Jamaica assistant coach Nikita Miller insists the team can afford to take nothing for granted when they face Trinidad and Tobago, in the final of the CGI Insurance Super50 Cup, on Saturday.

The Jamaicans will be looking to claim their first title since 2012 and should enter the match with some confidence after a strong batting performance against Guyana on Thursday, in the semi-finals,  and four straight wins.

Miller knows, however, that the challenge will be different against an in-form Trinidad and Tobago who have lost just once this season.

“We will have to plan for Trinidad’s game differently.  We have gone to a couple of their games and looked at some footage and we'll plan our approach,” Miller said ahead of the game.

Trinidad and Tobago were the zone A winners after finishing ahead of Guyana, while Jamaica won zone B ahead of the Leeward Islands.

“We’re looking forward to it we are not going into that game overconfident.  We know that they are playing good cricket and they know that we are playing good cricket as well,” Miller added.

The Jamaicans managed to defeat Trinidad and Tobago in the final the last time they won the trophy.   

The Guyana Harpy Eagles became the first team to advance to the semi-finals of the 2022 CG Insurance Super50 Cup when they defeated the Combined Campuses and Colleges by 129 runs at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad & Tobago on Saturday.

 The Harpy Eagles were bowled out for a formidable 266 in 47.3 overs thanks to an 88-ball 75 from Tevin Imlach including only one four and two sixes.

Opener Kemol Savory also got a half-century with 69 and Kevin Sinclair contributed 27.

Matthew Forde (2-41 from nine overs), Amari Goodridge (2-55 from 9.3 overs), Romario Greaves (2-65 from 10 overs) and Isaiah Ali (2-39 from nine overs) were the wicket-takers for the CCC.

In reply, only former West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin (32 not out) and opener Kirstan Kallicharan (32) were able to provide any resistance for the CCC as they were bowled out for 137 in just 36.1 overs.

Kevin Sinclair completed a solid all-round performance with 3-26 from his 10 overs while Nial Smith took 3-21 from 6.1. Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd took two wickets each.

Guyana finished Zone A with 16 points from their six outings and will be joined in the last four by the winner of the ongoing game between the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force and the Windward Islands Volcanoes.

Seasoned sports administrator Keith Joseph of the St Vincent and the Grenadines is the new president of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC). Joseph won comfortably over his Jamaican challenger Christopher Samuda by a count of 17-9, successfully replacing former president Brian Lewis.

Joseph earned the majority of votes on the second and final day of the XX CANOC General Assembly, attended by 26 of the 30 member National Olympic Committees (NOC's) and Commonwealth Games Federations (CFG's) in Trinidad and Tobago from November 4-5.

Joseph campaigned on a record of achievement of the last CANOC executive, in which he served as the secretary general. The highlight of the last term was the successful staging of the 2022 Caribbean Games in Guadeloupe, which returned to the sports calendar after a 13-year hiatus.

Meanwhile, Lewis himself got the nod from the membership to serve as the secretary general by a vote of 14-12 over Antigua and Barbuda’s Cliff Williams. The Virgin Islands’ John Abramson conceded the post of first vice president to the Cayman Islands’ Carson Ebanks by a vote of 16-10 while Ytannia Wiggins of Barbados (18) and Guadeloupe’s Alain Soreze (19) retained positions as executive member.

Edith Cox was returned unopposed as treasurer.

The Joesph-led administration will appoint a second vice-president as the post was not filled via nominations.

The Trinidad & Tobago Red Force rebounded from a loss against the Guyana Harpy Eagles with a seven-wicket win over the Windward Islands Volcanoes in their CG Insurance Super50 Cup fixture at the Queens Park Oval on Saturday.

The Volcanoes were restricted to 189 all out in 47 overs after winning the toss and choosing to bat.

Kavem Hodge followed up his hundred against the CCC with a top-score of 39 while Tevyn Walcott made 36 against Yannic Cariah’s 3-34 from 10 overs. Shannon Gabriel and Terrance Hinds took two wickets each in support.

