Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Saturday announced a new innovation for the long format of the game, with the addition of a triangular red-ball tournament to start at the end of the West Indies Championship in April, 2023. The new Headley Weekes Series will feature three matches and three teams. Team Headley and Team Weekes will be selected from the best performers in the 2023 West Indies Championship and players outside the starting West Indies Test XI. The new West Indies Academy will provide the third team in the new Series.
Team Headley and Team Weekes are named in honour of West Indies pioneers and legendary batting greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes, whose names are also honoured on the Trophy for the winners of the West Indies Championship. The matches will be played from 18 April to 6 May at Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua.
Before that, the 2023 edition of West Indies Championship will be played across five rounds of four-day, red ball cricket featuring the six regional Franchise teams – defending champions Barbados Pride, Guyana Harpy Eagles, Jamaica Scorpions, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, and Windward Islands Volcanoes.
The 2023 West Indies Championship commences in February. The first two rounds will be played from 1 February to 11 February in Grenada at the National Stadium and in Antigua at the CCG and the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS). There will then be a break and the tournament will resume on 15 March and run until 1 April for the final three rounds, after which the champions will be crowned and presented with the Headley Weekes Trophy. These matches will be played in Trinidad at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), Queens Park Oval (QPO) and the Diego Martin Sports Complex (DMSC).
Johnny Grave, CEO of CWI said: “We are delighted to unveil the Headley Weekes Series, which is a new idea that will extend the four-day season, create more opportunities for our players to showcase their skills and will be a huge incentive for them to strive towards selection into our ‘A’ Team, and ultimately our Test Team. It will also provide some strong competitive red-ball cricket for our new West Indies Academy Players as we continue to try to ensure that the next generation of players are being prepared along the pathway to international cricket. Whilst the West Indies Championship is once again going to be played on a ‘one’ round, five-match basis, with the plans we have for our ‘A’ Team and Academy to go on overseas tours after the Headley Weekes Series we expect our best players in the region will still play at least ten four-day games in the first half of next year.”
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULES
West Indies Championship 2023
(for Headley Weekes trophy)
1 to 4 February: 1st round in Grenada and Antigua
8 to 11 February: 2nd round in Grenada and Antigua
15 to 18 March: 3rd round in Trinidad
22 to 25 March: 4th round in Trinidad
29 March to 1 April: 5th round in Trinidad
Full Fixtures to be announced soon
Headley Weekes Tri-Series
(to be played at CCG)
19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy
26 to 29 April: Team Weekes vs West Indies Academy
3 to 6 May: Team Weekes vs Team Headley
Cricket West Indies (CWI) today announced the appointment of Roland Butcher, as a Selector to the West Indies Men’s Senior & Youth Panels.
Butcher is a former England batsman who also played for over 15 years in English County Cricket with Middlesex. His appointment was confirmed during a meeting of the CWI Board of Directors on Monday 19 December.
Butcher was delighted to accept the appointment,
“It is a great honour and a privilege, to be given the opportunity to serve West Indies Cricket. I’m eager to get started to work alongside the other members of the selection panels as we look to ensure the growth and improvement in West Indies cricket at all levels.”
The West Indies Men’s Senior Panel is led by the Most Honorable Dr. Desmond Haynes and the Men’s Youth Panel is led by Robert Haynes. The third member of both panels is the respective Head Coach.
Butcher was the first Black cricketer to represent England in Test cricket when he debuted against West Indies in his native Barbados in 1981. He played three Tests and three One-Day Internationals. In his first-class career he played 277 matches and scored over 12,000 runs.
West Indies Women suffered an ugly eight-wicket defeat with 87 balls to spare to England Women, who swept the series 5-0 on Thursday.
Hundreds of children from Paradise and its surrounding communities in Montego Bay to get Christmas gifts from Olympic gold medalist Briana Williams during the third staging of her annual Christmas Treat on Tuesday, December 21.
Williams, who now trains in Jamaica, feted children at the Paradise Community Centre from 10am to 3pm. The children enjoyed playing on bounce-about rides, a Santa Village, a games screen and gifts from Digicel.
