The West Indies secured 2-0 series victory over Bangladesh after a comprehensive 10-wicket win on day four of the second Test at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia on Monday.

Bangladesh started day four 132-6, trailing the Windies by 42 runs with Nurul Hasan on 16 and Mehidy Hasan yet to score.

After the entire morning session was delayed by rain and a wet outfield, proceedings got underway after lunch with the Windies quickly cleaning up the Bangladesh tail with the wickets of Mehidy Hasan (4), Ebadot Hossain (0), Shoriful Islam (0) and Khaled Ahmed (0).

Nurul Hasan was the only batsman to offer any resistance for Bangladesh with an aggressive 60 not out off 50 balls as the tourists were dismissed for 186 with Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales doing the damage with three wickets each.

Needing just 13 runs to win, West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell made short work of the total to secure the win and a 2-0 series triumph.

Final Scores: Bangladesh 234 and 186, West Indies 408 and 13-0.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) Men’s Selection Panel has named an unchanged squad for the second Padma Bridge – Dream Fulfilled - Friendship Test match against Bangladesh.

West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons has praised Captain Kraigg Brathwaite’s determination after the team’s seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday.

In the first innings, Brathwaite made 94 off 268 balls, batting for 400 minutes in the process.

“There’s not much to tell as a batsman because I think everybody’s seen his determination and unique style,” Simmons said in an interview after the match.

“He doesn’t have a problem being there for five days and doing his job which is unique because a lot of batsmen nowadays want to play shots and be done with it but, from his point of view, he wants to be there all the time for his team and that rolls into the captaincy,” he added.

Since being named permanent Captain in March 2021, Brathwaite has led the team to a series win against England and drawn series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“He seems to be growing into the role as we go along,” Simmons said.

“He’s not loud but the players know what he wants in his unique way. He makes them understand what he wants from them,” he added.

Brathwaite’s next assignment will be to lead the team to victory in the second test against Bangladesh which begins on Friday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St. Lucia.

Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy has been conferred with the Sitara-i-Pakistan Award for Services to Pakistan during a ceremony held on Monday. The 38-year-old all-rounder was being recognized for his role in helping bring international cricket back to Pakistan. It is the third-highest civil award conferred by Pakistan.

The citation read in part: “At a time when most of the foreign players backed off from playing cricket in Pakistan for security reasons, it was Mr Daren Sammy, the captain of Peshawar Zalmi, who against all odds helped the cause of restoration of international cricket in Pakistan and highlighted its soft image. Mr Daren Sammy stood out this whole time and has been a true ambassador and flag bearer of Pakistan ever since.”

He expressed his appreciation and gratitude in a post on Instagram on Sunday.

“Cricket took me all over the world, enabling me to see and play in some amazing places. Pakistan is definitely one of these places. A place that always makes me feel at home. It is such an honour to have received this prestigious award from the Government and the people of Pakistan. Thank you,” said Sammy, who played for Peshawar Zalmi in the inaugural Pakistan Super League in 2016 and now serves as the franchise’s head coach.

In the 2017 PSL draft, he was retained by Peshawar Zalmi. During the draft, Captain Shahid Afridi announced Sammy as the new captain of Peshawar Zalmi. With Sammy as it’s captain, the team won the second edition of the PSL.

Sammy, who led the West Indies to two T20 World titles (2012 and 2016), was receiving his second civil honour from Pakistan in as many years. In March 2020, he received the highest civilian medal of Pakistan, Nishan-e-Pakistan, for his part in helping bring international cricket back to Pakistan. He was also awarded honorary Pakistani citizenship by the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi.

The St Lucia Athletics Association has selected an 18-member squad to represent the island at the Friendship Games scheduled to get underway on Saturday, May 28, at the Stade Territorial Louis Achille, in Fort de France, Martinique.

Eleven islands are expected to participate at the Games including French Guiana, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe and Haiti as well as, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, and host country Martinique.

The Boys U20 team comprises Kadeem Larcher, Cagini Pilgrim, Noel Tribune, Sirgio Mc. Kenzie, Ken Smith and Kenrick James while Mya Hippolyte, Sandrina Popo, Kayla Charles, Joy Edward and Hadassah Papius make up the U20 Girls.

Denzel Phillip, Levern Jn. Baptiste, and Milan Mitchell comprise the U17 Boys.

Naya Jules, Paige Anderson, Sierratina Hilaire and Kirsheema Ince make up the U20 Girls.

Former Trinidad and Tobago striker Stern John has been appointed head coach of the St Lucia Senior Football team. The St Lucia Football Association confirmed the appointment on Sunday.

Julien Alfred, Demisha Roswell and Johnathan Jones pulled off impressive victories as the Big 12 Conference Championships concluded in Lubbock, Texas on Sunday.

