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GUYANA-TIMES.COM
friday, october 28, 2016
Tennis IGG Games open in French Guiana
The teams stand at the opening ceremony for the singing of their National Anthems of each nation By Delvon Mc Ewan in Cayenne, French Guiana
T
he fifth edition of the tennis Inter Guiana Games (IGG) last evening had its official opening at the League Centre in the capital of French Guiana, Cayenne. President of the French Guiana League, Christian Pitta declared the tournament open as he welcomed the four teams to French Guiana. He urged
the teams to be competitive as well as to enjoy what his country has to offer. The Tennis IGG which started in 2012 usually features three teams, French Guiana, Suriname and Guyana. However, for the first time the tournament will feature the three traditional teams and Martinique. Meanwhile in his brief but jovial message Vice President of the Suriname Tennis Federation, Karl Ganteaume shared similar sentiments
as his French counterpart while he joked about Guyana having new courts when the tournament move there next years. Whether it was just a joke or sarcasm it was analogous to what former President of the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA), Grace McCalman has been seeking during her tenure as President and continues to seek now as a committee member. The tournament was last year held in Suriname,
it will start here (French Guiana) tomorrow and will move to Guyana next year. Suriname are the reigning champions and have won the tournament on three occasions while French Guiana won it in its third year at home. Guyana is yet to win the tournament but are confident of completing the task this time around. One of Guyana’s most experience tennis player Afruica Gentle believes team Guyana stands a chance but
the boys will have to pull their weights. According to Gentle, the team can gained their required points but the boys will have to put in that extra effort judging from previous experience. If they failed at getting it right it can cause Guyana points since the winners emerge from a point system. The number one ranked junior Guyanese female player is very confident about the girls, especially her
individual performance since she has been outstanding since the start of the year. The Tennis IGG Games are for junior tennis players and is played across three categories, under-12s, under-14s and under-18s for boys and girls. It is broken into the singles and doubles as well. Guyana will open its campaign today and will be looking to better their 2014 runners up finish.
Windies Women will qualify easily – Cameron
W
est Indies Cricket Board president, Dave Cameron, has backed the women’s side to easily qualify for next year’s World Cup in England, despite their recent series loss to the hosts in the Caribbean.
Cameron told Line and Length Network even though he believed the Stafanie Taylor-led unit would secure automatic qualification, if they did not, a place in the eight-team tournament was still virtually assured.
I think they will qualify easily,” Cameron said. “And again, it’s a tenteam [qualifying] tournament, there are eight teams playing now in the Women’s Championship so I think we’ll qualify but if we don’t automatically qualify then I
Chase Academy shut out St John’s...
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Alphius Bookie drives confidently against Mark Ramsammy who was threatening to take the match away from Christ Church Secondary at Bourda
I
n reply, skipper Alphius Bookie made 45 not out laced with six sweetly timed boundaries as he led his team to their winning target. Mark Ramsammy took the only two wickets to fall. Over at Zeeburg, Uitvlugt Secondary squeezed past Leonora Secondary by two wickets. Leonora Secondary
made 107 all out in 20.2 overs. Kevin Christian top scored with 31. Salman Khan and Reaz Khan had figures of 3-10 and 2-29 respectively. Uitvulgt in their reply, limped to 108/8 in 20.4 overs with Lalchan Seeram leading the run chase with 38 while Reaz Khan supported with 36. Kevin Christian had
4-23 bowling for Leonora. Today, Diamond Secondary will play Friendship Secondary in the East Bank Demerara zone final at the Everest Cricket Club ground from 10:00h while GCC will host the East Georgetown zone semi-final between Mae’s Secondary and Tutorial High School from midday.
can’t see us missing out on the World Cup. “I think they are very relaxed in their approach right now.” West Indies Women currently sit third in the ICC Women’s Championship, the ongoing competition which will determine the four automatic qualifiers for the 50-overs World Cup which runs from June 26 to July 23, 2017. The remaining four spots will be determined by a 10team qualifier in February next year. West Indies Women were well below their best in the recent England series, winning just one of the three Women’s Championship games and earning two points, as they went down 3-2 in the OneDay International series. However, Cameron pointed out that with a structure now in place to ensure long term development of the side, success in the future would be guaranteed. “I’m very, very delighted with the women’s cricket. I think we always had talent, everybody knew that,” the region’s top administrator said. “And when you look at persons like Dorothy Hobson (former West Indies player) today, they didn’t get the opportunity to play as much cricket and you’re seeing the difference now.
Dave Cameron (left) was present in India when the West Indies Women won the World T20
“We have a structured programme. The ladies
are now off to play in India so every year they have a minimum of 12 games and that makes a huge differ-
ence to the performance.” The WICB announced last month it would give players a pay hike and also increase the number of retainer contracts from 11 to 15, a move Cameron believes will be instrumental in motivating the side. “I’m very happy with where they are. We now have 15 of them retained so I think that will also boost their confidence,” he noted. “I’m looking forward to them winning the World Cup next year actually.” West Indies Women, the reigning Twenty20 World champions, will tour India for three ODIs and three T20s next month. (Windiescricket. com)