Grace Foods provided boxed lunches, beverages and snacks to each child.
"For the last two treats, we had to deliver the gifts to each home wearing masks because of the pandemic,” Williams said.
“It's nice to host a fun day and interact with the community. This is what makes Christmas special for the children.
“Special thanks to my sponsors Digicel, Grace Foods and KIG Jamaica for making this a reality for the last three years".
Alton Crafton, Coach of St Lucia’s national U15 cricket team believes Theo Edward with the right guidance and work ethic has the potential to become a West Indies player in the next few years.
The 15-year-old student of the St Lucia Sports Academy, who in 2019 expressed his ambition to one day play for the West Indies, scored four consecutive centuries in the recent WINLOTT Windward Islands Cricket Board U15 Tournament that helped guide his side to the title playing undefeated.
Edward had scores of 198, 101, 137 and 104 for a total of 540 runs and average of 135.
“Even if you are playing in your backyard, you might score one 100, but four in a row?” said Crafton, who was impressed with Edward’s output during the tournament declaring that he is confident that the all-rounder can make it all the way to the top.
“Certainly. If he just follows the right pathway and have the correct influence around him, for sure.”
Speaking with Sportsmax.TV days after the conclusion of the tournament, the proud coach revealed that while it is still early days young Edward is always showing signs that already has many of the tools needed to become a successful international cricketer.
“He knows his game and he keeps his game very simple,” he said.
“You wouldn’t find him going over the top in the first five overs. He’ll get set and play each ball on its merit and he has high levels of concentration. He can focus for long periods of time and he did so exceptionally during the tournament.
“At that age, he is a work in progress, He knows the game. He has a very good pull shot. He drives off the back foot and front foot. There is always room for improvement but what he has now is enough to carry him through.”
Edward and his teammate Leon Alexander, who also enjoyed a successful tournament with both bat and ball practice with Crafton’s training group. The coach reveals that even though both spend time working on their physical skills, they also focus on other critical areas of development.
“We put a lot of emphasis on them (skills) and they get a chance to practice, practice, practice (but) there is a lot of emphasis on the mental space, keeping them in the right direction, letting them know what exactly they are about and I have no doubt they will go all the way.”
Crafton said it is essential that Edward keeps the right people around him to ensure that he maintains his discipline and focus and believes he always has that.
“I know for sure he has his dad in his corner. He just needs to keep it narrow and simple to people he can trust and just move on and keep with the hard work,” he said.
For now, he just needs to spend a little more time working on his game while finding a balance with his academics, Crafton said, the rest will take care of itself.
“We will give him all the support that we can give him,” he said.
West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul is reportedly not expected to renew his contract as Head Coach of the USA Women’s Senior and U-19 Cricket Teams after the 2023 U-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa.
Chanderpaul was appointed in July of this year.
Last week, USA Cricket announced its U19 Women’s team for the World Cup, and the new development has come in as a massive surprise for the board.
“We already have half a dozen renowned head coaches disconnected from the National team(s) since the new board is in place and I doubt if Shivnarine will renew his contract after the U19 world cup in South Africa. I had a word with Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s manager and he has confirmed that he will not consider extending or renewing Chanderpaul’ s contract after the Women’s U19 World Cup in SA,” said USA Cricket Hall of Famer Jatin Patel at the Atlanta Cricket League Banquet in Mumbai last week.
Chanderpaul started his role as head coach with immense success for the national team and in franchise cricket.
In July, he led the USA U-19 Women’s team to a title in the CWI Women’s U-19 Championship where they defeated hosts and defending champions, Trinidad and Tobago, in the final.
The ICC Hall of Famer then led the Jamaica Tallawahs to their third Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in September.
Carmen Clarke’s sudden passing, mere days after her 75th birthday, sent shock waves throughout Jamaica’s sporting fraternity. Clarke lost her brief battle with cancer on December 17.
A regular fixture at track meets, swim meets and netball tournaments, many persons were curious as to who was this bald woman always immaculately attired, not realizing the giant she was behind the scenes.
For those who knew her, many of whom rank among Jamaica’s elite athletes, her death has left a gaping hole that can never be filled.
