Captained then by spinner Nikita Miller, Jamaica made 188 for nine off their allotment of 50 overs, to which Guyana replied with 189 for four. A season earlier, Jamaica were blown away for a record low 49 at the same stage by hosts Trinidad and Tobago, who replied with 51 for three. “It’s a pretty decent squad, full of talent and confidence and I am expecting a lot,” noted Bennett. “The preparation was good, with four trial matches and a practice match and, in addition, the team has gelled well.” The Scorpions, after their first three group games, are slated to welcome West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor and batsman Jermaine Taylor, who are currently in Australia with the West Indies team. They are down to replace emerging pacer Nicholson Gordon and Shacaya Thomas, who are not part of the original 14-man squad, but has been added as cover. Jamaica will start against the Trinidadians tomorrow at the Queen’s Park Oval, before going up against ICC Americas on Saturday at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground. They are then slated to face Barbados next Monday, also at Queen’s Park, in their third group fixture. The teams will then replay each other, before the top two from the group advance to the semi-finals. Guyana, co-hosts Leeward Islands Hurricanes, Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and Windward Island Volcanoes will contest Group B. Jamaica Scorpions squad: John Campbell (captain), Trevon Griffith, Jermaine Harrison, Andre McCarthy, Jermaine Blackwood, Tamar Lambert, Brandon King, Devon Thomas, Nikita Miller, Damion Jacobs, Aldaine Thomas, Marquino Mindley, Sheldon Cotterell, Jerome Taylor. Reserves: Shacaya Thomas, Nicholson Gordon. RECORD LOW After surrendering at the semi-final stages of the WICB NAGICO Super50 for the past two seasons, Jamaica Scorpions coach Junior Bennett is hoping to go better this time. The team, with new captain John Campbell, is considered one of the tournament favourites alongside co-hosts Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, Barbados Pride and Guyana Jaguars. “The aim is to definitely go beyond the semi-finals this year,” stated Bennett, prior to the team’s departure on Monday. “Last year we played fairly well in early stages, but the luck just did not go our way.” Jamaica, who last tasted regional one-day success in 2011 – under the captaincy of Chris Gayle – defeated Leeward Islands Hurricanes by nine wickets, before losing to Trinidad by 17 runs in their second fixture of the 2014 season. They then rallied to beat West Indies Under-19s by nine wickets in their third fixture to qualify. They were, however, beaten by Guyana Jaguars by six wickets in the semi-finals.
After the disappointment of missing out on a place in the Sunshine Girls’ netball squad to the 2015 World Cup in Australia, popular goal shooter Thristina Harwood is determined to get back to her best and retake her place as one of the most reliable shooters in the national team. The UWI student admitted that school commitments hampered her ability to train consistently with the team last year, which led the coaching staff leaving her out of the final World Cup squad. But although she thought the decision was a just one, she admitted it was disappointing. However, the 21-year-old who had an outstanding collegiate season with UWI and appears to be rediscovering her best form revealed that she has been putting in a lot of extra work on her own outside of her regular training time in order to shed some of the weight she has gained, maintain her fitness and help her return to the top of her game. “I think it was an okay decision (being left out of World Cup squad) because I had extra classes and I was really missing a lot of training, and you know school comes first,” she recollected. “So, days when they had fitness sessions, I could not make it because I had classes, even night classes. So I totally understand when they said I was not fit, and it is true. I wasn’t fit enough to go (World Cup). As far as shooting and movement are concerned I have that, but fitness plays a major part in games, so I totally understood that,” she told Saturday Sports. Going to school and representing the national team is very challenging as Harwood has found out, but she has made a commitment to get back to her best and has started putting in the groundwork so that when the next Sunshine Girl assignment comes around, she will be in the kind of shape she needs to be in, in order to stake her claim for a place in the team. UWI’s success this season was largely down to the 2013 Fast5 MVP, whose long-range shooting and movement in and around the circle, was unmatched and she intends to build on her progress. “I am very serious for this year because I want to get back to the old Thristina. I have shed a little weight because I gained a few pounds … . I will have classes and I will miss a day or two (of national training), but I am also going to play basketball, so that will help to keep my fitness level up. You can definitely look out for a new Thristina Harwood, new physical appearance, much fitter, and playing excellent netball,” she stated.
