Page 26
India ‘A’ beat Windies by 16 runs despite Ramdin’s 102 A century from Unmukt Chand, followed by a three-wicket haul by Dhawal Kulkarni helped India A to a 16-run victory against West Indians in Mumbai yesterday. The visitors, though, had plenty of positives despite the defeat, as Denesh Ramdin (102), Darren Sammy (50) and Jason Holder (54) all produced fighting knocks down the order, after their pacers had done well to restrict India A. Before the game, West Indians had struggled to field 11 fit players; Sunil Narine had flown back to West Indies, Lendl Simmons had hurt his back during the previous warm-up game, and Darren Bravo was down with an upset stomach. Coach Stuart Williams was included in the team and the former West Indies opener displayed his impressive fitness levels by fielding for more than half of India A’s innings. He also faced two balls but failed to connect with either. Unmukt and Karun Nair were threatening to take the game away from a four-pronged West Indians pace attack. While Nair was timing virtually every aggressive shot he went for, Unmukt recovered from a sluggish start to punish anything that was pitched short. Once Nair was dismissed to end a 149-run stand, West Indians began to claw their way back. With Nair gone, Unmukt was shaky in his nineties. The captain Manoj Tiwary perished early, and with Sanju Samson also struggling to find his touch, Unmukt suddenly lost his timing. Dropped on 94, Unmukt eventually raised a scratchy, yet deserving, hundred, but Jerome Taylor cleaned him up soon after with a perfect yorker. That wicket triggered a collapse, as India A fell from 184 for 2 to 282 all out. West Indians’ chase began just as poorly as it had in the previous game. With Kulkarni and Jasprit Bumrah both striking early, West Indians soon slumped to 65 for 4 including the loss of Leon Johnson (7) and Marlon Samuels (24) and were facing another massive defeat. However, Ramdin, who had claimed five catches earlier, counter-attacked and along with Sammy, added 101 before Sammy mistimed a pull off Kulkarni soon after scoring a halfcentury and was caught behind. Ramdin pushed on. With 93 required off the last 10 overs Ramdin went after Karn Shamra, plundering him for 17 off one over. Ramdin eventually collected his third List-A hundred - a run-a-ball 102 - but his dismissal off Nair pegged the team back. Holder was in good touch, driving Parvez Rasool and Nair for assured boundaries, but with 42 needed off 24, he was left with too much to do in the end. With 23 needed off six balls, Holder began the final over with a six, but two wickets in the next three balls meant that West Indians fell 17 short. West Indies should be in a much healthier position by the time the ODIs begin in Kochi. Sulieman Benn is expected to join the squad by Wednesday, as are Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and Andre Russell, who all played in the Champions League Twenty20 final in Bangalore. Scores: India ‘A’ 282 (Unmukt 101, Nair 64, Taylor 351) beat West Indians 266 for 9 (Ramdin 102, Holder 54, Kulkarni 3-39) by 16 runs.
Kaieteur News
Monday October 06, 2014
9th Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships
Ambrose rides brilliantly to cop bronze By Franklin Wilson in Suriname with the compliments of Fitness Express Brilliant and courageous riding by debutant Alanzo Ambrose ensured that Guyana did not come away from the 9th Junior Caribbean Cycling Championships without a medal. Coming against the odds with the Caribbean’s most feared cyclist at this level, Michael Anthony already being hounded down by the opposition, Ambrose overcame some uncertainty at the finish line to take the bronze medal in the junior category which was won by Trinidad and Tobago’s Akil Campbell who also won the Time Trials the day before. Jonathan Croes of Bermuda took the silver. Campbell’s winning time in the 92 km contest was Two Hours 20 minutes 43.933 Seconds; Croes was timed at 2:20:58.040 and Ambrose 2:21:24.391. Anthony ended 7th in 2:27:07.399, while Stephano Husbands placed 9th in 2:28:59.213 as Guyana took three places in the top 10, a creditable performance. In the Juvenile category, the lack of unfamiliarity of the event course cost Guyana a possible silver and bronze, Raphael Leung and fellow debutant Andrew Hicks were on course to do well but
- Anthony 7th, Husbands 9th, Juveniles Leung and Hicks place 4th and 6th missed the official route twice which saw them ending 4th and 6th despite having only two riders in the race as compared to six in the case of host nation Suriname, many of the other nations fielding four riders each. Apart from missing the route coming down to the end of the race, both Leung and Hicks suffered falls during the event, Hicks suffering the most with abrasions to his left hand, wrist and side. But despite the pains, the determination shown by the duo augurs well for Guyana in the future. The juvenile 62 km race was won by T&T’s Tyler Cole who had to settle for the Time Trial bronze on Saturday, he went all the way yesterday (1:49:26.912), turning the tables on Time Trial silver medalist Tyler Smith of Bermuda who took another silver (1:49:30.492) with the bronze going to Tremaine Forde Catwell of Barbados in 1:51:51.230. Leung, who gave up a bit too early on the sprint home with Catwell, was timed at 1:51:51.628 with Hicks clocking 1:51:54.551. In the juvenile race, Ambrose was at the back of the group on the upward journey on the Wijdenbosch
