Kieron Pollard will lead a powerful TT Red Force squad when the CG Insurance Super50 Cup bowls off in Antigua and Barbuda from February 7-27.

Pollard heads a seasoned squad of players that include the likes of Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and the hard-hitting Nicholas Pooran. Darren Bravo, who will form part of the strong squad will also serve as vice-captain for the team that were semi-finalists last time out.

The T&T selectors have also picked the experienced Jason Mohammed, who is on West Indies duty in Bangladesh as well as former West Indies representatives Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin and Ravi Rampaul.

Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, opener Kjorn Ottley, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales are also in line to represent the team from the twin-island republic that on paper should start as favourites to win the shortened version of the competition in 2021.

The full squad reads: Kieron Pollard (captain), Darren Bravo (vice-captain), Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Jason Mohammed, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Imran Khan, Akeal Hosein, Ravi Rampaul, Jayden Seales, Kjorn Ottley, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre.

Inter Miami have confirmed the appointment of former England Women boss Phil Neville as their new head coach.

Neville is heading to the United States to continue his coaching career, joining up with ex-Manchester United team-mate David Beckham at the MLS franchise.

Previous coach Diego Alonso left after taking charge for the team's inaugural season; they finished 10th in the Eastern Conference before losing to Nashville in the play-in round of the playoffs.

As well as bringing in Neville, Inter Miami have also announced Chris Henderson as their new chief soccer officer and sporting director.

"I am incredibly delighted for this opportunity to coach Inter Miami and to work with Chris and the entire ownership group," said Neville, who can start his new job once he receives a work visa.

"This is a very young club with a lot of promise and upside, and I am committed to challenging myself, my players and everyone around me to grow and build a competitive soccer culture we can all be proud of.

"This fantastic soccer-loving market deserves consistent performances and a winning mentality, and I look forward to getting to work."

The Football Association (FA) confirmed earlier on Monday that Neville had stood down from his England post with immediate effect.

Co-owner Beckham believes Neville's experiences as both a player and a coach can help Inter Miami to success on the field, describing his long-time friend as a "natural leader".

"I have known Phil since we were both teenagers at the Manchester United academy. We share a footballing DNA having been trained by some of the best leaders in the game, and it's those values that I have always wanted running through our club," he said in a statement.

"Phil has deep experience in football, as a player and as a coach at both club and international level, and over his career he has worked with many of the finest managers and players in the game.

"I know his qualities as a person, his decency, loyalty and honesty - and his incredible energy and work ethic. Anyone who has played or worked with Phil knows he is a natural leader, and I believe now is the right time for him to join."

Voting statutes under review at JFF

The issue regarding the number of delegates who vote at the Congress of the Jamaica Football Federation is under review for change, according to President the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts.

Ricketts was speaking at the Annual General Meeting held in St Mary last Saturday. “We have begun work on the revision of the statutes under the guidance of FIFA,” Ricketts said.

Discussions surrounding the issue began with a FIFA representative who visited the island in 2020.

Since then, FIFA has sent some proposals that are being examined by a task force that was established by the Board (JFF) and which has provided responses to FIFA. “This is a process that you as a delegate and the broader football fraternity will be actively involved in as decision-makers,” Ricketts said.

“I want to re-assure and commit that in the coming period through all means available to us, face to face, through town-hall meetings or virtually, stakeholders will be part of the process of discussion before the final decision at congress.”

There are a number of best practices that will be part of the process of the review.

Ricketts said a review of the definition of memberships with the aim of widening and deepening the current membership structure is taking place.  “The representation here at our annual general meeting as well as voting rights at Congress could change based on best practices,” Ricketts stated.

The change, to reduce the delegates from over 130 to the existing 13 was made under former president the late Captain Horace Burrell.

Mr. Ricketts also said that the ongoing review and consultation involves term limits.

The Jamaica Football Federation has managed to slash a sizeable portion of its JMD$300m debt as of the end of 2020, President Michael Ricketts announced at the federation’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday.

