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GUYANA CHRONICLE Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Hooper to miss South American Junior Championships THE Guyana team in the South American Junior Championships will be without CARIFTA Games gold medallist Natrena Hooper, after it was confirmed yesterday that the US-based athlete will not be travelling home for the June 3-4 event. Officials said that the 18-year-old was injured during training, and has therefore decided to end her season. A South American Youth Championships silver medallist, Hooper was expected to be one of the leading athletes for the Guyana side. “She’s carrying an an-
kle injury that she picked up in training. With such a close time to the meet we weren’t quite sure that she would be able to recover from it in time,” said Hooper’s former local coach Julian Edmonds, who is also one of the coaches currently training the Guyana team. The news comes as a blow to the team, with high hopes for Hooper, who clinched her first CARIFTA Games gold medal only two months ago, when she performed in the Girls’ Under-20 triple jump. This was marked improvement
Sangakkara to retire at end of county championship (REUTERS) - Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara will retire from first-class cricket in September at the end of England’s county champi-
Kumar Sangakkara quit Test cricket in 2015 with 12 400 Test runs.
onship season. The Surrey batsman, who quit Test cricket in 2015 with 12 400 runs, is fifth on the all-time list of Test run-scorers, averaging 57.40 in 134 Tests. “You try to fight the inevitable but you need to get out while you’re ahead,” the 39-year-old told the BBC on Monday. “It’s the last time I’ll play a four-day game here. I’ll be 40 in a few months, this is about the end of my
time in county cricket.” As well as his Test exploits, Sangakkara has been one of the game’s great limited overs batsmen and was part of the Sri Lanka team that reached the 2007 and 2011 World Cup finals, although they lost to Australia and India respectively. His Twenty20 commitments will take him through to 2018, but his time in the longer format is almost over. “My career might have a few more months (left) but that’s about it,” he added. Having joined Surrey for the 2015 season, Sangakkara is still in good form. He scored over 1 000 first-class runs last term and hit two centuries against Middlesex at the weekend but felt it was still time to walk away. “The biggest mistake that sometimes you can make is that you think you’re better than you really are,” he said. “Cricketers, or any sort of sportsperson, have an expiry date and you need to walk away. “I have been very lucky to play for as long as I did, but there’s a lot more life to be lived away from the game.”
from the silver medal she copped at the Games last year. Hooper won the gold with a distance of 13.08m, enjoying a season-best of 13.20m. The lanky athlete is also a competent quarter-miler, and was also expected to lend support in the Girls’ 4x400m relay. “Obviously it’s going to be a big loss to the team, because definitely she was a medal prospect for the triple jump. But I guess now it’s an opportunity for someone else to come to the party,” Edmonds conveyed. Outside of Hooper, however, there will still be youth jumper Chantoba Bright, who has been clearing as far as 12.59m this season. With Guyana allowed two athletes per event, Bright was already being considered to be in this event. To fill Hooper’s void, manager Cornel Rose, has
Natrena Hooper
noted that possible backup athletes include Ruth Sanmoogan. In the 400m, the team will be buoyed by the return of National Schools Championships record-holder Avon Samuels, who has been off the track for the past few months due to injury. However the Running Brave Athletics Club athlete is excited to return with a bang at the Championships.
Anderson suffers groin injury ahead of England’s Test summer
James Anderson missed England’s last 10 Tests with a shoulder injury.
(REUTERS) - England pace spearhead James Anderson faces a battle to be fit for the opening Test against South Africa in July, after scans confirmed he had suffered a tear to his right groin when playing for Lancashire in the county championship. Anderson, England’s leading Test wicket-taker, limped off midway his sixth over on Friday against Yorkshire at Old Trafford and did not bowl again in the match. The 34-year-old will miss Lancashire’s return fixture against Yorkshire starting
June 2, as he will be assessed by England’s medical team to understand the extent of the injury. Anderson, who missed four of England’s last 10 Tests with a shoulder injury, could still feature in three county matches in June to prove his fitness ahead of the international season. England host South Africa in the first of four Tests starting on July 6 at Lord’s before welcoming West Indies in a three-match series to wrap up the Test summer in August and September.
RHTY&SC M.S. to host Patron’s Cup to honour President Granger GUYANA’S leading youth and sports organisation, the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club M.S., is set to host a special 20/20 cricket tournament in honour of its Patron, President David Granger’s 72nd birth anniversary. President Granger will celebrate his birthday on July 15 and has given his consent to the RHTY&SC to host the tournament under the name ‘Patron’s Cup – Guyana’s Green Economy’. Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster stated that the Management of the club decided to host the tournament in honour of its outstanding Patron and also in support of his efforts to transform Guyana into a Green Economy. A total of eight teams – two from Demerara and six from Berbice - will clash in the tournament which would be played on a knockout basis leading up to the Grand Final on the July 15 at the
Albion Community Centre under lights. $1M is up for grabs by the top four teams and outstanding performers, including $500 000 and a trophy for the winners. Foster said all funds raised from the tournament would be used to purchase school bags and bicycles to assist less fortunate students to stay in school. The RHTY&SC, he stated, has already requested the Berbice and Guyana Cricket Board to give them their blessings to the tournament and is awaiting a response. The long-serving Secretary/CEO stated that the Georgetown Cricket Club and the Demerara Cricket Club will officially be invited to be part of the tournament. The six teams from Berbice would be selected shortly but Rose Hall Town Gizmos and Gadgets, Blairmont, Young Warriors and Tucber Park are expected to
be involved in this historic tournament. The RHTY&SC M.S. has established a working committee headed by CEO Hilbert Foster and vice-president Mark Papannah to organise the tournament. Other members include: Asst secretary Simon Naidu, treasurer Shemaine Campbelle, cricket coach Delbert Hicks, club captain Shawn Perreira, PRO Anil Ramnarine and Asst Organising secretary Rabindranauth Kissoonlall
to organise the tournament. The committee would also be in charge of publishing a youth information booklet on Climate Change and the Green Economy, which would be distributed free of cost to youths across Berbice. The RHTY&SC and its eight cricket teams hope to raise about $1M this year to assist youths with school bags and bicycles as part of its ‘Say Yes to Education’ campaign.
CRICKET QUIZ CORNER (WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2017) COMPLIMENTS OF THE TROPHY STALL-Bourda Market & the City Mall (Tel: 225-9230) & CUMMINGS ELECTRICAL COMPANY LTD-83 Garnett Street, Campbellville, Georgetown (Tel: 225-6158) Answers to yesterday’s quiz: (1) MI & KKR (2) Karn Sharma (MI) Today’s Quiz: (1) Who were the finalists of IPL 2017? (2) How many runs Chris Gayle made in IPL 2017? ANSWERS IN TOMORROW’S ISSUE