President of the St Lucia Athletics Association Cornelius Breen said the residents of the island are proud of young sprinter Julien Alfred, who set yet another national record at the Big 12 Conference Outdoor Championships in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday, May 14.

The 20-year-old Alfred, a sophomore at the University of Texas, won her preliminary round heat in 10.81, the fastest time in the NCAA this season and the second fastest time this year. Only Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce with the 10.67 she clocked in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 7 has run faster.

The time also puts Alfred in an elite group of the top-10 fastest women from the Caribbean over 100m. Only Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60), Merlene Ottey (10.74)., Kerron Stewart (10.75), Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.76) and Shericka Jackson (10.76) have, as Caribbean women, run faster than Alfred.

“Today (Sunday) was a wonderful day for us in St Lucia, having received news that Julien’s performance has made her the second fastest in the world. This was no easy feat. Julien has shown that she has the potential to develop, has the potential to do great things. It is on this premise, that she was scouted by her club, Survivors and Mr Cuthbert Modest, who saw the potential and assisted in that development and today we are witnessing what she has accomplished,” Breen told Sportsmax. TV.

“It is indeed a proud moment for us. We, as a nation, are happy about such a performance. We look forward to her continued development and her continued progress in the sport of track and field.”

He remained hopeful that Alfred would be able to deliver similar performances at the major championships.

“The World Championship is on the horizon, the Commonwealth Games and even the Olympics, and we continue to be proud of her,” he said.

Alfred will be favoured to win the final set for later Sunday despite being lined up in a stacked field that includes University of Texas teammates Kevona Davis, who ran a lifetime best 10.95 in the preliminary round, Kynnedy Flannel, as well as the speedy Rosemary Chukwuma from Texas Tech.

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has confirmed that Saint Lucia will host matches during the 2022 season. Saint Lucia will be one of four countries to host Hero CPL matches in 2022 with the matches set to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Beausejour.  

The 2020 and 2021 seasons of the Hero CPL took place in Trinidad & Tobago and St Kitts & Nevis respectively with the COVID-19 pandemic meaning the tournament needed to be played in one country. For the 2022 season, the plan is to move around the region once again with three venues being used for the group stages and another selected for the finals. 

 The tournament will take place from August 30 to September 30 with St Kitts & Nevis Patriots looking to defend the title they won in 2021. 

 Pete Russell, Hero CPL’s CEO said: “We are very pleased to confirm that we will be back in Saint Lucia in 2022 and we are grateful to the government for working with us to make this happen. Saint Lucia has been such a huge part of the Hero CPL story and as we enter our 10^th season it is great to be back at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground this year.” 

 Lorine Charles-St. Jules, CEO of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority commented: “We are delighted to be one of the venues for CPL this year. The pandemic limited major sporting events across the world so to be able to welcome back a prestigious tournament such as this means a lot to us. This event is full of opportunities. It’s a chance to enjoy the brilliant sportsmanship that you see on the cricket field and it’s an opportunity to come together and enjoy our Saint Lucian hospitality. We look forward to welcoming spectators and visitors this September.”

The Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has partnered with SAYTV to create a market-leading live chat app for cricket lovers to discuss the Hero CPL and the other cricketing events around the world all year-round.

Although fans can use the app to chat with other users at any time, the first feature event taking place in the app will be a Q&A session with cricket legend and Hero CPL’s Director, International Cricket, Tom Moody.

He will be joining CPL chat app users to talk about the India vs New Zealand Test series, the Big Bash T20 tournament in Australia and the Abu Dhabi T10 on December 5, 2021, during the Big Bash match between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars.

SAYTV was launched into the German market in March 2021 with the intention of making an all-in-one social chat platform for everything TV-related while ensuring an inclusive and friendly chat community welcoming everyone. Since then, the company has begun entering partnerships to create state-of-the-art live chat and entertainment technology for its clients. 

SAYTV provides an easy to navigate app interface with engaging community features such as Quiz, breakout rooms, loyalty badges and more. A fully developed in-app store gives the opportunity to offer CPL specific emoticons, avatars, and custom wallpapers to give fans a truly immersive experience.

Paula Raithel, SAYTV’s co-founder and CMO, said: “SAYTV provided the official live chat app for the CPL T20 tournament in August 2021. The collaboration was a tremendous success. Within a few days the CPL Chat App gathered an amazing Cricket community, sharing their thoughts and celebrating together.

“Now looking forward to the future, we are excited to announce that the CPL and SAYTV have entered into a long-term partnership to provide CPL fans worldwide with a safe, inclusive, fun experience chat app.”

