Page 28
Kaieteur News
Letter to the Sports Editor
Clive Lloyd welcomes Cricket Administration Bill
DEAR EDITOR, I welcome the Cricket Administration Bill (CAB) which was recently passed by the National Assembly of Guyana. I took note of the fact that it passed with the support of both the Government and the main Opposition Party. This Bill has been some three years in the making. It is the fruit of serious thinking about the future of Guyanese cricket and consultation with the widest possible cross section of the Guyanese public, including a parliamentary select committee. Quite apart from this, even before the Bill was approved, important stakeholders in the cricketing community and important individuals and recognized cricket authorities, such as the former West Indies all rounder Roger Harper, supported the Bill on the basis of its known inputs and the objectives it is intended to achieve: the restoration of a game that has made a significant contribution to the development of our country. I am encouraged by the fact that the CAB seeks to bring transparency, honesty and accountability to the administration of the game. I do not believe that there is a single Guyanese citizen who would not wish to see cricket so administered in our dear land. It is a given that a new administration can act as a spur to the development of cricket. And no one can seriously contend that in our
current circumstances our cricket does not need a shot in the arm. Without being too parochial I am constrained to note that when the New Zealand cricket tour starts in a few weeks time there will be no Guyanese cricketer among the eleven representatives. During my tenure as captain my focus was always about WI cricket and not any one territory. Contrast this with the era in my lifetime when we had as many as six players in the West Indies team, and could offer to West Indies cricket six Test captains, including myself, Maurice “Pacheo” Fernandes, Rohan Kanhai, Alvin Kallicharran, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Let me note here also that apart from the great batsmen who have graced the cricket field with our colours, Lance Gibbs was the first spin bowler to break the world record. Guyana has a proud and enviable record as a component of West Indies cricket. We must do everything to sustain that record. That record can only be sustained if we grapple with our current problems and as a nation, accord cricket the importance it deserves. The Bill is an important step in this direction. It can remedy the problems and difficulties facing the game and allow it to flourish as part of the cultural tapestry of this nation. The need for Guyana’s cricket to be
provided with an environment in which it can flourish does not need an elaborate argument. Cricket in Guyana has been an agent for national unity, for bringing communities together, for ensuring Guyana’s recognition beyond its borders and for providing the means by which our individual cricketers could realize an upward movement in their social status. In addition, Guyana must be able to return to the position in which it is a major contributor of talent, both in terms of cricketers and administrators, to West Indies and world cricket. A former Prime Minister of Guyana once told the story that he had difficulties Mentioned such names as Kanhai, Butcher, Solomon and Lance Gibbs. According to him it was instant understanding and recognition. That gr e a t A m e r i c a n patriot, Tom Payne, said that the American Revolution was an opportunity to make the world new again. The Bill is certainly not a revolution but it can decidedly offer this na t i o n t h e opportunity to make Guyana great again as a contributor to regional and world cricket. I am confident that the Bill can do this and I look forward to an era in which our cricket is again properly administered and a credit to every Guyanese citizen. Clive H Lloyd
Current Judo executives should resign en bloc says Blackman Former Guyana Judo Association (GJA) executive William Blackman feels the solution to the present constitutional problems affecting Judo locally could be easily solved if the current Raoul Archer led executives of the Judo Association of Guyana (JAG) resign en bloc and new elections are held. “An IMC must be installed to organize the elections and Andy Moore should be made President and myself secretary. Senior Vice-President of (Guyana Olympic Association) GOA, Mr. Charles Corbin is the cause of all of this mess and should not be involved because he knew all the facts and still ignored all the concerns we had,” Blackman,
an International Judo Coach, said. When Judo was resurrected in 2000, the name of the Association was changed from the Guyana Judo Association (GJA) to the Judo Association of Guyana (JAG). Judo was dormant in the 1980s and when competitions resumed in 2000, everything seemed on the right track to take the sport forward but things started to go wrong in 2004 leading to two factions being formed in 2009. It was revealed that the Association went to the GOA for Arbitration again and then last year Elections were held to ensure that the game took off. But things reportedly started to fall apart again.
“Our President (Raoul Archer) went to Brazil for a congress this year and came back with updates and told us that the IJF (the International Governing body for Judo) did not recognize JAG leaving us with a Constitutional crisis,” 2nd Dan Judo Instructor Bruce Fraser said recently. In 2012 National lightweight judo champion Raul Lall of the Rising Sun Judo Dojo became the first Guyanese Judoka to compete at the Olympics but Berbician Judo Instructor Moore questioned how was it that Lall was allowed to participate at the Olympics if the World Governing Body did not recognize the JAG?