Carmen was born in Duckenfield, St Thomas, on November 26, 1947. She was the only child for her mother Myrtle Whynn, who took her to live in the United Kingdom when she was only 12 years old.
After more than a decade there during which she attended college, Carmen returned to Jamaica where she worked at the now defunct Daily News newspaper. However, her work was not limited to media as over time she became the public relations manager at Carreras Limited where she worked for many years before transitioning into entrepreneurship. She also contributed significantly to Jamaica AIDS Support and the church. Quite naturally, Carmen was also a member of the board of the National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards.
A stickler for discipline, Carmen was a no-nonsense woman who has been described by relatives and friends alike as fearless, humble, inspiring, brave, trustworthy and a good listener, all attributes suited for the role of ‘mother’ and mentor to many of Jamaica’s top athletes.
“Carmen will most definitely be missed,” said Juliet Campbell, who competed for Jamaica at the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.
“I know first-hand the impact that she has had on a lot of our superstar athletes. She has nurtured a lot, she has encouraged, she has been a part of teams. She has been a part of the athletic community for such a long time and she will be missed dearly.
“She was no-nonsense but she loved these kids.”
A list of the ‘kids’ reads like a who’s who in Jamaica’s track and field. Among them were Olympians Veronica Campbell-Brown, Merlene Ottey, Raymond Stewart, Danny McFarlane, Juliet Cuthbert, Usain Bolt, Juliet Campbell, Aleen Bailey, Elva Goulbourne-Rose, Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Brigitte Foster-Hylton and many others.
Seven-time Carifta champion and 2004 Olympic relay gold medalist, Aleen Bailey, said she was thrown for a loop when she heard of Carmen’s passing, shared just how much of an influence she was.
“She was the Olivia Pope of Jamaica for us athletes, and not just Jamaican athletes, she has been a blessing in lives across the globe,” Bailey said.
“If you need anything fixed, advice, tough love, support or you need to get out of a tough situation, we call Aunty Carmen.
“My first encounter was when I made my first junior team. She was the one that taught us how to present ourselves when representing the country. She was also the reason we got to host World Juniors (2002).”
Bailey, a member of Jamaica’s gold-medal winning sprint-relay team at the Beijing Olympics, was a senior member in the Jamaican team in 2008 and was like a mother-figure to the many new stars like Shelly-Ann Fraser, Usain Bolt and Melaine Walker, helping keep things together when the lights shone brightly on the island's breakout talents.
However, it wasn’t always like that for her. There was a time during a global championship when she was the one in need of comfort and guidance and Carmen came to her aid.
“I remember at the World Championships, some people were mean to me and I was hiding in my room and wasn't eating. Deon Hemmings was my roommate. She found Aunty Carmen and told her what was going on. She came to that hotel, barged into the room got me out of bed, made me shower and told me she will be picking me up every day.
“She was whatever we wanted her to be, she cooked for us, washed our clothes, hugs when we needed it. She always wanted the best for everyone she meets.”
Carmen’s influence was not limited to Jamaica’s track and field elite. She was also a tremendous influence on the women in Jamaica’s netball.
“You were the light of our lives. On behalf of the Sunshine Girls who you took under your wings, thanks Miss Carmen, Aunty Carmen as the ones from XLCR (Excelsior High School) called you,” Marva Bernard, past president of Netball Jamaica posted in a tribute on Facebook.
Former media worker and civil servant Gillian Haughton, who describes herself as Carmen’s sister-friend, in a post on Facebook shared just how much of an influence Carmen was to her son, swimmer Nicholas Haughton, a recent graduate of Howard University.
“Carmen Clarke always made the effort to attend Nick's swim meets. She made the extra effort to join us at his first CARIFTA Open Water Swim trials at Puerto Seco,” she posted about the relationship between her Campion College alum and Carmen.
“For the four years he went away for school, Carmen Clarke's apartment was his last stop before the airport so he could get his massage.”
It was perhaps former Jamaica shot put thrower Zara Northover’s Facebook post that best sums up who Carmen Clarke was and what she meant to so many.
“Auntie Carmen Clarke. You saw me at all times and encouraged me to pursue at all costs,” Northover said.