Jamaica slumped to their second defeat of the WICB Under-19 Championship when they went down by 30 runs to Trinidad and Tobago at Manchester High yesterday.Set a modest 216 runs to win in their fifth-round contest, Jamaica were bowled out for 185 off 39 overs.Brad Barnes, with a top score of 60, led the way for the Jamaicans, however, his 103 ball knock, inclusive of four fours and a six, before being the third to last wicket to fall, went in vain.He was supported by Shahid Crooks, with 30, and Ryan Burnett and Odean Smith with 18 each.This was against the fast bowling pair of Anderson Phillips four for 48 and Akeel Seetal, two for 38. Left-am spinner Bryan Boodran, two for 35, also got among the wickets.Earlier, pacers Oshane Thomas, four for 36, and Odean Smith, three for 28, lead the Jamaicans in the field, as Trinidad were bowled out with 4.3 overs of their maximum 50 overs remaining.Javid Goolie, 55 and Kristen Kallicharan, 38, emerged as the visitors’ leading rungetters.The result took Jamaica to two wins and two losses with two matches remaining in the seven-team round-robin preliminary round.The top two teams will contest the final.Elsewhere, high-riding Wind-ward Islands recorded their third win of the tournament when they got the better of Barbados at St Elizabeth Technical.Barbados were first bowled out for a paltry 138 off 45 overs before the Windwards responded with 139 for five off 36 overs.
FOOTBALL: CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier vs Costa Rica Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will be aiming to make the National Stadium their fortress tonight as they seek to beat Costa Rica and lift their chances of advancing to the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. The Group Two CONCACAF fourth round battle will kick off at 7 o’clock at the venue which was called ‘The Office’ during the journey to France 98 campaign because the Boyz couldn’t lose there during the qualification campaign. In recent matches the venue has not been as impregnable as in the past. The Boyz lost 0-2 against Panama on November 13 and 2-3 on September 4 last year against Nicaragua in their last outings there. The Panama game was the opening match in this four-team semi-final round qualification. Both countries are now locked on three points after two matches. Jamaica rebounded and won their second game, on the road — 1-0 in Port-Au-Prince. Costa Rica have a perfect record in the group. They had a 1-0 home win over the Haitians and a 2-1 away success at Panama City, victories that have given them group leadership with maximum six points. Head coach, Winfried Schäfer, views the qualification as a step by step process. “Only focus is Costa Rica, Costa Rica, Costa Rica,” he said. As they’ve branded their campaign the ‘Road to Russia’, Schäfer said along the route “we’ve many stones”. Continuing, he theorised: “We can stop or build from the stone the bridge to Russia. Many, many stones are very, very heavy and for this we need the support. “… When we win then the next step (to the final round) is we’ve to work in Costa Rica too,” he said of next Tuesday’s return fixture. “It’s the same,” he said. “Before we talk about Russia we’ve to win on Friday. We’ve to win against Costa Rica and against Panama, it’s step by step, we’ve to build.” “It’s gonna be vital in terms of progressing through this group,” key midfielder Jobi McAnuff said about the Boyz transforming their play on home territory. “The home games are very, very important. “We’re still disappointed with the last two we’ve had and we need to make sure we transfer the away performances back here at The Office and make sure we win the game.” This is the third of six matches this round and only two will qualify to the final six, the CONCACAF Hexagonal, that ultimately decides the three or four World Cup qualifiers. “Every game is crucial, especially when it’s in a tight little group like this,” McAnuff pointed out. “There’s only four teams and it’s important not to lose, because then you lose too much ground. So if we win at home that would give us a good platform to go to the away leg and try and get another result over there.” McAnuff represents one of Schäfer’s key materials, given his leadership role on the pitch and the type of skill that saw him weave through the heart of the Costa Rica team with a dribble from half-line before scoring from inside the penalty box, when the teams last met. That was a 2-2 result at the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer, when Jamaica were on a high and made a first-time appearance in the final. Before that, the teams also drew 1-1 at the National Stadium in World Cup qualification when Schäfer had just arrived and sprang crowd favourite Jermain “Tuffy” Anderson on to the pitch for a late equaliser. “Tuffy” is not part of this group, but practically everybody from the Gold Cup final appearance remains, with the exception of captain Rodolph Austin and striker Giles Barnes. Austin, just recovering from injury, may play the return match. In his absence Adrian Mariappa will captain the team, playing in defence alongside Wes Morgan, the captain of much-storied English Premiership leaders Leicester City, who has promised to “give his all” for the Boyz. Their presence, along with Je-Vaughn Watson, Garath McCleary, Michael Hector, Simon Dawkins and others has strengthened Schäfer’s belief that they can get a good result at home. “The last time we lost at home – the first match the players were not ready for Nicaragua and the last match the team was not ready for the situation, one day before,” he said of pay disputes ahead of the game. “But now I think the team is ready. “They (Costa Rica) are a very good team, they’ve very good players,” he pointed out. “We played two times — 1-1, 2-2 and we’ve to watch what we’re doing at home. All players want to be in Russia.” “Very positive,” is how McAnuff labelled their attitude. “We put up a very good performance the last time we played them in the Gold Cup and to be honest they were lucky to come away with a draw. We finished very strongly and they will be wary of what we’ve got to offer.”
