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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, May 4, 2018
‘Lady Jags’ made progress – head coach Dr Joseph
Grave says Darren Bravo needs to clarify future with Windies cricket PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Cricket West Indies (CWI) chief executive Johnny Grave has warned there will be no immediate return to the international side for Darren Bravo, after the left-hander thrice rejected offers to end his exile from the senior squad. The 29-year-old Bravo has not played for West Indies in 18 months since he was sent home ahead of the Zimbabwe Tri-Series for an ill-advised Twitter rant ridiculing CWI president Dave Cameron.
of 40, having played 49 Tests and struck eight hundreds. He had made himself available for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s final first class match of the last season, along with the first eight matches of the Super50 campaign, but a communication mix-up saw him ruled out of selection. Grave said he and director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, intended to meet with Bravo to ascertain what his career plans were and if they involved representing West Indies.
Dr Ivan Joseph, Lady Jags head coach AS Guyana prepare for the CONCACAF Women’s Qualifiers in the latter half of May 2018, head coach of the National Senior Women’s football team, Dr Ivan Joseph, said the team’s objectives of the recently-concluded CFU Women’s Challenge Series have been achieved. This revelation was made in an interview, following the Lady Jags’ final match against Trinidad and Tobago of the CFU Women’s Challenge Series in Trinidad and Tobago. “As you would have noticed, each and every game, we had a more cohesive, more together unit going forward on the field,” said Dr. Joseph in response to
whether the objectives of the team had been achieved. “We used the week to build grit, build resilience, teach life skills and transform the lives of the people who are part of it. Those were some of the things we have done all week; getting people to stand up and talk about themselves and reinforce the best attributes about themselves and teammates, getting people to recognise and learn how different we are and yet how similar we are.” In summing up the tournament, Dr Joseph said the players executed the game plan for respective matches and this sets a firm foundation of a solid team, adding that “when you look at those
three games, you can say there was progress made. We continue to create our own chances and play the system that we were trying. “Each game we played, we started a different shape and formation and asked our players to do different things and each and every time they responded appropriately and we were able to execute the game plan. That’s a very firm foundation of a solid team that is coachable and will be able to execute.” Commenting on the way forward, Dr Joseph said the team is exploring adding some new players to the squad for the CONCACAF Qualifiers.
“May is one step in our long-term plan. We will be looking to bring in some new bodies. We had no true defensive centre-mid and no true defensive centre-back in the CFU Women’s Challenge Series. We are still looking for a right combination and fit in those spots. “People were able to perform them admirably but it’s still not our best players in those spots, the Canadian said. Guyana will host Group E of the CONCACAF Qualifiers and will play Bermuda on May 23, Suriname on May 25 and Barbados on May 27 at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora. All matches are scheduled for 19:30hrs.
Dave & Celina, Silver Bullets to clash in Linden Guinness final tomorrow
Pact of the action in Linden on Tuesday
DAVE and Celina and Silver Bullets will face off in the final of the Linden leg of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ small goal football competition, following the conclusion of semi-final action on Tuesday evening. After losing their first game of the tournament, Dave and Celina All-stars have managed to find their way into the final of the tournament. While not the easiest road to the final, scratching and clawing their way into the
ultimate game of the tournament, Dave and Celina’s grit and will propelled them past Swag Entertainment. The game ended 2-2, with Dave and Celina surviving a late onslaught from Swag Entertainment to get to a penalty shootout that they won 2-0. Earlier, Mortimer Giddings put Dave and Celina up 2-0 with back-to-back strikes in the ninth and 12th minutes, before Swag Entertainment came storming back with goals from Royston Fraser
in the 23rd minute and Shane Luckie in the 35th minute. Meanwhile, Silver Bullets were on fire against High Rollers, making it to the final with a 4-0 win. From the first whistle, Silver Bullets were in attack mode and struck early with a goal from Jermaine Samuels in the seventh minute. High Rollers missed a few chances that definitely cost them in the end, as Samuels struck again in the 27th minute to go up 2-0.
The fast pace of the game continued and High Rollers seemed the worse for wear, as they started shooting from all parts of the court. Samuels struck again in the 38th minute with the strike counting as a Guinness goal, which meant that the goal counted as two, because it was scored in the last three minutes of the match. The final between the two teams will be played tomorrow in Linden at the Mackenzie Bus Park Square.
Darren Bravo has not played for the West Indies in 18 months.
And though the stand-off between Bravo and the CWI was ended last July, the Trinidadian has continued to ply his trade on the international Twenty20 circuit. Grave said it was unlikely Bravo would be selected for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, especially having not played first class cricket for a protracted period. “He’s gonna struggle to get straight back in the side, so that probably rules him out of the summer tours,” the Englishman told the NewsDay here.
“It’s a question for Darren. We asked him if he wanted to be part of the England tour (last year), he said his focus was on the Caribbean Premier League (CPL),” Grave pointed out. “We asked him if he wanted to tour New Zealand and he said he was focused on the Bangladesh Premier League. We invited him for the qualifiers (ICC World Cup) and he said his focus was on Pakistan Super League), I haven’t gotten any further information.” He continued: “The onus is on him to tell Caribbean
Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave
“I don’t think, having not played any cricket in the long format for so long and just playing T20s, you can just walk back on a Test team and be expected to perform.” He added: “We’ve got an A-team tour to England coming up that maybe (he might be open to), if he wants to commit (to West Indies cricket). It’s a tri-series with India and England.” Bravo remains the Caribbean side’s premier Test batsman. He is the only one of the current crop with an average
people what his intentions are, whether he wants to play any other formats than T20. Jimmy Adams and I want to meet with Darren. “We want to sit down and have an open conversation so we can be clear of his plans.” West Indies host Sri Lanka next month for three Tests before Bangladesh arrive in July for a full tour. Later in the year, the Windies will tour Bangladesh and India for full series. The ICC World Cup bowls off next May in England and Wales.