(From left) Malachi Austin, Narissa McPherson, Tianna Springer and Javon Roberts share a photo opportunity with coach Julian Edmonds after setting a new 4x400m Mixed Relays record at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday.
Inews Guyana
Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana brought the curtains down on the Commonwealth Youth Games in fine style, with the latter establishing one of three new records on Thursday’s final day of the six-day spectacle in Trinidad and Tobago.
While the twin island republic won a few medals to improve their tally and finished seventh on the medal table as the highest ranked Caribbean nation, Guyana’s record-breaking feat, handed them a second gold medal which saw them end 11th on the standing.
Trinidad’s 15 medals, includes four gold, five silver and six bronze, with Guyana tallying two gold, one silver and one bronze. Cayman Islands was 10th with two gold, one silver and three bronze, while Jamaica, which had no competitor on the final day, placed 13th with their two gold and two bronze.
The Guyanese team of Malachi Austin, Narissa McPherson, Javon Roberts and Tianna Springer Guyana topped the 4X400m Mixed Relay in 3:22.07. That bettered the previous Commonwealth Youth Games Record of 3:25.08, set by Australia in 2017.
They won ahead of England (3:22.29s) and Australia (3:26.23).
It was a Nigeria one-two in the women’s 200m final where Faith Okwose (23.36s), bettered her compatriot Justina Eyakpobeyan (23.47s), with Antigua and Barbuda’s La’nica Locker (23.56s), taking bronze.
Nigeria also topped the men’s event courtesy of Samuel Uchenna Ogazi, who stopped the clock in 21.22s, some way ahead of Scotland’s Dean Patterson (21.45s) and England’s Rusciano Thomas-Riley (21.59s).
The West African country also had success in the 4X100m Mixed Relay, as the team comprising Okwose, Eyakpobeyan and Ogazi, won in a Commonwealth Youth Games Record of 42.68s. They lowered the previous best of 43.19s set by Australia in 2017.
England (42.71s) and Trinidad and Tobago (42.77s), were second and third, with Jamaica (42.95s), just missing out on a medal.
Phoebe Gill of England clocked a new Commonwealth Youth Games Record of 2:02.30 in winning the women’s 800m final. She lowered the previous mark of 2:04.23 set by South Africa’s Caster Semenya in 2008.
India’s Asha Kiran Barla (2:04.99) and Fleur Cooper (2:05.86) of Australia, were second and third, respectively.
Kenya’s Kelvin Koech won the men’s event in 1:50.14, ahead of Miles Waterworth (1:52.21) of England and Caleb McLeod (1:52.83) of Scotland. Keeran Sriskandarajah (1:59.89) of Trinidad and Tobago, finished eighth.
Australia’s Toby Stolberg (1.78m) and Izobelle Louison-Roe (1.75m) placed first and third in the women’s high jump final, separated by England’s Thea Brown, who also cleared 1.78m, but had to settle for silver on the count back.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Keneisha Shelbourne (1.70m) was fifth and Mikayla Gumbs (1.60) of St Kitts and Nevis, seventh, while and Jah’kyla Morton of British Virgin Islands, failed to register a mark.
The men’s javelin throw was won by South Africa’s Willem Jansen, who was a cut above rivals with a mark of 79.85m. England’s Tom Rutter (67.54m) and India’s Arjun Arjun (65.94m) took the next two medals, as Grenada’s Rayvohn Telesford (65.65m), just missed the podium.
In Para- Athletics action, Australia’s Jackson Love (4.86m) and Ori Drabkin (4.62m) finished first and second in the men’s T-38 long jump, with William Bishop (4.44m) of Wales, in third.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago’s Makaira Wallace, added two medals to her country’s tally and Syndel Samaroo, added another, at the National Cycling Velodrome.
Wallace won bronze in the women’s 500m Time Trial, after she clocked 36.791. She finished behind Australia’s Liliya Tatarinoff (36.023) and Sarah Johnson (36.214) of Scotland.
The positions were reversed in the women’s Keirin, with Wallace (12.309), placing second behind Johnson (11.969), while Tatarinoff (12.367), finishing third on that occasion.
Samaroo was third in the men’s Keirin. He clocked 11.620 behind Australia’s Tayte Ryan (11.392) and Darwish Muhd Sanusi (11.462) of Malaysia. Another Trinidadian Raul Garcia was fourth.
Earlier, New Zealand topped both the men’s and women’s beach volleyball competition at the Black Rock Facility. The team of Tineke Hinton and Kiana Stevenson defeated Kenya 2-0, while the men’s team of Calum Stewart and Juraj Krajci, were 2-1 winners over Cyprus.
Canada took bronze in both sections with identical 2-0 victories over Australia and England, respectively.
In Fast5 netball, Trinidad and Tobago finished seventh after bettering St Vincent and the Grenadines 25-13. Australia won gold with a 39-29 win over South Africa, while England took bronze by defeating Scotland 34-29, as the Shaw Park complex.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Jamaica to host T&T U-17s for two friendly games in week-long camp
Jamaica's Under-17 team will host their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts for two international friendly encounters this weekend.
