Team TTO | Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee | teamtto.org

TODAY is World Squash Day and the Trinidad and Tobago Squash Association will be joining several countries throughout the world in the celebrations.

Approximately 100,000 clubs around the world are participating and they will be representing either Team Squash or Team 2020. At the end of the day the points will be added up all over the world to determine the champions.

A total of 32 players from this country will compete at their respective skill level at Cascadia Squash Club, St Ann's, and each match will be a first-to-20-point one-game encounter.

The list of T&T players includes Julian Henry, top veterans Brian Jackson, Roger Salandy, Brian Phillips as well as national junior players Angelique Jackson, Chad Salandy, Marie Claire-Barcant, Jonathan Blanc, Gabrielle Scott, Alexandria Yearwood, James Lanser, Sebastian Krogh and Edhill siblings, Christian and Jamie-Leigh and Gillezeau siblings, Jacob and Faith.

First serve is noon.

Order of play: Left court – J. Gillezeau vs C. Salandy; J. Blanc vs J. Ammon; M. Frank vs J. Lanser; K. Millar vs L. Agostini; C. Edghill vs J. Marfleet; D. Gittins vs L. Asiu; B. Jackson vs J. Henry; Melissa vs C. Sample.

Right court – F. Gillezeau vs M. Clare-Barcant; G. Scott vs A. Yearwood; S. Krogh vs D. Agostini; A. De Verteuil vs T. Pasea; B. Bibby vs B. Phillips; J. Leigh-Edghill vs A. Jackson; J. Ali vs S. Ward; R. Salandy vs M. Berment; J. Hazell vs B. De Gannes.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Winning World Cup a tremendous experience, says Badree.

"It's a feeling that will live with me for the rest of my life."

That's how Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies spinner Samuel Badree described the euphoria that came with the regional team's triumph in the ICC Twenty20 World Cup final, in Sri Lanka two Sundays ago.

Speaking with the media after returning from South Africa following T&T's Champions League T20 exit, Badree said being part of a World Cup winning team was a "tremendous experience" and one he will cherish.

"Obviously I did not start in the tournament, but when I did get my opportunity I knew I had to grasp it with both hands," said Badree, who was greeted by family members at Piarco International Airport on Saturday.

"Luckily and thankfully things worked out for me. Getting that wicket of (Kumar) Sangakarra in the final, we knew that he was somebody who could bat through the innings and it was an important wicket to get, and luckily I was the one to get it and it worked out for me," he added.

The 31-year-old leg-spinner, who only made his West Indies T20 debut in June this year, said the team always had the belief they could win, even after a poor start with the bat. They were 87 for four in the 16th over.

In the end, it was Marlon Samuels' 78 off 56 balls, who led them to a competitive 137 for six.

"We had a very poor start in terms of the batting but we had the belief we could go out there and defend whatever total we got," Badree explained.

"Obviously it was difficult playing against Sri Lanka in their home conditions, but we had the belief and with every wicket that fell, the belief grew more and more," he added.

After the World Cup, Badree jumped 46 places up the ICC T20 ranking list for bowlers to reach 47th spot, but the PowerGen Sports skipper was not paying too much attention to that.

He also played down the possibility of forcing his way into the West Indies One-day squad for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh, or even getting a lucrative T20 contract in one of the many T20 leagues around the world.

"At the end of the day our job, our focus was to win the World Cup and we did that. I don't really focus on those (other) things. If it (a lucrative T20 contract) comes, I will be happy, but at the end of the day I can only perform and whatever comes my way I will be contented with it," said Badree.

"I concentrate on my performance, and whatever comes at the end of it I will take it with both hands. I can only do what I can do. Whenever those opportunities come I will grasp it," he added.

Speaking about T&T's performance in the Champions League T20, Badree said: "It is a bit disappointing that Trinidad and Tobago did not make it to the main draw of the Champions League, and I think we need to look at the drawing board a bit more and come better the next time around."

About the format of the tournament, Badree said: "We have a Champions League where the English champions are out, the West Indian champions are out, the Pakistan champions are out and of course the Sri Lankan champions are out, and it is still called a Champions League.

"We have been preparing for four to five months, and some of the guys did not have an opportunity to bowl or bat one ball so it is very difficult. We knew the format of the competition, and it is unfortunate, but I guess that is how it is sometimes."

By Roger Seepersad

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Roxborough Lakers and Youth Stars United completed the semifinal line-up in this year’s Tobago Football Federation FA Trophy competition after contrasting quarterfinal victories on Tuesday.
At the Plymouth Recreation Ground, Premier Division leader Roxborough Lakers crushed Signal Hill United 4-0 with Kirn Harris scoring twice and one apiece from Dyke Reid and Durlon Dilworth to set up a last-four clash with Youth Stars, which got the better of Sidey’s FC 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at Goodwood.
Youth Stars scored via an own goal while Kwesi Kent netted for Sidey’s in regulation time.
The semifinals are set for the Dwight Yorke Stadium, Bacolet, on October 24 starting 5 pm, with Hills United meeting Federal Northside FC in the other game.
The FA winner will collect $20,000, second gets $10,000, third, $7,000 and fourth, $3,000 while the top three teams qualify for the T&T Football Federation FA competition.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Trinidad and Tobago's George Bovell picked up silver in the men's 100 metres individual medley at the FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup 2012 meet in Moscow, Russia, yesterday.

Bovell touched the wall in 51.81 seconds to secure the runner-up spot behind Australia's Kenneth To (51.66). South African Darian Townsend (53.19) finished a distant third.

Yesterday's silver was Bovell's seventh item of precious metal in the 2012 World Cup series—his haul also includes two gold medals and five silver. The four-time Olympian was on fire in the third leg in Stockholm, Sweden last weekend, striking gold in the 100 IM and 50m freestyle. In each event, he established a new national short course record—51.56 seconds in the 100 IM and 20.82 in the 50 free.

In yesterday's 100 IM qualifying round, Bovell topped heat four in 53.80 seconds, for a comfortable cushion on second-placed Thiago Simon (55.01), of Brazil. Bovell was third fastest in the heats.

Townsend led all qualifiers into the final, the South African winning heat five in 53.49 seconds. To was second to Townsend in 53.73. In the championship race, however, To produced his "A" game, forcing Bovell and Townsend to settle for silver and bronze, respectively.

Bovell will be back in the pool today in the 50 free heats. The 2004 Olympic Games 200 IM bronze medallist has been drawn in heat five. His arch-rival, American Anthony Ervin, will swim in the sixth and final heat. The final will also be contested today.

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) bowed to pressure yesterday and agreed to vigorously recover accounts pertaining to revenue collected during this country's successful 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

Yesterday, the TTFF and its former president Oliver Camps were before Justice Vasheist Kokaram to answer a contempt of court charge in the Port of Spain High Court. The action was brought after the TTFF failed to comply with an earlier ruling by Justice Devindra Rampersad, who ordered them to produce documents relating to 2006 World Cup revenue collected. Thirteen members of the history-making 2006 T&T football team that competed at the World Cup in Germany have sued the Federation, seeking to recoup a share of the estimated US$40 million in World Cup revenue that was promised to them.

