The UP Warriorz secured a five-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League on Saturday.

The Warriorz won the toss and elected to field first at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.

West Indies captain Hayley Matthews led the way with 35 while Issy Wong scored 32 and Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur 25 as the Indians were bowled out for 127 in their 20 overs.

Sophie Ecclestone led the way with the ball for the Warriorz, taking 3-15 from her four overs while Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma took 2-16 and 2-35 from their respective four over spells.

The successful chase was then led by Grace Harris’ 28-ball 39 while Talia McGrath got 38 as the Warriorz reached 129-5 in 19.3 overs to secure their third win out of six games to move to third in the table behind Mumbai, who lead the table only having one loss in six games, and Delhi who have two losses in their six outings.

Amelia Kerr was the best Mumbai bowler on the day with 2-22 from her four overs while Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Issy Wong all took a wicket each.

Scores: Mumbai Indians 127 off 20 overs (Hayley Matthews 35, Issy Wong 32, Harmanpreet Kaur 25, Sophie Ecclestone 3-15, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-16, Deepti Sharma 2-35)

UP Warriorz 129-5 off 19.3 overs (Grace Harris 39, Talia McGrath 38, Sophie Ecclestone 16*, Deepti Sharma 13*, Amelia Kerr 2-22).

Trinidad & Tobago’s Devin Augustine and Jamaica’s Ashanti Moore were among the winners at the 2023 Longhorn Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Texas on Saturday.

Augustine, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Minnesota, ran a personal best 10.26 to win the Men’s equivalent ahead of teammate Carlon Hosten (10.28) and Texas’ Nolton Shelvin (10.28). Augustine’s time is also a new Minnesota school record.

The Trinidadian was also victorious in the 200m with 20.60, which would have been a new personal best if not for the 2.2m/s wind. Another Trinidadian Minnesota athlete, 22-year-old junior Kion Benjamin, was second in 20.70 while Shelvin, like in the 100m, was third in 20.75.

Moore, the 22-year-old former Hydel star, ran 11.27 to win the Women’s 100m ahead of Americans Anavia Battle (11.31) and Lynna Irby (11.33). The same three made up the podium places in the 200m as well with Moore finishing third this time in 23.01 behind Irby (22.65) and Battle (22.93).

In the field, 26-year-old former Jamaica College star O’Brien Wasome jumped 16.72m for victory in the Men’s triple jump ahead of the UTSA pair of Jemuel Miller (16.02m), and Jacob Jenkins (15.77m).

Former West Indies ODI and T20I Captain Kieron Pollard made history on Saturday by becoming the third man to reach 12,000 T20 runs.

Pollard achieved the milestone in a Pakistan Super League game between the Multan Sultans and the Lahore Qalandars.

The 35-year-old entered the game needing just 16 runs to achieve the feat and made 39 off 28 balls including two fours and three sixes as his Sultans suffered a 21-run defeat at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Pollard, the all-time leader in T20s played with 620, brought up his milestone in 550 innings.

Overall, the Trinidadian now has 12,023 runs at an average of 31.15 including one hundred and 56 fifties.

Only two batsmen have scored more T20 runs than Pollard: Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik who has 12,515 runs in 509 matches including 77 fifties and, of course, Chris Gayle who has 14,562 runs in 463 matches including a record 22 hundreds and 88 fifties.

Barbadian all-rounder Jason Holder made history on day two of the first Test between the West Indies and South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

With the second innings wicket of Keegan Petersen with the final ball of the day, Holder took his 150^th Test wicket, joining the legendary Sir Garfield Sobers as the only West Indians to take at least 150 wickets and score at least 2500 runs in Tests.

“I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” he told reporters in a press conference after day two.

“Honestly, my inspiration is just the other guys on the field. I was obviously captain at quite a young age and had a good run of it, especially in the Test arena and I thoroughly enjoy this group specifically,” Holder, who captained the West Indies in 32 Tests from 2015-2019, added.

Debuting in 2014, the 31-year-old has amassed 2644 runs at an average of 28.73 with three hundreds and eleven fifties in his 61 Tests. His highest Test score, 202*, came against England in 2019 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

With the ball, Holder has taken 151 wickets at 28.98 including eight five-wicket hauls.

One might ask the question: How did this take so long when he debuted all the way back in 2014?

“It’s a tough one man. I think the way world cricket is going now, apart from the big three, everybody else is barely playing any Test cricket,” said Holder.

“We’ve averaged, in the last three years, maybe six to eight Test matches a year. This year we’ve got six and next year will be around six as well so, it was a slow grind,” he added before comparing the Test appearances of current West Indies Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and former England skipper Joe Root to further emphasize the point.

Brathwaite, who debuted against Pakistan in May 2011, has played 84 Tests while Root, who made his debut against India in December of 2012, has played 129 Tests.