According to the beleaguered president, the JFF has managed to slash its debt to JMD$238 million.

“We have worked diligently to cut costs wherever we can even with limited sponsorship,” he said. “This year will be particularly challenging as we have the World Cup qualifiers to fund.”

Ricketts pointed to some of the positives that have taken place recently under his watch and explained why the country’s football is headed in the right direction, even in the face of a pandemic. He was particularly happy that the wheels are in motion to get local players on the field of play.

“We are very happy that just Wednesday of this week the Ministry of Culture, Entertainment and Sports announced that arising out of discussions with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Technical teams from both ministries will begin a series of meetings with the sporting associations regarding the resumption of some of their activities,” Ricketts said.

“I, therefore, use the opportunity to advise you that as per this communication, all requests for training and competitions or events must be submitted to the Ministry of Sports.

He reiterated that clubs, affiliates and event organisers must submit any request through the JFF. “The JFF has been very deliberate in working positively with the ministries and meeting the requirements to ensure that football returns as soon as it is possible to do so,” he said.

 “We intend in these discussions to not only discuss the Premier League but all competitions at the parish level including youth and women’s football.”

The football president was happy with the progress made by the Premier League Interim Committee (PLJIC), a body which he commissioned at the start of 2020.

“We asked the President of the Jamaica Olympic Association, Mr Christopher Samuda to chair this committee and we invited members of the Premier League clubs; representatives of the JFF board and some independent persons to sit on this committee. The mandate was to review the existing commercial, operational and governance structures, policies and arrangements of the National Premier League (NPL) and recommend proposals for the improvement of these structures, policies and arrangements and prepare a three-year business plan covering 2020/21 through 2022/23 seasons.”

This body represents the single most fundamental game-changer in the sports and we are already seeing the outcomes.

He pointed to the formation of the new entity called Professional Football Jamaica Limited which was formed to initially drive the commercialization of the league and overtime all professional competitions. Over $100 million dollars in sponsorships and partnerships have been garnered over the last three months.

Ricketts pointed out that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the PFJL and the JFF which outlines the relationships between the two bodies and clearly states the responsibility between both. Under the MOU, the JFF retains responsibility for operations and regulations of the league.

Darren Sammy is looking to enjoy the sweet smell of success in the near future following the signing of a new licensing agreement with Asgharali, a Bahrain-based fragrance company that has been in operation for more than 100 years.

Steven Gardiner and Tynia Gaither of the Bahamas had podium finishes at the UAB Blazer Invite in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday.

Emerging sprinter Kiara Grant of Norfolk State University and Ackera Nugent of Baylor were among several Jamaicans who produced top NCAA performances between Friday and Saturday as the collegiate indoor circuit unfolded in earnest in the United States.

West Indies vice-captain for the One Day International (ODI) team Sunil Ambris is hoping to stake his claim for a regular place in the first-team squad, by scoring at least one 100 in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.

The 27-year-old Ambris was among several players unexpectedly named to the West Indies squad for the tour after 12 first-team players made themselves unavailable for the tour.  Prior to that Ambris had last played for the team in February of last year, on the team’s tour of Sri Lanka.  On that occasion, the player averaged 26 in three matches.  He was not selected to the team for either of the team’s previous tours to England or New Zealand.

Ambris, in addition to providing support for less experienced players on the tour, hopes to push himself back in the conversation for regular selection.

“This is the first tour that I’m actually confident that I will be starting.  So, I would like to use this tour to cement myself in the starting 11 for other tours,” Ambris told members of the media via an online press conference on Friday.

“I’d love to get at least one hundred out of these three games, I think that would do me a lot of good,” he added.

Windies batsman, Andre Fletcher, has pointed to a call from legendary batsman Brian Lara as pivotal in helping to turn around his form in this season’s Big Bash League (BBL).