Among the 25 persons present in court yesterday were Camps; TTFF general secretary Richard Groden; former national players Brent Sancho and Cyd Gray; along with a myriad of lawyers. Queen's council Nicholas Stewart represented the TTFF, while the players were represented by George Hislop, Dave De Peiza and Phillip Lamont. And following lengthy submission by legal representatives for both sides, the TTFF agreed to follow the court's directives, and the matter was adjourned to 12 noon today. Lawyers for both parties were due to meet yesterday to determine the time frame the players representatives will allow the TTFF to recover the accounts. And today, the parties will be back in court briefly to officially set times and dates.

"The TTFF is now willing to comply following the submissions that our lawyers have given. So, we are giving them a little bit of time and leeway to get the appropriate documents, albeit that it has been six years and they have had the opportunity to do it," player representative Sancho said yesterday. "It has taken pressure from this court and the pressure from our legal team to finally get them in a position where they are now willing to do what is right".

Yesterday Lamount argued that Camps could not shunt his responsibility, and so escape legal sanction, by simply stating that National Security Minister Jack Warner had all responsibility for 2006 World Cup revenue collected. As its special adviser, Warner was said to be an agent of the TTFF, but it was established that Camps was a LOC director and also in a position to obtain information about collected revenue.

It was further argued that Groden also faced contempt of court charges because as TTFF general secretary he did not make sufficient effort to abide by Justice Rampersad's order. It was suggested that the TTFF could have sued Warner to get World Cup accounts, or petition the Ministry of Sport and contributing sponsors to determine monies given to the World Cup efforts. Funds from World Cup matches could have been quantified. Finally the TTFF was given a last chance to gather the accounts. Afterward, Sancho said the pressure will be kept up until the TTFF do the right thing.

"We will be unrelenting in what we do. We will never give up this fight easily. We still want to see the documentation, and the accounts.

"It is more important in lieu of what is happening in Trinidad football. We have players going off to St Kitts and barely making it out of St Kitts because of financial reasons.So, it not just about the 13 players."

"It just about justice," stated former national team right back Cyd Gray. "I believe in justice. I fighting for my son. He is a born Trinbagonian. He loves football....he want to play football. I don't want him to come and reach this same situation that I am in. It must be a better future."

By Ian Prescott

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Simon Timson, one of the men behind England's rise to No 1 in cricket's Test rankings, has been given the task of overseeing Britain's attempt to improve on their London medal haul at the Rio Olympics.

Timson has been chosen to succeed Peter Keen as director of performance for UK Sport. Keen, a former cyclist, played an integral part in laying the foundation for first British cycling to dominate at the Games and then Britain as a whole. In London Britain finished third in the medal table with 65 medals. UK Sport has already stated the aim in Rio in 2016 is to increase that total and it will fall to Timson to see the target is met.

Timson is head of the England development programme and science and medicine at the England and Wales Cricket Board and has been credited by Michael Vaughan among others for helping put in place a structure that has led to notable improvements in the England team.

Timson looked to basketball and baseball to introduce talent identification polices at the ECB. UK Sport has also sought to boost its talent id schemes in recent years with an unprecedented number of athletes expected to graduate from them in time for Rio. Before joining the ECB, Timson helped make British Skeleton the UK’s most successful Winter Olympic sport.

Timson, who will take up the post in January, said: “I’m delighted to be taking up this significant leadership role within UK Sport at such an exciting time, with such a strong performance in London to build upon. I feel confident the system possesses the knowledge, expertise and tools required to sustain success into the future and will be looking to the lessons learned from the London cycle to see where there is room for improvement.”

Keen had been in the post for eight years. He went part-time in May and will continue to play a role as an advisor. He is also instructing the Rugby Football Union on how England’s performance could be improved.

By Robin Scott-Elliot

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sport Ashwin Creed said yesterday that the national football team, which successfully competed in the Caribbean Football Union first round qualifiers in St Kitts/Nevis over the past week, is likely to receive the funds by tomorrow. Creed said the ministry has every intention of keeping its promise to pay for the cost of the trip.
He reiterated, however, that the ministry was not a bank but had to wait until the funds were available. The Soca Warriors were promised $218,000 in appearance fees to players, four of whom are overseas-based, while the amount requested by the T&TFF was $423,218 to cover airfare and allowances.
Yesterday Anthony Harford, chairman of the authorisation committee of the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation, confirmed that the ministry had not yet provided the funds to cover the trip. “On the weekend, it was stated by permanent secretary that the money would have been ready by Tuesday, so we were hoping that it came through but it has not reached as yet.”
Harford said his company used its contacts in St Kitts/Nevis, with whom it had done business in the past, to ensure that the players and management of the team were looked after during the tournament. He added, “We did not actually send money, but were able to sign a guarantee on behalf of All Sport with the people in St Kitts/Nevis whom we have done business with in the past.”
On Sunday night, the Hutson “Barber” Charles-coached Soca Warriors crushed Anguilla 10-0 to top the qualifiers after beating French Guiana 4-1 on Wednesday and host St Kitts/Nevis 1-0 in their previous matches. The contingent was expected home on Monday afternoon.
However, due to Tropical Storm Rafael, flights in and out of St Kitts/Nevis were grounded, and only resumed late Monday. As a result, not all 27 members of the team got seats on the return flight on Monday.
Those returning were: players Jamal Gay, Seon Power, Marvin Phillip, Vietnam-based forward Willis Plaza, Sylvester Teesdale, Kareem Moses, press officer Shaun Fuentes, assistant coach Derek King and goalkeeper coach Jefferson George while Dave Isaac (physiotherapist/trainer) and Michael Williams (equipment manager) were able to get flights yesterday.
Those in Basseterre up until yesterday, include captain Jan-Michael Williams, Daneil Cyrus, Joevin Jones, Curtis Gonzales, Carlyle Mitchell, Robert Primus, Hughtun Hector, Densill Theobald, Clyde Leon, Kevon Carter, Keon Daniel, Richard Roy, Devorn Jorsling and coach Hutson Charles and manager William Wallace.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt

Aanensen insists All Sport gave Ministry final figures

All Sport Promotions Ltd finance director Bruce Aanensen has expressed deep concerns over what he deemed an unjust assault on the character of the company, its directors and its marketing manager Mr Anthony Harford by Minister of Sport, Anil Roberts.

Aanensen, who is also president of the Queen's Park Cricket Club (QPCC), made the pronouncement at a press conference in the President Box of the Queen's Park Oval yesterday, as he sought to clear the air on allegations made in Parliament by Roberts on October 5.

Roberts blamed faulty accounting by All Sport for the Ministry's initial decision not to fund the Trinidad and Tobago senior national football team to St Kitts for Digicel Caribbean Cup qualifiers, which T&T won with a perfect record.

