West Indies Women and New Zealand head into Sunday’s T20 International locked on 1-1 after the visitors pulled off a thriller to win the second T20 International by six wickets, with one ball remaining, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first, the West Indies had a difficult time scoring going as New Zealand bowlers were much more consistent in their line and length.
Skipper Hayley Matthews struck one boundary on her way to eight off 13 balls before she had a big nick behind to keeper Izzy Gaze of Hayley Jensen. Also, Aaliyah Alleyne, who punished the White Ferns bowlers in the first match, struggled to get going.
Eden Carson who replaced Lea Tahuhu in the White Ferns team, had Alleyne caught for 13 which came off 19 balls.
Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry struck up a 31-run partnership when the home side needed it the most. Knight fell eight runs short of a half-century, making 42, which included five fours.
Henry, meanwhile, made 24 off 22 balls with two fours and a six and included 18 runs from the last over which helped West Indies Women to 107-5.
Jensen was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand, finishing with figures of 4-0-24-3, followed by Eden Carson with 4-0-12-2.
In reply, Suzie Bates smacked six fours on her way to 54 off 61 balls and was well supported by Amelia Kerr with 21 from 25 balls. The visitors looked set for victory before two wickets from Cherry-Ann Fraser in the 18th over, swung the match back in favour of the West Indies.
However, the 19th over went for 10 runs which meant New Zealand needed seven runs in the last over, which they achieved with one ball to spare.
Fraser had the best bowling figures, finishing with 2.5-0-13-1. Off-spinner Karishma Ramharack 4-0-23-1.
“I got a promotion to bat at (number) three, so my role was to bat as deep as possible,” Knight explained afterwards.
“My plan was to back myself and to rotate the strike for the hitters and help get the team to a decent total. It was extremely hot there today, probably one of the hottest we’ve experienced so far, and the ball was holding on the pitch more than usual, so that made batting a bit tricky. We’re looking forward to regrouping and coming back for the third match.”
The two teams will return to the same venue on Sunday for the third T20I in the five-match series. The first ball is at 1:30 pm Eastern Caribbean/12:30 pm Jamaica time.
LA Galaxy clinched their first playoff berth since 2019 after Javier Hernandez earned them a late penalty to secure a 1-1 draw away to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
Douglas Costa converted the 68th-minute penalty won by Hernandez, after Riqui Puig had his 17th-minute spotkick saved by RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath.
RSL had gone ahead in the 25th minute from Sergio Cordova's header, but were left to lament Justen Glad failing to convert two late golden opportunities from headers, denting their playoff hopes and extending their winless run to five games.
Ex-Manchester United forward Hernandez earned Galaxy's reprieve after review when bundled over by Marcelo Silva inside the box, with Costa sending MacMath the wrong way.
The draw was enough for the Galaxy, who are perched fourth in the Western Conference with 47 points from 33 games, with RSL sitting eighth, just outside the playoff spots, with 44 points from 33 games.
Derrick Etienne scored two late goals against his former side to earn Columbus Crew a 2-1 win over New York Red Bulls, who suffered their third defeat in four games.
Etienne equalized Franuel Amaya's 53rd-minute thunderbolt with an 89th-minute strike on the turn, before grabbing a 93rd-minute winner by lashing home a rebound.
Philadelphia Union handed the initiative to LAFC in the Supporters' Shield hunt after being thrashed 4-0 by Charlotte, for whom Daniel Rios netted four goals, achieving a franchise-first hat-trick.
The defeat means Philadelphia have failed to win in their past two games, leaving them on 64 points from 33 games, while LAFC have the same number of points with two games to play, starting with Portland Timbers on Sunday.
Donovan Pines scored an own goal and was red carded as DC United lost 1-0 to Montreal, who closed within two points of Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia with one game to play.
Sergio Santos was sent off amid a late scuffle as Cincinnati missed a chance to practically clinch a playoff spot with a 3-2 home loss to Chicago Fire. Cincinnati fought back from 3-0 down after Jhon Duran's double for Chicago.
Minnesota United's winless run extended to six games after going down 2-0 to San Jose Earthquakes, leaving them in a precarious position in the race to qualify for the Western Conference playoffs.