“You advocated for me in rooms I was not present and you prayed prayers I know God saw fit to answer. You are loved, you are missed, you are love and light. Thank you for being a source of inspiration and comfort. I love you and will never forget the impact you’ve had on my life and the countless others you’ve encountered. Rest in Heaven and thank you in advance for watching down on us all from up above.”
Carmen leaves behind brothers Lloyd and Linval Clarke as well as a sister, Beverley.
Andre Coley has been named as the Interim Head Coach of the West Indies Men’s team for the upcoming tour of South Africa, Cricket West Indies announced Wednesday.
The West Indies Men’s team will start their 2023 international year with two Test matches against Zimbabwe. The visitors will play both matches at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) confirmed the schedule on Wednesday, with the first Test slated for 4-8 February, and the second Test match for 12-16 February. Ahead of the two-Test rubber West Indies will have a four-day warm-up match against a local side set for 28-31 January at Bulawayo Athletic Club.
All matches start at 10am local time (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica).
“The tour to Zimbabwe early in 2023 will be an important part of our 2023 Test programme, which also includes series against South Africa and India," said CWI's Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams. "Having produced some good results early in 2022, the team will be eager to begin the year with strong performances in Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe’s last Test match was way back in July 2021 against Bangladesh in Harare and, according ZC Director of Cricket Hamilton Masakadza, they will be eager to make the most of the upcoming series.
“We are pleased to confirm the West Indies will be visiting us for two Test matches that will be played in Bulawayo,” Masakadza said.
“Although it’s been a while since we last played Test cricket, our boys will be hungry and ready for some red-ball action and I believe an exciting series against one of the game’s top sides is on the cards.”
The last Test Series between Zimbabwe and the West Indies was also played at Queens Sports Club in October 2017. West Indies clinched the two-match series having won the first game by 117 runs while the second match ended in a draw.
MATCH SCHEDULE
28-31 January: four-day warm-up match at Bulawayo Athletic Club
4-8 February: 1st Test at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
12-16 February: 2nd Test at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo
Jamaica’s men were the only Caribbean nation to crack the top ten for the most points accumulated at the 2022 World Championships in Oregon in July.
The team, who is in a rebuilding phase after dominating men’s track and field for almost a decade, finished in a three-way tie for fifth on the table with 20 points. Eight points are accumulated for first place and a point for eighth.
Hosts USA, thanks to standout performances from the likes of Noah Lyles, Michael Norman and Fred Kerley to name a few, absolutely dominated the Championships and finished at the top of the table with 118 points.
The rest of the top ten was rounded out by Kenya (46), Great Britain (28), Canada (24), Jamaica (20), Ethiopia (20), Uganda (20), Norway (17), Spain (17) and South Africa (12).
Jamaica’s only medal came in the 4x400m where the team of Akeem Bloomfield, Jevaughn Powell, Nathon Allen and Christopher Taylor ran 2:58.58 for silver behind the USA.
They also finished just outside the medals in the 4x100m where Akeem Blake, Oblique Seville, Yohan Blake and Jelani Walker combined to run 38.06 to finish behind Canada (37.48), USA (37.55) and Great Britain (37.83).
Individually, Seville had the best performance finishing fourth in the 100m in 9.97 behind the American trio of Fred Kerley (9.86), Marvin Bracy (9.88) and Trayvon Bromell (9.88).
Jamaica’s other two individual finalists to place in the top eight were Jaheel Hyde who finished sixth in the 400m Hurdles and Christopher Taylor who finished seventh in the 400m.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has jumped to second place among T20I allrounders and is ranked fourth among bowlers after the latest ICC update.
Matthews went up by three places among the bowlers, to slot in behind Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Deepti Sharma, and rose one spot among allrounders to be just four rating points away from No. 1 Sophie Devine.
In four T20Is at home against England, who are leading 4-0 in the five-match series, Matthews has picked up five wickets and scored 66 runs with knocks of 23 and 25 in the last two games.
With the intention of attracting more males to gymnastics, Colombian national Parkour leader Angie Julieth Sánchez Molina is in Jamaica to conduct an introductory course from December 20-22 at the National Gymnastics Training Centre on Slipe Road in Kingston.