Bridge that links Paramaribo with Commewyne, the race pedaled off at Independence Square in the capital, Paramaribo.There was a break 20 minutes into the duel with Ambrose and six others. The lead interchanged at varying intervals as the worked was shared. As the race progressed it became more challenging given the very steamy conditions with heavy winds at times. Ambrose disclosed that the attitude of the other riders on the break from Barbados, T&T, Aruba and Antigua and Barbuda changed as the battle got tougher but that just brought out the best in the young Guyanese. “I then assessed the boys to see who was stronger and weaker and I took it from there. If I had another colleague with me it would have been better but I am happy with getting a medal for my country and in my first and last year as a junior.” Husbands, like Anthony (2013 bronze medalist) were marked up early for special treatment by the opposing riders. Unfortunately, Akeem Arthur suffered a blow out just over one hour into the race which put paid to his
chances of bettering his silver last year. A total of 35 juveniles contested the race with two not finishing, while 29 juniors faced starters orders but 4 four did not complete the distance. Manager/Coach Mark Sonoram, who was looking forward to more medals, said that he was satisfied with the final results, despite. “I think the guys did well despite us not getting more medals. The two juveniles did us proud and we can look forward to them doing this nation proud in the future. Our junior guys also tried, Ambrose was very good in medaling; Anthony, Husbands and Arthur, who unfortunately suffered a blowout, all tried and they must all be complimented for representing their country with pride and resilience.” The Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago capped a fine day when they added the gold and silver in the female race which was the third and final event of the day. Teniel Campbell completed the 5-lap course in 1:55:41.604, countrywoman Keiana Lester clocked a close 1:55:41.718 for silver with the consistent Cherley Linden taking the bronze in 1:55:42.479. Twelve females started the race with nine completing.
Letter to the Sports Editor
Clearing those misconceptions in East Coast cricket DEAR EDITOR, I am writing this letter to clear up some misconceptions that is currently being peddled by Mr. Bissoondyal Singh. Firstly, he claims that the majority of players that represented Demerara and Guyana come from the Georgetown and East Coast Boards. However, I beg to differ. For quite some time now the East Coast U-15, U-17 and U-19 players were selected based on their practice sessions that were held by me, Mr. Latchman Yadram and Mr. Orin Bailey at the Enmore Cricket Club. It must be noted that, the Bissoondyal Singh led, East Coast Cricket Board (ECCB) had no input; instead they went to clubs and threatened players and club officials with lawsuits etc. Nevertheless, I persevered and sent three teams to the age group competitions. It is also noteworthy to say that the U-15s and U-19s finished second in their respective competitions. I believe that with a little more resources, we could have done a lot better. Also, the following players were selected to represent Demerara and President XI at the Inter-County 2014.
players from other clubs. This experience is truly a necessary and vital one for players. Another very disturbing incident that is currently being played out is the constant harassment and threats of suing the sponsor of the East Coast Cricket Committee 50-Over Competition. May I remind Mr. Bissoondyal Singh that sponsorship is the lifeblood of sports, and threats to sponsors generally kill sports. But then again, he should know all about killing sports considering the ECCB lethargic performance on the East Coast for numerous years. The clubs together form the ECCB and its legality may be needed to be answered in the court, since many clubs claimed they have no knowledge of the election that was supposedly held on 10th August, 2014. No one remembers hearing or seeing any notice about this election in the media, by official notice or any other means. I also take this opportunity to remind Mr. Bissoondyal Singh that freedom of association is a constitutional right of Guyanese and no amount of threats or the contacts he knows can deny us this right.
From the above mentioned, three players represented Guyana at the Regional U-19 (Damion Waldron, Gavin Moriah and Brian Sattuar); Bhaskar Yadram did the U-15 and Ramnarine Chaturia for the U-17. Also, Gavin Moriah played for Demerara in the senior inter-county 4-Day competition. If the clubs had fallen for the threats made by Mr. Bissoondyal Singh, the players would not have gotten the opportunity to play cricket at a higher level and mixing with
Our aim is to ensure cricket is played on the East Coast, players are represented, and they are provided with an opportunity to further their careers. The integrity of the gentleman that forms the core of this group cannot be questioned. In cricket parlance, you have been given out and used up your review, so only your ego is delaying the game. We have no place for egotistic megalomaniacs. Anil Persaud