LEICESTER (4-4-1-1)SCHMEICHEL,SIMPSON, HUTH,MORGAN, FUCHS,MAHREZ, DRINKWATER, KANTE, ALBRIGHTON,OKAZAKI,VARDYPELLE, LONG,TADIC, ROMEU, CLASIE, S. DAVIS,BERTRAND, VAN DIJK, FONTE, MARTINA,FORSTERSOUTHAMPTON (4-2-3-1)Leicester City are five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League though second-placed Tottenham Hotspur play a day earlier and could reduce that deficit to two points.Riyad Mahrez has become Leicester’s danger man; he has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than anyone else (16 goals, 11 assists), two more than teammate Jamie Vardy (25).Mahrez has scored more winning goals in the Premier League than any other player this season. Mahrez has also netted more away league goals this season than any other player (12).Mahrez and Vardy have set each other up for eight Premier League goals this season (five Mahrez assists, three Vardy assists), a joint-high along with Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud.Interestingly, Leicester have won 13 games by a one goal margin this season, more than any other.Southampton, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last three league games, winning the last two. Last time out, at home to Liverpool, they came back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2, with Sadio Mane scoring a late winner.At St Mary’s Stadium in October, Saints led 2-0 but Vardy scored two late goals to earn the Foxes a point. Vardy has 19 goals for Leicester though he has gone five without a club goal.However, Vardy scored in successive England games last week, in Germany and at home to the Netherlands.Leicester test goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Matthew James and Andy King. Southampton, meanwhile, test Ryan Bertrand and are without Jay Rodriguez, Charlie Austin and Florin Gardos.
In yesterday’s daCosta Cup Zone D fixture between Little London High (12 points) and Manning’s at the Little London playing field, the host came away with an edgy 2-1 victory to remain second in the zone behind Godfrey Stewart (15 points).Over in Zone H, Thompson Town’s shock defeat of the high-flying Lennon High 1-0, taking them up into second place in the standings behind pacesetters Clarendon College. Thompson Town now has 12 points, with Lennon third on 10 points.A 39th minute penalty by Dadrian Davis gave Little London the lead, which was doubled just after the half-time break, when Shane Ricketts hit one that was too powerful for the Manning’s goalkeeper Jemar Lue to do anything about.But Manning’s did save face with a goal in the 76th minute. Second half substitute Romaine Mongal stole the ball in a tackle with Clifford Clarke, the Little London net-tender to fire into the unguarded net.Manning’s had the chance to steal a draw but their 89th minute penalty, taken by midfielder Jevaughn Facey hit the upright.Moments later the match was over and Little London proved they are one of the teams to watch, as coach Jeffrey Reece has them ticking like clockwork.They remain the only team in Zone D yet to lose a match.Yesterday’s resultsTacky High 0, St Mary High 1Little London 2, Manning’s 1Alston 2, Holmwood 1Christiana 0, Spalding 1Bellefield 1, May Day High 1Thompson Town 1, Lennon 0
The Independent Anti-Doping Panel (IADP) overseeing the case involving national 400 metres runner Riker Hylton and the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) has ruled that it has no jurisdiction to overturn the provisional suspension issued to the athlete by the commission. The panel made the announcement Friday afternoon during the second day of the preliminary hearing at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. It added that the proper course of action for Hylton is to make an appeal elsewhere. This may be through the Jamaican Appeals Tribunal or the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Hylton’s attorney, Dr Emir Crowne, said that in making this ruling, the panel has “implicitly sanctioned an unfair hearing process”. “I’m fairly certain that when WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) approved those rules and JADCO said it controls its own formal procedure, that WADA themselves interpreted that to mean that there is a right to a fair and impartial hearing,” Crowne added. JADCO’s attorney, Lackston Robinson, declined to speak with the media about the ruling. NEXT COURSE OF ACTION Crowne said that he now has to speak with Hylton, who was not present at Friday’s session, to decide their next course of action in terms of filing an appeal. “It (the ruling) leaves athletes in almost an unconscionable position because the filing fee alone to CAS is 1,000 Swiss Francs (about Ja$130,000),” he said. “I don’t know how many Jamaican athletes or Jamaicans, period, have 1,000 Francs lying around to file an appeal to CAS, and that’s just the filing fee. The fee for a single arbitrator is 9,000 Francs (about Ja$1,155,000) and a panel of three starts at 18,000 (about Ja$2,300,000) Swiss Francs.” Since the panel did not specify that athletes go to CAS for their appeals, as it only suggested making an appeal, it means Hylton’s team can now go before the Jamaican Appeals Tribunal, but with the official hearing set to start on May 30, Crowne believes it may be a pointless process due to the time it may take to get an overturn by that method. Hylton is accused by JADCO of breaching Article 2.3 of its rules, alleging that he failed or evaded to submit a sample requested by a collection officer. His provisional suspension bars him from participating in track and field whether by training or competing during his hearing.
