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• T&T welcome Jamaica, SVG and Dominica for U-20 Women's Invitational football tourney

  Trinidad and Tobago is set to welcome regional rivals Dominica, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) for the third edition of the Jewels of the Caribbean Invitational Women’s Football tournament as they intensify their respective preparations for next year’s Concacaf Under-20 qualifiers.

  The tournament, scheduled for December 15-20, provides a platform for some of the Caribbean’s most promising under-20 female footballers to display their talents ahead of their 2025 campaigns.

  As host, the Twin Island Republic will participate with two teams, the Red Angels and the White Angels, coached by former senior internationals Ayanna Russell and Dernelle Mascall, respectively.

  Details of the event were revealed by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) on Wednesday.

  “The Jewels of the Caribbean Tournament is fast becoming a staple on the Caribbean football calendar, offering valuable competitive opportunities for women’s teams outside of Concacaf and Caribbean Football Union-organized events.

  “This year’s event is made possible through the backing of the NGO Female Forward, which played a key role in securing First Citizens Bank as the tournament's title sponsor. Additionally, FIFA has stepped in to assist participating associations by covering expenses such as accommodation, meals, and internal transport,” a release said.

  The action kicks off on December 15 with a double-header at the Larry Gomes Stadium. Jamaica and SVG will face off at 2:00pm, before the Red Angels and Dominica lock horns at 4:00pm.

  On Monday, the White Angels will open their account against SVG at 7:00pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium. The tournament will conclude with the final and the third-place playoff, both to be held at the Ato Boldon Stadium.

  TTFA president Kieron Edwards emphasized the broader significance of the tournament.

  “This tournament is a tremendous step forward for women’s football in our region...it underscores the TTFA’s commitment to elevating women’s football and providing opportunities for growth and development,” Edwards noted.

  The tournament marks the start of a busy period for Trinidad Tobago as their Under-20 team is grouped with Bermuda, Canada, and Dominica for the women’s qualifiers, scheduled for February 20-25.

  Meanwhile, the Under-17 women will compete against Belize, Honduras, and the US Virgin Islands in their qualifying group from January 27-February 1.

• ‘It’s not a boycott’: Greaves says BCA committed to West Indies cricket as Cameron also weighs in on CWI's governance reform standoff

  While describing the roadblock faced by Cricket West Indies (CWI) at a recent shareholders meeting as unfortunate, former president Dave Cameron also expressed skepticism about the feasibility of governance reform within CWI under the current structure.

  Cameron’s comments came as he weighed in on the absence of representatives from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) and Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), which halted progress on implementing recommendations from the 2020 Wehby report as a quorum was not met.

  The GCB and BCA subsequently stated their rejection of the Wehby report—drafted by Jamaican business mogul Don Wehby—and objection to CWI’s failure to facilitate a discussion on changing the system of appointing a president.

  “I wanted reform; some of us wanted reform, but how does that reform take shape, and how do you get the men in the room to vote themselves off the organisation with a different structure? That is the question, and I can see (current president) Kishore (Shallow) is still struggling with that to find the answer,” Cameron said on the Mason and Guest cricket radio show.

  Cameron also criticized the decision to call a meeting to vote on the Wehby report, given the resistance from key stakeholders.

  “If you realised you had such opposition, why would you make this a public situation? Continue to negotiate and discuss it, but don’t make it a public debate and call an AGM extraordinary meeting to get this done when you knew that shareholders were uncomfortable with the position. It’s a very, very unfortunate situation but a very difficult one to address,” he added.

  During the show, Pedro Greaves, a director of the BCA, offered a detailed explanation of his association’s reservations about the Wehby report. He revealed that the BCA had enlisted legal experts, including former Barbados Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, to evaluate the recommendations.

  “There are flaws in the assumptions of the Wehby report, which seeks to take away the ownership of the territorial boards and the voice of the territorial boards... removing CWI directors from advising the president when it goes to ICC meetings, etc. These are things that come out in the Wehby report,” Greaves explained.

  One of the BCA’s key concerns is the current system of electing the CWI president, which Greaves argued disrupts the governance of West Indies cricket.

  “What we are saying is that elections are hurting Cricket West Indies. When two parents are arguing, the children are who suffer. And in this case, the players are the ones that are suffering...when they see the various boards campaigning against each other...making promises, and it upsets the actual governance of West Indies cricket. So what we are saying is that we want to have a discussion,” he stated.

  Greaves pointed out that the BCA has proposed a rotation system for the presidency as an alternative, emphasizing that accountability should focus on the operational team rather than elected leadership.

  “Who the president or vice-president is should not really matter once we hold the operational team accountable for what is happening in Cricket West Indies, and that is what we have tabled and that is what we are asking for discussion,” Greaves declared.

  Despite the missed meeting, Greaves reiterated the BCA’s commitment to finding solutions for West Indies cricket, as he stressed that their actions were not a boycott but a call for meaningful dialogue.

  “We want to have a discussion, and if the vote then goes against what we are saying, then so be it. But we have not had the opportunity, having raised it at the last special AGM on March 23, 2024,” Greaves ended.

• Developing West Indies cricketers benefitting from Chennai training camp: "it's been good so far..."

   While the West Indies senior team engaged in a home series against Bangladesh, the next generation of batting talent have been undergoing a transformative two-week training program in Chennai, India. Organized at the Super Kings Academy, the camp featured promising players such as Jewel Andrew, Kirk McKenzie, Ackeem Auguste, Jordan Johnson, Matthew Nandu, Kevin Wickham, and Teddy Bishop. The program is being overseen by West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe, Under-19 coach Rohan Nurse, and Super Kings Academy’s Sriram Krishnamurthy.

   This initiative, inspired by the success of similar programs involving New Zealand cricketers Rachin Ravindra and Ben Sears, was designed to expose West Indies’ emerging talent to subcontinental conditions. Players practised on both red and black-soil pitches and faced a variety of spinners, including ambidextrous wrist-spinner Jhathavedh Subramanyan, who added a competitive edge to the matches.

   Ackeem Auguste, fresh off a CPL title win with the St. Lucia Kings, praised the camp for enhancing his adaptability. “It's been good so far in Chennai, trying to adapt to new surfaces and incorporate into my game,” Auguste told ESPN Cricinfo. “For both black and red clay, you need to come up with a game plan and try to stick to it as much as possible. Naturally, I sweep, so it comes naturally to me here too.”

   Auguste scored two impressive fifties during the camp’s two-day match but expressed disappointment at not converting them into centuries. “I should have probably tried to convert one, but if I was told I would have gotten these scores, then I would take it.”

   Kirk McKenzie, who made his Test debut against India in 2023, viewed the camp as an opportunity to refine his technique. “I’m here for the first time in India, so I’m trying to broaden my game and get used to the different surfaces here,” McKenzie explained. “The ball turns more in the subcontinent and there’s also uneven bounce. Probably in the future, if I have a Test tour here, this will be beneficial.”

   Ramesh Subasinghe highlighted the broader objectives of the camp, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions given the lack of robust player-development programs in the Caribbean. “For a smaller, financially constrained association, we need to be creative,” Subasinghe said. “We’ve also brought in the Under-19 coach (Nurse) who can share the information with other young players in the Caribbean. This camp is about identifying targeted players and exposing them to different learning environments.”

   With limited opportunities for ‘A’ team tournaments, this initiative represents a vital step in bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket for West Indies’ emerging players. By equipping them with the skills to tackle challenging conditions, the Chennai camp aims to nurture a generation of cricketers ready to succeed on the global stage.