The games, which forms part of a week-long camp for both teams, will also see the young Soca Warriors, who are scheduled to arrive in the island on Wednesday, lock horns with a local club team during their visit. The first game is scheduled for the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, CHBC on Friday at 4:00pm, while the second encounter will take place on Sunday at 9:00am.
Trinidad and Tobago will then close their visit against the youth team of a prominent club, next Tuesday.
Both the young Reggae Boyz, to be guided by former Reggae Boy midfielder Altimont "Freddy" Butler, Carlton Simmonds and Vassel Reynolds, and the Shawn Cooper-coached young Soca Warriors are preparing for the Concacaf Men's Under-17 Championship which was pushed back to 2025. The tournament was initially scheduled for August this year.
According to recently installed Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president, Kieron Edwards, this friendly initiative is in line with the TTFA’s application to the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, which aims to provide additional resources to member associations for the elite youth national teams.
Edwards insisted that there will be continuous efforts to provide opportunities for exposure and match preparation for the various national teams.
“In keeping with the executive’s mantra to strengthen partnerships and our relationship with our brothers in CFU, we are pleased to be embarking on this journey to Jamaica,” said Edwards.
“Despite the challenges, the commitment to the continued development of our high-performance programme shines through. This trip marks a pivotal step towards our U-17 team’s quest to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2025. It’s a testament to the dedication of all involved, securing this opportunity mere days after the new executive’s installation," he added.
The current T&T U-17 selection features several players who have graduated from the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association High Performance Programme and competed at the CONCACAF Boys Under-15 Championship in the Dominican Republic last August, recording memorable wins against Costa Rica and Qatar.
T&T squad: Antuan Louison, Seth Hadeed, Jonathan Mason (Fatima College); Alejandro Harper, Eran Mc Leod (CIC); Nikosi Foncette, Kyron Baptiste, Josiah Simmons, Jimally Renne (Presentation College, Sando); Jasai Theophilus, Jayden Christophe (QRC); Dimitre Jones, Keston Richards (Arima North Sec); Jaydon Caprietta, Jeremiah Daniel, Adasa Richardson, Antonio Hills, Mikhail Clement (Naparima College); Salim Soanes (St Benedict’s College); Necose Moore (Chaguanas North Sec); Riquelme Phillips (Speyside High School)
Windies to test T20 World Cup readiness against South Africa, Australia in Jamaica and T&T; final squad to be named this week
With the ICC Men’s Twenty 20 World Cup now just about a month away, Darren Sammy and his West Indies team will up the tempo on preparations, before testing their readiness for the June 1-29 global showpiece, with a final warm-up match against Australia in Trinidad and Tobago.
Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.
The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.
Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.
From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.
West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.
“We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.
“That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.
West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.
Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.
“Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.
Russell defends CPL's contribution to regional cricket but open to suggestions on improvements
With their long-term agreement with Cricket West Indies (CWI) heavily scrutinised by government leaders and cricket stalwarts, chief executive, Pete Russell of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) defended the product’s positive contribution to cricket in the region.
Addressing the gathering on Friday’s final day of the CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, Russell said the CPL is one of CWI’s largest domestic commercial partners.
While noting that CPL contributed significantly to player economic welfare, with nearly US$28 million spent on salaries since the start of the tournament in 2013, Russell, also revealed that cumulative losses, across both the league and franchises for the past 11 years, stand at US$40 million.
“Dennis O’Brien and Digicel have been the principal investors, not only investing in the league from day one but they also spent money on sponsorship and media rights. The franchises have also pumped in significant money, money that helps pay players and coaches, as well as investing in local businesses around the region that help make the games happen. All the franchises have made losses.
“So, on the positive side, Cricket West Indies has been paid close to US$17 million in sanction fees, so over the past 12 years CPL would be one of CWI’s largest domestic, commercial partners. Caribbean players have taken home US$27.7 million in player salaries since the tournament’s inception, all paid for by the franchises,” Russell declared during the event held in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Each year, it takes US$25 million to run this tournament over five weeks. CPL and the franchises bear all these costs. There is no financial burden on CWI or the territorial boards, so the risk is 100 per cent ours.
“So that is our starting point each and every year. So as you can imagine, the commercial challenges are considerable just to break even,” he added.
Russell’s response came as government leaders and West Indies legend Sir Clive Lloyd, suggested that the 50-year contract between CPL and CWI be re-negotiated.
The issue of the league’s ownership was also called into question, as they view was largely expressed that there would potentially be more development and earnings for players, if CWI controlled the tournament.
But, Russell, a member of the CPL management team rebutted.
“What is interesting is that other leagues around the world are following the lead of CWI. They are also looking for third-party investors to help fund their leagues. The English Cricket Board are in the process of selling The Hundred, the Australian Cricket Board are courting outside investors for the Big Bash, Cricket South Africa sold all their rights to host broadcaster Supersport, and the new American Major League Cricket is 100 per cent privately owned,” Russell shared.
“In time, only the IPL will end up being 100 per cent owned by its domestic board and that is simply because they can afford to do so. So, trust me when I say, ownership isn’t everything, and smart stewardship and partnership can yield better results. But of course, we’re always happy to listen to any suggestions on how we can improve things,” he ended.
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