Vancouver Whitecaps capitalized on Minnesota and RSL's results and beat Austin 2-0 to keep alive their playoff hopes with their third straight victory. The Whitecaps are ninth in the west with 43 points with one game to play, with seventh-placed Minnesota on 45 and RSL on 44.
Josef Martinez scored a spectacular scissor-kick goal but Atlanta United went down 2-1 to New England, while playoff-bound Dallas lost 1-0 at Colorado Rapids.
Jamaica Tallawahs skipper Rovman Powell has revealed that the team drew motivation from what they regarded as an overall lack of respect for their ability.
Not many would have had the Tallawahs as favourites to claim the Caribbean Premier League title, particularly after a mid-tournament slump that saw them win just two of seven games. On Friday, the Jamaica-based franchise proved their doubters wrong, however, after securing an 8-wicket win over the Barbados Royals.
The Royals, on the other hand, were the team of the tournament after winning 8 of 10 matches before automatically advancing to the final. According to Powell, proving critics wrong was one of the team’s major motivations.
"Adjectives cannot describe how I feel right now. We endured a lot of disrespect throughout the tournament so to be here now is amazing. We used the disrespect that we endured as motivation. We were hungry,” Powell said, following the match.
“The guys were very hungry. I told them to hang in and that we have a lot of batters and we can get it. The first 100 that Brandon scored, it was in a losing cause and so the guys felt really hurt that it was in a losing cause but we told the guys that's what big boy cricket is about,” he added.
"So, to see Brooks score a 100 the other night in a win was special. I've captained a few teams and franchises before I captained Jamaica so I've been learning. Sometimes I feel down and out because I'm human, but my family rallied around me. I wanna say a special thanks to the Guyanese supporters.”
West Indies bowling legend and Jamaica Tallawahs coach Curtley Ambrose admits to taking special pride and pleasure in lifting the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) crown on Friday because of the team's status as underdogs.
The Jamaica-based franchise lifted the third title in its history and first in six years following a dominant 8-wicket win over the more heavily favoured Barbados Royals. Heading into the final, the Royals were the league’s hottest team having lost just two of 10 games.
The Tallawahs on the other hand, who are conditioned by Ambrose and another Windies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, in the meantime, finished in the final qualifying spot. At one point during the season, the Tallawahs lost 5 of 7 games.
“This means a lot as a group we came into the tournament as underdogs. Not many gave us a chance to come out of the first round, let alone win it,” Ambrose said, following the team’s triumph.
“I haven’t sprinted for years and I found myself sprinting onto the field. It was a wonderful performance thought and we were deserving winners,” he added.
“The thing about the Tallawahs is that we didn’t really on just one or two players. At any given time, any player can step up. We have depth in our batting, we have good bowling. We stuck together as a family and we believed from day 1 that we could have won this championship and we did.”
Correction: The original story claimed that the Jamaica Tallawahs won its fourth CPL title on Friday, September 30 and it's first in four years. That was incorrect. The Tallawahs had previously won two titles (2013 and 2016). So the 2022 title was its first in six years. Sportsmax.TV apologises for the error.
Jamaica Tallawahs became 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) champions on Friday with an eight-wicket win over the Barbados Royals at Providence Stadium, Guyana Friday night.
Barbados Royals had won the toss and chose to bat, with Rahkeem Cornwall and Kyle Mayers getting them off to a blistering start, combining to score 63 runs in the powerplay. However, Fabian Allen would remove both openers to bring the Tallawahs back into the game, before Azam Khan would continue his fine form with the bat to take the Royals to 161-7.
In response, Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks would produce an 86-run partnership that frustrated the Royals' bowling attack. Despite Jason Holder taking the wicket of Brooks, King would lead the rest of the chase as he scored a magnificent 83 runs from 50 balls to see the franchise win their third Hero CPL title.
Barbados Royals had chosen to bat with the aim of setting an imposing total, Cornwall and Mayers combining well to build an excellent foundation. Once Allen had removed them both with his spin bowling, the run rate slowed down as the Tallawahs wrestled back control of the game. However, Khan, who came in at number three, would bat until the 19th over, scoring his second successive half-century to help the Royals reach 161-7 after 20 overs.
