G

G E A R I N G U P F O R T H E

CONCACAF

Gold Cup

Preliminary round, with Head Coach Jamaal Shabazz and his assistant, Wayne Dover, announcing the 23man squad that will be taking onGrenadaonJune17.

Guyana is making its third appearance at the Gold Cup, but has only once played in the tournament's Main Draw which came in 2019,whilebowingoutatthe preliminaryroundin2021.

The Golden Jaguars will roar into action against the menfromtheSpiceIsleatthe DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from 9:00pm on Saturday, and prior to the team's selection, Dover had lamented that the best-possible players will make the cut when the time comes.

Dover and Shabazz leaned on Samuel Cox, Liam Gordon, Emery Welshman,

Akel Clarke, Kai McKenzieLyle, Elliot Bonds, Kadel

Daniel, Neil Danns, Stephen Duke-McKenna, Trayon Bobb, Omari Glasgow, Curtez Kellman and Daniel Wilson, given the fact that they were part of the team that played against

Guatemala in the last outing of the Gold Cup, in the

uyana's Senior Men's National Football Team isWayne Dover will lead the Golden Jaguars into battle in the absence of head coach Jamaal Shabazz.

preliminaryround.

Jonathan Grant, Jalen Jones, Marcus Simmons, Tre Mitford,DeonMoore,Renell McKenzie-Lyle, Leo Lovell and Daniel Wilson will be having their first taste of the CONCACAFshowpiece.

Following the team's selection, Dover hailed the composition of the team, pointing out, “as we started our preparation, we've seen somesteadyprogressthatwe will continue to build towards the game. We have our players back, up and running on four cylinders. We are confident that we have the skillset to compete andgiveagoodresult.”

Guyanaisranked170and Grenada 166 in the FIFA Men's World Ranking, while CONCACAF ranks Guyana at18andGrenadaat25.

The Golden Jaguars qualified for the Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims following a second place finish in Group C of League B in the 2022–23 Concacaf Nations

League.

Dover will be deputizing for Shabazz who is unable to travel with the team for the important engagement in Florida.

However, this is not new territory for Dover, who has previously served as the country's Senior Men's NationalTeamHeadcoachin 2009–2010andthenagainin 2017.

In fact, Dover was at the helm of the Golden Jaguars' last outing against Grenada –an International Friendly in 2017attheGrenadaNational Stadium, St George's –wheretheylost1-0.

Despite their confidence and preparation, Dover is managing expectations and notmakinganyguaranteesof victory, only stating, “the gamewillbecompetitive;the team that plays well, makes the least mistakes and score their chances will mostlikelycomeoutthewinner.”

“Internally, the players know what they're preparing for and they're confident as well in our approach to the game and we know collectivelywecandoagood job, so there's no hype amongst the staff. We know there's a process in how we go about the game,” Dover added.Doverstatedthattheir (Continued on page 25)

CPL and Saint Lucia Kings partner in new Schools' Tournament

The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Saint Lucia Kings have partnered with the Saint Lucian Ministry of Youth Development and Sports to createanewUnder19sschoolsT20 cricket tournament that will take place from Monday 26 June to Friday7July2023.

The Under-19s Schools T20 Xplosion will see the best cricketing talent from across Saint Lucia competeinT20matchesattheGros Islet and La Ressource playing fields.Thetournamentwillprovide an invaluable opportunity for the youngpeopleofSaintLuciatoplay competitivecricketinafriendlyyet professionalenvironment.

There will be eight teams, each one representing one of the educational districts across the country The teams will be picked via draft from a list of players provided by PE teachers and coaches with each squad having 15 players.

The eight teams will be split into two groups of four with the top two teams from each group reachingtheknockoutstages.

The Honourable Kenson Casimir, Minister for Youth Development and Sports said:“I amvery happy as the Minister for Youth Development and Sports for Saint Lucia that CPL has seen it fit to have a T20 cricket competition amongst our schools in SaintLucia.”

“I am very elated that Saint Lucia will be the first Caribbean island to host this competition. I think it will auger well for the development of the sport. The Ministry continues to provide support through coaching and equipment to our schools. So I am looking forward to a very exciting tournament right hereinSaintLucia.”

Pete Russell, CEO of the Caribbean Premier League, said: best cketing talent across the Caribbean and it is vital that all stakeholders play their part in developing these young players and in doing so create a lifelong love of our wonderful sport. We wish all the young cricketers taking part all the ”

SatishMenon,CEOoftheSaint Lucia Kings, said: “It's our privilege to partner with the CPL and the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports for this tournament. We at the Saint Lucia

Kings areexcitedtoprovideaplatformfor the incredible cricket talent here. Hopefully, this will provide a springboard for the young cricketers to take it to the next level.” (CPL)