He also said Harford had billed the Ministry $936,125 for services rendered by All Sport Promotions, and stated that several requests from the Ministry of Sport's Permanent Secretary Ashwin Creed for invoices with regard to expenditure were never supplied.

"Firstly, All Sport was contracted by the TTFF to manage two projects," Aanensen explained. "A 2011 project carrying a budget of $11 million involving the preparation of the senior team for the first phase of the qualification for the 2014 World Cup and which ended on December 31, 2011, and a 2012 project that involved the preparation of the Men's U-23 Olympic team for the final Olympic qualifiers and the Women U-17 team for the final round of qualifiers for the U-17 World Cup, which had a budget of $7.5m.

"In the case of the 2011 project I provided an interim statement of income and expenditure to October 31, 2011 reflecting a total expenditure of $5.6m, inclusive of a management fee of $206,375 to All Sport."

Aanensen said there were no questions raised regarding the disbursements or the format of the presentation, which he assumed meant the Ministry was satisfied with those figures.

Aanensen added that T&T Football Federation (TTFF) general secretary Richard Groden hand delivered the final statement of income and expenditure for 2011, including government funds, sponsorship and gate receipts from home matches.

"Again, we were left to believe that the Ministry was satisfied since we did not get a response from them," Aanensen stated.

"Yet on October 9, some nine months later and four days after the Minister's outburst in Parliament, we receive to letters from the Ministry dated Oct 1 and 3 requesting certain additional information."

Aanensen said that his organisation is quite prepared to provide the information requested as they have always done on similar projects with the Ministry, including the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where he was commended for accounting for every cent of expenditure during the campaign while serving as head of delegation.

He also questioned how Roberts could claim to have received accounts explaining expenditure of $5,611,983.25 reflecting the interim expenditure up to October 31, 2011, but eloquently stated that Harford paid himself $936,125, a figure that is only contained in the final accounts.

"How could he have known this amount without having received the final accounts?"

Anensen stated that the $1 million management fee charged by All Sport for the 2011 project was considerably less than market rates, and represented 50 per cent of their standard fees and further added that the fees were included in the agreed budget and was fully endorsed by the Minister.

"I believe somewhere along the line the Minister is getting the two projects mixed Minister is getting and I ask why would they commit another $7.5m if they were not satisfied with the handling of the first $11 million."

"For Minister Roberts to wave and ridicule the presentation of accounts at a media conference is both unfortunate and disrespectful to Mr Harford and All Sport Promotions.

"In so doing the Minister breached all tenets of natural justice. Further, the attack was not confined to Mr Harford personally but also to All Sport Promotions and therefore represents an attack on the honesty, integrity and credibility of my wife and I, who are both directors of the company and co-owners with Mr Harford and his family."

-Donstan Bonn

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

Prime Minister David Cameron was "appalled" by the fracas at the end of England's Under-21 football match with Serbia, Downing Street says.

He also wants Uefa to impose "tough sanctions" if racism is proved.

England Under-21 defender Danny Rose has called for Serbia to be banned after claiming he was racially abused by fans in Krusevac on Tuesday.

But the Serbian FA has denied any forms of racism towards the England team.

It also said Rose behaved in an "inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner" towards their fans.

FA general secretary Alex Horne has called on Uefa to "take the strongest possible action" against anyone guilty of violence and racist abuse at the end of the match.

Some fans ran on to the pitch and scuffles broke out as England celebrated a 1-0 win and Euro 2013 qualification.

The government is giving its full backing to a Football Association complaint over alleged racist taunts, a spokesman for Number 10 said, adding that Mr Cameron "was appalled by the scenes that we have seen in Serbia".

"We are determined to stamp out racism internationally and at home and we are giving our full backing to the FA's complaint on this issue.

"Clearly it is for Uefa to investigate this issue but we would expect tough sanctions. If we are going to stamp out racism from football, then it is no good giving derisory fines, as have been handed out in the past.

"It is not good enough to say that people should shake hands and forget about it."

Monkey chanting

Rose, 22, said he was subjected to monkey chants throughout the game, starting in the warm-up.

"After 60 minutes my mind wasn't really on the game. I was just so angry and it was so hard to concentrate," he said.

"Then we scored and after 90 minutes' worth of abuse, I expressed my emotions as soon as we scored.

"Next thing I know, all the Serbia players were surrounding me, pushing me. I remember getting slapped twice. I got ushered away and that's when I kicked the ball - and then the referee sent me off.

"And then there was more monkey chanting. They should be banned."

The Football Association says it has reported a number of racist incidents to Uefa.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson has written to the president of Uefa, Michel Platini, urging him to investigate the incident.

The minister said: "The scenes at the end of the game last night were disgraceful.

"I have written to Uefa president Michel Platini, in support of the FA, urging them to investigate immediately.

"Racism in any form is unacceptable and must be stamped out. We would expect tough sanctions from Uefa on anyone found guilty of racist abuse."

He later told the BBC: "The really important thing is that this is the time to have no more derisory fines, no more punishments that send out the wrong message."

'Tournament ban'

The chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, Clarke Carlisle, said Serbia should serve a ban from European football.

"Serbia should be banned because it's a repeat offence," he told BBC 5 live.

"Banning them for a start, from any tournament, would be progress but I think if it's significant - if it's a couple of tournaments - then that would cause that nation to address the issue that has deprived them of international competition."

Former England footballer Luther Blissett has also called for Serbia to be banned from football tournaments by Uefa.

"They should get a three, four year ban and that's talking about at club level and international level in my opinion because that it the only way these countries will really start to look at it and say 'we have to do something about it'.

"Because they obviously don't see that they're doing anything wrong by abusing people the way they do."

England defender Nedum Onuoha was racially abused during the 2007 Under-21 European Championship game against Serbia in the Netherlands, for which Serbia were fined £16,000 by Uefa.

A spokesman for Uefa told BBC Sport that it would not comment until it had studied the referee and delegate's reports.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

England players will be banned from making any match-related comments on Twitter for 24 hours before a game under the new code of conduct to be introduced by the Football Association.

Details are beginning to emerge of the code, which will come into effect in November following a number of recent indiscretions by players.

The code also places a greater importance on the role of captain.

And it includes rules concerning time spent playing video games.

The full details of the code of conduct are not being made public, but it says comments on Twitter about "the opposition, management or individuals could all result in disciplinary action".

Comments on match day or the day before can only be posted "with management approval", it stipulates.

The privilege of the captain's role is also emphasised. "[The captain carries] expectation and responsibility, both on and off the field," the code says.

Players have been told to "always acknowledge supporters" at the end of a game and have also been directed to walk through the post-match media mixed zone as a matter of course.

While the FA says introduction of the code is not a direct response to the actions of any specific players, Ashley Cole and Ryan Bertrand recently found themselves in trouble over comments they made on Twitter.

Cole, who insulted the FA later deleted the tweet and apologised to chairman David Bernstein.

Bertrand, who swore on Twitter after he was withdrawn from the squad, deleted his account and apologised.

The England team were presented with the code at St George's Park last Monday.

