K
Baby dies; Wednesday Edition NEWS parents held in shocking case of sexual assault AIETEUR
November 11, 2020 - Vol. 15 No.43
Online: www.kaieteurnews.com
Guyana’s largest selling daily & New York’s most popular weekly
Price $80
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PPP, PNC, AFC united in the sellout of Guyana’s oil resources APNU+AFC failed to launch international - Nigel Hinds
investigation into oil blocks in five years - but blasts PPP/C for failing to do so in 100 days
Accused Ponzi Telecoms operators want to liberations, VAT repay investors removals, pandemic using cryptocurrency City Treasury staffers relief, emergency ordered suspended over budget etc.- Pres. Ali stolen market collections 100 days in office…
Coalition blames PPP/C for
hiring “tainted” Canadian for Payara review - but did worse in less than one year Another outrageous oil bill for Guyana…
How Your Assets Are Being Hijacked!
Kaieteur Radio will continue this evening to expose the hijacking of our natural resources. The details will feature on ‘The Glenn Lall Show’ which launched last Sunday on our radio stations (99.1/99.5fm). The Publisher, Glenn Lall, in a no-holds barred production, will be exposing many of the hidden details which our political leaders, past and present, were/are silent about and which they prefer to keep hidden. This is a show which you should not miss. It will be hosted thrice weekly and aims at informing and educating you, the public, about some of the greatest con jobs in the Caribbean. It will reveal those who have hijacked the country’s oil blocks and our natural resources and the masterminds behind these barefaced actions. ‘The Glenn Lall Show’ starts at 7:20 pm. Do not miss it!
CGX claims Guyana
owes it US$20M despite drilling no well on Demerara block Tune in at 7.20 tonight (99.1 and 99.5 FM) to hear how your oil blocks have been hijacked from you.
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Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 11, 2020
Kaieteur News Printed and Published by National Media & Publishing Company Ltd. 24 Saffon Street, Charlestown, Georgetown, Guyana. Publisher: GLENN LALL - Tel: 624-6456 Editor: Sharmain Grainger Tel: 225-8465, 225-8491. Fax: 225-8473, 226-8210
EDITORIAL
BML must be done right The initially inspiring Black Lives Movement (BLM) is struggling. The once invigorating protest movement now portrays the classic signs of a good thing gone wrong. Amidst the sporadic mob rampages and street chaos, many clearheaded people, with an interest in the viability of the movement, are asking questions. Whose interests are the biggest priority incorporated under the BLM banner? Why is there the sense that the visions and objectives of minorities, especially those of Black Americans, have been lost or faded into secondary considerations? Why the thrusts of some of the movement’s outside forces? Who is benefiting most from the disorders fostered, the sustained anarchies? And when reason returns, where do the fallouts and failures leave black people and other minorities? As these questions are contemplated, this much is conclusive: the circumstances of American Blacks have deteriorated considerably, with great disillusionments. There is enough blame to pass around about who did what and who should have done otherwise. It is now too late, with significant damage done. That is part of the tragedy of the minority story, particularly the continuing pathos of the black story. So much was promised; so much could have been possible; so much was wasted. It did not have to be this way, where after all the raging energies, the heavy passions, the sustained pressures, that matters should come to this, have petered out to what says so much about what was gone about so poorly. It is like a man fighting for freedom, but who is enslaved to the self-destructive. When he is done fighting, he is so enfeebled that he is worse off than before. The tokenisms of politeness, the concealed daggers arrayed against, the lack of understanding that all things and forces when spent had to come to this: the parlor of conversations, negotiations that lift a little, agreements that carry somewhere, of which there is none. But what started out poorly managed and contained assumed the character of misdirection that fed upon itself and weakened itself and, eventually, brought it to the terminal of where to and what now. Those must be faced now. What is shared on BLM today, as it has dominated America’s media, and stirred Guyanese, should alarm. Some developments on this idealistic movement, born out of great agony and unbottled impatience, are frightening. Some serious reengineering must be in the works, to get environment and those impacted the most back to some semblance of normal footing. As should become painfully clear, a long road lies ahead for those seeking to restart. The first caption conveyed: “Minneapolis City Council alarmed by surge in crime months after voting to defund the police” (New York Post, September 16). That same alarm, but to greater degrees, plagues black neighbourhoods in Brooklyn and other parts of the United States now transformed into bonafide warzones by rampaging criminal gangs. This is an inevitable development from reckless calls to defund the police in kneejerk reaction that expose the poor and hardworking to constant violence. The second headline sounded a first: “Survey reveals that Republicans, Black Democrats concerned about law and order issue” (New York Post, September 14). A Monmouth University poll confirmed that white Republicans, non-white Democrats, and “two thirds of Hispanics and other non-Republican minorities also said the same.” This is unfavorable to BLM group(s) and any minority community forced to deal with lawlessness and disorderliness. One report confirmed, “‘They end up shooting whoever’ - rising gun violence across NYC hits Brooklyn Housing project hardest, with four deaths” (New York Daily News October 24). Shootings have nearly doubled in the Howard Houses Projects with drugs, violence, criminal dominance and fear raging uncontrollably. One lament heard is: “We march, we candlelight and have vigils, but nothing comes from it.” And, “if we don’t
Coalition ‘100 days’ ad is erroneous, irresponsible and highly misleading Dear Editor, Kindly grant me a space in your newspaper to respond to an erroneous and highly misleading and irresponsible statement made by the former Coalition Administration. In an advertisement published in the Kaieteur Newspaper, November, 10 2020 edition, dubbed “PPP Report Card- 100 Days of Failure” the fabricator of this fictitious illustration pointed out that the PPP/C Government, among other things, failed to “Maintain Hinterland roads and bridges and to protect Indigenous Communities.” Permit me to clarify that this Government and my Ministry in particular, is not one that is associated with failure and marred with incapacities. Firstly, I wish to elucidate that the Ministry of Public Works is currently rolling out maintenance works in the Hinterland Regions, in collaboration with other Government agencies. Presently, maintenance works are ongoing on the Linden to Lethem trail as well as the Linden to Kwakwani road. Moreover, several Hinterland roads, in Regions One, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, are expected to be soon rehabilitated. These much-needed works were
stalled by the former administration. Some of the major projects that will come on stream soon include: 1. Rehabilitation of M4 (Region 1) to Yarakita Road (Phase 2) 2. Rehabilitation of Compound Road, Mabaruma (Phase 4) 3. Rehabilitation of Orealla to Kwakwani (Phase 2) 4. Rehabilitation of Mile 5 to Airstrip Bartica (Phase 4) 5. Rehabilitation of Karrau to Buckhall (Phase 4) 6. Material Stockpile and Rehabilitation of Mahdia Main Access (Phase 2) 7. Rehabilitation of Lethem - Aishalton Corridor 8. Rehabilitation of Internal Roads Lethem 9. Rehabilitation of Barrack Retreat Corridor (Sidewalks), Lethem If the author of this advertisement was indeed concerned about progress in his country, he would have noticed that the projects above, along with so many others, were already tendered for. Nonetheless, the accuser of the brethren claims that this Government has failed to maintain these Hinterland infrastructures, but they also forgot to mention that they were the ones who are
responsible for many of the planned projects being unable to roll out. The now Opposition Party clenched to power for so long, putting the entire country on pause, while they fabricated new ideas to remain in Government. It is no secret that this exhausting phase in Guyana’s history severely impacted the economy. Due to the long electoral process, the country was without a Budget and was unable to allocate funding for Infrastructural and other projects. Nonetheless, please allow me to address this fabler who also noted in his tale that this Government failed to “Protect Indigenous Communities.” This particular highlight almost makes me chuckle, since the former Administration, while in power, especially during a COVID-19 pandemic failed miserably to protect these vulnerable communities. Thousands of masks, as well as food hampers and sanitation supplies have been distributed to Indigenous communities, so far, in a bid to protect our people. Furthermore, protocols have been put in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our Indigenous brothers and for persons travelling into
these communities. Let me also remind the author of this advert that the Government has also initiated the distribution of a COVID19 Cash Grant of $25,000, to benefit the entire country. The PPP/C Administration has even recommenced the Community Service Officers Programme, which will provide jobs for a number of Indigenous people, whose livelihoods were snatched when the APNU/AFC Government assumed office in 2015. Allow me to enlighten this group of apparent uninformed citizens, that our Government has also restored the Amerindian Development Fund. Our Government has been distributing educational materials in the form of worksheets and others, to enable learning in the Hinterland and across the country. These are just a few of the measures taken by the PPP/C Administration in its first 100 days in office. How then, can a Government who sat back and watched our people face COVID-19 in the eye, now claim that this Government has failed its people? Yours truly, Hon. Bishop Juan Edghill Minister of Public Works
Tomorrow marks the 220th birth anniversary of Baha’u’llah Dear Editor, Thursday 12th November 2020 marks the two hundred and twentieth birth anniversary of Baha’u’llah, the Prophet-Founder of the Baha’i Faith. The advent of Baha’u’llah marked for Bahia’s all over the world, of all racial and cultural backgrounds, the promised return of the prophets of old, the renewal of religion and the revelation of a new, divine, spiritual and social cycle destined to spread peace and unity around the globe. There are currently several million people of all racial and cultural backgrounds called Baha’is, in every country on earth, and who follow His divine and universal teachings, based on the oneness of mankind.