The Red Force chase was a simple one thanks to an excellent 88-ball 66 from Joshua Da Silva including six fours and one six. Opener Kjorn Ottley continued his good form this season with 36 while captain Nicholas Pooran and Darren Bravo finished not out on 36 and 27, respectively as the Red Force ended 195-3 off 43 overs.

Dominican left-hander Alick Athanaze struck a brilliant 133 to help the Windward Islands secure a 28-run victory over the Guyana Harpy Eagles in the CG Insurance Super50 Cup at the Queens Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Monday.

The Harpy Eagles won the toss and elected to field, quickly regretting that decision as Windward Islands openers Athanaze and Johnson Charles put on 119 before Charles became Gudakesh Motie’s first wicket for a 63-ball 64 in the 23^rd over.

Athanaze then belted the bowling all over the Queens Park Oval, putting on a further 127 for the second wicket with Kavem Hodge. In the process, Athanaze brought up his maiden List A hundred, eventually being dismissed for 133 in the 43^rd over with the score on 246. His century included 12 fours and four sixes and came off 140 deliveries.

Hodge (42) and captain Andre Fletcher (8) were the other batsmen dismissed as the Windwards were able to post an excellent 296-4 off their 50 overs. Motie took 2-57 for Guyana.

In their reply, Guyana got contributions from most of their batsmen but it wasn’t enough in the end. Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul, recently called up to the West Indies Test squad for the first time, was the chief scorer with a 47-ball 48 including six fours.

Contributions from Anthony Bramble (18), Leon Johnson (22), Sherfane Rutherford (28) and Kevin Sinclair (33) meant that after 40.1 overs, Guyana found themselves 220-9 needing 77 runs from 59 balls for victory.

The final pair of Gudakesh Motie and Veerasammy Permaul put up a valiant effort with a partnership of 48 before Permaul’s dismissal for 28 meant the Harpy Eagles were bowled out for 268 in 46.4 overs, giving the Windwards the 28-run win. Motie finished 31 not out off 27 balls. Shadrack Descarte took 3-41 off eight overs while Ryan John and Kenneth Dember took 2-54 and 2-46, respectively.

Jamaica’s Christopher Samuda and St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Keith Joseph are the two candidates for the presidency of the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) when the organization meets for its 20^th General Assembly November 4-5 at the Hyatt Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

The elections will serve to select the members of the CANOC Executive Committee for the quadrennial period, 2022-2026 following Day 1 of the ninth CANOC workshop.

Samuda, who is president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) or Joseph, the General Secretary of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Olympic Committee, will replace the incumbent Brian Lewis of Trinidad and Tobago who will be going up against Antigua and Barbuda’s Cliff Williams for the position of CANOC Secretary General.

Meantime, vying for the post of vice-president are John Abramson of the US Virgin Islands and Carson Ebanks of the Cayman Islands.

Edith Cox of the Turks and Caicos is the only candidate for the post of treasurer while Ytannia Wiggins of Barbados, Alain Soreze of Guadeloupe, Bruce Farara of Montserrat and Alan Sharpe of Belize are in the running for executive members.

The nominations commission chaired by Sandra Osborne, SCM, KC, will supervise and manage the voting process to deliver secure results for all Executive Committee elections as well as decisions on selection of the host for the second edition of the Caribbean Games.

The Executive Report on CANOC’s stewardship over the past four years, the report on the Inaugural Caribbean Game and bid presentations for host of the 2025 Caribbean Games, will be the main features on Day 2.

As part of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) commitment to the United Nations Sport for Climate Action (S4CA) Framework and the support to the Olympic Movement to protect our planet, CANOC will be attempting to minimize the use of paper at the workshop and general assembly, offering instead, as many documents as possible in digital format.

Trinidad and Tobago swimmer Dylan Carter won his third gold medal at leg two of the FINA Swimming World Cup 2022 in Toronto, Canada on Sunday.

Carter won the men’s 50-metre butterfly event in 22.28 seconds at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre ahead of South African Chad Le Clos in 22.45 and Italian Thomas Ceccon in 22.60.

On Friday night, Carter also swam to gold in the men’s 50m freestyle before breaking his own national record on his way to gold in the men’s 50m backstroke a day later.