Molina is an international Parkour judge and a Member of the Parkour Technical Commission International Gymnastics Federation coach.
Parkour is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing artistic-gymnastic maneuvers.
With roots in military obstacle course training and martial arts, parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, and quadrupedal movement—whatever is suitable for a given situation.
The course is designed to instruct the participants on the necessary information to start up this new discipline in their countries and form a united community that contributes to the development of the discipline in the Central American region of the Pan American Gymnastics Union.
It also aims to grow the number of parkour practitioners and athletes in the region, strengthen the start of parkour in the sports and federation field and encourage the creation of new programs adapted to the style of each country.
According to Nicole Grant President of the Jamaica Gymnastics Association, equipment to facilitate the course arrived about three weeks ago and is being set up for the start of the course on Tuesday, December 20.
Grant believes it was time to introduce a new discipline in gymnastics to the island that has made steady gains in traditional forms of the sport over the past few years.
“We really wanted to introduce a new discipline that appeals to the male population and we find that Parkour is one that more males may be interested in because there is a stigma when it comes on to artistic gymnastics, which is what we do now,” she said.
“So, we are hoping that Parkour, which is also a discipline at the world championships level and will soon be at the Olympics level and we do have a number of youngsters at our gym, especially boys, who are actually doing it but they don’t know that they are.
“Boys like to jump over stuff, they like challenges like that and I think it will definitely appeal to the boys.”
This realization, she said, prompted her to reach out to the Pan American Gymnastics Union about local interest in Parkour.
“It was really at short notice because it’s the end of the year and the year for Parkour is actually wrapping up, so it was a challenge for them to get us to do the course here because you really need the equipment and they so that sent us the equipment, which thankfully came on time and in time for the course.”
The Ballaz Academy Under-10 and Under-12 teams starred at the third staging of the Springs Holiday Cup in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on the weekend, as they both won their respective divisions in unbeaten fashion.
In the U10 final, Ballaz had to come from behind to defeat Galacticos Soccer 2-1.
Galacticos got their goal in the first half but Braden Burkett drew Ballaz level from the penalty spot midway the second half.
Just when the game seemed destined for a penalty shootout, Makiri D’Aguilar, who scored in every game of the tournament, to finish with six goals, found the winner with an exquisite volley from just inside the box with virtually the final kick of the match.
It was the second match between the two teams as they faced each other in the final preliminary round game to decide the finalists. Ballaz won that game 3-1 with Makiri D’Aguilar firing home a hattrick before the Galacticos got a consolation late on.
D’Aguilar was the Under-10 standout player for Ballaz as his influence was noticeable in every game his team played.
In the Under-12 final, Ballaz cruised past Florida Krause Krush 3-1with goals coming from Jacob Smith, Captain Jude Davis from the penalty spot and Joshua-Liam Hibbert before their opponents spoiled the clean sheet with a late consolation goal.
David ended the tournament with five goals.
But before they played the final, the Ballaz U12 team completed their first-round fixtures with a 3-0 win over Parkland Soccer Club. Malik Campbell, Joshua-Liam Hibbert and Shemar Cameron got the goals in that game.
Campbell prodded home the first before Hibbert blasted home the second to knock the wind out of their opponents. Cameron then scored with a long-range lofted drive to complete the scoring in the first half. It was their second win over Parkland.
After winning one game and losing the other on day one, the Under-11 team needed to win their final group game to make the final. They beat Springs Soccer Club 3-1 through two goals from Khyel Dale and one from Jacob Heron to be the third Ballaz team to play in a championship match.
But after making it all the way to the final, they fell at the final hurdle, losing 0-1 to Team Boca, the team to which they lost to in their first game of the tournament and by the same margin.
The Under-13 team were the only team that failed to make the final as they came up short on Sunday.
With one win from two games on Saturday, a win against FC Prime was needed to advance but they went down 1-2 to miss out on a chance at a medal. Jevon Richards got the consolation goal for the U-13 team.
It is no secret that Jamaica’s women put on an impressive show at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon in July.
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