Jamaica’s five-time World 100m Champion Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce says breaking the 100m World Record remains one of her goals as she enters the twilight of her career.

The 36-year-old has a personal best of 10.60 set at the Lausanne Diamond League in 2021 and is coming off a remarkable 2022 season that saw her run below 10.7 a record seven times, including a 10.67 to win her fifth World Championships gold medal in Eugene in July.

“I want to run 10.5 or 10.4. I’m working towards that, but I also don’t want it to be the end-all, be-all,” the three-time Olympic gold medallist said in an interview with NBC Sports.

“I’ll be satisfied knowing that I gave 100% towards that effort. Being able to push myself beyond something that a lot of people think is impossible has given me wings beneath my feet. I don’t want to limit myself. I want to think about potential and where I can go with that,” Fraser-Pryce added.

The Women’s 100m World Record currently stands at 10.49 set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner at the US Olympic Trials all the way back in 1988.

Since then, only Fraser-Pryce’s countrywoman, five-time Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah, has run below 10.6 when she clocked 10.54 to win at the Prefontaine Classic in 2021.

Barbadian pacer Akeem Jordan first burst onto the scene as a part of the victorious Combined Campuses and Colleges team in the 2019 CWI Regional Super50 in Guyana.

In that season, a 24-year-old Jordan finished as the third highest wicket-taker in the competition with 16 wickets in eight games.

Fast forward four years, the Barbados Pride seamer has been selected in the West Indies Test squad on the back of some superb form in the ongoing CWI West Indies Championship. Jordan has, so far, picked up 12 wickets in two matches to be the leading wicket-taker.

In a recent interview on the Cricket West Indies (CWI) YouTube channel, Jordan, now 28, reacted to being selected in the squad for the South Africa series.

“It means everything to me. I bleed and sweat West Indies Cricket. It is my heart and soul,” Jordan said.

“Me being here and given the chance to represent the West Indies means everything,” he added.

When questioned about what character trait brought him to this point in his career, “self-belief” was Jordan’s response.

“If there’s one thing I’d say for sure, self-belief. If no one would believe in me, I’d definitely believe in myself. I’m the type of guy who would take up a ball at midnight and just try to run up the road and bowl, work on little things. I believe when I put my mind to something, I can get it done. That mindset has brought me a long way so far.”

Jordan gave a very thoughtful answer when asked about expectations for himself.

“For me personally, I just want to come into the team and be a part of the family. I don’t want to come and say that I’m going to blast out anybody. I just want to ease my way in and try to do a job that the team needs me to do and not put any big expectations on my shoulders,” he said before going into how that would translate on the field.

“Hopefully, I can put up my hand in situations, dig us out of holes, take a crucial catch or take a valuable wicket. Something like that, just to be a part of the family so that everyone can feel like yeah, this guy is putting everything into West Indies Cricket.”

Jordan may get his chance to do all that when the West Indies take on South Africa in the first test beginning on Tuesday.

Texas senior Julien Alfred added the 200m title to the 60m crown she already won at the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock Texas.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m silver medallist, who ran 6.97, a new personal best and NCAA and national record, to win the 60m earlier on Saturday, showed the same awesome form to set a new meet record in the 200m as well.

The 21-year-old ran 22.26, another personal best, to win comfortably ahead of teammate Lanae Thomas (22.63) and Texas tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma (22.68).

Jamaican Texas sophomore Kevona Davis was fourth in 22.76.

Jamaican Texas A&M senior Lamara Distin continued her unbeaten run in the NCAA high jump in 2023 by winning the SEC Indoor title in Fayetville on Saturday.

Distin, gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, entered the Championships on the back of wins at the Razorback Invitational on January 27, New Mexico Collegiate Classic on February 3 and the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational on February 11.

The 22-year-old former Hydel High standout entered the competition at 1.80m and had a perfect card all the way through, eventually achieving a winning height of 1.95, a new meet record.

She also had three unsuccessful attempts at 2.00m which would’ve been a new personal best and broken her own national record of 1.97m.

Georgia sophomore Elena Kulichenko finished second with 1.92m while LSU junior Morgan Smalls cleared 1.80 for third.

St. Lucian Commonwealth Games silver medallist Julien Alfred and Jamaican sprint hurdler Demisha Roswell struck gold for Texas and Texas Tech, respectively, at the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday.

Texas’ Alfred, who set a then-meet record of 7.03 in the heats on Friday, became the first woman in NCAA history to break the 7-second barrier by speeding to 6.97 to win Saturday’s final ahead of Texas Tech junior Rosemary Chukwuma (7.17) and Alfred’s Texas teammate Ezinne Abba (7.17). Alfred’s time.