Jamaica Tallawahs suffered an early setback in their chase as opener Kennar Lewis lost his wicket for a duck, but King and Brooks would rebuild at a steady run rate.
Once Brooks lost his wicket in the 11th over, King would shoulder the responsibility of finishing the chase, hitting 15 boundaries in total. In the end, King would take his side to victory with a six, sparking celebrations from Jamaica Tallawahs players, staff and fans.
Scores: Jamaica Tallawahs 162-2 (King 83*, Brooks 47; Mayers 1-14, Holder 1-14) beat Barbados Royals 161-7 (Khan 51, Cornwall 36; Allen 3-24, Gordon 3-33) by 8 wickets.
The Jamaica Tallawahs pulled off an emphatic eight-wicket victory over the Barbados Royals in the final of the 2022 Hero CPL final at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday night.
Chasing 161-7 set by the Barbados Royals, the Tallawahs achieved the target with 23 balls to spare, ending on 162-2.
Brandon King was unbeaten on 83 after hitting the winning six off Obed McCoy to seal the third CPL title for the Jamaica-based franchise.
Captain Rovman Powell was unbeaten on 14 at the other end.
Scores: Barbados Royals 161-7; Jamaica Tallawahs 162-2.
More to come…
Concacaf has conducted the official draw for the 2023 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Championship (CU17C).
The World Cup qualifying competition will take place February 11 - 26, 2023, in Guatemala, and will include the participation of 20 Concacaf Member Associations.
During Thursday’s draw, hosted at the Confederations Headquarters, in Miami, FL, the 16 nations participating in the 2023 CU17C group stage (all ranked 16 or better in the Concacaf Men’s U-17 Ranking) were divided into four groups of four teams each.
The groups are as follows:
Group E: Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Curacao
Group F: USA, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados
Group G: Costa Rica, Jamaica, Cuba, Guadeloupe
Group H: Honduras, Haiti, El Salvador, Suriname
After group stage play, the top three nations in each group will advance to the knockout stage, joining the four 2022 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers (CU17Q) group winners; Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico.
The four-round knockout stage (round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final) will be played in a single-match elimination format and the four semifinalists will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Peru 2023.
Matches will be divided across two venues, the Estadio Nacional Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City and the Estadio Pensativo in Antigua.
The competition’s match schedule will be announced at a later date
Johnson Charles of the St Lucia Kings and Kyle Mayers of the Barbados Royals were among the 12-man 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament released on Friday. Noticeably absent, however, is Brandon King of the Jamaica Tallawahs, who is the second highest run-scorer in the tournament and one of only three men who have scored hundreds in this year’s tournament.
The team that was picked by the Hero CPL commentary team – Ian Bishop, Samuel Badree, Daren Ganga, Simon Doull and Danny Morrison, also includes South Africa’s Faf Du Plessis, who captained the Kings and Tallawahs’ captain Rovman Powell.
In fact, players from the Kings and Tallawahs dominated the selection with only Sunil Narine of four-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders among the selectees while other than Mayers, only Jason Holder was selected among the 11 from the Barbados Royals.
However, the selection panel picked the Royals’ Ramon Simmonds as the 12th man as a result of his impressive performances throughout the tournament.
Simmonds is one of the 12 emerging players in the Hero CPL squads and has been an important part of the Barbados Royals team in 2022.
The 2022 Hero CPL Team of the Tournament: Johnson Charles (Saint Lucia Kings), Kyle Mayers (Barbados Royals), Faf Du Plessis (Saint Lucia Kings), Rovman Powell (Jamaica Tallawahs), Raymon Reifer (Jamaica Tallawahs), Imad Wasim (Jamaica Tallawahs), Jason Holder (Barbados Royals), David Wiese (Saint Lucia Kings), Alzarri Joseph (Saint Lucia Kings), Mohammad Amir (Jamaica Tallawahs) Sunil Narine (Trinbago Knight Riders) and 12th man – Ramon Simmonds (Barbados Royals).