Baha’is regard Baha’u’llah as the promised Lord of Hosts of the Jews; the reincarnation of Krishna and the Tenth Avatar to the Hindus; the fifth Buddha, named Maitreye, the Buddha of universal fellowship to the Buddhists; the return of Christ in the glory of the Father to the Christians; the return of the Imam Husayn to the Shi’a Muslims; the descent of the Spirit of God to the Sunnis. Baha’u’llah fulfills the prophecies and promises of the world’s great Faiths, consummating and confirming all of the religious revelations of the past. Baha’is see the appearance of Baha’u’llah as the return of the spiritual springtime, reviving the souls and establishing a new Faith,
earn anything from all of this, nothing will change. It’s senseless. What is the value of Black folks’ lives?” After all the ferocities, this is the result. BLM needs an urgent overhaul: visions, strategies, approaches and practices. Too many things were done wrong. They need to be made right. This was what a black woman who joined the BLM protests did when she made history in Missouri by winning a U.S. Congressional seal.
a new reality and a new spiritual oneness among all humanity. In April 1890, Professor Edward Granville Browne of Cambridge University met Bahá’u’lláh in his prison cell in Akka, Israel, and after his four successive interviews, Professor Browne wrote of his first meeting: “The face of Him on Whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one’s very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow. No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain.” He was the first known Westerner who met Baha’u’llah. Addressing mankind, Baha’u’llah stated, “Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one ocean.” Bahá’u’lláh passed away peacefully as still a prisoner to the rulers of the erstwhile Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1892. Throughout Guyana, there are several local Baha’i
administrative communities, and in Georgetown, the national administrative centre and National Assembly. There are to date several hundred Guyanese from all racial backgrounds who are Baha’is. The Birth of Bahá’u’lláh is one of nine holy days in the Bahá’í calendar that is celebrated by Bahá’ís and during which work is suspended for Baha’is. Bahá’u’lláh was born on 12 November 1817 in Tehran, Iran, and this holy day was instituted in the Kitáb-iAqdas, His book of laws, where Bahá’u’lláh first refers to four great festivals of the Baha’i Faith. The cardinal teachings of Bahá’u’lláh is the oneness of mankind. He stated in His holy writings that the world is one country and mankind is one, i.e., there is only one race - the human race, and that we are like different colours of flowers in one garden. On this holy day, some Baha’is devote the day attending to the poor and the homeless. Yours truly, Rooplall Dudhnath
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Kaieteur News
What worthy thing can the coalition say they accomplished five years?
Government projects need an Oversight Commissioner
Dear Editor, It came as no surprise to see the letter to the presidentelect of the United States. Here again, is another window into why the previous regime lost. What is the end-game for the entire population of Guyana? Zero. The only time the US, as far as I can remember, has gotten involved with the opposing side, in a foreign country, is when there have been clear, sometimes controversial differences with the governing party, and in Guyana’s case; there are none. Venezuela is an example of where the US government has been open about supporting the opposition party. Taking this further, Americans in general have a very strong belief in accomplishments and deliverables. What can the coalition say they accomplished in the previous five years that is worthy? Many came into government, playing the race card and delivered little to the
people of Guyana. It is amazing how some of us have no pride. Foreign governments will be hard pressed to state what was accomplished by the prior government. Can anyone in the prior government state otherwise? How many in positions of government in the past five years, left a legacy they can defend and be proud of? The opposition letter was asking for a “briefing” with the President-Elect and Madam Vice President. It wouldn’t even be considered. An embarrassing charade. Why would a superpower meet with opposition members of a prior government with a thoroughly soiled reputation for oil contracts/competence/ governance/management of funds? Global diplomacy does not work that way. The Coalition should know better, or maybe they probably haven’t realised that yet. Not surprising. Yours truly, Chi Kansi
Guyanese people are generally pleased with the PPP’s performance Dear Editor, It has been 100 days since the PPP government finally got into office after the previous administration tried to pull every trick possible under the sky to steal the elections. Who can forget that eventful day when Mr. Granger had no choice but to cave into local and international pressure and give way to the rightful winner of the elections? President Irfaan Ali ought to take seriously Freddie Kissoon’s suggestion to build a bust of Bruce Golding, Owen Arthur, American Ambassador, Sarah-Ann Lynch; Canadian High Commission, Lilian Chatterjee; British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn and EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó and place these in a prominent part of the country. If it weren’t for these folks – culminating with a call from Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State – the Guyanese people might still be wallowing in a state of desperation because of the election quandary. The
people of this country should never forget the electioneering trickery perpetrated on them for five months when there were blatant attempts at rigging. Except for those who could not have their merry way, the Guyanese people are generally pleased that the PPP’s performance has made enormous headway for their first 100 days in power. One must commend the PPP for exposing the widespread nepotism, wanton corruption and the selfgratification and abuse of state resources by movers within the previous government. President Ali and his team are doing a fantastic job at this critical political and economic juncture coupled with the challenge of the pandemic. Thank you, diplomats. Thank you, local stalwarts and unsung heroes. It has been one hundred days – with many more to come - to celebrate democracy, that precious entity treasured by many! Yours truly, Dr. Devanand Bhagwan
Dear Editor, As day follows night, three things are crystal clear as it relates to the execution of government projects: (1) They never finish on time. (2) They always incur significant cost overrun or variation. (3) Each party to the contract blames the other for this lack of performance. The reasons for this state of tardiness are mostly due but not limited to the following: • Inadequate construction details in the Bill of Quantity. • Lack of detailed construction drawings. • Diverting Mobilization Advance to other uses rather
than what it was intended for by contractor. • Untimely delays in submission of detailed drawings during construction. • Contractor slow work progress because of involvement in other projects • Slow responses from consultant for modifications and variations during construction. • Delays in dealing with progress payments. • Variations works not quantified before execution. • Indiscriminate use of contingency fund. • Infrequent site meetings. •Poor standard of work by contractor that requires extra time for rectification.
Wednesday November 11, 2020
• Poor project supervision by the subject Ministry’s Engineer and Consultant. • Red flags raised long after the fact of time and costly overrun. This tardiness and underperformance has a lot to do with the dynamics of the parties involved in the government contracts and their dependency on each other vis-à-vis approval of payment, certifying as built, quantities, etc. It might be advisable to have an independent Commissioner of Projects that can monitor these big government projects from the point of the tender documents to project completion to ensure that the
defects mentioned above are rectified in a timely manner The President has identified some mega projects on his to do list for his first term, such as, the fixed span of the Demerara River Bridge; shore to gas power generation plant; Ogle to Diamond highway, Parika to Vreed-en- Hoop highway and the bridge to link with Suriname. To a c h i e v e a f u l l measure of success it might be prudent to have an independent Commissioner of Projects reporting directly to him to provide the necessary drive and oversight. Yours truly, Reggie Bhagwandin.
Trump’s anti-immigrant policy led to defeat Dear Editor, Although no formal study was done on the effects of the immigrant votes, it appeared they provided the numbers to vote out Trump in key swing states. Some 75% of minorities or immigrant citizens in America, including Guyanese, voted against Trump. Many live in swing states – they provided the critical votes that took Joe Biden over the top to unseat the incumbent. And they voted in record numbers this year. Had Trump pursued a moderate, humanitarian immigration policy and not taken a hard line against minorities, he could very well have won a second term. The incumbent received some 25% Guyanese America votes, around the same percentage as other minority ethnic groups. It is a huge amount considering that Trump’s policies were tough against minorities and against family migration. His rhetoric was anti-immigrant. As some immigration lawyers said, if it were up to Trump, many immigrants, including legal ones, would be returned to their home country. But so many immigrants gravitated to the President. The minorities who voted for Trump, including Guyanese, are disappointed that he lost. Many join Trump, claiming fraud. There was hardly any fraud in the elections. Even Trump’s Republican colleagues said the election was fair. No evidence has been cited to substantiate allegations. Authorities in Republican controlled states said there were no reported incidents of electoral fraud. Biden won fair and square. The voters turned against Trump because of various blunders. He lost the popular vote by some four million. Since the day after the
elections, long before the declaration, I told friends and published articles that Trump lost because of voting trends for Democrats in swing states that normally would go Republican. The fact that contests in safe Republican states was so close meant Democrats made gains and would pick up states. There was a swing factor of 2% to 5% against Trump, comparable to the swing factor against David Granger in Guyana. That essentially sealed Trump’s fate as it did against the coalition. As I consistently maintained for months prior to the election, Biden would win the Presidency because of the serious errors Donald Trump made during his tenure. Guyanese Trumpites said Trump would win without offering data to back their claim. Polls put Biden ahead. Trumpites said the polls were wrong in 2016. They were wrong in 2016 but were relatively right in 2020 though they were somewhat off. Trump lost because he made some of the same kind of errors that the APNU+AFC coalition made in Guyana, and it was not surprising that the voters deservedly kicked out both. Trump and David Granger turned off voters by not adhering to common sense basic policies and for pursuing racist policies. Neither one was prepared to heed good advice (not from me as I was no advisor to them) or was given bad advice. Had they pursued simple commonsensical policies that endeared themselves to swing voters, they would have won. Instead, they alienated the swing voters who turned against them. Trump promised to drain the swamp of alligators. Instead, he added more
alligators into the swamp to eat out the small man. The Coalition brought in many alligators to eat out hourie, congo, hassa, kakabelly, and jumpa shrimps; they cleaned out leaving the country with billions in debt. The policy of both governments was bound to turn off voters and they came out with a vengeance. Trump ran a racist, antiimmigrant campaign in 2016 and got away with it. He won because he promised to clamp down on corruption and fix the broken immigration system. He failed on both counts. He had hoped the same campaign message would resonate and he would win again with it. But it would not work – you can only cash the same check once. It will bounce a second time if you try to cash it again. There are many factors that led to Trump’s defeat. I only focused on immigration. America is an immigrant nation. Trump’s policy inflamed many voters, surprisingly not all Guyanese. Trump had the support of Congress to make sweeping immigration reforms. Instead, he focused on deporting all the illegals and shut down the
border to legal residents. He took away the rights of undocumented college educated students to work. Hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals (engineers, doctors, and IT experts) waiting for their green cards were put in limbo. He did not show compassion for refugees and asylum seekers. He raised the fee of a professional visa from US$5K to US$50K. He instructed foreign Consulates to reduce visitors’ visas. The immigration policy turned off voters. Every illegal and immigrants in limbo had families who were citizens, many of whom were not interested in voting. They came out to vote out Trump in swing states like Pennsylvania, Colorado, Arizona, Virginia, Nevada, among others. Had Trump pursued a moderate immigration policy and toned down his antiminority rhetoric, he may have been able to convince ‘immigrant citizens’ to vote for him and survived the Biden/Harris brigade in the swing states to serve another term. Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram
My condolences to this grieving mother and family Dear Editor It was very heartrending and heartbreaking, the story of the mother searching for three heart wrenching days for her son, only to finally find him in a morgue. What anguish. An investigation should be conducted how a missing person ended up in
the morgue for three days. My condolences to the grieving mother, relatives and friends of the deceased. May God give them the strength and courage to deal with what must be the greatest test of faith. Yours truly, Shamshun Mohamed
Wednesday November 11, 2020
Kaieteur News
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Kaieteur News
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Wednesday November 11, 2020
PPP, PNC, AFC united in the sellout of Guyana’s oil resources - Nigel Hinds
T
he three major political parties – P e o p l e ’ s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), and Alliance for Change (AFC) – are united in the sellout of Guyana’s oil and gas resources to oil giants and their beneficiaries. Many of their leaders are complicit and/or compromised. So says anticorruption advocate, Nigel H i n d s . In an exclusive Op-Ed to Kaieteur News, Hinds makes the scathing criticism, which follows several years of giveaways of oil blocks by successive governments,
under suspicious circumstances and with extremely generous provisions, resulting in significant value leakage for the people of Guyana. He pointed to copious reporting by Kaieteur News and, to a lesser extent, Stabroek N e w s , o n t h e “unconscionable” deals in dire need of renegotiation. “The dastardly oil contracts,” the accountant states, “are mutilated beyond legal recognition. The battle for fair oil deals is akin to a battle between a deceitful David against a tyrannical Goliath. As poverty and COVID-19 overwhelms Guyana, we have only our
self-serving and subjugated leaders to blame for our country’s economic inability to mitigate poverty or provide the financial resources to deal with COVID-19.” Kaieteur News recently concluded a series on the suspicious giveaways of the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks by former President, Donald Ramotar and former Minister of Natural Resources, Robert Persaud. F o l l o w i n g t h i s , Vi c e President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo held a press conference claiming that there was no corruption and no broken laws in the handling of the awards.