Adrian Bevington, Club England managing director, said players could be suspended from England duty if they breached the code.

Bernstein, Bevington, FA general secretary Alex Horne and the FA's director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking gave the senior England squad a 10-minute bullet-point presentation on what they expect in terms of behaviour.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

 

Cycling Australia has sacked national coach Matt White after he admitted to doping when he was a team-mate of Lance Armstrong.

White, 38, who was also Cycling Australia's men's professional co-ordinator, was on the Armstrong-led US Postal Service team from 2001 to 2003.

After Armstrong was found guilty of doping by the US Anti-Doping Agency, White admitted his role in the scandal.

"The evidence presented is damning," Cycling Australia said in a statement.

"The behaviour of the key players is morally reprehensible and cycling fans have every right to feel let down."

White stepped down as GreenEDGE Cycling sports director on Saturday.

In a statement issued by Cycling Australia on his behalf, he said: "I understand the current situation makes it difficult to sustain the position and I respect that Cycling Australia has to make certain decisions.

"It's crucial there is a positive outcome from the current debate about cycling's past and I feel a responsibility to be part of that - even if it won't be in an official Cycling Australia role."

Armstrong, now retired from cycling, has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by Usada, who said he led the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".

Levi Leipheimer was sacked by Omega Pharma-Quick-Step on Monday after admitting to doping while at US Postal with Armstrong.

He was among the five former team-mates - along with George Hincapie, Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie - who were handed lesser bans of six months by Usada after giving evidence against Armstrong.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe has insisted she has no plans to retire from competitive running, despite being axed from the Lottery funding programme following her injury-plagued year.

Radcliffe, who is 39 in December, is one of several big-name athletes to be cut adrift from financial support by UK Athletics as part of an overhaul of the World Class Performance Programme for 2013. New guidelines introduced by funding agency UK Sport mean only athletes deemed to be potential medallists at world and Olympic level now qualify for financial support.

Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis-Francis, both members of the Olympic gold medal-winning 4 x 100 metres relay team in Athens in 2004, have also paid the price for a below-par 2012 season, while other notable casualties include 2007 world 400m silver medallist Nicola Sanders, 2008 world indoor 60m silver medallist Jeanette Kwakye and Stephanie Twell, the 2008 world junior 1500m champion.

Radcliffe, who has raced only four times since her return to competitive action in 2011, admitted yesterday she was not surprised at her loss of funding but said she was determined to prolong her running career.

Her personal wealth means she is, in any case, means-tested out of receiving any personal allowance but her omission from the programme means she will no longer have access to free medical support – a considerable blow for an athlete who has suffered so many injury and health problems.

She is currently rehabilitating from surgery on the chronic foot problem that forced her to pull out of the London Olympics in August.

Reacting to yesterday’s funding announcement on her Twitter page, Radcliffe said: “I am very grateful for the support Lottery funding gives us athletes and fully expected to see it withdrawn.

“From the beginning, I have only ever received medical support, which is of course significant and vital. Since funding came in, I have seen big differences in the depth and strength of all our sports.

“Retirement is definitely not in any plans. I’m not doing all this cross-training and getting this foot healthy and strong for nothing.”

Neil Black, the new performance director of UK Athletics, said he hoped Radcliffe would be able to return to top-level racing but he and his selection panel had to consider the funding criteria of medal potential at next year’s World Championships in Moscow or at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“The selection panel talked it through in reasonable detail and didn’t feel it was possible to suggest that Paula was a genuine medal prospect for Rio,” he said.

“She has undergone recent surgery and is in the middle of a rehabilitation period for a substantial problem, though a problem she can recover from, and therefore the possibility of performing in Moscow next year is uncertain and challenging.

“Put that all together and it was the right decision not to maintain Paula on the programme. She’ll carry on rehabilitating. She’ll carry on with her return to training and she obviously hopes, and we obviously hope, that she will perform incredibly well going into the future.”

The funding announcement brought better news for several younger athletes, with world junior champions Adam Gemili and Katarina Johnson-Thompson both being promoted to ‘podium level’ support.

Sprint hurdlers Lawrence Clarke and Andy Pozzi, discus thrower Lawrence Okoye and 1500m runner Laura Weightman have also been added to the podium list, while Olympic high jump bronze medallist Robbie Grabarz has been restored to funding after being dropped last year.

More surprisingly, world indoor champion Yamile Aldama remains on the programme after turning 40 in August, while fellow triple jumper Phillips Idowu will continue to be funded despite his high-profile bust-up with UK Athletics this summer.

Black said: “I’ve recently met and talked with Phillips. We will carry on talking. I think we both feel really positive about the future and Phillips is on the programme as a result of being a genuine medal contender for the future.”

Of the athletes leaving the programme, Welsh 400m hurdler Rhys Williams is entitled to feel hard done by. Bizarrely, he has been axed from financial support despite winning the European title in Helsinki while fellow Briton Nathan Woodward, who was seventh in the European final, remains on funding.

The decision of UK Athletics not to support any female sprinters on podium level and just one sprinter, Margaret Adeoye, on the lower ‘development level’ has also provoked criticism from some of the athletes left out. The lack of support for a women’s sprint relay team this year was widely blamed for Britain’s failure to qualify a team for the Olympics.

Abi Oyepitan, the 2004 Olympic 200m finalist, tweeted: “They talk about change but it’s a continuation of the same disrespect female sprinters have always gotten!”

Black said men’s and women’s sprinting was under review and talks were being held with UK Sport to explore ways of funding a women’s relay programme.