Thursday May 29, 2014
Serena follows Venus out of French Open after shock loss PARIS (Reuters) - Holder and world No.1 Serena Williams was shocked 6-2 6-2 by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the French Open second round on Wednesday, an hour after her elder sister Venus was ousted at the second grand slam of the year. On a chilly day in Paris, Serena never looked the force that has won 17 major titles. Her 20-year-old opponent broke the American’s serve twice early in the first set and made the most of a series of unforced errors by a leadenfooted Williams. The Spaniard, ranked 35 in the world, did not release the pressure and the match became a repeat of the nightmare of 2012, when Williams lost in the first round, not the glory of 2013 when she beat Maria Sharapova in the final here. A netted return from Williams sent the Spaniard into ecstasy and even Williams’s mother, Oracene, smiled as Muguruza leapt about the court. “Of course, it’s amazing,” Muguruza said. “I had to be really aggressive and focused. “Today is a great day. I’m so happy,” the Spaniard shouted. Later Muguruza told a news conference: “She (Serena) said that if I continue playing like this, I can win the tournament. I said: ‘I will try, I will try’. Serena was philosophical, saying: “I don’t think anything worked for me today. It was just one of those days, you can’t be on (your game) every day. “It’s not the end of the world, there’s always next year.” After the defeat of China’s Li Na in the first round on Tuesday, it is the first time
since tennis turned professional in 1968 that the top two women’s seeds have failed to reach the third round at a grand slam. It is also the third time, after 2004 and 2008, that both Williams sisters have lost on the same day at the French Open. FEDERER THROUGH The big names on the men’s side of the draw suffered no problems in reaching the third round. Novak Djokovic, the second seed, despatched Jeremy Chardy of France 6-1 6-4 6-2 while Roger Federer, seeded fourth, won 6-3 6-4 64 against Diego Sebastian Schwartzman of Argentina, a player he had never seen before. Chardy, who beat Federer at the Rome Masters earlier this month, spelled out why Djokovic is fancied to end eight-times champion Rafa Nadal’s reign here. “He was simply stronger than me, bigger than me in all compartments. You’re always under pressure. He knows everything. He can do everything.” Czech Tomas Berdych, the sixth seed, started slowly before beating Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan 67(4) 6-4 7-5 6-3. Eighth seed Milos Raonic got past Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 7-6(4) 6-4 6-1. The Williams sisters had been due to meet in the third round but that was knocked off the agenda when Venus became the first seed to lose in the second round, falling 2-6 63 6-4 to Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia. The 29th seed, wearing long sleeves in temperatures of 14 Celsius, has never won the claycourt grand slam in 16 visits and, now 32, she may have to
accept she never will. Schmiedlova, aged 19 and ranked 56 in the world, wasted two match points on Williams’s serve before the American hit wide to set up a third, and the Slovak clinched the match with a fine backhand cross court shot. “This is the biggest win of my life,” said Schmiedlova, who broke down when expressing how much Venus had meant to her when she was growing up. SOLID START Venus was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in September 2011 and since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon that year, has exited in the first or second round of every grand slam she has taken part in. “I think she just played so well and just kept getting so many balls in the court,” said Venus. “It just wasn’t my day in the last couple of sets.” Flavia Pennetta of Italy, seeded 12th, joined the Williams sisters in heading for the exit after going down 5-7 6-4 6-2 to Sweden’s Johanna Larsson. Eugenie Bouchard, the 18th seed, recovered from a slow start to beat Julia Goerges of Germany in three sets. On the men’s side, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, the 15th seed, lost 6-0 6-3 3-6 6-4 to Czech Radek Stepanek before Spain’s Marcel Granollers overturned a twoset deficit to beat 20th seed Alexandr Dologopolov of Ukraine 1-6 3-6 6-3 6-0 6-2. Gilles Simon, the 29th seed, eased past Alejandro Gonzales of Colombia 6-4 6-0 6-2 and there were also straight-set wins for Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, the 27th seed, and Ernests Gulbis, the 18th seed from Latvia.
Julio Cesar: I’m more prepared for this World Cup From page 29 professional after the 2010 Wo r l d C u p , ” h e s a i d . “When things are going y o u r w a y, y o u e n d u p relaxing a little bit more. I was very confident in 2010 because of everything that had happened until then, and I think that too much confidence can hurt. Now I can say that from personal experience.” Although Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari named C e s a r t h e Wo r l d C u p starter long time ago, many still consider the goalkeeper the weakest link
in B r a z i l ’s squad, especially because of his lack of play in recent months. “I don’t think there is pressure,” he said. “I know many people are questioning me and why I was selected, but the coaches have the confidence in my game and I know that I can add a lot to this group.” Cesar conceded nine goals in seven matches with Toronto in the run-up to the World Cup, but said he was able to take advantage of the time he
spent in Major League Soccer. “My preparations were excellent, I feel I’m 100 per cent ready for the World Cup,” Cesar said. “Toronto was the only team that opened its doors for me. I talked to several clubs, including in Brazil, and the negotiations were not successful, many times because of the salaries here. But I knew I had to be playing so I could arrive well psychologically, it would have been hard if I hadn’t been playing anywhere.”