Legendary Guyanese World Cup-winning captain Sir Clive Lloyd has praised the level of cricket in the ongoing 2022 Caribbean Premier League.
Lloyd, who led the West Indies to consecutive World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979, worked as a mentor for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, who lost to the Jamaica Tallawahs in qualifier 2 on Wednesday, throughout the season.
“It’s a mentoring role and I’m quite happy. I get to have a lot of chats with the young guys and so on,” said Lloyd on the Mason & Guest radio show on Tuesday.
From an individual perspective, “not many new names” was Lloyd’s response when asked about any standouts from this year’s edition. “The people that are making runs and taking wickets are established players,” he added before praising the overall level of cricket on display as well as the curators for the quality of the pitches being used.
“I think it has been quite good. We had quite a few good games in Guyana. I must commend the curators for the work they’ve put in on the pitches, they’ve played very well. The wickets have been good for stroke-play and the crowds have enjoyed it as well.”
“It’s been quite exciting and I’m sure that, in the future, it will continue to be that way,” he added.
Finally, when asked about advice he’d give to current West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup, Lloyd was brief saying “I'm hoping that this captaincy thing is not restricting his play with the bat because he’s a real talent. Hopefully, he'll come good on those harder pitches.”
Twenty-two (22) of the best Under-19 women’s players from across the West Indies have been shortlisted as a provisional pool from which the West Indies squad for the ICC Women’s U19 Cricket World Cup, South Africa 2023 will be selected.
All six Regional Under-19 teams returned to competition in the West Indies Rising Stars Women’s U19 Championship held in Trinidad in July, following two years without any regional age-group cricket due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following the tournament, fifteen (15) of the twenty-two (22) players identified, played a historic five-match U19 T20 International (T20I) series against the USA at the Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida in August.
The CWI Selection Panel had the opportunity to see the team at play for the first time and despite the 4-1 loss to the USA, were pleased with the opportunity for West Indies Women’s Under 19 players to get international match experience and for the Panel to better understand the talent within the group. This team is historical, as it is the first ever West Indies Under-19 Women's team.
CWI’s Lead Selector for Women’s cricket, Ann Browne-John said: “The Rising Stars Under 19 tournament saw a welcome return to competition for young women in the region. Following the tournament, these twenty-two (22) players have been shortlisted to prepare for the World Cup in January in South Africa, as well as some additional preparation matches. After the long pandemic disruption, it was refreshing for the selectors to see some new talent which augers well for future development. This pool, apart from World Cup participation, can also serve as a feeder for the senior team. It contains a great mix of players both right and left-handed and a variety of up-and-coming bowlers.”
The Rising Stars age-group tournaments within CWI’s Future Stars programme play a crucial role in the growth and development of the next generation of cricketers in the region. These tournaments are a key component in the system for identifying the West Indies U19 Men’s and Women’s teams. This provides the best opportunity for our most talented players to thrive and develop further with the goal of ultimately feeding into the West Indies Senior Men’s and Women’s teams.
One of the players shortlisted is opening right-handed batter and captain of Trinidad and Tobago women’s U19 team, Shalini Samaroo. Samaroo was part of the squad to play in the five-match T20I Series in Florida and she emerged as the Player of the Series. Speaking to CWI Media, Samaroo said, “It was a dream come through to be selected to play for the West Indies, because it was one of my goals as a cricketer to be able to wear the Maroon colours.”
Samaroo added, “It was a learning experience for me, new coaches, new teammates, understanding different personalities and abilities. I am happy that we got to play in the Rising Stars tournament again after the delay due to COVID-19. We have all been working hard on our games waiting for this tournament to put our skills on show to the selectors and coaches and I am happy that I was one of the twenty-two to be selected as the best Under-19 women cricketers in the region.”
The West Indies Rising Stars Women’s Under 19 team are due to have a training camp and trial matches in Trinidad in October, before playing an away series against India in November as part of the preparation plans for the ICC Women’s U19 World Cup South Africa in January 2023.
PROVISIONAL WEST INDIES WOMEN’S U19 PLAYER POOL
Kyle Myers intends to come good with the bat to spur the Barbados Royals to their third title when the 2022 Hero CPL final gets underway at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Friday night.