On the other side of the political aisle, Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, has opted to claim ignorance of the deals and the subsequent transfers of stakes, despite serving five years in authority at the Ministry of the Presidency. Global Witness, an independent watchdog group, has said that its intelligence tells it Harmon’s coalition may have stonewalled an investigation into the giveaways. Similar controversy followed the release of the Stabroek Block agreement granted to ExxonMobil and its partners, by former Minister of Natural
Resources, Raphael Trotman. The contract lords over a block which holds nine billion oil-equivalent barrels. However, the terms of the agreement have been
Nigel Hinds
adjudged as weak and below industry standards by many political commentators and industry experts. Despite years of protest (Continued on page 14)
"Guyanese: stop leaders from deceiving. Pressure them for disclosures on all deals."
Kaieteur News
Wednesday November 11, 2020
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The blow-blow still blowing T
he Guyana Human R i g h t s Association (GHRA) is a blow-blow organization. One has to be extremely circumspect about the pronouncements of this organization. The GHRA has been dormant for many years but, recently had suddenly sprung to life. During the elections crisis, not a whisper was heard from the GHRA. It did not condemn the attempts to rig the elections a human rights issue. Its deafening silence led to the assumption that the GHRA had become defunct. In the meantime, a new human rights organization has emerged to fill the void which was left by theabsentee GHRA. Unlike the GHRA which was into the business of issuing statements condemning alleged human rights abuses, this new human rights body organization is prepared to offer help to those persons who have been treated unjustly. The appearance of a competitor has caused the GHRA to rise from the dead. The GHRA has been up to mischief. It is using the death of the teenagers in West Coast Berbice to incite mistrust in the Guyana Police Force by calling for the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team to be brought to investigate the deaths of the boys. The lawyer of the dead boys has also misguidedly been parroting this proposal. The PNC/R has now joined the bandwagon. It too is calling for the Argentine team to be brought to Guyana. It is now raising
funds to bring the team. If the PNC/R had taken the time to investigate just what this team does, it would not have jumped on the GHRA/Hughes bandwagon. Forensic anthropologists are what their name implies. They dig upplaces where they believe persons are buried and when they find human remains they seek to determine the identities of the excavated remains. The Argentine team’s claim to fame has been its work in finding the burial sites of missing persons. During the rule of the military junta in Argentina, thousands of persons disappeared. The families of the disappeared have been demanding to know what happened to their loved ones. The Argentine team has been trying to find these missing persons. It has also been trying to track down the victims of human trafficking who were killed. The team examines records and tries to trace where missing persons were last seen. They then conduct searches for unmarked graves and other sites where these persons could have been buried. Just what use are these anthropologists going to be in finding the person or persons who killed those teenagers? What are they going to come here to do? To dig up the bodies of those young men who are buried to let us know that two of them are cousins and the other is unrelated by blood to the other two? The public already knows
the identities of those who were killed. Their corpses were found. So why is GHRA insistence that this team come here? To do what? Excavate the resting places of these young men one of whom may have been cremated? The PNC/R is now planning to raise the G$8M which it says is needed to bring the team here. It is asking the public for donations. The same PNC/R which was paying millions each month to a law firm in the United States to lobby for the US to accept fraudulent results is now begging for $8M to bring the team here. It is also claiming that the Opposition parliamentarians have collectively contributed so far $50,000. This has to be a joke. That is all the money they are contributing, and they expect people to take them seriously. The PNC/R must have spent close to a billion dollars on its election campaign. How come it now has to beg for money to finance the arrival for the Argentine team? The problem with Guyana is that we are moving from one political symptom to the other and not recognizing that the disease is not being treated. We have a political disease in the country in which people are used as puppets to do what their political leaders want them to do. The people of this country have to stop being so trustful of their political leaders. They have to begin to think carefully what they are being told and separate the wheat from the chafe or the
Dem school boys children ain’t kay! seh... Dem
Going to school is like taking an international flight out of Guyana. You have to check in and go through all kind of checks. From de time yuh hit the gate, a guard deh fuh tek yuh temperature. Then dem directing you to a sanitation area whey dem spraying you down like how dem airport security does pat you down. Dem teacher directing you to go and wash yuh hand. When yuh go in de classroom, yuh have yuh own assigned seat, just like in dem plane. Aunty Priya wasting she time. Before school open, she had all of dem schools sanitize. All dem children get face mask and care kits. Dem wearing de mask in class but dem boys see wah happening when school over. Dem children does pull down dem mask, walk four a breast and deh laughing and
gaffing all de way to de bus park. Some of dem nah even bothering fuh wear dem mask and some of dem wearing it under dem nose. So all dah hard wuk wah Aunty Priya doing come to naught because when dem children walk through de school gate, dem ganging up, dem walking home together without any face protection. Dem boys know dat would a happen. Just like how dem boys did predict how de testing would slow down. De numbers becoming too hot to handle. With all de talk about more testing is less than 200 tests dem do yesterday. Dem boys seh if dem bin do de 400 tests per day wah dem supposed to be doing, de number of confirmed cases would have been more than de runs Rohit Sharma score in de IPL final yesterday. Talk half and ask Aunty Priya how she controlling wah happen when school over!
sense from the nonsense, and the trumpet from the blowblow. (The views expressed in
this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)
Kaieteur News
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Wednesday November 11, 2020
THE FREDDIE KISSOON COLUMN
Do APNU+AFC and their surrogates accept Kamala? The prominent African Guyanese outside of the APNU+AFC who supported the rigging in the March 2020 election in Guyana are eerily silent about the claims by Trump and the Republican Party about rigging. They were not afraid to lend their names in support of electoral fraud. We need to remind Guyanese in and out of the land who these people are so history can judge them. Perhaps the three most vulgar and ugly embrace came from David Hinds, Lincoln Lewis and Barrington Braithwaite. Hinds virtually incited African Guyanese to revolt. When the drama came to an end at the end of July, Braithwaite wrote a letter in the Chronicle of July 23, questioning the mental health of GECOM chair, Claudette Singh. Here is what Braithwaite observed about the GECOM
chair: “There has been a successful intrusion into her faculties that places the balance of her faculties in a questionable realm.” There is the Deputy Vice Chancellor of UG, Dr. Melisa Ifill. She wrote during the election rigging: “I believe that the unanimity of views expressed by the international actors is not accidental or primarily due to principles but is due to the intense and sustained lobbying by Mercury (the American company) on behalf of the PPP. Mercury supplied the talking points and likely even crafted the messages put out.” How does this woman feel about Kamala Harris’ victory? Let’s quote Lewis. He wrote; “The Constitution spoke about a President. And that President has Executive responsibilities and duties if the Elections Commission’s actions are inimical to the
interest and intent of the Constitution and the ethos of this country, then he will have to take action. Whatever form it is. We can’t have an election that is marred with discrepancies that we consider as rigged. Mr. Granger will have to take action, if the Elections Commission fails the people of the country.” Now bear in mind, the following specific words of Lewis: “We can’t have an election that is marred with discrepancies that we consider as rigged.” How uncanny - Trump, Republican Senators, and Republican politicians are probably in touch with Lewis. The words from Lewis in Guyana and Republican in the US are graphically similar. We must not forget Rickford Burke in the US. His accusations of PPP rigging was characterized by wicked absurdities. Is he
going to accept Kamala’s electoral triumph? He is in a dilemma that is virtually impossible get out of. Burke always claims that he knows well certain members of the Black Caucus in the US Congress. How then Burke is going to continue to claim rigging was done in Guyana and deny the same rigging took place in the US when the claims of APNU+AFC and the American Republicans are identical? So are Lewis, Braithwaite, Ifill, Hinds, Burke, ACDA, and their partners who shouted about rigging going to congratulate Kamala Harris? Harris is special to Guyana of all places. We have a large East Indian population and Harris’ mother is from India. Harris’ father is from one of the countries that make of the family of CARICOM nations – Jamaica. L’ i l J o e w r o t e t h e American Joe to extend wishes but the question is; are the other PNC leaders, the mandarins in the AFC and the surrogates of APNU+AFC that shamelessly described the
Guyana election as fraudulent going to accept that the American Joe and Kamala have won a free and fair contest? Things are spiraling out of control in the US. Trump like Granger did Frederick Kissoon before, is not need to mention that while conceding; powerful Republican senators are the words of the Guyanese echoing cries of election accusers are the same as their tampering; Republican American counterparts, so supporters are taking to the are their actions. Here is an example of streets in large numbers to denounce what they say was how the circus which an illegal affair. The latest is performed in Guyana for five the Republican Secretary of months has gone to the US. State for Georgia. He had to In court papers of the Trump be in touch with L’il Joe in campaign challenging the Guyana because the words election, there are some big jokes. In one affidavit, an too similar. He used the word, election official from the “discrepancies.” This word Trump campaign wrote that was the most popular one in fact he did see Republic coming from the mouths of Party officials in the room APNU+AFC leaders during observing the count. The Guyanese and American the five-month ordeal. The curiosity that is jokers are wild. (The views expressed in taking over all Guyanese is whether the rejection by the this article are those of the loser in the US will take on a a u t h o r a n d d o n o t five-month disaster as we necessarily reflect the had here in this country. We opinions of this newspaper.)
