Preston McSween starred with his fifth first-class five wicket haul as the Windward Islands Volcanoes completed a comfortable six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes on day four of their fourth-round fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Saturday.

The Hurricanes started the day 99-5 off 39 overs with a lead of 128 runs in their second innings with Montcin Hodge on 45 and Kofi James yet to get off the mark.

Hodge ended up making a top score of 59 as the Leewards eventually folded for 144 off 55 overs.

McSween led the charge with the ball for the Volcanoes with 5-39 off 13 overs while Larry Edward took 3-9 from eight in support.

Chasing 174 for victory, the Volcanoes reached 32-0 at lunch with Teddy Bishop on 15 and Keron Cottoy on 12.

They lost three wickets after the resumption, including first innings centurion Kavem Hodge, but Alick Athanaze, who also got a century in the first innings, and Sunil Ambris steadied the ship.

At tea, the Volcanoes were 151-3 off 34 overs, needing only 23 more runs to win with Athanaze on 31 and Ambris on 28.

Shortly after tea, Athanaze was dismissed for 38 before Ambris and Tevyn Walcott guided the Volcanoes to 174-4 off 38 overs. Ambris finished 40*.

Rakheem Cornwall took 2-53 off 13 overs for the Hurricanes.

Kevin Sinclair took 4-37 to lead the Guyana Harpy Eagles to a 228-run win over the Jamaica Scorpions on day four of their fourth-round fixture at Providence on Saturday.

The Scorpions started day four 176-1 off 43 overs with a glimmer of hope of pulling off a historic chase.

That hope was quickly dashed as Tevin Gilzene and Jermaine Blackwood, who entered the day on 81 and 66, respectively, were swiftly dismissed for 85 and 67. Paul Palmer Jr also went for a duck in between those wickets as the Scorpions were suddenly 207-4.

The wickets continued to tumble as the Scorpions were eventually bowled out for 229 in the 67^th over.

Sinclair finished with figures of 4-37 off 18.2 overs while Ronsford Beaton took 3-85 off 17 and Veerasammy Permaul took 2-23 off 11.

Opener Zachary McCaskie hit his second fifty of the game to lead the Barbados Pride to a seven-wicket victory over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force on day four of their fourth-round fixture at Queen’s Park Oval on Saturday.

The Pride started day four 52-2 off 23 overs, needing a further 66 runs to win with McCaskie and Jomel Warrican at the crease on 29 and zero, respectively.

Only Warrican was dismissed for the Bajans as they needed only 14.4 overs on Saturday to complete a successful chase.

They ended up 118-3 off 37.4 overs. McCaskie, who made a career-best 92 in the first innings, ended 55* while Jonathan Drakes produced a 29-ball 27*.

Bryn Charles took 3-29 off 16 overs for the Red Force.

Kavem Hodge scored his fourth first-class hundred but it was the Leeward Islands Hurricanes who ended day three of their fourth-round fixture against the Windward Islands Volcanoes with a 128-run second innings lead at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Friday.

The Volcanoes started the day 206-2 with Alick Athanaze and Kavem Hodge at the crease on 105 and 85, respectively.

The pair, who came together with the Volcanoes 10-2, brought their third-wicket partnership up to 246 before Athanaze’s knock was brought to an end on 128.

It was quickly 256-4 when Sunil Ambris only lasted one ball.

During the innings Hodge brought up his fourth first-class hundred, reaching 125 by the time lunch came around.

His partner at lunch was Justin Greaves who was on four as the Windwards were 298-5 off 75 overs, trailing the Hurricanes by 84 runs.

After the break, The Windwards lost the wickets of Hodge for 137 and Tevyn Walcott for 17 to be 314-6 in the 81^st over.

Justin Greaves had to leave the field when he was on eight after being struck on the helmet by a Jeremiah Louis bouncer. He would later return to the crease when the Windwards were 348-9.

On the stroke of tea, the Windwards innings ended on 353-9 off 95 overs, with them just 29 runs short of a first-innings lead, after Shermon Lewis retired hurt after apparently feeling ill on the field. Greaves was left stranded on 12.

Louis took 4-46 while Cornwall took 4-102 for the Hurricanes.

At stumps, the Hurricanes reached 99-5 off 39 overs. Montcin Hodge has, so far, faced 114 balls for his 45.

Earlier, Preston McSween removed Kieran Powell and Akeem Saunders for four and 11, respectively, to have figures of 2-26 off six overs so far.

Nat Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten 72 to lead the Mumbai Indians to the final of the inaugural Women’s Premier League after a 72-run win over the UP Warriorz in the eliminator at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Friday.

The Indians batted first after losing the toss and posted 182-5 in their 20 overs.

