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Sport
week ending January 12, 2014 | guyanatimeSinternational.com
Gordon confident ahead of World Cup Qualifiers
G
uyanese fastbowler Jeremy Gordon has uttered deep confidence of performing well again for Canada at the 2014 International Cricket Council (ICC) 50-over World Cup Qualifiers tournament. He made this declaration on Friday when the Canadian team departed at the Pearson International Airport in Toronto destined to host nation New Zealand. The Guyanese cricketer is looking to replicate his form from the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai where he was outstanding, snaring 11 wickets during the championship. Canada was eliminated though having triumphed in only two of their seven matches. “Yes, I [am] very confident of doing well for Canada again this time in the 50-over version; I was disappointed that we didn’t qualify for the T20 but we just have to put that aside and focus now on this tournament,” the 26-year-old right-arm bowler declared. Canada will be among several other associate teams vying for
Jeremy Gordon receives the Man-of-the-Match award for his performance against Italy in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier last November
qualification and to be part of the global event in early 2015 billed to be played in Australia and New Zealand. They have been placed in Group A which includes Scotland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong and Nepal. The action bowls off on January 13 with the North American boys confronting their newest rivals UAE. “Obviously, it is a different format of the game and new ven-
ues but I think we as a team [are] better prepared for this tournament and ready to make an impression; Canada has done well over the years in this version and would want to keep up the good work,” Gordon, a former West Indies Under-19 reserved player, also related.
Qualification
Notably, Canada had participated in the last three World Cup tournaments, ranging back
from 2011, 2007, 2003 while their inaugural featuring was in 1979 when former Windward Islands player Brian Mauricette captained the side. According to Gordon, the team is anxious to play in this form but they will not take any team for granted. He believes the side carries a good all-round strength
and the guys have also shown lots of enthusiasm and commitment in preparations for this major assignment. On the last tour, Gordon, who plays for Brampton Master Tranzac Sports Club in the Toronto and District Cricket Association Elite League, attributed his personal success to great determination and commitment. “I just wanted to do well for Canada; it was a great honour to represent your country despite ending on the losing side but we have high hopes now to go back to the World Cup; in Dubai, I worked very hard and was very determined to take wickets on a regular basis, so I am looking to continue in New Zealand,” Gordon stated. Earlier last year at home in Canada, Gordon was also successful picking up two eightwicket hauls against the Netherlands and UAE in the four-day Intercontinental Cup while he counting on his experience and exposure for Guyana at the highest level.
He made his debut for Canada 2011 in the West Indies Cricket Board Regional T20 tournament while several months after he toured with the Canadian side in Scotland for his first four-day and one-day appearances. Meanwhile, the team will be led by veteran all-rounder Jimmy Hansran, who has taken over the captaincy from Ashish Bagai who made a sudden retirement just after the selection of the touring party. Andy Pick is the new coach having replaced former West Indies batsman Gus Logie who was part of the losing contingent in Dubai. Hansra via a press release also commented on the side’s preparation camp and declared they worked on specific scenarios for this trip in New Zealand. He is also cognisant of the opportunity that lays ahead with only two spots available for the 2015 mega event. Ireland and Afghanistan have already qualified as the other two associate teams. (windiescricket)
Caribbean Olympians enter NJCAA T&F Coaches Association Hall of Fame
Melanie Walker. (Jamaica Observer file photo)
C
a r i b b e a n O l y m p i a n s Alleyne Francique and Melanie Walker are among five new members inducted into the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Track and Field Hall of Fame. The decision was taken at the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association ( U S T F C C C A ) Convention in Orlando, Florida, last month. Francique, a former two-time World Indoor 400-metre champion of Grenada, was the NJCAA national champion in the 400m, 600m and 4x400m relay for Essex County College in 2000. He then held the
NCAA Indoor 400m record for two years while attending Louisiana State University (LSU). He also won the NCAA Outdoor 400m in 2002 before going on to win World Indoor titles in 2004 and 2006 in Budapest, Hungary and Moscow, Russia, respectively. The Grenadian also competed in two Olympic Games, finishing fourth in Athens in 2004 and won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia. Francique, who is an assistant coach at Texas A&M University, has won seven national titles since he began coaching in 2008, including three straight
double NCAA Track & Field Titles. Walker, who earned NJCAA All-American honours 10 times, was the Olympic 400m hurdles record holder in Beijing in 2008. She has also won gold at the 2009 World Championships. Walker was also a sixtime Big 12 Conference Champion while helping the University of Texas win the 2005 outdoor and 2006 indoor NCAA team championships. She was recently inducted into the University of Texas Women's Athletics Hall of Honour. Also inducted into the Hall of Fame were Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner Sally Kipyego and coaches Clint Ramsey and Ralph Neighbours. "Our Coaches Association is proud to honour the men and women, who by their deeds as coaches and student-athletes have made our sport so great," said Michael Smart, NJCAA Track & Field Coaches Association president. "The accomplishments of these five men and women have shown how vital NJCAA track & field is to the track & field collegiate and international community." The members will be inducted at a ceremony in New York in March. (Jamaica Observer)