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Trinidad police, port officials, probe shipment of vehicles to Guyana Trinidad - Officials at the Port of Portof-Spain stopped millions of dollars in equipment from being loaded onto the Carabia, a vessel bound for Guyana, after discovering several discrepancies in the documents presented. Sources told Guardian Media, in Trinidad, that four of the trailers, part of a shipment being loaded for a project in Guyana by a local contractor, appeared to be unregistered. “What we found out was that the
unregistered trailers had registered number plates on them. We later had to remove the plates from the trailers and have it checked,” said a senior port source familiar with the situation. Officers from the Fraud Squad and the Stolen Vehicles Squad were alerted about the situation and were speaking to port officials about the incident.Questions were raised about some dump trucks that were also to be loaded on the vessel.“What the shipping (Continued on page 15)
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City’s Solid Waste Director threatens... From page 3 course as soon as possible,” Narine told Kaieteur News in an invited comment yesterday. However, City Mayor (Ubraj) Narine emphasized that the decision is not one which Council took on its own. “The decision to have the Solid Waste Director repay the money was not taken at the level of the Council, but at the Local Government Commission. The Council is just acting on the recommendation of the Commission. So, there should be no issue between Mr. Narine and the Council,” the Mayor stated. The Mayor explained, too, that prior to the Local Government Commission’s recommendation, “there
was a meeting between officials of the council including myself, Mr. Narine and the former acting Town Clerk , Ms. Harry- Munroe.” The Mayor said that “I was not even in the country. I joined the meeting via Whatsapp call and when Ms HarryMunroe was questioned about the expense, she said that she had not given any permission for Mr. Narine to hire the contractor.” “Mr. Narine then, took it upon himself to commit to repay the Council for sum. The minutes of that meeting was then forwarded to the Local Government Commission for advice. The recommendation was later made that Mr. Narine should repay the monies as he committed to do,” he explained.
The Mayor informed that a committee investigated the matter and recommended that the Solid Waste Director make a one-off payment of the monies and that recommendation was sent to the LGC which granted the approval. “But, I was taking easy on Mr. Narine at the statutory meeting on Monday- I asked the Council to give the Solid Waste Director six months to repay the money on compassionate grounds, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That was not accepted by some of the Council but I intervened because I wouldn’t want the public to think that Mr. Narine is being treated unfairly,” the Mayor said.
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Miner, caregiver robbed of car, other items on seawall A gold miner and caregiver was on Monday robbed of a silver-grey Toyota 212, PLL 2315, and almost $400,000 in items while they were parked at the Ogle seawall, East Coast Demerara. The victims have been identified as Cleveland Mentore, 35 of Area ‘Y,’ Cummings Lodge, East Coast Demerara, and Shelly Thomas, 29 of 28 Second Street, Industry, East Coast Demerara. According to a police report, on the day in question around 21:30 hrs Mentore parked his vehicle in the vicinity of Shell Gas Station, Ogle, with the engine on. Moments after two male suspects both dressed in black
and one armed with a handgun approached them. Upon seeing the handgun, Mentore ran and at a safe distance, he threw a glass bottle at the suspects. It was reported that the suspect with the handgun then fired two shots in Mentore’s direction while the other suspect approached Thomas and searched her. The suspects then entered the car and drove away in an eastern direction.In the vehicle were a 32" Samsung television, one stabilizer, a speaker box and two cellular phones - a Samsung A2 Core and a Samsung Galaxy 8 Note.The matter was reported and an investigation was launched - no arrest has been made.
PPP, PNC, AFC united ... From page 8 against the terms, projected to leave billions of US dollars on the table, all of the major parties have refused to even attempt to bring the Stabroek block coventurers back to the negotiation table. “It’s a farce to call yourself a patriot and embrace these transparently shenanigous oil arrangements that will further increase poverty and the wealth gap in Guyana.” Hinds wrote. These issues form only the tip of the iceberg where a lack of transparency and questions of mismanagement of Guyana’s oil resources are concerned. “Should Kaieteur News throw in the towel, accept the sellout contracts, believe the
vacuous talk from past and present political leaders? Absolutely No!” Hinds said. He holds that the industry low one percent and two percent royalty rates represent failed governance. “Over nine billion barrels of oil owned by a population of less than 800,000, with the people spread over Guyana’s land surface of 19.7 million hectares. It is not difficult or too late,” Hinds said, “for genuinely inclusive political leadership to take this enormous rising tide of oil discovered in Guyana and monetize the oil resource for the widescale benefit of our people… Our time on this earth will expire, let us aspire to leave a legacy of doing good, doing what is in the best interest of the Guyanese people.”
APNU+AFC failed to... from page 11 Hess (15 percent). The Canje Block was awarded to Mid Atlantic on March 4, 2015. Currently, four companies have stakes in the Canje Block: ExxonMobil (35 percent), Total (35 percent), JHI Associates (17.5 percent) and Mid-Atlantic (12.5 percent). The Coalition has had its own controversy to deal with,
given that its Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Tr o t m a n , a l s o r a i s e d suspicion for signing a lopsided contract with ExxonMobil while on a trip, which the company paid for, to its Texas headquarters. Both major parties’ stewardship of the petroleum sector has been marked by global standard corruption red flags.
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Baby dies; parents held in shocking case of sexual assault The parents of a fourday-old baby girl who died on Monday at the New Amsterdam Hospital, Berbice, are now being grilled by detectives. This was after it was discovered by doctors that the newborn was sexually assaulted. Kaieteur News has confirmed with police that they have started an intense probe into the bizarre case. According to authorities, the parents and an eightyear-old sister live at Grove Squatting Area, East Bank Demerara. Reports are that the infant was born on November 5 at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). On November 7, she along with her mother, 27, were discharged from the maternity ward. On November 9, the child’s mother returned to
the hospital for a post pregnancy check-up at 10:00 hrs. Accompanying her was the baby’s father and sister. The woman told investigators that she had exited a car and entered the hospital leaving the baby behind with her father (who was the driver) and sister. She claimed that upon her return to the car some two hours later, the baby was “crying repeatedly and breathing heavily.” The woman also detailed to detectives the infant’s dress was off and was clad only in her diapers and underpants. It is unclear, however, if she had inquired why her baby was in that condition. She told police she fed the infant who went to sleep shortly after. The woman disclosed that the family drove to her parents’ home at Number1 Settlement, Blairmont, West
Bank Berbice (WBB). She was reportedly dropped off there with the infant and her sister, while the father left. Kaieteur News understands that the baby awoke sometime later and started to cry and was breathing heavily “as if she was suffocating.” The mother decided to rush the child to the New Amsterdam Hospital sometime around18:05 hrs that day. When she arrived, according sources, the infant was pronounced dead on arrival. Following subsequent medical examination by professionals, it was revealed that “the child’s anus was severely expanded.” The infant’s body is presently at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital mortuary while her parents remain in custody.
Man wanted for murder of Kaituma teen captured, remanded one year later A fugitive, who had managed to avoid being captured for almost a year after allegedly killing a Port Kaituma man during a fight over a 14-year-girl, was finally captured and remanded. The suspect identified as Jason Howard, 20, a miner of Four Miles, Port Kaituma, North West District (NWD), Region One, was charged yesterday for the murder of Neville Moonsammy, 19, also of Four Miles. Howard was remanded by Magistrate Delon Bess via Zoom. It is alleged that on December 24th, 2019, Howard viciously attacked and stabbed Moonsammy to death at S18 Junction, Four Miles. The matter was adjourned until February 2, 2021. Kaieteur News had reported that Moonsammy was slain during a fight over a 14-year-old girl. Moonsammy and his friend, Keon Hutson, who also was severely injured during attack started their Christmas eve celebrations at a friend’s house and had gone to a shop at the S18 junction to continue. It is alleged that while at the location,
Murdered: Neville Moonsammy Hutson saw his teenaged girlfriend speaking with another male. He intervened. A fight started. When the dust settled, Moonsammy was stabbed.A teen was charged and Howard went on the run until his recent capture.
Trinidad police, port officials, From page 12 agent told us was that the certificates presented for the dump trucks were not what he was accustomed to seeing. There were the general certificates of the trucks but on these certificates, some important information was missing,” the port source said. The vessel, which arrived last night, offloaded 669 cars—257 new vehicles, 331 used and 81 transshipment vehicles—and had been expected to load up and leave by just after lunch today. “Instructions have been given that
nothing is to be loaded onto that vessel until proper checks are made,” the source said An officer at the Stolen Vehicles Fraud Squad said checks would have to be made to ensure chassis numbers match up to the trucks at the port. They will have to liaise with Customs and Excise to verify the information on the C82 form. The source explained this is something that has to be done when any vehicles or similar equipment enter or leave the country. (Trinidad Guardian story)
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Kaieteur News Region One Chairman, Brentnol Ashley visiting students of North West Secondary School (Brentnol Ashley photo)
Wednesday November 11, 2020
50% students’ turnout in COVID-19 ‘hotspot’ region
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egion One (Barima-Waini), described as a COVID-19 ‘hotspot,’ with the second highest number of confirmed cases in the country, on Monday saw 50% of student turnout to school. This is according to the Region One Chairman, Brentnol Ashley, yesterday. The chairman disclosed t h a t t h e N o r t h We s t Secondary in the Mabaruma
sub-region saw poor turnout, in light of the COVID-19 cases in the area. However, in the Moruca sub-region, only the Santa Rosa Secondary was reportedly open for school, while the others remain closed because of the high number of COVID-19 cases recorded there. He added that only the Grade 11 students were allowed to attend school, in that area, until the cases starts to decrease. Ashley also noted that there was a significant turnout of teachers as well. Upon returning to school, the students were given their care packages that the
Ministry of Education provided – it included facemasks and sanitizing materials. It was previously reported that, following the Health Ministry’s approval for the conditional reopening of schools, as per newly Gazetted order for COVID-19 measures this month, the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, made the decision to have students from Grade 10, 11 and 12 turn out to classes so that they could complete their School-Based Assessments (SBAs) for CSEC and Internal Assessments (IAs) for CAPE.