Chris Watson. Hero CPL’s Head of Marketing, said: “We are always striving to bring our fans closer to the action and provide a way for them to engage with the league on a year-round basis. SAYTV’s fantastic chat app allows you to do just that. We were delighted with the success of the live chat app during this year’s tournament, and we are very much looking forward to this long-term partnership.” 

After an illustrious career that spanned more than two decades, St Lucian high jumper Levern Spencer has called time on her athletic career.

A four-time Olympian, Spencer is a multiple CAC and Pan Am Games champion, who created history in 2018 when she became the first St Lucian to win the high jump gold medal at the Commonwealth Games held on Australia’s Gold Coast.

However, after failing to make the finals of the high jump at the Tokyo Olympics in August, the 37-year-old St Lucian star, has decided it was time to hang up her spikes.

“After 23 consecutive years of representing St. Lucia in the sport of track and field, I have, after careful consideration and analysis, made the tough decision to retire, effective 31st October 2021,” she said in a statement released on Wednesday.

“It was a challenging journey laced with lots of literal blood, sweat, and tears, but a very rewarding journey as well, which led me to four consecutive Olympics, eight consecutive World Championships, five consecutive Commonwealth Games, and gave me 16 Sportswoman of The Year titles.

“So as I hang up my spikes as Commonwealth Champion, Central America & The Caribbean Champion, Pan American Champion and North & Central America and the Caribbean Champion, I say a big thank you to the Government and People of St. Lucia for the privilege of flying our flag regionally and internationally for all these years, and for your support on this journey.”

She thanked corporate St. Lucia for its support and the media “for consistently reporting on all that I did for my country.”

“As I say farewell to a sport that I love so much, I do so with a great sense of pride and joy knowing that I did my best to, against all odds, give our tiny nation the best representation possible, on and off the field.”

Spencer, whose personal best was 1.98m, a national record, had her best performance at an Olympic Games in Rio 2016 when she cleared 1.93m to finish sixth in the final.

The St. Lucia Boxing Association (SLBA) recently received boxing equipment worth just over US$45,000, thanks to the generosity of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). The equipment includes punching bags, headgear, gloves, hand wraps, mouth guards, uniforms, and skipping ropes.

SLBA President David “Shakes” Christopher said the new batch of equipment will enhance the SLBA’s boxing programmes as the association continues to build awareness and attract new boxers to the globally popular sport.

“It will also help us immensely as we continue to decentralize our progammes,” Christopher said. “Right now, we can focus on programmes for the Bordelais Correctional Facility (BCF), Boys Training Centre (BTC), our school programmes, and our chapters in Soufriere, Vieux Fort, Laborie, and Dennery.”

The equipment follows a commitment made by AIBA’s president, Umar Kremlev, a year ago to support the local boxing association by way of providing much-needed equipment. Christopher said this week’s receipt of the new equipment proves that building relationships among associations is essential.

“We’re very grateful to AIBA, especially president Umar Kremlev, for keeping to a promise he made last year in Panama,” said Christopher. “We intend to manage this equipment in the best way as we continue to create more champions and better citizens through boxing.”

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Boxing Association, or AIBA (originally the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur), is a sports organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships. 

Christopher said one of the major challenges the Association now faces relates to the heavy workload being carried by its National Head Coach, Conrad Fredericks. He noted that it’s a daunting task for Fredericks, who desperately needs extra hands to undertake the Association’s many programmes.

“We appeal to past boxers to give back to the programme. We’ve noticed that in other fields of sport, athletes would pay it forward by becoming coaches and administrative representatives. However, for boxing, that seems to be lacking,” the SLBA president explained.

Meanwhile, Coach Conrad Fredericks noted that the new batch of equipment came at the right time as the Association plans to open other boxing gyms across the island. He also added his voice to the president’s appeal for more coaches to come on board.

Since the pandemic began, the boxing gym at Vigie has had to be closed at various times as the COVID-19 protocols were adjusted. However, Coach Fredericks emphasized that during the periods the gym does open, the necessary safety precautions are enforced.

“We’re pleased to share that since the pandemic began, no case of COVID-19 has ever been recorded at the gym,” he said. “We try our utmost to follow all the relevant COVID-19 protocols. However, we find that as the number of cases increases nationally, many boxers are staying away from the gym. After all, boxing is a contact sport, so we do understand their concern.”

Women’s 400 Metres

 Five Caribbean women advanced to the final.

Marileidy Paulino of The Dominican Republic won semi-final 1 in a national record of 49.38 to advance.

Jamaica’s Candice McLeod and Cuba’s Roxana Gomez also progressed from semi-final 1.

McLeod ran a personal best of 49.51 to finish second and advance automatically while Gomez finished third in a personal best 49.71 and advanced in a fastest loser spot.