The St. Lucian senior now owns the six fastest 60m times in NCAA history and 6.97 puts the 21-year-old in a three-way tie for eighth on the all-time list alongside the Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure and the USVI’s Laverne Jones-Ferrette.

It also puts her second in the world in 2023 behind American Aleia Hobbs’ 6.94 at the US Indoor Championships in New Mexico on February 18.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Texas Tech senior Demisha Roswell produced a time of 8.04 to defend her 60m hurdles title. Kansas’ Gabrielle Gibson ran 8.11 for second while Iowa State’s Katarina Vlahovic ran 8.25 for third.

Trinidadian defending World Indoor 400m Champion Jereem Richards was the lone Caribbean winner at the 2023 World Indoor Tour Final at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

Richards, who ran a personal best 45.00 to win the World title in Belgrade in 2022, ran a season’s best 45.74 for victory in the Men’s 400m ahead of the USA’s Vernon Norwood (45.92) and Ireland’s Jack Rafferty (46.66).

This was the Trinidadian’s second win in a row after. He ran 45.84 to win at the Millrose Games on February 11.

Elsewhere, 2019 World Champion Tajay Gayle jumped a season’s best 8.13m for second in the long jump, won by the USA’s Marquis Dendy with 8.28m. American William Williams was third with 8.03m.

2022 World 200m Champion Shericka Jackson ran 7.18 to finish fourth in the 60m behind the British pair of Dina Asher-Smith (7.05) and Darryl Neita (7.12). The USA’s Destiny Smith-Barnett finished third in 7.15. Asher-Smith’s time broke her own British record.

Icelandic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is enjoying his time as head coach of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz.

The 55-year-old former professional footballer was appointed as the head man for Jamaica in September last year after a four-year stint at Qatari club Al-Arabi from 2018-2021.

Before that, Hallgrimsson was a member of the coaching staff of his native Iceland from 2013-2018.

He was initially appointed as assistant coach to Lars Lagerback before being promoted to joint-head coach after the 2014 World Cup.

Hallgrimsson and Lagerback oversaw the most successful period in the country’s football history including a quarter-final berth at Euro 2016. He officially took over as head coach when Lagerback left to coach Norway after Euro 2016.

“The experience has been good,” stated Hallgrimsson to Sportsmax.TV at the JFF’s official Adidas kit launch at their headquarters on Tuesday about his first few months coaching the Reggae Boyz.

“There are a lot of things I need to learn first before I can really change things. It takes time. You’ll never know everything but it’s better to do the work in the beginning than to slowly learn,” added Hallgrimsson.

He says his focus, as of late, has been to try to learn about Jamaica’s football culture.

“I’ve been doing this. The first two camps I had in January were to get to know the players and the ones that were recommended or played before,” he said.

“In February, I’ve been focusing on the domestic league and domestic players, trying to learn the football culture in Jamaica, watching training sessions, talking to coaches and owners. Maybe, in one week, I will need to start to watch the players playing abroad because it takes a lot of time to do as well,” he added.

When questioned about immediate plans for the Reggae Boyz, Hallgrimsson mentioned that the next few games will give him and his staff an opportunity to see as many players play as possible.

“We play in Trinidad and Tobago on the 11^th and the 14^th of March. That is good preparation and I think that match will feature players from the domestic league. Then we have the game in Mexico at the end of March and there, we will have the ability to bring in all the players that we want because that’s a FIFA window. We then have a game against Guatemala in early April where we can, hopefully, get some of the players in the US that were not in the Mexico squad.”

“The purpose of all this is to try give as many players as possible a chance to play so we can have the best squad possible in the Gold Cup this summer.”

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup is scheduled for June 24-July 16 in California.

The Reggae Boyz were beaten 0-1 by the USA in the quarter-finals at the 2021 edition.

Bahamian 400m superstar Steven Gardiner ran a season’s best to win the 300m at the Radd Collegiate Last Chance meet in Gainesville on Thursday.

The 27-year-old ran 32.58, the fifth fastest time in the world this year, to win the event ahead of Jamaica’s Mario Heslop (33.67) and Fabian Hewitt (34.42). Gardiner holds the World Record for the event with a 31.56 clocking in January 2022.

Gardiner, who finished top of the podium at the 2019 World Championships and 2021 Olympics, opened his season with a 33.03 effort to win his section of the 300m at the South Carolina Invitational on February 3.

The 2017 World Championship silver medallist is working his way back from a heel injury that forced him out of action for seven months, meaning he was unable to defend his World title in Eugene in July.

His last race before the layoff was on the 24^th of June at the Bahamas Championships in Nassau where he won in 45.22.