Sciver-Brunt’s knock 72* lasted only 38 deliveries and included nine fours and two sixes.

Amelia Kerr and Hayley Matthews also made valuable contributions with 29 and 26, respectively, against 2-39 from Sophie Ecclestone.

The Warriorz reply was a tame one as Kiran Navgire, with 43, was the only meaningful contributor as they were bowled out for 110 in only 17.4 overs.

Issy Wong led the way with the ball for the Indians with 4-15, including a hat trick, while Saika Ishaque took 2-24 from 2.4 overs.

The Mumbai Indians will now play the Delhi Capitals in the final at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

Opener Zachary McCaskie fell eight runs shy of a maiden first-class hundred as the Barbados Pride hold a 37-run lead over the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force after day two of their fourth-round fixture at the Queen’s Park Oval

At lunch, the Pride were 108-3 off 40 overs. Zachary McCaskie and Shane Dowrich were the batsmen at the crease on 71 and two, respectively.

McCaskie carried on after lunch and looked set for his maiden first-class ton before he fell for 92.

At tea, the Pride were 222-6 off 72 overs. Roshon Primus and Akeem Jordan were the batsmen at the crease on 38 and 22, respectively.

Shortly after tea, Primus brought up his fifty before being dismissed for a 71-ball 53.

Eventually, the Pride were bowled out for 271 in 85 overs, a first innings lead of 68 runs.

The Red Force were 31-2 in their second innings at stumps, trailing by 37 runs with Darren Bravo (20) and Brian Charles (5) at the crease.

Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul and wicket-keeper/batsman Tevin Imlach notched late half-centuries as the Guyana Harpy Eagles ended day two of their fourth-round fixture against the Jamaica Scorpions with a 301-run second innings lead at Providence.

The hosts began the day 268-9 off 86.3 overs.

Harpy Eagles captain Leon Johnson carried on from his overnight 142 to finish 150* as Guyana were bowled out for 278 off 88.1 overs.

Marquino Mindley ended with 3-34 while Ojay Shields and Derval Green both ended with two wickets.

The Scorpions endured a horrendous start to their reply losing half of the team for just 24 runs inside six overs and three balls.

Eventually, they found themselves 64-9 in the 18^th over before a39-run 10^th wicket partnership between Derval Green and Nicholson Gordon meant they entered the lunch break 103-9 off 27 overs.

The pair added 12 more runs after lunch before Green fell for a top score 42 as the Scorpions were dismissed for 115 in 35.5 overs.

Nial Smith ended with 5-39 while Veerasammy Permaul and Ronsford Beaton took 3-22 and 2-22, respectively.

Mindley then led a Scorpions fightback before tea as he grabbed four quick wickets, including that of Leon Johnson, within the first 12 overs of the Harpy Eagles second innings.

The score at tea was 37-4 with Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 14 and Tevin Imlach yet to get off the mark.

After tea, Chanderpaul and Imlach continued on to leave the Harpy Eagles 138-4 at stumps, a lead of 301 runs with Chanderpaul on 60 and Imlach on 50.

Windward Islands Volcanoes captain Alick Athanaze and Leeward Islands Hurricanes all-rounder Kofi James both got centuries on day two of their fourth-round fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Thursday.

The Hurricanes began the day 271-6 off 90 overs with Karima Gore on 87 and James on 61.

Gore went on to make 93 off 198 balls including 13 fours and a six.

At lunch, they reached 338-7 off 116 overs with James on 96 and Jeremiah Louis on 18.

After the break, James carried on to bring up his maiden first-class ton before he was the second-to-last man to be dismissed, falling for 107 off 248 balls. Jeremiah Louis also made a valuable contribution with 45 as the Leewards declared their innings on 382-9 off 121.5 overs.

Shermon Lewis took 3-76 for the Volcanoes while new ball partner Preston McSween provided good support with 2-68.

At tea, the Windwards were 65-2 off 15 overs with in-form batsmen Kavem Hodge and captain Alick Athanaze at the crease on 33 and 21, respectively.

Athanaze and Hodge continued after tea, with the former bringing up his second hundred of the season, bringing his overall tally past 500 for the season. Hodge also brought up his third fifty of the season.

At Stumps, the Volcanoes were 206-2, trailing the Hurricanes by 176 runs with Athanaze and Hodge on 105 and 85, respectively.

There is a common saying that you’re not a true champion until you defend your title.

Well, if that’s the case, Leon "Rocky" Edwards can now officially call himself a UFC champion.

The 31-year-old Kingston-born British fighter, now 21-3 (1) in MMA, successfully defended his UFC Welterweight title with a majority decision win over Nigerian former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London over the weekend.