Shaunae Miller-Uibo advanced by running 49.60 to win the second semi-final.

Jamaica’s Roniesha McGregor and Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams were also in semi-final 2 but failed to advance, finishing third in 50.34 and seventh in 51.46 respectively.

Stephenie Ann McPherson won semi-final 3 in a personal best 49.34 to qualify.

Sada Williams finished third in that race in a national record of 50.11 but that wasn’t enough to get her into the final.

Men’s 200 Metres

 Canadian Andre DeGrasse ran a Canadian record 19.62 to take gold.

DeGrasse, silver medalist behind Usain Bolt at the 2016 Rio games, will be joined on the podium by Americans Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles.

Bednarek ran a personal best 19.68 for silver and Lyles ran a season’s best 19.74 for bronze.

Jamaica’s Rasheed Dwyer finished 7^th in 20.21 and Jereem Richards of Trinidad & Tobago finished 8^th in 20.39.

Women’s High Jump

 St. Lucian Levern Spencer finished 22^nd in qualifying.

Women’s 4x100 Metres Relay

 The Jamaican team consisting of Briana Williams, Natasha Morrison, Remona Burchell and Shericka Jackson ran 42.15 to finish third in heat 1 and advance to the final.

Men’s 4x100 Metres Relay

 Jamaica qualified for the final after running the fastest time in the heats.

The team of Jevaughn Minzie, Julian Forte, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville ran a time of 37.82 to win heat 1.

Trinidad & Tobago were also in heat 1 and finished 6^th with a time of 38.63.

Their team consisted of Kion Benjamin, Eric Harrison, Akanni Hislop and Richard Thompson, silver medalist from the 2008 Beijing games.

Men’s 110 Metres Hurdles

 Jamaica secured two medals in the final of the men’s 110 metres hurdles.

Hansle Parchment, a bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, ran a season’s best of 13.04 to win gold ahead of the prohibitive favourite, Grant Holloway of the USA, who took silver in 13.09.

 Ronald Levy ran 13.10 for bronze, his first Olympic medal.

The Caribbean made a big wave in the pool at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games earlier today.

It all started with Vincentian Shane Cadogan winning heat 4 of the Men’s 50m Freestyle in a time of 24.71 seconds. He finished ahead of Nigeria’s Alassane Seydou Lancina (24.75) and Bangladesh’s Ariful Islam (24.81).

Trinidad’s Dylan Carter and Cayman’s Brett Fraser tied for second in heat 6 of the same event. Their times were faster than Cadogan’s, finishing in 22.46 seconds. Renzo Tjon-a-joe of Suriname was also in that heat. He finished 6th in a time of 22.56 seconds. Serbia’s Andrej Barna won the heat in 22.29 seconds.  

Meanwhile, Aleka Persaud finished second in heat 4 in the women’s equivalent. The Guyanese swam a time of 27.76 seconds. St.Vincent’s Mya de Freitas also swam in heat 4, finishing 4th in a time of 28.57 seconds. The heat was won by Papau New Guinea’s Judith Meauri in a time of 27.56 seconds. More Caribbean swimmers turned out in the following heat. St. Lucian Mikali Charlamagne (26.99) and Antigua’s Samantha Roberts (27.63) finished 2nd and 6th respectively. Cameroon’s Norah Milanesi finished 1st in a time of 26.41 seconds. Elinah Phillip from the British Virgin Islands swam well for second place in heat 6. She finished behind Ecuador’s Anicka Delgado (25.36) in a time of 25.74 seconds.

None of these competitors were able to advance to the semifinals of their event. The semifinals of the men’s and women’s 50m Freestyle will take place tomorrow.

St. Lucian Swimmer, Mikaili Charlemagne, has set a new national record in the women’s 50m freestyle.

Despite failing to advance to the semifinal round, Charlemagne who competed earlier today swimming out of lane 5, in heat 5, finished 2nd with a time of 26.99, lowering the previous national record of 27.27 which she had set in 2019.

The heat was won by Cameroon’s Norah Elizabeth Milanesi who was clocked a time of 26.41 and Fiji’s Cheynne Rova rounded out the top three finishers with a time of 27.11.

Also competing in the heat was Antigua’s Samantha Roberts, who finished 6^th, touching home with a time of 27.63, her fastest time since 2016.

This was the first time Charlemagne has competed in the Women’s 50m Freestyle at a major senior competition since 2017 when she participated at the World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.

Charlemagne, who recently turned 18-years-old, is a student-athlete at Springfield College in the United States. She is the second St. Lucian swimmer to compete at this year’s Olympics, her teammate Jean-Luc Zephir competed yesterday in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, finishing his heat in 6^th place.