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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Root named new England Test captain --all-rounder Ben Stokes fills the role as vice-captain JOE Root has been named as England’s new Test captain. The Yorkshire batsman, 26, succeeds Alastair Cook, who resigned last week after more than four years in charge.
“It is a huge honour to be given the Test captaincy,” said Root, who will be the 80th man to lead the country in the longest form of the game. “I feel privileged, humbled and very excited.” Root steps up from vice-captain, with Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes, 25, filling the role as his deputy. “The senior guys in the changing room play a very influential role and, whilst there’s a natural progression for me, it’s a huge support to know that they are there to help and advise,” added Root. “We have a very good group of players and I’m looking forward to leading them out in the summer, building on Alastair’s achievements and making the most of our talents in the years ahead.” No batsman has scored more than Root’s 4 594 runs since he made his Test debut in December 2012. In the same time peri-
od, only India captain Virat Kohli has scored more runs than Root in all forms of international cricket. “Joe is the right man to be our next Test captain and I’m thrilled that he has accepted the role,” said England director of cricket Andrew Strauss. “He is universally respected by his team mates, passionate about driving the Test team forward and extremely excited about the prospect of leading his country.” TRANSITION OF POWER Cook resigned on February 6 after a record 59 Tests
at the helm. Before the tour of India at the end of last year, the 32-year-old opener said he was looking forward to not being captain. As England moved towards a 4-0 series defeat, Cook increased speculation over his future by saying he was questioning his position. After he resigned, he confirmed he would like to continue at the top of the order, with England director of cricket Andrew Strauss leading the process to appoint a successor. Root, Stokes, pace bowler Stuart Broad and one-day vice-captain Jos Buttler were all consulted.
Ben Stokes has scored 1 902 runs and taken three five-wicket hauls since making his Test debut in 2013.
But Root was always seen as the clear favourite and was offered the job over the weekend. With England concentrating on limited-overs cricket for the first part of 2017, Root will not properly pick up the reins for almost five months, with the next Test not until July. However, after the visits of South Africa and West Indies, he will lead England to Australia for the defence of the Ashes. Root takes the job with very little captaincy experience - he has only ever skippered in four firstclass matches. However, he likened taking over as leader to becoming a father, a baby son having arrived in January. “Being a dad, you don’t really know what to do until you have to go with it,” he told the BBC before Cook’s resignation. “I imagine being captain would be very similar. Until you’re in that position I don’t think you know. “I’ve got quite a lot experience in Test cricket now, but it’s one of these things you have to learn on the job.”
Judge clears way for U.S. lawsuit, seeking $100M from Lance Armstrong By Timothy Mclaughlin
(REUTERS) - A federal judge yesterday cleared the way for a U.S. government lawsuit seeking nearly $100 million (£79.85 million) in damages from disgraced former professional cyclist Lance Armstrong to go to trial, according to court papers. The U.S. Justice Department alleges that Armstrong defrauded the government by accepting millions of dollars in sponsorship money from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as he led the team to a string of Tour de France victories while doping. Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour titles and banned for life from bicycle racing in 2012 by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after it accused him in a report of engineering one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in sports. Nicole Navas, a spokes-
woman from the Department of Justice, declined to comment on the case. Eliot Peters, an attorney for Armstrong, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Armstrong, who had long denied using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), admitted to doping in January 2013 during a much publicised interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Armstrong’s former teammate, Floyd Landis, originally brought the lawsuit in 2010 under a federal law, the False Claims Act, that lets whistle-blowers pursue fraud cases on behalf of the government, and obtain rewards if successful. The Justice Department joined the case in February 2013. Armstrong who contends that the USPS benefits outweighed the sponsorship costs sought to have the case decided by summary judgment in April 2016.
“Because the government has offered evidence that Armstrong withheld information about the team’s doping and use of PEDs and that the anti-doping provisions of the sponsorship agreements were material to USPS’s decision to continue the sponsorship and make payments under the agreements, the Court must deny Armstrong’s motion for summary judgment on this issue,” Judge Christopher Cooper of the U.S. District Court for
the District of Columbia wrote in a 37-page ruling yesterday. The USPS paid around $32.3 million to Armstrong’s cycling team, the now-defunct Tailwind Sports Corp, from 2000 to 2004, looking to capitalise on Armstrong’s Tour de France victories in 1999 and 1998, as well as his “compelling personal story,” Cooper said in his ruling. The government has calculated damages at three times this amount.
U.S. Postal Service Team rider Lance Armstrong of the United States. (REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File photo)
No batsman has scored more than Joe Root’s 4 594 runs since he made his Test debut in December 2012.
STOKES’ RISE TO RESPONSIBILITY For Stokes, the elevation to vice-captain is further confirmation of his importance to the England side after an occasionally turbulent start to his international career. In 2013, he was sent home from the England Lions tour of Australia for disciplinary reasons after he and pace bowler Matt Coles were found to have ignored the management’s instructions over preparation and recovery. Though he was part of the England squad for the 201314 Ashes, scoring a maiden Test century, he missed the 2014 World Twenty20 with a broken hand sustained when
punching a locker on a tour of the West Indies. A spell of drifting in and out of the England team followed, including missing the 2015 World Cup, but he returned to hit the fastest Test century at Lord’s - before smashing against South Africa in January 2016. “He has real presence and influence within the team environment that serve as a great source of support for Joe,” said Strauss. “I have no doubts that the responsibility will also help Ben to continue his rapid rise as a worldclass all-rounder.” (BBC Sport)
Lewis returned unopposed as president of FACC BUSINESSMAN John Lewis has been returned unopposed as president of the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) when the club held its annual general meeting recently in the pavilion of the Port Mourant Turf Club.
Attorney-at-Law Mursalene Bacchus and founder of the club and coach Randolph Roberts both retained the first and second vice-president positions, while former national cyclist Neil Reece is the club’s third vice-president. Margaret Kuma was also returned unopposed as the club’s secretary, while assuming the role as club trea-
surer. Former national female cycling champion Marica Dick takes up the position as assistant secretary, while Rawle Felix, Fizal Ally, Pearl Arokium and Ganesh Singh are the committee members. Former New Amsterdam mayor and businessman Errol Alphonso remains the patron of the club, with Rhonda Russell remains an honorary member. After the elections, Lewis thanked the club for giving him another term. The first event for the club is expected to be on the February 23.