City Treasury staffers ordered suspended over stolen market collections The Georgetown Mayor and City Council on Monday passed a motion to suspend three staffers from the Treasury Department, who were found culpable of the theft of monies belonging to the Council. The motion to discipline the staffers was based on recommendations by the recently dissolved Local Government Commission (LGC). The LGC had initially sent five employees on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation into the matter. The investigation was completed by the LGC and City Constabulary, after which, the LGC had found
Treasurer (ag) of the Georgetown Municipality, John Douglas three out of the five staffers guilty of the crime. The Commission had recommended that the Council decide the fate of three employees while suggesting that they either be suspended, transferred, and repay the sum, which is just
under $100,000 that was stolen. The matter was brought up at the statutory meeting at City Hall on Monday. Town Clerk (ag), Sherry Jerrick, revealed that the motion was put forward to have the three of employees face disciplinary action. Seven councillors voted in favour of the motion to suspend the staffers, while two voted against and three abstained from voting. The Council also determined the o t h e r t w o s t a ff e r s b e reinstated. According to reports, the motion stems from an incident in which employees from the Treasury Department would usually collect money from the Bourda and Stabroek Markets to deposit it to the Council’s bank account. H o w e v e r, o n t h i s occasion, the employees allegedly took the money for their own personal use. The incident followed a similar matter in which City Tr e a s u r e r ( a g ) o f t h e Georgetown Municipality John Douglas, Sergeant Ivor Bryan, Sonia Pitt, and Yolanda Forde were among staffers sanctioned by the LGC over displacement of monies belonging to the council. Those persons were also suspended for several weeks after a bag of money was found in the seat of a vehicle belonging to the City Constabulary weeks after it should have been deposited into the city bank account.
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APNU+AFC failed to launch international investigation into oil blocks in five years - but blasts PPP/C for failing to do so in 100 days
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n acknowledgement o f t h e P e o p l e ’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) 100 days in government, the A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC), yesterday blasted the government for failing to launch an international investigation into the controversial award of the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks. Some have labelled these utterances as hypocritical, especially when one recalls that in the five years that the APNU+AFC held government, it had failed to effectively conduct that said international probe. In fact, the coalition may have deliberately stonewalled the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) in its probe of the awards of the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks in the weeks leading up to the 2015 General and Regional Elections, as reported by international watchdog, Global Witness. In a February 2020 report titled Signed Away, Global Witness had stated: “According to a source close to the government, one reason why SARA has not been effective, is because some officials may have stonewalled investigators’ record requests.” That investigation started in May of 2018. Two years later and with $600M of taxpayers’ money spent, SARA has nothing to show for it. There are many who believe that the agency has been nothing but a complete waste of tax dollars. One such person who remains resolute in this view is Chartered Accountant and anticorruption advocate, Christopher Ram. During an interview with Kaieteur News in July, Ram had highlighted that the coalition, like the PPP/C, had shown the necessity for asset recovery without the “heavy hand of politics.” He noted, however, that the APNU+AFC have been at best, irresponsible in handling this matter. Notably, while in office, APNU+AFC was in the best position to assist the state investigator to complete the investigation with haste. Yet, even now, its leading officials claim not to know who the true beneficiaries are of the suspicious giveaways. During an October 2nd virtual conference,
Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon, had claimed that he did not know who the real owners of the Canje and Kaieteur Blocks are. He had said that he has some information on the matter, but that he did not want to put out information into the public, which was unverified, as he said this is information which he received from someone overseas who reached out to him. Notwithstanding, Harmon was constantly pressed on his knowledge on the award of the two blocks, but continued to claim ignorance on the topic, and gave his assurances that the coalition would conduct a “special” oil and gas conference to address the issue. That press conference is yet to happen. Later, on October 29th, Harmon was reminded that he had, on multiple occasions, had committed to providing information about the suspicious awards. In response, he denied any further knowledge, repeating an earlier statement he had made, that Kaieteur News seems to have more information than he does, and that this publication has more than what the opposition possesses. Importantly, the Coalition had no need to rely on outside sources to close this case, as the two oil blocks changed hands several times under its tenure. As the PPP/C should have done when it awarded the blocks, every time the blocks changed hands, the Coalition was in a position to determine who the beneficiaries are. The government has to know the hands, which the stakes are leaving, and the hands to which they will go. M e a n w h i l e , Vi c e President (VP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had said that the government intends to peruse briefing reports on the handling of the awards of the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks, to find any possible evidence of corruption. He posited, too, during a press conference last week, that he does not believe any laws were broken, nor is there any evidence of corruption. He was asked whether he would support an independent probe by a competent foreign investigator, into the awards. When Kaieteur News first raised the issue of red flags surrounding the awards, in 2019, the then Opposition
Leader had said that an independent probe would receive his support. However, Jagdeo on Friday had refused to commit to having said probe then. He said that he would not commit “at this stage.” He continued, “We go sequentially, that’s how I work. I work sequentially. I’m trying to find out [whether there is corruption].”
The blocks The Kaieteur Block was initially split 50/50 by Ratio Energy and Ratio Guyana (owned by the Israeli company, Ratio Petroleum) on April 28, 2015. As of today, the Kaieteur Block is split among four companies: ExxonMobil (35 percent), Ratio Guyana (25 percent), Cataleya (25 percent) and (Continued on page 14)
Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon
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Tom Brady suffers biggest beatdown of his career - Time is running out for Bucs to look like true Super Bowl contenders Yahoo Sports - The warning bells that had been flashing on Tampa Bay’s dashboard of late turned an engine billowing smoke as all four tires flattened. The Buccaneers were winning, but the rattles were real. Tom Brady all but signaled it when he not only pressed for the signing of troubled wideout Antonio Brown, but he let him move into his house. TB12 knew they needed help. The call was coming from the inside. On Sunday, it became apparent to everyone. New Orleans 38, Tampa 3, the worst beatdown of Brady’s two decade-plus NFL career. It may have been even uglier than that. Only a late fourth-quarter field goal saved the Bucs from the embarrassment of a shutout. It was something out of the New York Jets’ playbook ... or Tampa’s during its many lost seasons. It certainly wasn’t something you see from Super Bowl champions, which is all that Brady is playing for at age 43. Tampa couldn’t block New Orleans (three sacks allowed, one intentional grounding). It couldn’t tackle New Orleans (420 total yards). It couldn’t run against New Orleans (8 net rushing yards). It couldn’t pass against New Orleans (209 total yards in the air, despite more than a half of desperation). “It was a collapse,” linebacker Shaq Barrett said.
“A total team collapse.” Tampa ran just 46 offensive plays. The first half featured five drives of three plays or fewer. “We just didn’t play the way we are capable of playing,” Brady said. “Everybody has to get back to work and that starts with me.” This was a complete whupping, perhaps best visualized by Brady running for his life and chucking balls wildly as the Saints blew up his offensive line and blanketed all his receivers. Either that or the fact the Saints played backup quarterback Jameis Winston late in the game, giving Winston a chance to see action against his old team and against Brady, the guy who replaced him. He later crashed a postgame interview on NBC and brought back his much-mocked “eat a W” gesture. It was that kind of night for New Orleans, with Drew Brees chucking four touchdown passes and completing attempts to a dozen teammates. Brady got into the party by throwing three passes that Saints players caught as well. “I certainly have to play a lot better,” Brady said. Where does Tampa go from here? It’s hard to say. It’s still just Week 9, plenty of time for improvement. Then again, Super Bowl champions rarely, if ever, suffer losses like this.
None have been beaten by 35. In 2005, Baltimore lost to Houston, 43-13. In 2003, New England got shut out, 31-0, by Buffalo. In 1976, the then Oakland Raiders lost to the Patriots by 31. In 1994, San Francisco lost 40-8 to Philadelphia. All went on to win it all. S o , h e y, a n y t h i n g i s possible. Maybe. More recently, back in 2014, Brady and New England were crushed 4214 at Kansas City, leading to plenty of “the Patriots dynasty is over” talk. They went on to win the Super Bowl that postseason, of course. Then two more over the next four years. As bad as that blowout was, this was worse. And Tampa doesn’t have Bill Belichick or a championship culture. T h a t ’s w h a t B r a d y w a s supposed to bring. Maybe he still can, but the NFC South is all but gone. New Orleans, by sweeping both regular-season games, is effectively two games up in the standings, plus has an easier schedule ahead. At 6-3, the wild card is still available, but Tampa will have to figure out its offensive line before it gets real. “He had all his weapons on the field as well, too,” Brees said on NBC after the game. “I thought it was going to be one of those games. They did a phenomenal job. Can’t say enough about the pass rush, obviously Tom
...Trent Boult and Rohit Sharma help From page 37 up, both dipping short of Rohit’s reach, he took a risk third ball. He skipped down, Ashwin bowled a slider, which was too close to him to get any great power in, but Rohit went ahead with a straight loft. He cleared long-on by a couple of feet. That was the closest Capitals would come to Mumbai. In dream form, de Kock has been hitting out selflessly and getting Mumbai off to quick starts. In particular, he has been fierce against his compatriot Kagiso Rabada. He just likes pace on the ball, and he laid into Rabada, hitting 4, 6 and 4 in
Rabada’s first. Stoinis got de Kock out with the first ball he bowled, for 20 off 11, but immediately Suryakumar Yadav hit him out of the attack with a four and a six the first two balls he faced. Mumbai 58 for 1 in five. Rohit sees it through While in the background, Rohit wasn’t exactly slow at 23 off 14. The next three overs from spinners taking the ball away from both right-hand batsmen brought about a period of lull. The asking rate went up from 6.6 to 7.5. Rohit was facing legspin now, his weakness. If the Capitals were going to come back, it had to be now. Rohit dashed their hopes with
two emphatic sixes down the ground off Praveen D u b e y. S o o n h e r a n Suryakumar out, but that only made him more determined and he kept picking the boundaries to never let the asking rate rise. Ishan Kishan was an able ally, handing over the strike at first and then making it a double-barrel attack. By the time Rohit got out, they needed just 20 off 22, a job easily accomplished. Scores: Mumbai Indians 157 for 5 (Rohit 68, Kishan 33*, Nortje 2-25) beat Delhi Capitals 156 for 7 (Iyer 65*, Pant 56, Boult 3-30, Coulter-Nile 2-29) by five wickets.