On Thursday, Fletcher smashed a brutal 89 for just 49 balls to underpin the Melbourne Stars massive 111 run win over Adelaide Strikers.  The knock was timely for Fletcher as he had not passed 18 in his first nine BBL encounters.

The 33-year-old had previously also performed below expectations in a low-scoring Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he scored 211 from 12 games despite his team St Lucia Zouks making it to the final.  As it turns out, it was a call from the legendary West Indian batsman, who is on commentary duty at the BBL, which proved critical in helping Fletcher turn around that recent run of bad form.

"He called me, and I was surprised, to be honest," Fletcher said following his explosive performance.

"He was telling me that, looking from the outside, I've been striking the ball cleanly and he just told me to give myself that opportunity. Giving myself that chance and playing each ball on its merits,” he added.

"I'm an aggressive player so there's no need to go out there and look to [over] power the ball. To be honest, that's what I did today.

"I've met him before. He's a great guy. I told him over the phone, after what he told me I was like, 'So Brian, now I understand the reason you were so great'.

"He told me, feel free to call him any time I wish to, he's there, he's open for anything and willing to give me advice."

Former West Indies fast bowler, Tony Gray, believes it is a mistake for selectors to get caught up with selecting teams based on conditions.

Recently, Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief of selectors Roger Harper set off a firestorm with an explanation that promising fast bowler Chemar Holder had been left out of the Test squad for the Bangladesh tour, in order to include an extra spinner to exploit conditions.

For some, the decision was all the more vexing considering the absence of Jason Holder, who was typically part and parcel of a four-prong pace bowling attack, and Chemar Holder’s promising debut in New Zealand where he took two wickets in trying circumstances.

For his part, in addition to pointing out that Bangladesh were exceptional at handling spin, Gray pointed to the fact that a multitude of pace bowlers had done well on Asian pitches for several decades.

“I think that they (selectors) are fixated on the conditions, you cannot be fixated on the conditions,” Gray told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“I played my first Test series in Pakistan and I got 14 wickets in three games.  You want the mindset to be there.  If you are telling a young fast bowler, for example, who can bowl some 90 miles an hour deliveries, that you are not going to perform well because of bowling conditions that are not really suited to your pace and your style of bowling, then you are doing the wrong thing,” he added.

“So, I think they have been fixated on conditions and there are other things to take note of for example the strengths of the opposition, the Bangladeshis are very adept at playing spin bowling.”

Windies fast bowling legend Sir Andy Roberts has hailed current West Indies captain Jason Holder as an excellent cricketer but concedes aspects of his captaincy could use a bit of work.

Roberts believes that, in particular, the all-rounder still struggles with the setting of his field and making key leadership decisions at crucial times.

Holder’s captaincy has come under the microscope in recent months, on the back of disappointing results and underwhelming performances by the team against both England and New Zealand.  The issues disgruntled pundits have pointed out have had to do with the his field placings and decisions whether to bat or bowl after winning the toss.

“I think Jason Holder as a captain on the field is lost. I don’t think he is aware of what is going on on the field because if I win a toss as a captain and before lunch on a green top pitch I am having a man on the point boundary, then I am lost,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest radio program.

“That’s the first thing. His field placing (leaves) a lot to be desired and I believe the time should come where he takes instructions from the coaches who can see the game better than he can,” he added.

Roberts, however, also believes Holder has been let down by players around him, while also calling on the all-rounder to be more aggressive.

“A captain is only as good as the men who he leads, so there has to be something wrong with the 11 guys on the field and cannot pinpoint certain things to the captain,” Roberts said.

“I would give him an ‘A’ grade for his interviews – he interviews very well. He’s a damn good cricketer but he needs to be more aggressive in his approach as a captain. He’s too defensive-minded.”

West Indies legend Sir Andy Roberts insists the region’s fall off in producing top-class bowling talent is due to the unwillingness of the current generation to put in the hard yards required to be successful.

For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about.  The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.

Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.

“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.

“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs.  I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.

In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.

“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world.  How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.

 “People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth.  We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region.  It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”