U.S. defender Aaron Long heads the ball in for a goal during the fi rst half of the team’s CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer
match against Trinidad and Tobago, Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Cleveland. Associated Press/David Dermer, fi le
By Azad Ali
Former West Indies captains. Sir
Clive Lloyd, Jimmy Adams and Merisa
Aguilleira are among a group of
former international cricketers that
will be part of a mentorship initiative
organized by the West Indies Players’
Association (WIPA).
The regional players’ body recently
launched the initiative and said it
strongly believes that the rich knowledge
and wealth of experience that
endures in West Indies cricket is crucial
Caribbean L 34 ife, APRIL 16-22, 2021
to the development of present and
future players.
WIPA President, Wavell Hinds said
he is excited about the opportunities
that this initiative will bring.
WIPA said the mentorship initiative
will connect former and current West
Indies players with the aim to assist
in empowering players to unlock their
full potential on and off the field, a
process that will be open to all players
.T
he initiative also got the endorsement
of Adams, the current director
of cricket at the Cricket West Indies
headquarters in Antigua.
“WIPA’s mentorship initiative is a
timely effort that I fully endorse,” he
said.The players’ organization said it
hoped that the initiative will play
an active role in coordinating the
exchanges between former and current
players, being mindful of the
unique experiences and skillsets of
mentors.
West Indies
Continued from Page 33
During the ongoing Test against
Sri Lanka, Braithwaite became the
16th West Indies batsman to pass
4,000 Test runs in his 68th match
and also notched his ninth Test century.
He followed up with another
half-century in the second innings to
extend his rich form.
Braithwaite was elevated to the full
time Test captaincy ahead of the Sri
Lanka series after having led West
Indies to a 2-0 whitewash of Bangladesh
last February, when many of the
leading players, including then Captain
Jason Holder, opted out of the
tour due to COVID-19 fears.
Gloucestershire hosts Surrey at
Bristol this week in their opening
game.
ther fallout and damage to the West
Indies cricket brand.
“I think very clearly the reputation
of this organization in the eyes
of the world is massively important
to the brand of West Indies cricket,”
Grave said.
The Barbados Cricket Association
(BCA) and Guyana Cricket Board
(GCB) both snubbed the first AGM
last month virtual meeting to elect a
president and vice-president, leaving
the meeting short of a nine-member
quorum and forced its postponement.
The postponement stalled the
presidential elections in which GCB’s
representative Anand Sanasie was
challenging Skerrit for the presidency
and BCA’s Calvin Hope was coming
up against CWI Vice-President,
Dr. Kishore Shallow. Both Sanasie
and Hope subsequently announced
they were dropping out of the race.
Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti,
Montserrat, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
and Trinidad and Tobago.
CONCACAF said Bahamas, Barbados,
Guadeloupe and Guatemala qualified
for the Prelims as group winners
from League C; French Guiana, Guyana,
Montserrat and St. Vincent and
the Grenadines qualified as the second
place teams from their respective
groups in League B; while Bermuda,
Cuba, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago
qualified as the third-place finishers in
League A.
“The knockout format from the Preliminary
Round will see three teams
qualify for the 16-team Gold Cup Group
Stage, where they will join the 12 teams
that have already qualified for the Gold
Cup: Canada, Costa Rica, Curacao, El
Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Jamaica,
Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Suriname
and the United States,” CONCACAF
said.
“September’s 2021 first ever Gold
Cup Draw produced some very interesting
match-ups in the Prelims, including
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
squaring off against Haiti, who reached
the semifinals of the 2019 Gold Cup,”
it said.
CONCACAF said another contest that
should “offer up plenty of intrigue” is
Guatemala taking on Guyana.
It said Los Chapines have not competed
in a Gold Cup since 2015, adding
that it knows “a tough opponent awaits
in the Golden Jaguars, who debuted in
the 2019 edition.”
CONCACAF said one of the revelations
in recent years has been Montserrat,
who nearly qualified for the 2019
Gold Cup and now take aim at Trinidad
and Tobago in their Prelims match-up.
Back in the Gold Cup mix for the
first time since the 2017 group stage
is French Guiana, who will face a Cuba
side boasting European club-based players
in the Prelims, CONCACAF said.
It said Match 5 will see Guadeloupe
and Bahamas do battle with Guadeloupe
Head Coach Jocelyn Angloma, who led
Les Gwada Boys to the 2007 Gold Cup
semifinals as a player, guiding his side
against a Bahamas team looking for a
first ever Gold Cup qualification.
CONCACAF said rounding out the
Gold Cup Prelims First Round is “an
interesting contest” between Bermuda
and Barbados.
Bermuda not only competed in their
first Gold Cup in 2019, but also earned
their first ever Gold Cup win when they
defeated Nicaragua, CONCACAF said.
Continued from Page 33
Cricket West Indies Vice President,
Dr. Kishore Shallow. Cricket
West Indies
Continued from Page 33
BUSY SUMMER FOR CONCACAF
CWI AGM
fiasco
Sir Clive leads former WI players mentorship program