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady had one of his worst outings in his 21 NFL seasons in a blowout loss to the Saints on Sunday. He threw for 209 yards, was sacked three times and tossed three interceptions. (AP Photo/Mark LoMoglio) took a lot of hits tonight. Can’t say enough about the front four.” About the only positives? Receiver Chris Godwin, who is a critical cog in the attack, returned to action. Brown seemed to begin shaking off some suspension rust that has kept him out of football for over a year and made a couple nice
plays. Oh, and by dropping to the fifth seed in the NFC (if it were to hold), the Bucs would get to play whatever the NFC East spits out as a champion on wild-card weekend. Other than that, it’s back to the drawing board. No amount of big-name weapons — whether it’s AB or Gronk — can save you if you can’t
block anyone. “It’s about playing better and execution,” Brady said. “We all have to do our job better. When you play against good teams, there isn’t a margin for error.” NFC East champion asides, there are only good teams in January, which isn’t here yet, but isn’t that far off either.
NBA: League, players reach financial agreement for 72-game 2020-21 season (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the players’ association (NBPA) have reached an agreement in principle on a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the 2020-21 season, which will begin on Dec. 22, they said. The NBPA last week approved the date for the opening of the new season that will have a reduced 72game schedule. After a meeting on Monday, it and the NBA said in a joint statement the salary cap would be $109.140 million and tax level would be $132.627 million. Both figures are unchanged from last season, U.S. media reported late on
Monday. “In subsequent seasons of the CBA, the salary cap and tax level will increase by a minimum of 3% and a maximum of 10% over the prior season,” the league and players’ union added. “A new system will be used to ensure the parties’ agreed-upon split of basketball-related income (BRI). “In the event player compensation were to exceed players’ designated share in any season, necessary salary reductions beyond the standard 10% escrow would be spread across that season and potentially the following two seasons, subject to a maximum salary reduction in
any season of 20%.” The agreement is subject to a vote by the league’s Board of Governors. Free agent negotiations would begin on Nov. 20, two days after the draft, they said in the statement. Training camps are set to begin in early December. The 2019-20 season was completed in October after a four-month delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with teams competing in a biosecure bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The Los Angeles Lakers captured a record-tying 17th NBA Championship on Oct. 12 with a 106-93 victory over the Miami Heat that sealed the best-of-seven title series 4-2.
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FA chairman Clarke quits after ‘coloured footballers’ remark LONDON (Reuters) - Greg Clarke has resigned as English Football Association chairman hours after referring to “coloured footballers” during questions from members of parliament yesterday. The 63-year-old was widely criticised after making a series of inappropriate comments while taking questions from members of the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) select committee. “We can confirm that Greg Clarke has stepped down from his role as our chairman,” the FA said in a statement. “Peter McCormick will step into the role as interim FA Chairman with immediate effect and the FA Board will begin the process of identifying and appointing a new chair in due course.” Former Leicester City chairman Clarke, 63, was appointed by the FA in 2016 since when the governing body has worked hard to improve its stuffy image and become more inclusive. In 2018 the FA launched its Pursuit of Progress
initiative, aimed at increasing the diversity of those playing, officiating, coaching, leading and governing English football. However, Clarke’s outdated terminology yesterday led to outrage amongst anti-racism organisations and players. “I was extremely disappointed to see Greg Clarke’s comments today in the DCMS select committee,” said Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari. “His use of outdated language to describe black and Asian people as “coloured” is from decades ago and should remain consigned to the dustbin of history.” Clarke was attending the DCMS meeting remotely to discuss the Premier League’s financial rescue package for the English Football League (EFL) in light of the COVID19 pandemic. But when questions turned to diversity in English football and within the FA’s own ranks he began to score verbal own goals at an alarming rate. CLARKEAPOLOGY Asked about the difficulty
gay players in the men’s game faced in ‘coming out’ in the social media age, Clarke said: “If I look at what happens to high-profile female footballers, to high-profile coloured footballers, and the abuse they take on social media... social media is a freefor-all.” DCMS committee member Kevin Brennan MP later picked up Clarke on his choice of words, prompting an apology. “If I said it I deeply regret it,” Clarke replied. “I am a product of working overseas, where I was required to use the phrase people of colour. Sometimes I trip over my words.” Clarke was also criticised for voicing other stereotypes during the meeting. Talking about diversity within football, he said South Asians and Afro-Caribbean people had “different career interests”, using his own organisation as an example. “BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities are not an amorphous mass,” he said. “If you look at top level football the Afro-Caribbean community is over-
Taylor smashes 60 as Adelaide Strikers pull off six-run win in WBBL
FA chairman Greg Clarke before the International Friendly - England vs Germany at Wembley Stadium November 10, 2017. (Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine/File Photo) represented compared to the South Asian community. “If you go to the IT
department of the FA there’s a lot more South Asians than there are Afro-Caribbeans.
They have different career interests.” Clarke also referred to gay players making a “life choice” — prompting further criticism. Labour MP Alex DaviesJones, whose question provoked Clarke’s “coloured footballers” comment, said his terminology showed the “urgent progress” that is needed on equality. “I can’t believe we’re still here in 2020,” she said. Former West Ham player Anton Ferdinand posted on Twitter that Clarke’s language was unacceptable, adding “clearly education is needed at all levels.” Clarke later issued a statement of apology but said he has been considering standing down anyway. “My unacceptable words in front of Parliament were a disservice to our game and to those who watch, play, referee and administer it. This has crystallised my resolve to move on,” he said. “I’m deeply saddened that I offended those diverse communities in football that I and others worked so hard to include.”
Mominul Haque, Bangladesh’s Test captain, positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms
Stafanie Taylor
SportsMax - Stafanie Taylor’s Player of the Match performance helped Adelaide Strikers pull off a nail-biting six run win over the Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League in Sydney, Australia on Monday. Coming in a number-five Taylor scored a 48-ball 60 that included seven fours and a six rescuing Adelaide from a precarious 26 for 4 and hauling them to a respectable 127 for 9 before being last out on the penultimate ball of the innings. Only Amanda-Jade Wellington, who scored 21 from 22 balls, scored any runs of note to support the Jamaica and West Indies captain. Together they put on 43 for the fifth wicket which helped Adelaide recover somewhat from a disastrous start as Sophie Molineux (3 for 20) and Rosemarie Mair (2 for 14) wreaked
havoc on Adelaide’s line up. Needing 128 for victory, the Renegades got off to an equally bad start and were 12 for 3 after four overs. Molineux was run out by a direct hit from Sarah Coyte at mid-off, Lizelle Lee was lbw trying to sweep Megan Schutt and Amy Satterthwaite, having made 1 off 10 balls, was bowled swiping at Darcie Brown whose four overs went for just 12 runs. Georgia Wareham (42) and Courtney Webb (14) rebuilt, but Wareham’s departure in the 14th over made it tough for the Renegades. However, Carly Leeson, who got 31, took 19 off the penultimate over to make things interesting but it eventually, the Renegades needed nine from three balls. It turned out to be a bridge too far. Coyte (2-21) was the best of the Adelaide bowlers.
Mominul Haque slashes behind square. (AFP) ESPNcricinfo - Mominul Haque, Bangladesh’s Test captain, tested positive for Covid-19 with mild symptoms. The news came out just two days after Mahmudullah tested positive, which ruled him out from appearing for the Multan Sultans in the PSL playoffs next week. “Mominul is coronavirus positive with mild symptoms,” Dr Debashish Chowdhury, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s chief physician, told the news
website Sarabangla. Haque, meanwhile, said that he learnt about it on Tuesday. “I don’t have a lot of symptoms except fever since the day before yesterday,” he said. His wife has also tested positive, and both have quarantined themselves at home. Like most of the top players, Haque has also been in all of the BCB’s camps since September and has also been training individually since June. He played in the BCB President’s Cup last
month and remains in line to be drafted in one of the five teams for this month’s Bangabandhu T20 Cup. Previously, Abu Jayed, Saif Hassan and Mashrafe Mortaza had also tested positive, and have since recovered. A few cricketers and coaching staff from the Under-19 camp had also tested positive last month. According to the official figures, there have been 421,921 Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh, with over 6000 deaths.
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Olympics: Organisers say fears of virus banished by success of test event TOKYO (Reuters) Organisers of a weekend international gymnastics meet in Tokyo, seen as a major test ahead of next year’s postponed Olympic Games, lauded yesterday the success of the event, saying the athletes’ fear of the coronavirus had been replaced by joy. Adding to the optimism was news that Pfizer Inc’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine is more than 90% effective, based on initial trials, though Olympics organisers have said their Games do not depend on a vaccine. Sunday’s event, involving athletes from Japan, China, Russia and the United States, went off largely without a hitch as the Federation International de Gymnastique (FIG) and the Japanese Gymnastics Association (JGA) tested various measures against the
novel coronavirus. All athletes and staff took daily PCR tests during their time in Japan and their movements were heavily restricted. Likewise, the 2,000 fans allowed into the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Sunday had their temperatures checked upon entry. The JGA confirmed yesterday that there had been no positive tests among athletes or staff. FIG President Morinari Watanabe praised the athletes’ attitude and said their confidence had been bolstered. “When they arrived in Japan, you could see fear in their eyes,” Watanabe said, following a meeting with Tokyo 2020 organisers. “They were worried they might be infected and you can see that fear deep into their eyes. But each day that they
spent time in Japan, they managed to ease their fears.” “At the end of the day you could see the joy in their eyes.” Watanabe said he had been contacted by organisers of the Paris 2024 Games, who had expressed their encouragement. Tokyo 2020 organisers also welcomed the news about Pfizer Inc’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine. “I heard about the vaccine and I think we all felt positive and a sense of relief at this news, all of us at Tokyo 2020 too,” said Games Delivery Officer Hidemasa Nakamura. However, Olympics organisers have long stressed a vaccine is not needed for next year’s Games to go ahead and Nakamura said the vaccine has not been used yet and so was not part of the preparations.