Athletes included on world class performance programme 2013:
Ola Abidogun (Stephen Thomas), *Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (Rana Reider), Yamile Aldama (Frank Attoh), Hollie Arnold (Anthony Hughes), Graeme Ballard (Stephen Thomas), *Michael Bingham (Scott Hall), Paul Blake (Rob Ellchuk), Holly Bleasdale (Dan Pfaff), Julia Bleasdale (Nic Bideau), Sally Brown (Philip Tweedie), *Richard Buck (Steve Fudge), Mickey Bushell (Fred Periac), *Eilidh Child (Malcolm Arnold), *Chris Clarke (Steve Fudge), Lawrence Clarke (Malcolm Arnold), Libby Clegg (Keith Antoine), Hannah Cockroft (Peter Eriksson), *Shana Cox (Lloyd Cowan), *James Dasaolu (Steve Fudge), Aled Davies (Anthony Hughes), David Devine (Brian Scobie), *Emily Diamond (Jared Deacon), Lisa Dobriskey (Ricky Soos), Kyron Duke (Anthony Hughes), *James Ellington (John Powell), Hannah England (Bud Baldaro), Jessica Ennis (Toni Minichiello), Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar), Adam Gemili (Michael Afilaka), Robbie Grabarz (Fayyaz Ahmed), Daniel Greaves (Jim Edwards), *Jack Green (Malcolm Arnold), Dai Greene (Malcolm Arnold), *Katrina Hart (Rob Ellchuk), Sophie Hitchon (Derek Evely), Phillips Idowu (Aston Moore), Emma Jackson (Alan Morris), Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Mike Holmes), Beverley Jones (John Parker), *Nigel Levine (Linford Christie), Steve Lewis (Dan Pfaff), *Christian Malcolm (Stuart McMillan), *Lee McConnell (Rodger Harkins), *Jenny McLoughlin (Darrell Maynard), Jenny Meadows (Trevor Painter), Brett Morse (Andy Brittan), Christine Ohuruogu (Lloyd Cowan), Lawrence Okoye (John Hillier), Andrew Osagie (Craig Winrow), Jo Pavey (Gavin Pavey), Jonnie Peacock (Dan Pfaff), Josie Pearson (Anthony Hughes), Tiffany Porter (Rana Reider), Andrew Pozzi (Malcolm Arnold), Gemma Prescott (Michael Anthony Woods), Shara Proctor (Rana Reider), Stefanie Reid (Keith Antoine), *Martyn Rooney (Fayyaz Ahmed), Ben Rushgrove (Rob Ellchuk), Greg Rutherford (Dan Pfaff), Goldie Sayers (Dan Pfaff), *Perri Shakes-Drayton (Chris Zah), Will Sharman (George Maciukiewicz), Nathan Stephens (Anthony Hughes), *Danny Talbot (Daniel Cossins), Chris Tomlinson (Self-Coached), Andy Turner (Lloyd Cowan), Laura Weightman (Steve Cram), David Weir (Jenny Archer), Richard Whitehead (Liz Yelling/Keith Antoine), Claire Williams (Jim Edwards), *Conrad Williams (Linford Christie), Robin Womack, Shelly Woods (Peter Eriksson), Bethany Woodward (Jared Deacon), Nathan Woodward (Malcolm Arnold).

Podium-level funded athletes (those identified with * are supported on the basis of their potential to win a medal as part of a relay team)

-Simon Hart

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

BBC Rugby published an article, Test stars will find it hard to play Olympic sevens, that references the use of 15s players in the upcoming 2016 Olympic games in Rio.  Different people have different thoughts and opinions on the subject and the question, therefore, becomes what is the best strategy in creating a team with the best opportunity to win an Olympic medal in rugby 7s?

The Olympics is a dream event for every athlete.  Even if their sport isn't in the Olympics, it is both understood and accepted that the Olympics represent the paramount of elite competition.  Its history and significance is unparalleled and most athletes (and even coaches) would give anything for a chance to win a gold medal for their country.  This raises an interesting issue in the rugby world, where the Olympics are not only somewhat of a recent novelty in our sport but also involve a very specific format of the game.  Will some of the 15s players switch codes to 7s for a chance at Olympic glory?  Will they even make a significant impact?  Or is 7s such a unique sport that it should be left to those athletes that have been consistently competing on the global circuit and training as 7s athletes?  It is a welcomed luxury for coaches to suddenly have access to an entirely new pool of high caliber players but it certainly doesn't make their selection job any easier.

Sir Clive Woodward is one of the world's most respect rugby minds.  He was a World Cup winning coach for England in 2003 and has an incredibly impressive resume that includes being head coach of a Lions tour and a spot in the IRB Hall of Fame.  As primarily a 15s man, he believes that many players will make the switch across codes and that it will beneficial to the team's performance.  Alternatively, England 7s coach, Ben Ryan, believes that his players are unique and would be ready to compete and excel if other big name, professional 15s stars tried to make the jump.

Think of it this way - is New Zealand better off fielding the likes of guys like Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Sonny Bill Williams, or Israel Dagg in their effort to achieve Olympic glory?  Would the addition of these types of players pretty much guarantee at least a spot on the medal stand?  Or should they stick with what's been working for them so far on the circuit?  They are, after all, defending champions of the IRB 7s World Series for the past two consecutive seasons as well as defending gold medal winners at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.  Many, if not all, of their current 7s players would likely be considered 7s specialists and have made New Zealand consistently one of the top teams on the circuit.  (This is different from our athletes here in America, where there has traditionally been more frequent crossover between codes.)

I believe that 7s is a unique game and that the athletes that play it more consistently will likely always have the upper hand.  They have that 7s mentality and instinct that is often different from strategy employed in 15s.  Nonetheless, the world's big name players do have an incredible amount to offer, even if it is only to challenge and push those already in the 7s system.  They bring a whole new level of talent, skill, and field vision that may be helpful to some teams.  They also bring a certain level of celebrity and stardom to a team that brings with it more media attention.  This can contribute either positively or negatively depending on how one looks at it but nonetheless will directly impact the media surrounding the importance of the event itself and the focused attention on certain teams.  However, I don't believe that overthrowing the entire system and overhauling the team by inserting star players will be the best recipe for Olympic success.  Yet I do believe that some players will bring that extra something - whatever you want to call it, X factor - that some teams may likely need to get them over the final hurdles and on to the medal stand.  Some players do have a lot to offer and would no doubt make a positive impact but will likely not be able to just walk in and claim a spot.  There is no doubt that competition for a spot on one of these Olympic teams will be especially intense.

Here in America, it certainly wouldn't be outrageous to see guys like Todd Clever, Chris Wyles, or Taku Ngwenya put their hand up in 2014-2015 and make a run at the Games.  They, however, are a bit of an exception because they've been on the circuit and have been extremely successful.  Yet they've taken a hiatus from 7s to focus on 15s, which seems to have been a good decision and gone rather nicely for all of them!  Only time will tell if they opt to take that path and switch codes leading up to 2016 for one last stamp on their decorated careers.

Every rugby player across the globe is excited for Rio in 2016.  If not, you better check your pulse and make sure there's something there!  But what is your opinion?  What is the best recipe for historic glory at the quickly approaching Olympic games?  The Olympic cycle has already begun and 2016 isn't all that far away after all.

Mike Petri
GO EAGLES!!!

Source: www.rugbyrugby.com

National swimmer George Bovell III, who won his second consecutive gold medal at the FINA/Arena Swimming Short Course World Cup on Sunday, yesterday said he was getting crucial feedback from his local coach and Minister of Sport, Anil Roberts, which is playing a major part in his improvement. “My performances are consistently improving, and I am in contact with my coach Anil Roberts, who is watching the races online and giving me crucial feedback in terms of mistakes I may be making, and race strategy,” Bovell said.

On Sunday, Bovell won gold in the men’s 50-metre freestyle, clocking a national record of 20.82 seconds, which was his first sub-21 clocking over the event. One day earlier, Bovell touched the wall in 51.56 seconds for his first gold in the men’s 100m IM. The time also bettered the 51.87 which he clocked while claiming silver in Doha, Qatar, last week. Bovell is expected to arrive in Moscow, Russia with his eyes firmly set on repeating his success when competition resumes tomorrow. The 29-year-old obtained his Russian visa yesterday and was finalising plans for the two-day meet which will be held at the Olympiisky Swimming Pool, tomorrow and Thursday.

