52 sport
WEEK ENDING JANUARY 31 , 2016 | guyanatimeSinternational.com
Support grows for Sunil Narine T
rinidad and Tobago - Support continues to grow for T&T and West Indies off spinner Sunil Narine, as the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs has given the spinner $35,000 to help correct his bowling action in an effort to represent West Indies at the World T20 Tournament in March. At a press conference yesterday, which was attended by members of the T&T Cricket Board and the Queen’s Park Cricket Club at the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs on Abercromby Street, Port-of-Spain, Minister Smith presented the cheque to Narine. Narine, who has had issues since 2011, was reported for a suspect bowling action in November by the International Cricket Council following the third One-Day International against Sri Lanka. After being tested at Loughborough University in England on November 17, Narine’s action was found to ex-
Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith, right, has the attention of T&T and West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, second from right, Queen’s Park Cricket Club manager Jeffrey Guillen and bowling coach Carl Crowe.
ceed the 15 degrees level of tolerance. Narine, who has been named on the West Indies provisional squad for the T20 World Cup, is hoping to travel to Loughborough University next month to test his new action. Narine stated, “I am hoping that mid February I
can do the test. I have been working hard so hopefully when that time comes I can pass the test and play for the West Indies again.” Narine was grateful for the support he was given over the past two months. He said, “I would like to thank the
Legend Lara confident of starring in MCL Superstar Brian Lara
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UBAI, United Aram Emirates Superstar Brian Lara has backed himself to play a key role for Leon Lions in the inaugural Masters Champions League but does not expect the team to rely on him solely. The former West Indies captain is one of several legendary former players who arrived here this week for the tournament which runs from January 28 to February 13 and which will also see games played in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Lara, who quit international cricket in 2007, leads a Lions side that includes former West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards, South African Herschelle Gibbs and England Darre Gough. “Now it is a bit of a different time, [my] reflexes may not be the same, but I do expect to play a part,” Lara told reporters here. “I would not be here
if I cannot play a part in the team’s success but we are looking for team performance more than anything else. We are a fairly good group of guys and if you can get the team working well we can win matches.” He added: “I have played matches through most of 2015 and played in All Stars in America recently. This environment is a bit more competitive and I don’t think the dependency on myself is as great as it was 10 to 15 years ago playing for the West Indies.” The MCL features six teams, including Virgo Super Kings, Gemini Arabians, Sagittarius Soldiers, Capricorn Commanders and Libra Legends. Each team will play five matches in a roundrobin preliminary round with the top four teams qualifying for the semifinals. Lara, who quit international cricket before
the onset of the T20 format, said for him the shortest form of the game was the most difficult. “For me Twenty20 is more challenging because in a Test, as a batsman, I was going out there and taking my time and getting set and then exploding, whichever way you want to put it,” Lara explained. “This form of the game for me is little more challenging because the game is shaped very early, you have limited time out there and you‘ve got to get things going, maybe a couple balls to get settled in and that is not the way I batted. “For me, Twenty20 is more challenging than it was in Test cricket.” Players like South Africa Jacques Kallis, Australian Adam Gilchrist and Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene are all contesting the tournament. (CMC)
coaches from Queen’s Park and the T&T coaches for helping me, the Government for taking the initiative to come out and publicly say they are helping Sunil Narine. I am really grateful and thankful.” Narine, who has been working with English
bowling coach Carl Crowe recently, admitted that the journey to return to the international level has been challenging, but is optimistic that this is the last time he will go through this ordeal. “It is hard to come back from this but I think it is a learning process and it is a process that nobody wants to go through. If you go through this you just have to take it as a stepping stone in your career. You have to make the best use of it and never let it get you down and just continue working on your game.” He added, “Hopefully this is the last time (I am reported) and the next time I come back is for good.” The off spinner will test out his action on Saturday when he lines up for Queen’s Park in the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) 50-over competition. “Bowling in a club game will allow me to know if I am ready to go back on the big stage.” Smith said the Ministry of Sport and
Youth Affairs was bothered by the news when Narine was called for an illegal action. Smith said, “In November when the ban occurred we were perturbed. We had discussions with the TTCB and that was part of the discussions. We are pleased that before the World T20 they are being proactive and hopefully the situation will be rectified as soon as possible.” Crowe, who played alongside former T&T and West Indies cricketer Phil Simmons at Leicestershire, said Narine is determined to play international cricket again. “What struck me the first time I worked with him was his work ethic. He is very diligent in his work. My specialty has been spin bowling for a number of years and we are working hard as a team together.” Crowe will examine Narine’s new action on Saturday when Queen’s Park faces Victoria.
Afridi storms out of press conference on question over poor T20 performance
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a k i s t a n ' s Twenty20 cricket captain, Shahid Afridi on Wednesday stormed out of a press conference after being questioned about his team's poor performance in recent times. Alluding to the fact that he has been 'giving answers to such questions for the past two days', Afridi said he is not willing to talk on this issue anymore. According to a report in 'Pakistan Today', Afridi abandoned the press conference midway in Lahore after he had
a verbal spat with a reporter leading to a partial protest by the media demanding an apology from the flamboyant allrounder. “Your record has not been as impressive as previous Pakistan Twenty20 captains, do you think there is a need to change the way you are leading the side?” the reporter asked Afridi. Afridi smiled and then let loose: “I expected you to ask such a ghatia (pathetic and low) question.” He then stormed out of the press briefing,
Shahid Afridi
prompting the reporters to protest against his behaviour.
Brazil’s Rousseff targets ZikV-free Olympics
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
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uito, Ecuador — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed yesterday to wage a “house-by-house fight” against Zika, the virus blamed for causing a surge in brain-damaged babies and sowing fear ahead of the 2016 Olympics, reports AP. Brazil has been the country hardest hit by the outbreak of the mosquitoborne virus in Latin America, and has seen a sharp rise in infants born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads. The outbreak is worrying officials
as the country prepares to host the Olympics, which will bring hundreds of thousands of travellers from around the world to Rio de Janeiro in August. According to AP, Rousseff said Brazil would place “extreme emphasis” on wiping out mosquito breeding grounds, combatting transmission of the disease and looking for a vaccine against the Zika virus, for which there is no specific treatment. “It’s going to be a house-by-house fight,” she said at a regional summit in Ecuador. “Although we don’t have a vaccine today, I’m sure we will have one, though it will take time.” Brazil’s health minister announced Monday that 200,000 soldiers would be deployed to go house to house as part of a mosquito control campaign. Insect repellant will be handed out to at least 400,000 pregnant women, he said. In Brazil, cases of microcephaly, which can cause brain damage or death, have risen from 163 per year on average to 3,893 since the Zika virus outbreak began last year. Forty-nine of the babies have died.