Carter now has six gold medals at the World Cup. At the first leg of the World Cup in Berlin, Germany from October 21-23, Carter won the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke and the 50m butterfly, setting national records in the first two.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the squad for the West Indies Women’s Under-19 training camp and trial matches to be played next month in Trinidad. The 23 players will participate in two trial matches on Tuesday, November 1 and a third trial match on Wednesday, November 2.

“The upcoming training camp in Trinidad for our Women's U19 squad will be an important component of their preparation for their inaugural tour of India which immediately follows, and also for the ICC Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup which takes place in South Africa in January,” said CWI Director of Cricket Jimmy Adams.

“During the eight-day camp, the squad will continue its ongoing program of technical, tactical, physical and mental preparation.  The entire experience of the camp, and subsequent tour to India, will play a big role in the development of our next generation of international female cricketers who have had limited experience of playing outside the region before now.”

Following the practice matches, the players will have a skills and fitness sessions from November 4-6 under the guidance of Head Coach Steve Liburd. This is part of the preparations for upcoming tour of India from November 7-25.

This series in the sub-continent will form a crucial part of the team’s preparations for the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023.

The global event will feature 41 matches be played from January 14-29, 2023 in South Africa. The official warm-up matches will be from January 9-11.

The 16 participating teams will play in four groups in the preliminary round. West indies have been drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Ireland and Indonesia.

 Full training squad: Asabi Callender, Kenika Cassar, Jahzara Claxton, Naijanni Cumberbatch, Destiny Edward, Earnisha Fontaine, Jannillea Glasgow, Realeanna Grimmond, Trishan Holder, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Maria La Foucade, Namiah Marcellin, KDJazz Mitchell, Ashmini Munisar, Niveena Ramnauth, Cyanna Retemiah, Selena Ross, Shalini Samaroo, Shunelle Sawh, Lena Scott, Abini St Jean and Kate Wilmott.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Dylan Carter won his third gold medal at the opening leg of the FINA Swimming World Cup in Berlin, Germany on Sunday.

Forty shooters from across the Caribbean are in Jamaica for the 2022 West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council Championships set to run from October 24 - 29 at the Twickenham Park range in St Catherine following a two-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The best shooters from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Canada, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago will be vying to claim the title held by Trinidad and Tobago when the tournament was last held in 2019. However, there will likely be a new champion as the twin-island republic has sent only one shooter to the tournament this year. Barbados, too, has sent a single shooter.

The six-country championship will feature shooters aiming at targets from a minimum of 300 to a maximum of a 1000 yards.

Guyanese Lennox Braithwaite, Wogarth Cup champion, is back to defend his title having had the highest score in the short-range team match last time out. However, he admitted to Sportsmax.TV that his confidence is not where it should be going into competition.

“As a sportsman we try our best to prepare ourselves but there were two years of not shooting and so the kind of preparation that we would have liked we have not been able to on the outdoors but on the indoors, we would have done some of the exercises that would keep the muscle memory,” he said, but in terms of reading the weather conditions and so on for two years we would have been off.

“I am not so confident because I would guess that all the other teams maybe going through similar or had a better position in preparing. In Guyana, we hadn’t had the use of the ranges until about a month ago, so we had some challenges there.”

Notwithstanding the challenges, Brathwaite said he plans to offer a stern defense of his title.

“I would want to defend that position but at the same time I have to realistic because there are people who want to win also.”

He pointed out the shooters from Antigua and the host country as those he has to be wary of. “Nobody wants to lose at home,” he said laughingly.

Indeed, Jamaica would not want to lose at home and as such have fielded a strong team led by Phillip Scott and that includes national champion Dwayne Forde, who has been deemed a ‘definite contender’ for the individual title.

The team also comprises Karen Anderson, Denis John Nelson, David Rickman, Denis Lee, Claude Russell, Nicola Guy, Jose Nunez and Canute CC Coley.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls ended the Americas Netball World Cup Qualifiers with a perfect record, following a 69-47 victory over previously unbeaten Trinidad and Tobago, at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Saturday.

Both teams had already secured their spot in next year’s tournament but ended the tournament with a lively affair.  The inexperienced Jamaica squad, led by star goal shooter and captain Jhaniele Fowler, still had enough firepower to dominate.

