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SUNDAY CHRONICLE March 6, 2016
GTTA National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships…
‘To whom much is given, much is expected’ - Jones tells players
By Stephan Sookram “TO whom much is given, much is expected.” These were the words of Director of Sport Christopher Jones as he opened the 2016 edition of the National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships yesterday. Ongoing at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) sanctioned tournament which commenced on Friday, had a break on Saturday for a brief opening ceremony, graced by the presence of the NSC boss. And Jones, who was the guest speaker, said the players need to make proud those parents, administrators and coaches who are investing
their time and energies. In his brief remarks, the director opened by recounting words of the wise, while also adding that: “In any competition I consider that you have winners all round, because If you were not a winner, you would not have made it this far.” He continued, “If you do not win first in this competition but you get second or third, it simply means you’ve had a bad day and if you go back the next day, you can very well win first place.” He emphasised discipline as a watch word for the youngsters, saying: “In everything we do, we must demonstrate a level of discipline and respect for the game, because every game
Simmons out of World T20 due to back injury
WEST Indies batsman Lendl Simmons will miss the World Twenty20 after suffering a back injury. The West Indies Cricket Board(WICB) has not yet named a replacement and it is understood that the selectors, led by former captain Clive Lloyd, have not yet agreed on a unanimous choice. Dwayne Smith, who won the Man of the Match in the final of the Pakistan Super League after helping Islamabad United take the title last month, remains a favourite. The selectors, however, could also pick Barbados batsman Jonathan Carter, who was a part of the squad for the 2015 World Cup. Carter, who has only played ODIs for West Indies so far, made his debut in January 2015 against South Africa and went on to play three matches in the World Cup, scoring his only ODI fifty in the tournament. He has scored brisk hundreds for West Indies A and Barbados in the past and has played 51 T20 matches, scoring 906 runs, including one century and five fifties. Simmons is the fourth player from the West Indies squad to be ruled out of the World T20 in India. Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo had earlier withdrawn from the team. Narine, who had been banned from bowling in internationals in November last year due to a suspect action stated cited “insufficient progress in the rehabilitative work” on his action as the reason for his withdrawal. Pollard had not rehabilitated sufficiently from a knee injury he suffered last November, while Bravo pulled out by stating he wanted to focus on Test cricket. Simmons was a part of the West Indies squad for the 2009, 2012 and 2014 editions of the World T20, although he did not play a game in 2012 when the side won the tournament. He has played 34 T20Is since his debut in June 2007, scoring 761 runs at an average of 25.36 with four fifties, and his last game in the format was against South Africa in January 2015. Since his last international appearance, Simmons has played in T20 leagues around the world, including the Indian Premier League, the Caribbean Premier League, the Bangladesh Premier League, the Big Bash League and the inaugural Pakistan Super League. In that period, he has scored 1406 runs in 46 matches at an average of 32.69 with 13 fifties. (ESPN Cricinfo)
has rules we must be guided by and once you live your life in discipline, not only in tournaments and competitions, you will demonstrate it in life.” M e a n w h i l e , G T TA president Godfrey Munroe contended that after a four-year hiatus, the tournament is back on the calendar with an aim to crown champions firstly and then
identify talent to represent Guyana at the various international and regional tournaments. At the end of day two yesterday, Jonathan Van Lange took the Novice category for males ahead of Sage Melville and Ravindra Mathura; while on the distaff side, Kiara Stall won ahead of Crystal Mellville and Nickey Melville.
Action continues today from 10:00hrs with the Boys’ Under-11 final,in which Kaysan Ninvalle will play Danesh Persaud, while in the girls’ division, Thuraia Thomas and Kassia Liverpool will play for the trophy. In the girls’ Under-13 division, Nevaeah Clarkston beat Abagail Martin and Jamay Johnson, while in the
boys’ division, Ninvalle will play Nyron Bisso. In the Under-15 finals round-robin play off, Vincente Henery, Terrance Rausch, Nicholas Romain, and Ninvalle have moved onto the quarter-final. The Under- 15 girls will see Selenas Jackman playing Clarkston in the final with the presentation ceremony set for 15:00hrs
Director of Sport Christopher Jones (Front row, centre) poses for a picture with the players in the GTTA National Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships.
Slingerz FC, Fruta Conquerors remain unbeaten
...double-header tonight at GDF Ground SLINGERZ FC and Fruta Conquerors kept their unbeaten run in the STAG Elite League Finale, after securing wins on Friday evening at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground. While Fruta Conquerors earned a 2 – 1 win over the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to pick up their second win in three matches, Slingerz FC ensured that their perfect start to the second half of the league continues to be unblemished following their 2 – 0 win over the home side (GFC).
Playing in the opening game of the double-header, Jahall Greaves put the Tucville-based club in the lead with his goal in the 18th minute and Shaquille Agard doubled the lead in the 35th minute. Delwin Fraser scored the army’s lone goal in the 68th minute. It was Coach Denzil Thompson team’s second loss of the league (Finale) and has now dropped to fifth place on the table behind leaders Slingerz FC, Alpha United, Fruta Conquerors and Pele FC. Meanwhile, Vurlon Mills (26th) and
Trayonn Bobb (43rd) netted in Slingerz FC win over GFC as they moved to nine points; two more than rivals Alpha United (seven) on the table. The GDF will play Pele tonight in game two, at 20:00 hrs at their Base Camp Ayanganna Ground, while GFC and Buxton United will play the opening game from 18:00 hrs to see who will pick up their first win of the league, given the fact that both clubs are winless after three matches. (Rawle Toney)
Windies bowling coming together - Ambrose
THE West Indies are seen as a dangerous team heading into the World T20 Tournament this week.So dangerous they have been ranked number two in the world. It is no secret that the regional side can bat any team out of a game, but their bowling has come into question. However, according to West Indies bowling consultant Curtley Ambrose, the bowling has improved
West Indies bowling consultant Curtly Ambrose.
ahead of the World tournament the West Indies are seeking to win for the second time after their 2012 win. “I think the bowling is really coming together. We have had a couple of good games so far, and there’s room for improvement, obviously, but I am quite satisfied at the moment with the way the guys are bowling,” said Sir Curtly. Ambrose was speaking after the team beat Warwickshire in a practice game by 11 runs ear-
lier this week. Before that, the West Indies had gotten the better of Zimbabwe on two occasions with Dwayne Bravo proving to be a brilliant death bowler on all three occasions. “As a bowling unit, we are working with a plan and, so far, the plan has gone well and I’m just hoping by the time we get to India, everything will just come together where we can do well in this tournament,” said Ambrose.(Sportsmax.com).