It was Edwards’ second straight win over Usman, who, before their last fight, was on a 19-fight win streak. That streak included a unanimous decision victory over Edwards back in 2015.

With that being said, their chapter appears to be closed with the question now being: who is next for Leon Edwards?

One good thing about being a UFC champion is that there’s never a shortage of opponents to choose from. In some cases, fighters even get to select who they want to defend their title against, no matter how deserving they truly are of that shot.

Edwards made his attempt at this when, in his post-fight press conference, he called out veteran Jorge Masvidal (35-16) who Edwards had a viral run-in with back in 2019.

On that fateful night, interestingly at the same venue where Edwards defended his title, Masvidal, after knocking out British Welterweight Darren Till in the second round of their main event, was giving an interview backstage after the fight.

Edwards, who was also victorious on the night after securing a split decision win over Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson, made some comments while walking past Masvidal during interview before telling the Miami native to “shut up.”

Masvidal then made his way over to Edwards and the two got into an altercation, with the former landing several unanswered punches to Edwards, who declined to press charges.

Two years later, the pair were scheduled to fight, officially this time, at UFC 269 in Las Vegas before Masvidal pulled out and the bout was scrapped.

Since the incident, their careers have gone on two different paths. Edwards just defended his title and has won four of five fights, with one no contest, while Masvidal is 2-3 in his last five fights, including three straight losses. Two of those came against Usman while his last came against Colby Covington, the man who UFC President Dana White has said is next for Edwards.

Masvidal is currently ninth in the UFC Welterweight rankings and will need to beat number five-ranked Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 next month for the UFC to even consider booking him against Edwards for the Welterweight belt.

Another contender for Edwards’ next fight is the aforementioned Colby Covington. Covington, 35, is a former Interim UFC Welterweight champion and is currently the number two-ranked Welterweight contender.

He is 2-2 in his last four fights with both losses coming in title fights against Usman. Covington, 17-3 in MMA, also weighed in as the back-up fighter for Saturday’s title fight between Edwards and Usman, signaling that he may be next in line for a title shot.

The other two main contenders are Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad.

Chimaev, ranked number three, is a Swedish wrecking ball who is currently 12-0 that could be fast-tracked to a title fight despite having only one win against a ranked fighter in the UFC. Him versus Edwards is unlikely as he is currently contemplating a move up to middleweight.

Muhammad, 22-3 in MMA, could very well have the best argument for a fight with Edwards based on merit. The 34-year-old is ranked number four and is currently on a nine-fight unbeaten streak including eight wins and one no contest.

Remember the no contest for Edwards? It came against Muhammad when they fought in a UFC Fight Night main event back in March 2021.

Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye in the second round leaving the latter unable to continue. It was determined that the poke was accidental by the referee, meaning, instead of a Muhammad win by disqualification, it was ruled a no contest. Perhaps those two could run it back with the belt on the line.

In the end, whether it’s Edwards vs Masvidal, Edwards vs Covington, Edwards vs Chimaev or Edwards vs Muhammad 2, we will all be watching. 

On September 6, 2022, US Virgin Islands born fighter Karl Williams competed on Week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series, a platform where fighters do battle to earn a UFC contract.

The 33-year-old heavyweight was able to secure a unanimous decision win over American Jimmy Lawson and secure a contract with the world’s biggest Mixed Martial Arts promotion.

On March 11, Williams won his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 221-Yan vs Dvalishvili.

He was able to dominate 30-year-old Polish fighter Lukasz Brzeski on the way to a unanimous decision win.

“Have fun and see where it goes,” was the game plan for the fight according to Williams.

“I wanted to come up with a game plan but I decided to just go out there and have fun. I prepared for everything so I just saw what he gave me and enjoyed,” he added.

Williams, who now boasts an 8-1 record in professional MMA, was born in the US Virgin Islands and now lives and trains in Atlanta.

With regards to his UFC debut, Williams says he was in awe.

“It was everything and more. I’m sitting in front of all these cameras. People aren’t going to see what I’m seeing, but this is amazing. The crowd, the people backstage, everything in the UFC leading up to this was just wonderful.”

Williams, who has competed at light-heavyweight (205 pounds) in the past, signaled his intentions to remain at heavyweight and return to the octagon as soon as possible.

“Not at all,” was his response to the media’s questions about a possible return to light heavyweight.

“The best thing about the UFC is having the performance institute (P.I.). Right after my fight on the Contender Series, I was staying here (in Las Vegas) to corner Chris Barnett and I went to the P.I. for a week and did all these tests. I was 237 thinking I was fat and out of shape. Then, when I went there and did a DEXA scan (scan to test bone density), they told me I had a lot of muscle so it would be hard for me to get down to 205. So, I took the easy way out and said I’ll just stay at heavyweight.”

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.