Elsewhere, Guyanese Olympian Aliyah Abrams won the women’s 400m in 52.09 ahead of Jessica Gbai (53.64) and Alexis Williams (55.39).

Brianna Lyston and Rikkoi Brathwaite secured second place finishes in their respective 60m races at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Twilight at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on Friday.

Lyston, the 18-year-old Jamaican LSU freshman and 2022 World Under-20 200m Champion, followed up her personal best 7.29 performance at the Tyson Invitational on February 10 with a 7.30 effort for second.

The race was won by Lyston’s LSU teammate and Nigerian Commonwealth Games 200m silver medallist Favor Ofili who ran 7.18 while Symone Mason of Tiger Olympians was third in 7.39.

The British Virgin Islands’ Brathwaite, formerly of Indiana University and now representing the Garden State Track Club, ran 6.63 in the men’s equivalent. The race was won by LSU’s Godson Oghenebrume in 6.58 while his LSU teammate Da’Marcus Fleming was third in 6.70.

Brathwaite, 23, was a finalist at the NACAC Championships in Freeport last year, running 10.20 for fifth.

In the field, Bahamian Northwestern State sophomore Carnitra Mackey threw a personal best 14.06m to win the women’s shot out ahead of teammate Deanmonique Granville (13.15m) and McNeese State’s Jaslyn Russell (13.04m).

Brathwaite’s countryman, Northwestern State junior Djimon Gumbs, was second in the men’s equivalent with a best throw of 17.93m. LSU’s Chilean Olympian Claudio Romero threw 18.06m for the win while McNeese State’s Marcus Francis was well behind in third with 15.02m.

The Caribbean was well represented at Friday’s University of South Carolina Indoor Open in Columbia, South Carolina.

Guyana's Lloyd McCurdy and Jamaican Sadiki Marsh were among the winners on the men’s side.

The 23-year-old McCurdy, competing unattached, jumped a personal best 16.04m to take the win ahead of Jamaicans Shemar Miller, who did 15.27m, and Rajaun Ricketts who did 14.99m. Both Miller and Ricketts attend Benedict College.

Marsh, also a student at Benedict College, won the 800m in 1:55.86 ahead of the Wingate University pair of Ben Aris (1:57.53) and Jakob Rettschlag (1:57.80).

Trinidadian Limestone College senior Che’ Lara ran a personal best 47.68 for second in the 400m behind South Carolina’s William Spencer Jr who ran 47.38 for the win. South Carolina’s Edward Richardson was third in 48.37 while Jamaican St. Augustine’s sophomore Sean Kalawan was fifth 48.96.

Lara’s Limestone College teammate, Grenadian Kurt Modeste, ran 21.33 for third in the 200m behind South Carolina’s Evan Miller (20.95) and Lenoir-Rhyne’s Trent Davis (21.23).

On the women’s side, Haiti’s Mulern Jean sped to 8.27 to win the 60m hurdles. Barbados’ Tia-Adana Belle was second in 8.40 while Jamaican Charleston Southern senior Chaneal Harris was third in 8.55.

Belle also enjoyed a top-three finish in the 200m, finishing third in 24.38 behind 17-year-old American sensation Shawnti Jackson (22.91) and Charleston Southern’s Lauryn James (24.16).

Dominica’s Mariah Toussaint was also a winner on the day, jumping 6.20m to comfortably win the long jump ahead of the University of West Georgia’s Pashience Collier (5.71m) and William Carey’s Zaniyah Wilson (5.68m).

Johnson Charles made a spectacular 79* to lead the Comilla Victorians to a seven-wicket victory over the Sylhet Strikers in the final of the Bangladesh Premier League at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday.

The Strikers made 175-7 from their 20 overs after the Victorians won the toss and elected to field first.

Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with an unbeaten 74 off 48 balls including five fours and three sixes.

Earlier, opener Najmul Hossain Shanto made a 45-ball 64 including nine fours and a six. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman took 2-21 off his four overs for the Victorians.

The Victorians then needed 19.2 overs to reach their target, with the chase being led by half centuries from Charles and opener Litton Das.

Das made a 39-ball 55 including seven fours and one six to lay the foundation for Charles.

The St. Lucian’s innings lasted 52 balls and included seven fours and five sixes as he, along with captain Moeen Ali who finished 25*, steered the Victorians to their second BPL title in a row and fourth overall.

Charles ended the 2023 BPL as the 11^th highest run-scorer with 308 runs in nine matches including one fifty and one hundred. He also hit the most sixes in the tournament with 26.

Scores: Sylhet Strikers 175-7 off 20 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 74*, Najmul Hossain Shanto 64, Mustafizur Rahman 2-21) Comilla Victorians 176-3 off 19.2 overs (Johnson Charles 79*, Litton Das 55, Rubel Hossain 2-39)