West Indies’ captain Carlos Braithwaite warms up before a Twenty20 international cricket match against Bangladesh,
Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla. Associated Press / Lynne Sladky, File
Olympics postponement, Brathwaite’s lost chance
Caribbean Life, M 34 arch 27-April 2, 2020
West Indies
Continued from Page 33
19) outbreak to be at its peak.
The virus has resulted in more
than 1,150 UK infections and 24
deaths and has already forced the
suspension of major fixtures like
the English Premier League and the
London Marathon.
Further, the ECB recently recalled
its side from the tour of Sri Lanka
where they were scheduled to play
two Tests later this month.
West Indies Chief Executive
Officer, Johnny Grave said last week
the regional governing body would
continue to monitor developments
regarding the virus.
“It is (still on) at the moment
but it’s a dynamic situation that
is changing quite literally by the
hour so at the moment there’s no
announcement by the ECB about
postponing any of their upcoming
events,” Grave said.
He noted that the International
Cricket Council (ICC) has canceled
the World Cup qualifiers which were
due to take place in Malaysia and
several of the country clubs have
canceled their pre-season tours.
“At the moment it seems like they
(ECB) are taking a sort of four-week
period where some events have been
postponed or canceled until mid-
April.
“Our players are due to travel at
the end of April so at the moment…
it is being closely monitored but at
the moment we’ve had not reason to
believe the England tour will be canceled,”
Grave added.
West Indies is scheduled to undergo
a camp in England before playing
two matches against England Lions
and Worcestershire at the end of
May. The team faces England in the
opening Test at Lord’s starting June
4 and the final Test bowling off on
June 25.
Globally, cricket has already suffered
disruption, with the lucrative
Indian Premier League (IPL) delaying
its start from March 29 until
April 15 as a “precautionary measure.”
ranked Test side in the world in
2011.
Up and until October last year,
Flower was at the England Cricket
Board as technical director of elite
cricket. After stepping down from
that position he coached Maratha
Arabians to the Abu Dhabi T10 title,
and he is currently coaching Multan
Sultans in the Pakistan Super
League (PSL).
The 2020 Hero CPL will take place
between Aug. 19 and Sept. 26.
However, veteran all-rounder Marlon
Samuels, along with regulars Samuel
Badree, Kesrick Williams, Rovman
Powell and Andre Fletcher, made themselves
available, while seasoned wicketkeeper
Denesh Ramdin returned to the
squad for the first time in 17 months.
The PCB chief said that after he
took over no extra money had been
paid to any touring team to play in
Pakistan.
He said that recent tours by Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh were all official
and no extra money was paid to
anyone.
Since March 2009 when terrorists
attacked the Sri Lankan team in
Lahore, no established Test nation
toured Pakistan for over 10 years.
Continued from Page 33
Continued from Page 33
EXTRA PAY TO PLAY IN PAKISTAN
St. Lucia Zouks
By George Alleyne
Barbadian ace hurdler, Shane
Brathwaite, fears that he might have
missed his real chance at an Olympics
gold medal with postponement to 2021
of the summer games that was set for
Tokyo, Japan, this year.
Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo
Abe, Tuesday morning announced that
in talks with International Olympic
Committee President, Thomas Bach,
they agreed that in light of the COVID-
19 pandemic the 2020 Olympics, set for
July to August, should be postponed to
dates to be announced in 2021.
“We waited four years looking forward
to the Games and training . .
. but I think it is bigger than sports
right now,” Brathwaite told the Nation
newspaper.
“I think it is best for the safety of athletes,
coaches and officials that we put
things on pause for now.”
Brathwaite, 30, who was speaking
before the Japanese prime minister’s
disclosure, reasoned that a postponement
of the Games was inevitable, and
noted his dilemma, “I am not getting
any younger. … I had some momentum
last year and I was looking to bring it
into this year”.
The hurdler believes that coming off
a 110-metre victory at the Pan American
Games last year that gave Barbados
its first Pan Am gold medal, he is at
peak form because of continued intense
training aimed at the Olympics.
He added, “I have to find a positive
from every negative. I can also get some
more down time to rest and recover so
when it is time to compete again I can
feel fresh. I cannot be defeated by this
situation”.
Brathwaite who lives in Texas, USA,
reflected on the limited training opportunities
owing to COVID-19 inspired
rules, “right now, I am still training
as far as running is concerned. I think
this coming week, the city is going to
be stricter with giving out fines. So, we
do not know yet how much training will
be done”.
“In the weight room everything is
cut down to one-on-one sessions. This
is a tough time. I’ve never experienced
anything like this. So far, we are making
Barbadian hurdler Shane Brathwaite.
Photo by George Alleyne
it work, but I am not sure how the
rest of the season will look with all the
events being cancelled.”
Nonetheless he is optimistic about
his chances in 2021, “the most important
thing is making sure that I am
healthy and doing the best that I can.”