a lifeline in the 50th minute through a Keon Greene penalty before Stewart got his second of the game in the 81st minute to secure the win.
With 15 points from 14 games, Parham are now 12th in the standings while their opponents are 14th with 10 points from 13 matches.
Sunday’s other game saw Liberta Blackhawks and SAP combine for 12 goals, with the latter securing an 8-4 win.
Shavorn Phillip gave the Blackhawks the lead in the 28th minute before SAP equalized through Tyrique Tonge in the 30th. It was 2-1 Liberta a minute later as Louron Anthony scored before SAP equalized once again, this time through Danniel Osbourne in the 42nd minute.
The only word to adequately describe the second half was ‘goal-fest.’
Fifteen minutes after the resumption, Tonge got his second of the game to give SAP their first lead before Phillip got his second of the game a minute later for Liberta to make it 3-3.
SAP then broke the game open through a Peter Byers double in the 73rd and 77th minutes before Tonge got his third and fourth of the game in the 81st and 87th minutes to make in 7-3, effectively ending the game.
Malique Martin got Liberta’s fourth goal in the 89th minute but the scoring was capped off in the 90th minute when Byers completed his hat-trick, the second for SAP on the day.
SAP are now 11th in the table with 16 points from 13 games while the Blackhawks, with only two points from 11 games, are last in the standings.
Ninth-placed Tryum and 15th placed Five Islands will do battle on Monday to close out the game week.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) and MatchWornShirt (MWS) have launched a new partnership giving fans the opportunity to bid for and own an authentic worn and signed West Indies Team shirts.
The West Indies will be the first international cricket team to give fans the opportunity to own authentic signed team shirts via global digital auctions held on MatchWornShirt.com’s website.
Starting from March 8, fans can bid to own any of the West Indies Test squad’s team shirts from the current South Africa Series, with each shirt individually signed by the respective player.
“Team and players’ shirts have always been a much-desired piece of memorabilia and for West Indies fans, there is no exception. With West Indies supporters spread across the Caribbean and the world, we believe this partnership with MatchWornShirt provides an exciting and fair platform to bid for and own an official match-worn West Indies shirt signed by one of their heroes, or even the entire West Indies squad,” said CWI Commercial Director Dominic Warne.
“The partnership delivers an engaging, reliable and user-friendly auction experience, accessible from anywhere in the world, with safe and secure delivery to fans’ homes.”
CWI and MatchWornShirt will create auctions to go live with the first ball bowled in a match or shortly after the match has been completed. In 2023, this will include Test, One Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) matches against India as well as T20I and ODI matches against England.
West Indies fans will not just be able to witness a match-winning moment or performance, they will have the chance to swap shirts with their heroes and own a piece of sporting history.
Fans’ desire to own team and player memorabilia continues to rise strongly, in parallel with the growth of live international sports, especially cricket.
The first auction will go live to coincide with the start of second Test Match, South Africa versus West Indies on March 8, 2023 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The first auction will run for two weeks until 22 March 2023.
To celebrate this new partnership, fans will have the chance to win fast bowler Alzarri Joseph’s genuine match-worn and signed shirt from the first Test match when he took his first-ever Test match five-wicket haul for the West Indies. This opportunity will be live on MatchWornShirt’s Instagram page from Monday, March 6.
Head of Business Development at MatchWornShirt, James Flude, is excited about the collaboration.
“We have been excited to venture into cricket for a while now and so we are delighted to announce our first substantial partnership with such an iconic international team,” Flude said.
“The West Indies shirts are globally recognized and have been worn by some of the greatest players ever to play the game - so we are delighted to be bringing them to fans all around the world.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