Commenting on his performances, Bovell said: “It was another big win tonight (Sunday), lifetime best and new national record.” With regard to his win over American Anthony Ervin, who was fifth in the men’s 50m freestyle final at the London Olympic Games, Bovell who was seventh in the final said: “This rivalry is getting red hot, causing both of us to smash through the 21-second barrier. “It was a sweet way to exact revenge by beating him so handily after he forced me to settle for silver on the previous two occasions we raced.”

After three stops on the tour, Bovell who pocketed US$3,000 for his two wins, lies in third spot on the points ranking with 51, after he picked up 25 points in Stockholm to add to the 26 points he gathered during the first two legs in Dubai (13) and Doha (13). Australian Kenneth To leads the table with 70 points after he collected 20 on the weekend, while Japan’s Daiya Seto is second with 52 points and South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, fourth with 36. At the end of the eight stops, the top swimmer will collect US$100,000 while second gets US$50,000 and third, US$30,000. Following the meet in Moscow, the fourtime T&T Olympian will compete in Berlin, Germany, October 20-21; Beijing, China, November 2-3; Tokyo, Japan, November 6- 7 and Singapore, November 10-11.

-Nigel Simon

Source: www.guardian.co.tt

The key to achieving international sporting success is a well organised and resourced club. However, scant attention is being paid to the issues facing the foundation—sports clubs. Do sports clubs have a voice? Elite and community sport, and long term athlete development can only take place if there are well organised and administered sports clubs and their passionate and dedicated volunteers.
Why is the construct of local sport overly focused on the elite and high performance level at the expense of the base and nursery of sport? When did sports clubs lose their voice, relevance and legitimacy? Inherent in the principles of transparent, accountable and ethical governance is genuine engagement with primary stakeholders and certainly sports clubs must rank as key and primary stakeholders. They are fundamental and foundational to the sport ecosystem and sustainable sport development pathway.
However, this engagement ought not to be for the sole purpose of winning votes or wresting control and authority over resources. But based on the understanding and recognition that without sports clubs there is no organised sporting activities, elite level athlete development, national teams or world and Olympic champions. Grandiose plans that have as their objective political self-image have little meaningful bearing on the lifeblood and engine room of sport—sports clubs.
Sport is in trouble because clubs are in trouble with many well-known names either extinct, on the verge of extinction or facing a daily struggle. Once these clubs are in dire straits, the army of passionate volunteers will dwindle and participation levels will stagnate or fall.
There is cause for concern as no one seems to be taking the problem seriously. I have heard all manner of strategic reviews, action plans and opinions but very little about the plight of sports clubs and what can be done to arrest the decline.
Urgent attention must be given to the support and development of sports clubs and those volunteers who are the lifeblood of clubs. Without a strong foundation, structural collapse is certain. How can the emphasis on building from the top up and not from the ground up be explained or justified?
It is clubs that drives sport at grassroots level; the programmes that eventually lead to the elite performers that represent us all on the world stage. Clubs at all levels are finding sources of funding hard to come by. It is a struggle to attract sponsorship, while the subscriptions normally paid by club members are becoming increasingly difficult to collect.
In talking to volunteers laboring in the vineyard of sport, their strong view is that many elected officials take their stakeholders for fools and a focus on internal and external politics is seen as a huge part of the problem.
There is the perception that those at the top are happy to enjoy the glory of success without actually concentrating on what made it happen.
A clear sign that good governance principles are being short changed or violated in an organisation is when there is a false sense of participation when in fact the real decisions have already been taken. Sports clubs are the rank and file membership of national sport organisations (NSOs) and as such should not feel marginalised, ignored and only be a focus at election time.
It’s time that sports clubs be given back their voice and be respected for the vital role they play in sport development ,their history and contribution to the history of sporting,social and  national life. I cannot overstress just how important clubs are to the well-being of sport in T&T.
-Brian Lewis
Source: www.guardian.co.tt

CALEDONIA AIA are eager to claim success in the 2012-2013 Digicel Pro League, despite their opening day 3-1 defeat against North East Stars on September 14 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

And coach Jamaal Shabazz’s confidence was boosted on October 5 by successfully defending the First Citizens Cup with a 2-1 win over Defence Force at the Mucurapo venue with a goal each from Jamal Gay and Trayon Bobb.

It was one of three domestic titles — the Lucozade Sport Goal Shield and FA Trophy being the others — picked up by Caledonia last season after reaching four knockout finals.

It was by far the most successful season for the 33-year-old club born out of the socially challenged districts of Morvant-Laventille.

Last season Caledonia also won the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship and debuted in the CONCACAF Champions League but finished at the bottom of Group Four with just one point in the home and away series against Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders and CD Marathon of Honduras.

Caledonia qualified for the Caribbean Club Championship — which is also the qualifying tournament for the CCL — behind W Connection last season and wants to go a step further this season by winning the Digicel Pro League.

Speaking after the First Citizens Cup victory, Shabazz said, “I think we are very motivated to come to play this season and continue to believe, in a strong sense.

“Having tasted the CONCACAF Champions League, [we want to be there again]. We have never won the Pro League and it’s something that we are hungry for.”

Caledonia’s journey to the First Citizens Cup title included an early 2-0 win over TTEC FC in the quarterfinal round and a late 1-0 win over six-time winners W Connection.

“It’s really a good feeling (to win the titles two times in a row),” continued the Caledonia coach. “The First Citizens Cup is one of the most consistent sponsors in the TT Pro League and it’s always the first Cup of the season. So we are really happy to keep it. It sets the tone for us for the rest of the season.”

He added that winning the trophy back-to-back comes at a time when there are talks of bringing peace in the communities, and that the First Citizens Cup title is a good victory for the football club to bring the people of Morvant-Laventille together. Shabazz supported that there is now a growing friendly rivalry between his club and Defence Force.

“It was a pleasure meeting Defence Force again and coming out on top again,” he said. “It was a big one for us. We are really happy about it and feel really contented with this win.”

Last season Caledonia and Defence Force clashed in three finals with Caledonia enjoying the Lucozade Sport Goal Shield and FA Trophy while the Soldiers captured the Digicel Pro Bowl.

“I thought our guys were motivated all the way,” continued Shabazz. “We are always motivated to play against Defence Force. And going into the first final of the year we didn’t need much motivation from (assistant coach) Jerry (Moe) or myself.

“I thought (midfielder) Densill Theobald has brought a lot in terms of motivation in the team. And the return of Atuallah Guerra from injury is also something that has lifted the spirit of the team. So all in all, we didn’t have a lot to do in motivating the guys.

“I think we played well below our capacity in the first half. The tempo of the game was a little bit too low and we asked the guys to push it a lot more and they did (in the second period).

“But Defence Force are a good team, a powerful team, and they never stopped fighting too. All the talk we would talk, we have a lot of respect for them and were happy to meet them in the final and we hope to meet them in the final (of other competitions this season).”

The League Championship resumes on Friday with a Round One Match Day Two doubleheader at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

TTEC FC will take on St Ann’s Rangers from 6 pm and defending champs W Connection against Caledonia from 8 pm.