Walsh relishes time spent with Khan during CPL CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, CMC – West Indies leg-spinner Hayden Walsh Jr said getting the chance to be teammates with fellow leggie Rashid Khan of Afghanistan during this year ’s Caribbean Premier League Twenty20, was a rewarding experience. Though Walsh had several reasons to be disappointed about his performance in the CPL, he said he enjoyed playing alongside Khan, recognised as one of the most competitive spin bowlers in the T20 format around the globe. Walsh took only seven wickets in 10 matches in this year ’s CPL, which was contested entirely in Trinidad. It was a stark contrast to the 22 wickets he grabbed last year for champions Barbados Tridents that jettisoned him into the Windies team following a brief stint playing for the United States. “The positives from the CPL was I do not think I was bowling that bad – bowling long hops and full tosses, here, there and everywhere,” Walsh said during a video conference with the media from the Windies’ training base in Lincoln. “I thought I was more consistent this year than last year, but I guess you
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cannot win it every year and you cannot win it all the time, so you just roll on and try again.” He added: “But I was really in awe having Rashid around. We talked about a few grips and a few variations of the googlies he has in his armoury. “One thing I took away from it all was that I am a different bowler to him, and I just needed to be myself sometimes. But I like his mentality, I like how he is always positive and ready for a fight and never backs down.” For now, Walsh said getting used to the cooler conditions in New Zealand and the quarantine of the bio-secure bubble because of the COVID-19 pandemic was important to him. “It’s definitely been cold, but I have been in England quite a bit, so having these conditions remind me of being in England,” he said. “I just try to crack on with it, but it’s cold. “I have not been watching too much of the domestic matches, but I have seen a few clips and the conditions look b o w l e r- f r i e n d l y. I t ’s a positive in my mind going into these matches.” On the bio-secure bubble, he said: “There are some tough days, where you want to go home. But I have tried to keep myself
occupied with a bit of painting. I have finished a few pieces and I have put them up on my Instagram stories. “We are now able to go into each other’s rooms and so I try to go into someone else’s room and have a chat if things get a little too boring. There are some tough days and there are some OK days. I am sure it will get better when we get out to play.” Walsh said he has spent the time in quarantine working on his painting skills and relishes the calmness it has brought to his life, which he hoped he can transfer onto the playing field. “A friend of mine introduced me to painting,” he said. “I really enjoyed putting together the pieces and mixing the colours, so I decided this is going to be a good thing to do to pass the t i m e w h i l e I a m in quarantine – and it’s kind of helping to keep me stay calm. “They say, when painting, you cannot rush the brush, so I am trying to take that into my game and take everything nice and easy.” The first T20I between the Windies and the Black Caps will be contested on November 27 at Eden Park in Auckland to be followed by matches on November 29 and 30 at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
Everything has been done to stop Mercedes - Wolff
Mercedes has secured its seventh successive F1 world championship double this season. (Motorsport) Motorsport.com - The German car manufacturer has secured its seventh successive F1 world championship double this season. It wrapped up the constructors’ championship at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix and its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas are the only remaining contenders for the drivers’ crown. With F1’s rules remaining stable heading in to next year, Mercedes is already favourite to extend its title success, but things are more open for the following season. Wolff accepts that the raft of changes coming for 2022, which include all-new car regulations, a budget cap and a new prize money structure, will be especially challenging for his outfit. And he suggests that the main ambition behind the changes has been to close up the field and wipe away any advantage that Mercedes
has had. “Next year will be a transitional year with the same machines,” he said. “As I’ve said before, I expect Honda to give it a big push. “And then obviously this big challenge of 2022 is on the doorstep. That will motivate us. “Everything has been done to stop us. We will all fight on a level playing field financially and everything is pretty much capped. “I’d like to see us continue to perform well, even through this most dramatic regulatory change that has ever happened in F1.” While Wolff has one eye on ensuring Mercedes can retain its place at the front of F1, he has yet to finalise his own F1 future. He is currently in negotiations with Mercedes’ parent company Daimler about implementing a succession plan, as he begins looking for a long-term replacement.
Wolff will stay on at Mercedes next year, but would like to transition into a new role that does not require him to attend every race. “My situation is a little bit different, because I’m a coowner with Mercedes of the team, so I’m never going to abandon it, because it’s just what I love to do,” Wolff told Sky F1 after the last race at Imola. “What’s better than to be part of a sports team, to be part of such a fantastic gang of people? “What I said is that I believe everybody has a shelf life in a role. I haven’t come to the end of mine, I think I can still contribute. “But I need to think about the future also going forward. Bringing somebody up, developing him doing this role, is something that is a fantastic challenge for me that will be one of the next chapters. But you will see me around for a while.”
F1 drops Vietnam from record 23-race 2021 calendar LONDON (Reuters) - The Vietnamese Grand Prix was absent from a draft 2021 calendar published by Formula One yesterday that featured a record 23 rounds, with a debut in Saudi Arabia and Brazil returning despite fears for that race’s future. Vietnam was due to host a street race in Hanoi for the first time last April, but that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The absence of the grand prix on next year’s calendar has been attributed to local issues, although Formula One
did not give a reason or mention Vietnam in a statement setting out the planned season. The BBC reported the decision not to host the race followed the arrest in August of Hanoi People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Duc Chung. The April 25 slot was left vacant, with various circuits in the frame. Formula One has never before had more than 21 races in a season. The sport said it expected fans to be back at races after
a 17-round 2020 season conducted either behind closed doors or with very limited attendances and mainly in Europe due to the new coronavirus. “We are planning for 2021 events with fans that provide an experience close to normal and expect our agreements to be honoured,” said chairman and outgoing chief executive Chase Carey. “We have proven that we can safely travel and operate our races, and our promoters increasingly recognise the (Continued on page 32)
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Trent Boult and Rohit Sharma help dominant Mumbai Indians coast to fifth IPL title
Rohit Sharma smashes one of his four sixes for the night. (BCCI) ESPNcricinfo - They won the toss, batted and lost when batting first was in vogue. Then they lost the toss, and got blown away. They won the toss again, chased and lost when chasing was in vogue. Between that third match and the final, they discovered that they play their best cricket when batting first. So, in the final of IPL 2020, the Delhi Capitals won the toss and did just that. And got blown away again. The Mumbai Indians were way too good for the secondbest team of the tournament on four different occasions. With their fourth win over the Capitals, they sealed their fifth IPL title, their most comfortable to date, a crown jewel for the most dominant Twenty20 empire across the cricketing world. Mumbai had made big strides towards that title even
before the start of the final. Offspinner Jayant Yadav was to play only his second match of the tournament, to counter Capitals’ left-hand hitters. Before Jayant came into play, Trent Boult took out the Capitals’ super hero Marcus Stoinis. Despite a first fifty this IPL from Rishabh Pant, the Capitals finished with an underwhelming 156. Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma then killed off the chase in the powerplay, with the captain going on to see the chase through. Former Capitals boys strike It was a perfect start for Mumbai. They wanted Boult to carry on taking early wickets, and he struck with the first ball, getting Stoinis with extra bounce and inwards movement. In Boult’s second, Ajinkya Rahane tickled one
Trent Boult struck first ball. (BCCI) down the leg side, probably having moved too far across trying to cover the swing. That made it 16 powerplay wickets for Boult in this IPL, the joint-best for a season alongside Mitchell Johnson who got it in Mumbai’s maiden championship year 2013. It was in the fourth over that Mumbai struck real gold. Against Jayant - like Boult, not long ago a Capitals player - Shikhar Dhawan had two options: the obvious one was to let the right-hand batsman Shreyas Iyer take Jayant on, or he could try to use the field restrictions himself. He took the less obvious route, trying the big sweep, exposing his stumps, and getting bowled. Capitals 22 for 3 in 3.3 overs. The Capitals’ old firm comes together
‘Time for him to stand up’ WI bowling coach Estwick has high expectations of Joseph for NZ tour SportsMax - West Indies bowling coach Roddy Estwick has revealed that he expects big things from young fast bowler Alzarri Joseph ahead of the team’s tour of New Zealand later this month. After a measure of some success when the team’s faced off in the Caribbean, the 23-year-old had also been expected to have a solid performance on the team’s tour of England earlier this year. Those hopes failed to materialise, however, as the bowler toiled but only managed to pick up three
wickets in the first two Tests. He was dropped for spinner Rahkeem Cornwall for the third and final game. Estwick, who was quick to point out that he has constantly encouraged the young bowler to seize the moment, expects a much better showing this time around, along with the usual suspects Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Kemar Roach. “I have high expectations of Alzarri Joseph for this tour. He has been around for a while and I’ve been trying to get him to realise that it’s time
now that he really stands up and puts in big performances,” Estwick told members of the media from the team’s training facility in New Zealand on Monday. “Those four will be very important to us, as you know the pitches in New Zealand are not spinfriendly. So, the spinners might have to play more of a containing role while the fast bowlers are the key wicket-takers. Since making his debut against India in 2016, Joseph has claimed 28 wickets in 11 matches.