Led by Fowler’s overall 56 from 60, the Jamaicans led from start to finish, pulling out to a 21-11 lead in the first quarter and never really looking back.  Despite losing the encounter, Trinidad and Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel was proud of the team’s performance.

“I’m very proud of the work the girls put in today.  We know it’s a battle going up against the number three team in the world but we said to ourselves ‘this is the start of our World Cup campaign’ and I think you learn more from a loss than a win,” Greene-Noel said following the encounter.

In the days other matches, Barbados secured their spot at Netball World Cup with a dominant 68-29 win over Antigua and Barbuda.  St Vincent and the Grenadines also secured a victory after beating Grenada 69-50 earlier in the day.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Calypso Girls defeated the Barbados Gems 50-40 in a top-of-the-table clash on day five of the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the national Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Thursday.

Entering the game, the Calypso Girls had already booked their spot in next year’s World Cup on the back of a perfect record after six games while the Gems were also unbeaten after five games and would’ve sealed their trip to Cape Town next year with a win.

The end of the first quarter saw Trinidad & Tobago build a 12-7 lead before Barbados outscored them 14-10 in the second to trail 21-22 at half-time. T&T then outscored them by four in the third quarter to lead 35-30 before eventually winning 50-40.

T&T was led by goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 33 goals from 35 attempts while goal attack Joelisa Cooper had 17 goals from 21 attempts. Bajan goal shooters Faye Agard and Shonica Wharton had 14 goals from 16 attempts and 15 goals from 20 attempts, respectively.

“I am ecstatic about that performance. I think we went out there and executed exactly what the coach wanted and I can’t ask for anything else from the girls,” said Trinidad & Tobago captain Shaquanda Greene-Noel.

Barbados captain Shonette Azore-Bruce praised her team’s fighting spirit despite the result not going their way.

“It’s not the outcome that we wanted but I must say that I am proud of my girls for fighting to the end. We did not score the goals we should have but I’m still proud of my girls for fighting. At least we had that fight in us.”

The Gems will have another chance to confirm their spot at the World Cup when they take on Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday’s seventh and final day.

Other Thursday results saw Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls get by St. Lucia 85-30, St. Vincent beat Antigua & Barbuda 66-30 and the USA getting a 44-35 win over the Cayman Islands.

On Friday, Antigua and Barbuda will play St. Lucia, the USA will battle Grenada, Jamaica will play Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines will play the Cayman Islands.

Trinidad & Tobago confirmed their spot in the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town with a 43-27 win over the USA at the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Wednesday.

The Trinidadians went into the game with five wins from five knowing another win would confirm their spot in the World Cup next year.

They came out swinging, opening a 10-point gap by the end of the first quarter to lead 18-8. That gap swelled to 14 by halftime as they held the Americans to only five baskets in the second quarter to lead 27-13. Trinidad & Tobago doubled the USA’s score as it was 38-19 by the end of the third quarter. The Americans won the fourth quarter 8-5 but the damage was already done.

Goal attack Joelisa Cooper’s 20 goals from 24 attempts and goal shooter Afeisha Noel’s 15 goals from 16 attempts means T&T will join Jamaica, who have already qualified based on rankings, in next year’s World Cup, with one more Americas spot yet to be confirmed.

“We did what we came to do,” said Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan.

Even with a spot in the World Cup sealed, Duncan says a goal of the team is to finish the qualifiers undefeated. Their remaining games are against Barbados on Thursday and Jamaica on Saturday.

“We have to remain disciplined, execute our game plans and support each other on the court.”

T&T beat the Cayman Islands 60-21 earlier on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, goal shooter Faye Agard’s 44 goals from 47 attempts helped Barbados get past St. Vincent & the Grenadines 57-36 for their fifth win in as many games. They also beat Grenada 60-38 earlier on Wednesday.

The Bajans were behind 10-12 after the first quarter before making a remarkable 15-point turnaround in the next two to lead 43-26 heading into the fourth, eventually winning 57-36.

“After the first quarter, I realized that what I wanted wasn’t happening so I introduced wing attack Brianna Holder into the game because I wanted to add more speed,” was the response of Barbados head coach Margaret Cutting when asked how they were able to turn it around.