Jamaica Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake admits to enjoying the encounter against top team Argentina and football great Lionel Messi, despite coming away on the other side of a 3-0 defeat.
After starting the game on the bench, Messi's introduction blew things wide open for La Albiceleste who had already taken a 1-0 lead in the first half courtesy of Julian Alvarez’s 13th-minute strike.
With only 10-minutes to go the Jamaicans seemed set to end their third straight encounter against the South Americans within a one-goal margin, but Messi had other ideas.
Blake initially foiled Messi twice but could not do much against the Paris Saint Germain midfielder’s blast from the top of the area in the 86th minute or his crafty free-kick three minutes later.
It’s a world-class team that’s the easiest way to put it. It’s a different ballgame. The quality of play and the speed of play, everything is a different level. But I enjoyed every moment of it, and it was a great experience,” Blake told the Philadelphia Enquirer.
“He’s the best in the world,” Blake said in his assessment of Messi.
“I wish I was able to make those saves, but world-class players do world-class things. … it was definitely an honour and a moment I’ll cherish forever — not the moment that he scored, but being able to play against him and save a few of his shots.”
Dinthill Technical hammered Ewarton 10-0 at home to maintain their perfect run in the ISSA/Digicel daCosta Cup on Wednesday.
Dinthill now have six wins from six games and lead Zone K with 18 points, three more than Charlemont who secured their own home win, 3-1 over Enid Bennett. McGrath are third on 12 points thanks to a 5-1 win over Guys Hill at Tacky High.
Paul Bogle High joined Dinthill in the unbeaten club thanks to a massive 12-0 hammering of Robert Lightbourne at home. They also have a perfect 18 points from six outings in Zone L. Yallahs are a distant second on 10 points after a 1-1 home draw with Seaforth while St. Thomas Tech and Morant Bay played out a 2-2 draw at the Eastern Banana Complex.
STETHS have played one less match than Dinthill and Paul Bogle but also have a 100% record in Zone E after a 2-0 win over Lacovia at Lacovia. Munro College are second on 10 points but lost ground on the leaders after suffering an 0-1 defeat at the hands of B.B Coke. Sydney Pagon lost 1-2 to Maggotty at home in Zone E’s other clash.
Manning’s got their fifth win in as many games, a 3-1 home win over Grange Hill, to remain at the top of Zone D. Petersfield, second with 10 points, played out a 0-0 draw with Belmont Academy while, on Tuesday, Godfrey Stewart beat Black River 1-0 at home.
Manchester leads Zone F with 10 points from four games after a 2-2 draw with DeCarteret College at DeCarteret. Bellefield made up ground and now only trail Manchester by three points after a 3-0 win over May Day at home while Belair are third with six points after a 3-0 win over Mt. St. Joseph at home.
Zone B saw Merlene Ottey suffer a 1-3 home loss to Green Island. On Tuesday, Frome secured a 3-0 over previously unbeaten Rusea’s to take over top spot with nine points from three games and a goal difference 19, six more than Rusea’s who also have nine points.
Browns Town beat Ocho Rios 2-0 in the lone Zone I fixture on Wednesday.
Tacky High took over top spot in Zone J with a 3-1 win over St. Mary High at the Highgate Community Centre to move to 11 points from five games, three more than Horace Clarke who have played one game less. Annotto Bay and St. Mary Tech played out a 2-2 draw at Westmoreland Oval in the other Zone J game.
In other Tuesday results, Irwin beat Cornwall College 2-1 to move to four wins from four games to lead Zone A ahead of Green Pond, who now have seven points from four matches after a 1-1 draw over St. James. Maldon beat Anchovy 4-1 in the other Zone A game. Cornwall currently sit third with six points from their four encounters.
William Knibb maintained their perfect record in Zone C with a comprehensive 10-0 over Herbert Morrison to move to nine points from three games. Joining them with nine points from three games was Cedric Titus who beat Spot Valley 2-1.
Rovman Powell said it would mean the world to him should he lead the Jamaica Tallawahs to the 2022 Hero CPL title when they take on the Barbados Royals in the finals at Providence, Guyana on Friday night.
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