Andre Lowe, Sports Editor Maurice Wilson, the technical director of Jamaica’s team to the IAAF World Relays is expecting the sudden death of national high jump record holder Germaine Mason to have a strong impact on the island’s athletes, many of whom passed his corpse on the way to the Norman Manley International Airport on Thursday morning. The team left the island in groups today for Nassau, The Bahamas where the relay carnival is slated to take place Saturday and Sunday. A number of team members and officials were among the first on the scene of the accident as they made their way to the airport. Wilson, while expressing sadness at the 34 year-old’s passing, has no doubt that the experience would have shaken up some of the athletes and is expecting the team’s management to provide all the necessary support during the championships. “It’s a very sad day and may his soul rest in peace,” Wilson told The Gleaner shortly before the team’s departure. “It’s extremely sad. It has to be difficult for the athletes, a lot of them actually passed through the accident scene but they are warriors and I know they will want to perform for him.” “It’s always difficult when you have these tragic circumstances with persons who you are close to but we are resilient people and the athletes will pull through,” he said. “I am quite sure there will be some sort of intervention. The management is ahead and I know they will be putting things in place to help to assist the athletes in this tragic period,” added Wilson. The IAAF World Relays will take place at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium in Nassau. Mason, who holds both the national junior (2.27m) and senior (2.34m) records, represented Jamaica at the junior and senior level winning bronze at the World Indoor Championships in 2004. He would later represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games where he won a silver medal.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP):Pedro Rodriguez scored an eye-catching long-range goal as Chelsea closed in on the English Premier League title by beating Everton 3-0 yesterday.Chelsea stayed four points ahead of Tottenham. Antonio Conte will be guaranteed the trophy in his first season in charge of Chelsea if the leaders win three of their last four games ahead of the FA Cup final against Arsenal.”We have to have great enthusiasm and great patience because I think we are having a great season but to become a fantastic season we must win (the league),” Conte said. “Now it is important for us to prepare the right way the next game. If we don’t win against Middlesbrough (on May 8) then you lose this great win.”Everton’s eight-match winning run at Goodison Park ended after Pedro broke through the home resistance in the 66th minute. Pedro collected the ball on the edge of the area, shifted it onto his left foot and fired a shot from 25 yards (meters) just under the crossbar.Gary Cahill then bundled home in the 79th minute after goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg saved Eden Hazard’s low freekick, and substitute Willian completed the victory seven minutes later.MASSIVE GAME”This feels massive,” Cahill told broadcaster Sky Sports. “We’ve done what we needed to do. You can see the celebrations at the end. We knew this was a massive game, one of the hardest we had.”It was convincing in the end, but we had to work very hard for it. We felt we needed to go to the next level in the second half. It was a special goal from Pedro. In some games you need a bit of class.”Europa League-chasing Everton is seventh.
The Jamaica Boxing Board of Control (JBBC) has ruled that Tsetsi Davis’ split decision win over Team Canada’s Dave Leblond in the Wray & Nephew Contender Series will not be overturned. However, Leblond will be returning to the competition to compete next week. A source close to the JBBC said that although Leblond lost his appeal to have a rematch with Davis, on the grounds of “egregious judging”, he will be taking the place of Canadian Ryan Wagner for next week’s match. “Wagner, who was supposed to fight next week for Canada, did not pass his medical. He failed the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), so his doctor did not pass him to fight,” the source told The Gleaner. RETURNING TO COMPETITION Leblond’s trainer Patrice Trudeau said that he is glad that they will be returning to the competition as they love Jamaica and its people whom he described as friendly and welcoming to them on their visit last month. “Right now, he (Leblond) is pumped up because he knows that Jamaicans are behind him,” Trudeau said. “We’ve been talking about this for weeks, saying ‘Wow, this is unbelievable!’. “Dave will do his best, but we want to go and put on a good outing because we want to express our gratitude to the Jamaicans who are supporting us. We want to give the Jamaican fans a present because they’ve been such good support for us.” Leblond will now be up against Team Jamaica’s Nico Yeyo, who will be making his professional debut. “We’re taking this fight seriously because Dave had only one fight before Tsetsi,”Trudeau added. “It’s the same with Yeyo, so, of course, we’re gonna take him seriously. In this sport, you don’t win by pure talent. You’ve got to have the fire. We want a chance to stay longer in Jamaica and to possibly face Tsetsi again in a rematch (later in the competition).”