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wednesday, october 8, 2014
guyanatimesGY.com
Omission from Guyana franchise not a surprise, says Sarwan Grove, Herstelling – there is one GCB official who doesn’t really like me maintain dominance MCY&S/EBFA U-13 League…
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ut-of-favour West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan was not surprised at being sidelined from the Guyana franchise line-up and said that the disappointment would not affect his focus ahead of the inaugural West Indies Professional Cricket League, the newly revised first class championship which bowls off November 14. Sarwan was selected by Trinidad and Tobago Red Force during Monday’s draft as a second round pick while Barbados all-rounder Raymon Reifer was chosen by Guyana as a first round pick. They were the only two players chosen by teams based outside the territory of their birth as regional franchises chose to stick with their zonal players. Of the 30 players chosen in the draft here, only two will play for teams based outside the zone of their birth. Barbados, Jamaica, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands all went for players from their territories. During an interview on the Sportsmax Zone on Monday Sarwan, a former Guyana and West Indies captain, the right-hander has played 87 Tests, 181
Ramnaresh Sarwan
One-day Internationals and 18 Twenty20 Internationals said, “I knew they were not going to pick me because there is a lot of feud. There is one individual who doesn’t really like me. "Obviously I knew that was going to happen, I was prepared for it so it wasn’t a situation where I wasn't surprised or anything like that. This has not been the first time Sarwan was omitted from the Guyana lineup. Back in 2011, Sarwan was overlooked by Guyana
for the then Caribbean Twenty20 Championship. Sarwan’s omission then was based on fitness, according to the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB). However, it is unclear now the reason/s for his omission. Meanwhile, the former Guyana and West Indies captain has expressed excitement to be a part of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force line-up and more so delighted to be reunited with former coach Gus Logie, who is now in charge of the team.
“I’m pretty excited, it’s a great opportunity,” Sarwan stated. “I have always been well received in Trinidad, so representing Trinidad is a great privilege and honour. To have Gus Logie as the coach, who has coached me since I was 15, I know I would be very comfortable and I’m excited to be a part of team,” the right-hander continued. The 34-year-old said his main goal is to be healthy and fit and score big hundreds to get back in contention for the West Indies team. “My main objective is to try and get myself fit to try and play in the 2015 World Cup,” he exclaimed. “The key for me is to try and get myself ready for the regional tournaments and I’ll make a very big statement there and then we would go from there.” Sarwan acknowledged that with his experience, he will have to play a mentorship role to some of TT’s young batsmen and is looking forward to the role. Sarwan is expected to be a big boost to Trinidad and Tobago Red Force who open their campaign against Barbados at Queen's Park Oval.
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hen play in the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport (MCY&S) sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Under-13 League continued on Saturday last at the Farm ground, East Bank Demerara, there were wins for Grove Hi Tech, Herstelling Raiders and Soesdyke Falcons.
their dominance in all formats of the sport on the East Bank with a 2-1 win over a game Agricola side. Trevon Pluck picked up where he left off the week before having blasted a double. He scored Grove’s opening goal in the 13th minute. Kevin Padmore then netted his second goal of the League and Grove’s second
For the second week running, Herstelling won by a 1-0 margin. They added Diamond to their list of casualties, having also put away Agricola previously. The player on target for Herstelling was Joshua Boodhoo in the 24th minute. Grove Hi Tech continued
of the game in the 36th minute of the one hour encounter. The Falcons took three points in their first appearance via the walk over routeKuru Kururu Warriors failing to put in an appearance. Matches will continue on Saturday at the same venue.
Hand-in-Hand cycling set for Saturday
Flashback! Top performers of the 2013 programme pose with their winnings (Avenash Ramzan file photo)
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ocal riders will have one more opportunity to test their preparedness for next week’s ‘Ride for Life’ Five-Stage when the
10th annual Hand-in-Hand Insurance’s 11-race programme is staged at the inner circuit of the National Park on Saturday.
The Five-Stage is billed for October 16-19 and this weekend’s event will give a clear indication of the Guyanese cyclists’ readiness for the gru-
elling four-day race. Alanzo Greaves, the firstever winner of the FiveStage, is the defending champion of the Hand-in-Hand
main race- the testing 35-lap School Boys and Invitational. He will face stiff competition from a large group of riders who would be keen to prove
themselves, among them the in-form Raynauth Jeffrey, comeback kid Christopher Holder, the ever-improving Hamzah Eastman, the consistent Paul DeNobrega and the old heads Robin Persaud and Marlon Williams. Greaves’ winning time last year was one hour, 21 minutes, 27.58 seconds (01h: 21m: 27.58s). Michael Anthony won the Juveniles event in 2013, while Junior Niles (Veterans Under-50), Richard Charles (Mountain Bikes) and Alfie Soonaram (12-14 Boys and Girls) were the other category winners. Other events carded for the day are the BMX 6-9, 9-12, 12-14 and Open, as well as the Veterans Over-50 and Over-60. National coach and organiser of the day’s activities, Hassan Mohamed, said he is looking forward to a large turnout of riders, primarily because it is the final race before the highly anticipated Five-Stage. He also divulged that senior executives of Hand-inHand Insurance would be on hand to witness the races and assist in the presentation of prizes at the conclusion. (Avenash Ramzan)