The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has come in for severe criticism from Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo, who argued that cricket belongs to the national boards, countries, and players rather than an “amalgamation” of the territories under one board. Jagdeo’s swipe at the regional board comes days after the Prime Ministerial Sub- Committee on Cricket was revived with the aim of addressing issues affecting West Indies cricket and the strained relationship between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA). The WICB has attracted much negative publicity of recent…
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Hard and fast Andy Roberts: – take no prisoners, show no mercy. So what if you’ve got to wear pink on occasion?
By Fazeer Mohammed His name alone was enough to attract attention. Coming from a country considered for long to be on the very distant frontier of West Indies cricket, Anderson Montgomery Everton Roberts had to be exceptional to break new ground for the people of his home island of Antigua. But it was not his raw pace, or those clever variations in the speed of his bouncers, or the growing list of batsmen he sent to hospital that first drew my attention to him. Nope; it was Andy Roberts the…
Read MoreGayle to ‘explore opportunities’ but won’t quit
Chris Gayle has said he “will explore the opportunities available” to him elsewhere, since he can no longer wait on the WICB to resolve their issues with him, but is available for selection for West Indies and Jamaica, and has ruled out retirement. In a long and emotional public statement, Gayle said communication with officials of the West Indies and Jamaica cricket boards had broken down, and he traced the evolution of the long-running and bitter dispute back to 2009, when Ernest Hilaire, now CEO of the WICB, cast doubts…
Read MoreYoung Achievers produce another special performance
Defending champions Young Achievers produced another special performance to emerge winners of the second leg of this year’s Tradewind Tankers ‘True Champion’ Volleyball tournament which continued in Berbice recently. The West Demerara side remained unbeaten throughout the day and in the process grabbed the Gy$20,000 top prize up for grabs for being the team with the most points at the end of the Sixes phase of the competition, while Port Mourant Jaguars One ended runners- up to take home Gy$10,000. At the conclusion of the phase, six teams moved into…
Read MoreRohan Kanhai -A flashing blade, a canny mind
By Rajan Bala For the sheer pleasure that he gave the world as a batsman, Rohan B Kanhai is my favourite cricketer. Averaging fractionally under 48 in a distinguished Test career that saw him rise to become the captain of West Indies, Rohan had Bradmanesque qualities. This implies that he was ruthless, uncaring of the reputations of bowlers, and daring in his strokeplay. But, at the same time, he was a crafty batsman who understood the finer points of technique better than most. The great Sunil Gavaskar shares my view…
Read MoreBarath, Bishoo move up Test match rankings
Exciting West Indies opener Adrian Barath and rookie leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo have made significant jumps in the latest ICC Test Player rankings released on June 24. The 20-year-old Barath has risen 29 spots to 62 in the batting rankings, while Bishoo has leapt 12 spots to 49 in the bowling rankings. Both players made substantial contributions during the First Digicel Test against India in Jamaica, which West Indies lost by 63 runs inside four days on June 23. Barath stroked a top score of 64 in the first innings and…
Read MoreStephenson captures gold, silver in Florida
Guyanese CARIFTA gold medallist Jessica Stephenson competed at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale International Invitational swim meet last weekend, and managed to secure a silver and a gold medal in two of her three breaststroke events. The 16-year-old Junior Sportswoman-of-the-Year runner-up won the 100m breaststroke on the night of June 25 after placing second in the 200m earlier that day, according to her mother Davina Stephenson. Davina reported that her daughter was among more than 1,056 swimmers at the meet last weekend. She was also expected to compete in the 50m breaststroke…
Read MoreCaribbean Classics
– In the run-up to the 2,000th Test, the website Cricinfo looks at some of West Indies’ more memorable Tests – from George Headley’s twin centuries to Taylor’s decimation of England Georgetown, 1929- 30 West Indies lost their first three Tests in England, in 1928, by an innings, and things didn’t look too good when their next series, at home to England early in 1930s, started with a draw and another heavy defeat. And then things started to look up: they won their sixth match by a whopping 289 runs.…
Read MoreCapital city champs!
Marian Academy overcome 19-point deficit to beat Saints 70-59 and win Georgetown Conference BY KIEV CHESNEY To be down by 19 points in the second half of a basketball game is bordering on a blowout. It is a position that few teams can come back from, and usually the time when the coach gives his reserves their first sweat of the game. But last Sunday evening, June 26, Marian Academy refused to go quietly into the night. They refused to disappoint the many family members, friends and other supporters…
Read MoreDravid masterclass puts India on top
On a Sabina Park track with plentiful turn and unpredictable bounce, Rahul Dravid gave a resounding reminder of his value to the side with his 32nd Test century, which put India on top in Jamaica. After his painstakingly constructed innings left West Indies an exacting target of 326, the home side’s openers began the pursuit with an exhilarating flurry of strokes before a pair of superb catches slowed West Indies’ charge. Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo resisted for the final hour to keep the home side’s hopes alive. Dravid, the…
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