Match Day Two continues on Saturday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium with Central FC against Police FC from 5 pm and Defence Force against leaders North East Stars from 7 pm.

Source: www.newsday.co.tt

This poisonous divisiveness that is politics is spreading too far, seeping into humble, ordinary fields of play and threatening to fatally infect sincere efforts at reformation for the good of the young people of the nation.

We've always had to cope with the favouritism, the biases and the victimisation associated with sport in Trinidad and Tobago, not to mention the shameless dishonesty of persons engaged in such practices feigning innocence even as they aggressively pursue a destructive, narrow-minded agenda. Now though, the situation appears much worse, the divisions much more deeply entrenched, the willingness to cut off the nose to spite the face so much more prevalent that it's accepted as just the way things are done around here.

Everything seems to hinge upon which "side" you're on, whether you are one of "them" or one of "us". But who's on the side of sport as a tool of discipline and national development? Who's on the side of sport as an avenue for national and international recognition, for bringing glory and honour to the country and the promise of a secure financial future for the outstanding performer?

Barring a sensational capitulation against Anguilla last evening in Basseterre, Trinidad and Tobago's senior men's footballers should now be looking forward to the second phase of qualification for the Caribbean Cup finals to be held here next month. Of course, in previous years this would have been passed over as a fait accompli, in the same way that a top four finish and advancement to the CONCACAF Gold Cup would have been taken for granted.

But we are enduring different times now. Defeats to Cuba and Grenada in the group stage of the last Caribbean Cup finals two years ago, followed by an early World Cup finals elimination courtesy of the "Golden Jaguars" of Guyana late last year, have confirmed that appearing on the global stage at Germany 2006 was not a springboard but a cavernous sinkhole into which the national game has since collapsed. Few nations can match the breakneck pace at which we have managed to achieve such a reversal.

Yet listen to arguments raging over the game. It's not about its depressed state or the preferred route to haul ourselves out of the depths of mediocrity. It's about who's to blame, as if any compelling evidence one way or the other will change the minds and opinions of the different factions of flag-wavers.

The flourishing of the broadcast media especially over the past 20 years has nurtured a culture of highly-opinionated and occasionally well-informed contributors, almost all sectioned off based on their political or ethnic biases and happily accommodated by market vendor-type hosts, announcers and barely-literate deejays who are only too willing to entertain views that are in concert with their own.

All of this vacuous free speech is not limited to the ordinary folk though. If it's not university lecturers or other assorted intellectuals wasting time with their long-winded dissertations on West Indies cricket without getting anywhere close to offering any practical solutions, it's veteran footballers taking turns at the microphone to trot out their verbal autobiographies of victimisation as if the minutiae of each oh-so-similar tale presents any fundamentally different insight on the search for a way forward.

And what is the end result of all this freedom of expression? Merely a hardening of opinions on Jack, Anil and, lately, Tony Harford. In the meantime, disillusioned and dispirited fans continue to stay away in droves from the top level of the national club game and, interestingly of late, from the secondary schools scene, which, even in the hardest of previous hard times—like the scandal of November 19, 1989—was almost always the bountiful beneficiary of old-school loyalties and community identity.

It is in this context that you watch youngsters—boys and girls—enthusiastically going through their training drills on a Sunday morning on fields, parks and savannahs across this twin-island state and wonder how many of them, having chosen to seriously pursue their opportunities in the sport, will fall victim to the games that devious adults play, grown men and women who never miss an opportunity to play petty politics while at the same time claiming ownership of a grand vision of nation-building through sport.

This is not to say that the lack of support for anything national, at least until significant progress is made, is anything new. Before a reputed 40,000 were crammed into the 25,000-capacity Hasely Crawford Stadium for the decisive game against the United States almost 23 years ago, only a handful would have turned up for the early games of the road to Italia '90. Wholesale indifference followed by frantic bandwagon-jumping has been the common thread of supposed support for sport in this land.

Now however, there is the added dimension of politically-tainted spite. Support or lack thereof for football is taken to represent something way beyond the issues of the quality of play or the competence (or incompetence) of administrators. We seem to find it so much easier to identify with a party insignia than with the national flag, to rally around institutions that exist to divide and rule rather than be united behind our national team.

Then again, this is a nation where many rejoice when the West Indies cricketers lose for reasons of race, alienation or the perceived persecution of Brian Lara. There is something seriously wrong with this place, and the spiteful nature of our politics has a lot to do with it.

By Fazeer Mohammed

Source: www.trinidadexpress.com

If you have never been world champion, you will never fully understand that feeling, regardless of what support, even nurturing, you may have given to respective sport teams or individual players! 2012 - As said at world championship boxing, paraphrased for West Indies absolutely phenomenally welcomed victory at ICC World T-20; “The winners and new champeens – Weeeesssssttttt Indies!” Darren Sammy, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendyl Simmons, Dwayne Smith all deserve wholesale thanks from seven million Caribbean inhabitants, zillions in the Diaspora, regardless of each player’s individual output, for winning WT20 2012!
A world sporting champion is absolutely unique.  Nothing else even comes close! That feeling only came home to me fully, after many years in cricket, in 1999, while working for Cable News Network/Sports Illustrated at ICC 50-overs World Cup, being introduced as “Colin Croft—World Champion Cricketer!” I had actually “arrived!” Being world champions transcends all other feeling in sports, including, as was recently overtly demonstrated in golf’s Ryder Cup 2012, the fact that you may be a multi-millionaire.  Not even Toyota’s catchy jingle, “Oh what a feeling!” could describe the euphoria!
USA’s and Europe’s Ryder Cup 2012 players are all gazillionaires.  Yet, each, to a man, openly cried, for losing; USA’s team, who actually snatched debilitating defeat from the very jaws of victory; or, for winning; Europe’s team; who even dedicated their dramatic win to Seve Ballesteros, their dead mentor! Geoffrey Boycott suggested that “West Indies now have new heroes!”  Quite so indeed! “Boycs”, great batsman that he was, knows that he would never experience that feeling of being world champion at playing cricket. Who knows, he could still be “World Champion”, at bridge or similar!
West Indies have won only four world championships since its inception as our international representative cricket team in 1928; one-day cricket starting in 1970/71.  We needed this last win badly! Muhammad Ali, asked in 1965 if becoming world heavyweight champion, after surprisingly beating Sonny Liston, was better than winning gold at 1960 Olympics, answered emphatically; “No!” Even “The Greatest” knows that beating the world is the absolutely ultimate in sports! At London Olympics 2012, cycling’s Tour de France 2012 winner, Bradley Wiggins, one of only 16 of last 33 Tour de France winners since 1980 not to have been tainted by drugs, confirmed that his gold medal for the ‘Time Trial’ at London 2012 was infinitely more valuable to him than winning Tour de France!
1975—Most of us, including me, then completing navigation and flight technology training in T&T for naval and air traffic control situations, missed entire days of school and work, when West Indies scrambled that unlikely win vs Pakistan in the semifinal, then trounced Australia in the final! As inaugural winners of Prudential World Cup 1975; 60 overs—only eight teams present, six Test teams plus East Africa and Sri Lanka, hardly a world championship—West Indies started something for us back then that continued onwards to October 7, 2012 in Sri Lanka. We need to win more often too!
Maybe Darren Sammy, his team and crew, and all of us, owe much to 1975’s squad; Clive Lloyd, Keith Boyce, Roy Fredericks, Lance Gibbs, Gordon Greenidge, Vanburn Holder, Bernard Julian, Alvin Kallicharran, Rohan Kanhai, Deryck Murray, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts.  There is nothing like the first! Those won 1975’s World Cup, giving us that lust of deliciousness, like Tennyson’s “Lotus Eaters”, that taste that we forever want to regain, ‘not wanting to return home……….but were staying and munching lotus without thinking further…….!’  We have since always pined mightily in euphoric hope for success!
Records can always be broken.  The world’s best cricketer, Sir Gary Sobers, once had the batting record for Test cricket’s highest individual score—365 not out. Even with his magnificently illustrious career, Sir Gary was never included in any world champion cricket team. I will bet anything that he would even be willing to give up his records, just to be able to say; “I am a world champion!” It is a very special, singular feeling! 1979—World Cup, West Indies overwhelmed all. Again, there were eight teams—six Test teams plus Canada and Sri Lanka.
I was one of our team then too; Clive Lloyd, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Michael Holding, Alvin Kallicharran, Collis King, Deryck Murray, Viv Richards, Andy Roberts, Larry Gomes, Faoud Bacchus, Malcolm Marshall. All we did was ‘execute excellently’, to retain that trophy! 2004—Brian Lara, Ian Bradshaw, Dwayne Bravo, Courtney Browne, Shiv Chanderpaul, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Chris Gayle, Ryan Hinds, Wavell Hinds, Sylvester Joseph, Jermaine Lawson, Ricardo Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Sammy, Dwayne Smith also all hoped that winning the Champions Trophy would rejuvenate West Indies’ winning spirit. It was not so, until last week!
1975, 1979, 2004, now 2012! West Indies must never again endure such long intervals of senior men or women cricket teams not winning another world championship again.  It is so very fulfilling!  Enjoy!
By Colin Croft
Source: www.guardian.co.tt