They are still young men, but Iyer and Pant had been the core of the Capitals’ revival last year. They are probably the two faces that come to mind when you think Capitals. Perhaps not wanting to waste the big overs against an out-of-form Pant, Mumbai chose not to encash the Bumrah match-up so early. The duo picked singles and twos off three straight overs of spin, getting themselves in, before Pant opened up. Left-arm spin, for some reason, has had the most success against Pant in T20 cricket. His dismissal to Mitchell Santner in the 50over World Cup semi-final last year also comes to mind. In the last match against Mumbai, he had fallen to a slog-sweep off Krunal Pandya. Here, though, he went straight for his first six as opposed to the slogsweep. And after that he
nailed the slog-sweep. Mumbai were worrying all of a sudden with Pant reaching 32 off 20, and with the Capitals 75 for 3 in 10. The next five overs went this way and that. Bumrah bowled one without a boundary, but Kieron Pollard - a sign Mumbai were panicking and wanted to get one over out of the way - was not allowed to settle. Nathan Coulter-Nile held his own, but Krunal conceded another boundary. Capitals 108 for 3 after 14. Coulter-Nile strikes, and Mumbai finish off well Under pressure as the third seamer, Coulter-Nile was picked over short fine twice, the first of those bringing Pant his only fifty of this IPL. It is not known if Pant noticed the fine leg go back because, later in the over, he appeared to just help along a bouncer. This didn’t look like an
attempt to hit a six, and deep fine leg took an easy catch. Now Mumbai tightened the screws. Jayant bowled an excellent 16th over, turning two past the outside edge of Shimron Hetmyer. Boult came back to take out Hetmyer with a slower bouncer. Bumrah bowled the 19th without a boundary. Iyer seemed to run out of gas, not getting enough power into his shots. Having been 37 off 28 at one time, he scored just 28 off the next 22. He spent nine balls in the 40s, and took just five off six Jayant deliveries. The last six overs, when the Capitals would have wanted to do the business, brought 48 for 4. The chase is a runaway train In the last match between these sides, R Ashwin had trapped Rohit with a big offbreak first ball. The matchup was on. With two dots first (Continued on page 34)
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer revived Delhi Capitals with a 96-run stand. (BCCI)
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Babar Azam replaces Azhar Ali as Pakistan Test captain ESPNcricinfo - Azhar Ali has been removed as Pakistan Test captain, with limited-overs leader Babar Azam replacing him in the role. That makes Azam, 26, the Pakistan captain across all three formats, bringing to an end Azhar’s brief second stint. In just over a year as the man at the helm in Test cricket, Ali led Pakistan in eight Test matches, which included two wins - against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and three defeats, which led to series losses against Australia and England. As ESPNcricinfo reported last month, there had been serious discussions at the PCB about the possibility of a younger replacement to Ali as Test captain. Ali’s annual appraisal was carried out in September, with him meeting PCB CEO Wasim Khan, believed to carry significant influence with the board chairman Ehsan Mani - whom the ultimate decision rests with. At the time, Azam was an obvious leading contender for the role, given he remains one of the few players in Pakistan guaranteed a starting spot in all three formats. Unlike Ali or his predecessor Sarfaraz Ahmed, there are no questions over Azam’s form with the bat, a cause of instability for both men over their tenures. Azam’s appointment marks an inexorable rise in profile for the batsman, who, in the last few years, has pulled away as Pakistan’s best batsman in all formats by
Babar Azam has been named captain of the Pakistan Test side too. (Getty Images) some distance. That inevitably made him a candidate as captain, given Ahmed’s tenure ultimately came to an end due to a sustained dip with the bat. From that perspective, it was something of a surprise to see the PCB turn to Ali, who, at the time he was appointed, was suffering from his own loss of form. Despite scoring a couple of hundreds as captain, his overall dip in form was a palpable presence throughout his time. Azam, meanwhile, began to settle into the Test side fairly quickly after a slightly rocky start in the format. A half-century in Centurion on a day he famously took apart Dale Steyn even as his teammates faltered was a harbinger of his growing comfort in the format. Since the start of 2018,
only four men have scored more Test runs than Azam, with none of them even remotely able to match his average of 62.90. He was handed the white-ball captaincy at the same time Ali was given the Test reigns. In nine innings as T20I captain, Azam has scored six halfcenturies, averaging a shade under 56 and striking at 142.70. Azam’s first assignment will be a two-Test series against New Zealand in December, preceded by a three-match T20I series. The jury remains very much out on Azam’s tactical nous as captain, but the results so far - over admittedly a small sample size - are around where you might expect them. Pakistan have won five of the seven T20Is under his
captaincy. The recentlyconcluded ODI series against Zimbabwe were the only 50over games Pakistan played since Azam was appointed captain, with two wins and a defeat that went to a Super Over. Ali, who was handed the limited-overs captaincy after the 2015 World Cup, was summarily removed after a dismal tour of Australia at the start of 2017. Last year, upon being appointed Test captain, Ali, then 34, spoke about how the appointment was his chance to leave the type of legacy he wished to build, having learnt from the experiences of an unhappy limited-overs stint a few years earlier. There is little chance that’s how his stint will be remembered. It began with a
There is no indication - yet - that Azhar Ali’s dismissal will jeopardise his place in the side. (Getty Images) nightmarish tour of Australia, with Ali’s own struggles against the rising ball very much still an issue; he breached double figures just once all series. While it was followed by home series wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the results failed to convince many it was a vindication of his captaincy. Even a hundred against Sri Lanka was put down to the lifelessness of the pitch instead of a return to form with the bat. His final assignment, a
three-match series in England held in biosecure conditions, ended with a narrow 1-0 defeat that Ali’s captaincy may best be remembered for. There is no indication yet - that Ali’s removal will jeopardise his place in the side, as it happened to Ahmed. However, with the protective blanket of captaincy stripped away from him, he will undoubtedly feel the pressure to contribute with the bat on Pakistan’s next tour, a two-match Test series against New Zealand.
Estwick excited about young pace bowling prospects CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, CMC – West Indies assistant coach Roddy Estwick said young pacers Alzarri Joseph and the uncapped Chemar Holder stand poised to make a name for themselves on the Tour of New Zealand. Joseph and Holder are part of the Windies team preparing for a two-Test series against the Black Caps next month. The two young pacers are well remembered for carrying West Indies to its only ICC Youth World Cup title four years ago in Bangladesh. Estwick, whose substantive role in the Windies support staff is bowling coach, said the future looks bright for Joseph, Holder and the Caribbean side’s pace bowling stocks. Joseph, 23, has played 11 Tests for the Windies over the past four years and taken 28 wickets at 35.82 apiece. He is generally expected to be part of the team’s attack for the two
Tests. “Over the last two years, Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Shannon Gabriel have been our leading bowlers in Tests and we expect them to lead the attack,” Estwick said during a video conference with the media on Monday from the team’s training base in Lincoln. “But there is also Alzarri for whom I have high expectations on this Tour. He has been around for quite some time and I have been trying to get him to realise that it is about time now that he really stands up and puts in the big performances, which will be very important for us on this Tour.” Holder, 22, is on his second trip with the Windies. He was part of the squad that travelled this past June to England, but he has not played any international matches yet. He may find it difficult to break into the final 11 in New Zealand, but he created quite
a stir during the last West Indies Championship, taking 36 wickets at 18.91 each for champions Barbados Pride, and several batsmen have worn the bruises of his disconcerting pace and bounce. “You always get excited about young fast bowlers,” Estwick said. “I said before the Tour of England last June that we have about 10 young, exciting pacers, but what we have to do is to get matches for them to play. “They need to play to understand the angles, to be able to understand and read the pitches, and to understand the right lengths to bowl.” He added: “Chemar is an exciting talent. He had a wonderful first-class season and his time will come. There is no doubt about it… “He is an exciting prospect. He is also very, very, very hardworking and fit young man, so once his opportunity comes, he will be
Roddy Estwick (TT Guardian) ready to grab it with both hands.” Though excited about Joseph, Holder and the other young fast bowlers knocking around the Caribbean, Estwick said opportunities
needed to be found quickly for these players to develop. “We have to find enough cricket for them to play and we have got to continue to talk about the game with them,” he said.
“We have got to pass on our experience. We have got to pass on our knowledge. We have got to make sure that when they enter the Test arena, they are ready to do (Continued on page 32)
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Devon Ramnauth DYCL to commence shortly in region 2 The Devon Ramnauth Region #2 Development Youth Cricket League was given the green light by Regional Vice Chairman Mr. Humace Oudit who conveyed his best wishes and charged the youths to be good ambassadors of Region #2. The competition was launched recently at the Imam Bacchus and Sons cricket ground and among those that attended were Coach Debra Daniels, Former Essequibo players Dinesh Joseph and Indlall Baychu, Essequibo Franchise Captain Anthony Adams, Trevis Simon, Aotto Christiani, Andy Ramnarine, Rohan Budhram and umpire Wazir Dhanraj along with the captains of the six Teams. Adel Bacchus of The Imam Bacchus and Sons Cricket Ground encouraged
The captains with RVC Mr. Humace Oudit. Far left is Mr. Indall ‘Lloyd’ Baychu who was the first youth player from Region #2 to make a Guyana Youth Team in 1985. Far right is Mr. Antony Adams who is the current captain of The Essequibo Senior Franchise Team.
the youths to make full use of his family’s facilities to
improve their skills. Teams and Schedules
will follow soon. The competition is
expected to unearth new talent in region two and is
GCB rolls out return to Cricket Activities
T
he Guyana Cricket Board has commenced its return to regular cricket activities. These activities will witness training and competition aspects of cricket development, with four major tournaments expected to follow the Guyana Jaguars recent return to outdoor training, a release from the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) informed. The Guyana Jaguars would have spent an unexpected protracted period of training via zoom, which at the time of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared to be the most suited alternative form of training. The zoom training which initially focused on strength and conditioning would have been initiated by the GCB’s Physiotherapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach, Mr. Neil Barry. However, the zoom activities would have later shifted to integrate players and team reviews/planning exercises under the tutorship of the Head, Coach Mr. Esaun Crandon and his management team. The Guyana Jaguars are currently utilizing the GCB’s LBI facilities for outdoor training. This is a welcome initiative for the administrators of GCB, who are working diligently and tirelessly to create the first
GCB’s controlled First Class Facility. The four tournaments that are being scheduled for the latter part of 2020, are all of significance, and will commence with the National Over 40 Competition, which is one of the listed GCB’s approved Tournament for 2020. This tournament has been given favorable sponsorship in the past by different private entities. The GCB trusts that the National Over 40 Tournament, will continue to realize its objective of bringing former experienced players back to the cricket environment, and thereby serving as an impetus for their involvement in relevant facets of the administration of the game, inclusive of coaching and mentorship. This Over 40 tournament will be followed by the hosting of the GCB Hand In Hand Under 19 Inter-County Three (3) Days and One Day 50 Overs Tournaments, which will target those players who were eligible to play the Under-19 Inter County Tournament earlier in this year. The release informed that, The GCB is also arranging to have a selected group of these players benefit from the incentive to represent Guyana against one of our sister territories, during the early part of 2021. This is viewed as essential to the GCB, since the 2020
holding of the CWI Regional Under-19 Tournament was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and based on the fact that the GCB policy mandates the executives to examine ways to provide a safe, fair and impartial system in the administration, development and promotion of the game. To this end, GCB trusts that given the approval from the Ministry of Health and favorable weather conditions that the Under-19 players will be able to
showcase their talents and expertise during the hosting of this scheduled Under-19 tournament. The year 2020 is schedule to conclude with exciting T20 cricket involving the CGI Franchise league teams. These eight teams will compete for an attractive winning purse, and with floodlight arrangements being put in place at the LBI facility, the T20 finals is likely to be played under floodlights of International Standards.
expected to last for five weeks.