GFF donates gear to villages competing in Upper Mazaruni games

CLUB Managers from the eleven villages participating in the Upper Mazaruni District Games in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) this week received cones, balls, bibs and hurdles from the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) through its groundbreaking Members Financial Assistance Programme (M- FAP).

Over the last two months, GFF has donated millions of dollars and football gear to its Regional Associations, clubs and villages as part of its drive to ensure the continued promotion of football through successful August tournaments across Guyana.

On August 15, managers representing Kako, Wax Creek, Phillipai, Imbaimadai, Jawalla, Kamarang, Wara - madong, Paruima, Kaikan, Araw and San Juan villages received their gear to be used during training sessions to better prepare the players participating in the August 13 - 20 Upper Mazaruni District Games.

“We continue to distribute football gear across the coun-

Archibald qualifies for Budapest World Championships' 100m semifinal

try through M-FAP to ensure that players are prepared for competitions which ultimately lifts the level of the game,” GFF Technical Director, Bryan Joseph, shared.

The Upper Mazaruni District Games are held annually in Region Seven over several days and feature athletes in various disciplines, including football, archery, athletics, swimming and volleyball.

GFF President Wayne Forde launched M-FAP in 2020 with the full approval of Congress to provide support to the Federation’s members under four pillars: Administration and Operations, Equipment and Material, Competition and Technical Development, and Infrastructural Development.

Malinga replaces Bond as Mumbai Indians' fast-bowling coach for IPL 2024

LASITH Malinga will return to Mumbai Indians for IPL 2024, this time as their fast-bowling coach. He will replace Shane Bond, who had held that position for the past nine seasons.

After retiring in 2021, Malinga had joined Rajasthan Royals in 2022 as their fast-bowling coach, a position he served for two seasons. This will be Malinga's second stint in Mumbai's support staff, having served as their mentor in 2018. A year later, Malinga returned to the field to share the bowling duties with Jasprit Bumrah, with the pair playing a key role in Mumbai winning their fourth IPL title.

Overall, Malinga won five titles with Mumbai: four IPLs (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019) and the Champions League T20 in 2011. Malinga played 139 match- es for Mumbai in all, taking 195 wickets at an economy rate of 7.12. Out of those, 170 wickets came in the IPL, the joint-sixth-most in the league.

Bond had joined Mumbai in 2015 and played a key role with Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardene, who served as head coach from 2017 to 2022. It could not be confirmed whether Bond will continue as the head coach of MI Emirates in the ILT20, which started in January this year, where the franchise finished third on the points table in the six-team tournament before losing the second Qualifier to eventual champions Gujarat Giants.

MSK Prasad joins Super Giants as strategic consultant

MSK Prasad, the former India wicketkeeper and chief selector, has taken up the role of strategic consultant with the Super Giants franchise, which owns Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL and Durban's Super Giants in the SA20.

Prasad played six Tests and 17 ODIs for India from 1998 to 2000. In 2016, he replaced Sandeep Patil as the chairman of India men's selection committee and served in that role till 2020. Apart from that, he was also the director of cricket operations at the Andhra Cricket Association.

"His involvement at RPSG Sports will be instrumental in providing essential guidance across a spectrum of critical domains as head of talent search, talent development and our academy business," Super Giants said on their website. (Cricinfo).

GUYANA’s Emanuel Archibald, who ran earlier yesterday morning to progress to the heats, successfully went one step further as he booked his spot in today's semi-finals of the 2023 World Championships men's 100m event.

Archibald finished joint third with a time of 10.20s, along with Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita, behind South Africa’s Akani Simbine, who won the final heat in 9.97s, just edging American Cristian Coleman (9.98s).

There were no surprises, as Jamaica’s trio of Oblique Seville, Rohan Watson and Ryiem Forde all secured their spot in the men’s 100 metres semi-finals after safely navigating their respective heats during yesterday's opening day of the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

After a series of delays and false starts, Seville ran a comfortable race from lane seven in heat five and stopped the clock in 9.86s to be the fastest qualifier. Gold medal favourite, American Fred Kerley, cruised to 9.99s in that heat.

Jamaica’s national champion Watson recovered from a slight stumble at the start to place second in the following heat.

He clocked 10.11s, behind Japan’s Sani Brown, who clocked a season’s best 10.07s, with Italy’s Olympic Champion Lamonth Jacobs, also finishing in a season’s best 10.15s, as he continues to work his way back to form.

Earlier, another Jamaican, Forde, also comfortably secured his spot, clocking 10.01s for second behind Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, who clocked a flat 10.00s in winning heat one.

Joint favourite Noah Lyles was the second fastest in qualifying, as he stormed to 9.95s in heat two, with the powerfully built Kenyan, Ferdinand Omanyala, (9.97s), joining him.

Heat four was won by Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in 10.11s.