COLOMBO—Something very unusual and heart-warming happened in the moments following West Indies’ win in the World Twenty20 final in Colombo. The players celebrated like no one else I have seen, but across the world, in countries that played cricket and those that merely followed it, there was an outpouring of joy. It does not happen in sport. Excuses are found, plots are unearthed, there is much loathing on message boards and in chat rooms, and anger is not unknown among fans. But with West Indies there was the kind of joy we see when a much-loved relative returns.
It seems everyone wanted to sing a song and shake a leg. Even my mother-in-law was beaming. There must be a reason. There must be many, in fact. Every team in our little cricket world is both liked and hated. Often this is because of perception, and the world is ruled more by perception than reality, anyway. And so the Aussies are disliked because they are seen to be cocky and because they sledge, England because they seem to look down on opponents, India because they seem to exercise power so visibly, Pakistan because some of their players seem to straddle the divide between what is acceptable and what isn’t.
But West Indies don’t seem to present us with a reason to dislike them. They don’t even have fast bowlers who snarl and aim to knock your head off. It could just be that in recent years they have threatened no one. They haven’t conquered, they haven’t trodden on emotions. They have largely lost, and as I learnt early in my career following India, good-natured teams that lose have all the ingredients needed for popularity. West Indies have no history of ruling others or of going to war. Indeed, if anything, they have emerged out of the darkness of colonisation. They have felt segregation. They have been victims of history. That might explain their extraordinary popularity in India. My generation didn’t see the hardships of foreign rule but felt the last after-effects. We felt a bond across continents and oceans towards black people.
I became a fan of Basil D’Oliveira’s without ever seeing him play. India supported the African National Congress and didn’t play South Africa in a rare appearance in the final of the Davis Cup in 1974. And so it was natural that the generation just before mine, and many others of my age, naturally gravitated towards West Indies. Garry Sobers was a big hero, and in later times so were Viv Richards, Malcolm Marshall and Brian Lara. Racism for this generation was about the white man being rude to the coloured. (That the reverse must also fit the definition wasn’t always obvious.)
But those born in the eighties shouldn’t have to think like that. The world has embraced multi-culturalism (including South Africa, which did so in the early nineties with great gusto). Black players play for England and South Africa, Asians for Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand, a white man played Test cricket for West Indies recently. Frankly this generation shouldn’t care too much now for a history that once segregated people. So why does it enjoy watching West Indies just as much?
I have asked people and inevitably they say they are drawn to the joy that seems to accompany West Indies’ cricket. They seem to play with a smile (Chris Gayle is a colossal modern icon), there is little bad blood around, they don’t sledge, and boy, they draw you into their celebration. I find the third of those particularly interesting: West Indies, everyone says, don’t sledge, and that seems to strike a chord among people. They are “nice guys”, like Roger Federer is, and it is a sentiment, if indeed universally true, that fills me with a lot of joy and hope.
Sledging is still looked down upon. Isn’t that wonderful? I have often been intrigued by how an entire group of people, from different islands and sporting different accents (each more alluring than the other) seems to believe in this way of playing cricket. Mikey Holding laughed it off when I asked him, saying, “We didn’t need to”, but I couldn’t imagine him or Andy Roberts or Joel Garner sledging. Ian Bishop, a successor, and possessor of a much calmer temperament, said it just wasn’t done. West Indies seem to accept what happens on a cricket ground, show their disappointment but rarely anger. Lara walked and expected others to do so. When he said “Take my word”, in 2006, it seemed much more acceptable than if a cricketer from another team said it.
And they have had wonderful ambassadors. Clive Lloyd, Holding and Bishop are just three of them, but the Caribbean also gave the world the writings of CLR James and the voice and demeanour of Tony Cozier, a universally liked broadcaster. In more recent times, in India, Daren Ganga brought a team from Trinidad and Tobago that played with such verve and élan that even in a tournament like the Champions League Twenty20, they made many friends.
So it could be the laughter that you see ring out all over the stands in the West Indies (Sunil Gavaskar’s description of the crowds there in Sunny Days was probably an aberration) and on cricket grounds all over the world.
And it isn’t just a Gayle, a Bravo or a Pollard. In the early days of TWI filming cricket in India we had a sound engineer called Collin Oliverre, whose cheerful accent and laughter always filled the production room. Or it could be a combination of all these factors and those robust calypsos that capture the ethos of cricket in the islands. I hope West Indies win much more because they seem to bring happiness back to cricket. We have too much sledging, too much rancour, sometimes, and then we see these men making all that seem so small and inconsequential. Yes, that is why we love them—because they play sport the way all of us would secretly love to.
n Harsha Bhogle is a commentator, television presenter and writer.
Source: www.guardian.co.tt