They are within striking distance of confirming their spot in next year’s World Cup alongside Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and will look to cement their place when they meet the Trinis on Thursday.

“We had two games today so we’re going to go back to our hotel, have some ice baths, have our dinner then go back to the drawing board and plan for tomorrow’s game,” she added.

Wednesday’s other games saw Jamaica beat Grenada 74-48 and the Cayman Islands get a 47-42 win over Antigua & Barbuda.

Thursday’s other games will see St. Lucia tackling Jamaica, St. Vincent playing Antigua & Barbuda and USA playing the Cayman Islands.

Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan gave her players all the credit after their 66-42 victory over Grenada at the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston on Tuesday.

Both teams entered the game with three wins from three games and begun the top-of-the-table clash in a competitive manner, battling throughout the first quarter which T&T eventually won 17-12. The leaders then held Grenada to just eight points in the second quarter, entering the half with a 32-20 lead. The Trinis then enjoyed a spectacular third quarter, contrary to the one they had against St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Monday. They forced the Grenadians into several turnovers and capitalized on those mistakes to enter the fourth quarter up 49-29 before eventually sealing a 66-42 win, their fourth in as many games.

Goal shooter Afeisha Noel and goal attack Joelisa Cooper dominated the Grenada defence with 45 goals from 49 attempts and 12 goals from 16 attempts, respectively.

“I think it was all about the players,” said Duncan.

“They had their goals and stayed focused. They worked together and maintained discipline to achieve the score we wanted.”

Even with a massive lead in the fourth quarter, Duncan’s team maintained a high level of intensity on both ends, something she says they’ve emphasized with big goals in mind.

“We have been training to maintain intensity. I think it’s the level of the game that is played in the higher tournaments so we want to push towards that.”

Grenadian captain Shakira Collymore blamed said injuries were a factor in their performance.

“We have a lot of injuries so we weren’t able to enjoy the entire match but I think we put up a good fight. We were able to stay with them for the first two quarters but couldn’t stick it out. We have more matches to play.”

In Tuesday’s other results, Jamaica got their highest point total of the tournament with an 81-27 win over the Cayman Islands, Barbados beat the USA 47-26 and St. Vincent & the Grenadines beat St. Lucia 49-36.

Trinidad & Tobago and Grenada are the early leaders in the points standings after day two of the Netball Americas World Cup Qualifiers at the National Indoor Sports Center in Kingston on Monday.

Trinidad & Tobago got their third win in as many games with a close 49-42 win over St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

In a back-and forth opening quarter, the teams traded baskets throughout, with T&T coming out 10-9 leaders. They stepped up the tempo in the second quarter to enter halftime with a 28-19 lead before a spirited third quarter effort from the Vincentians meant the score was 37-30 in favor of T&T entering the last quarter. St. Vincent & the Grenadines were able to get the lead down to as low as four but turnovers at crucial times meant that Trinidad & Tobago walked away with a seven-point win to move to six points from three games.

Goal shooter Afeisha Noel led the way for T&T with 32 goals from 37 attempts while goal attack Joelisa Cooper had 17 goals from 19 attempts.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines were led by goal shooter Mary Ann Frederick’s 42 goals from 48 attempts.

Trinidad & Tobago head coach Kemba Duncan credited her team for recovering from a difficult third quarter to pull out the win.

“We made some errors but they were able to keep their head in the game and stay steady knowing that they came in at a higher rank and maintain the discipline needed to get the win. They did a good job keeping it together,” she said.

St. Vincent & the Grenadines head coach Godfrey Harry lamented the team’s turnovers after getting as close as they did in the fourth quarter.

“I think the players got a little to anxious and, because of that, we kept giving up the ball. It was a hard game but it was in our grasp and we allowed it to get away from us,” he said.

Grenada joined T&T on six points from three games thanks to a 62-29 win over Antigua and Barbuda while hosts, Jamaica, hammered the United States 70-16 in the other games on day two.

Tuesday's day three will feature a top-of-the-table clash between Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands playing hosts Jamaica, United States tackling Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines facing St. Lucia.