分类： sports

The group stage of the National Sports Council BICO Primary School football competition has officially wrapped up, with 16 teams securing their spots in the knockout round, headlined by two standout squads that finished their group campaigns without a single defeat.

Defending tournament champions West Terrace put on a dominant display in Zone Two, completing their six-game run without a loss. The team claimed five victories and held on for one draw to top the zone standings, booking their place in the round of 16 alongside second-place finishers St Stephen’s Primary.

Another undefeated run came from Arthur Smith Primary, the 2025 tournament runners-up, who topped Zone Seven hosted at Briar Hall. Across nine matches, Arthur Smith won eight and drew one, finishing clear at the top of the zone. They will be joined in the knockout stage by Zone Seven’s second qualifier, Milton Lynch Primary.

Across all eight zones, the top two finishing teams earned progression to the round of 16, in line with competition rules. From Zone One, All Saints Primary and Roland Edwards Primary claimed the two qualifying spots. In Zone Three, St Bernards and Providence Primary secured their places in the knockout round. Zone Four saw St Cyprian’s Boys’ and St Paul’s advance, while Zone Five finished with St George Primary and Bay Primary taking the top two positions. Zone Six qualifiers are Wesley Hall and Deacons, and Zone Eight wrapped up with Blackman Gollop and Reynold Weekes Primary claiming the two knockout spots.

All round of 16 fixtures will take place at the Greens St George venue, kicking off this Thursday with four scheduled matches. The opening day of knockout action will see St Cyprian’s Boys’ go head-to-head against Providence, with Bay Primary facing Wesley Hall, All Saints squaring off against Milton Lynch, and Blackman & Gollop battling St Stephen’s Primary.

Four additional round of 16 matches are set for Friday. Defending champions West Terrace will open their knockout campaign against Reynold Weekes, while 2025 runners-up Arthur Smith will take on St Paul’s. Deacons will face Roland Edwards, and St Bernard’s will round out the day’s play against St George Primary.

As the countdown to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup enters its final stretch, West Indies skipper Hayley Matthews has challenged her squad to embrace an aggressive, fearless brand of cricket to compete on cricket’s biggest global stage, drawing on her own experience as part of the region’s 2016 world title-winning side.

Speaking to reporters at the official pre-tournament captains’ media briefing, Matthews highlighted that the 2025 West Indies roster boasts a strategically balanced mix of seasoned veterans and emerging young talent. She pointed to the invaluable mentorship provided by team mainstays Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, whose decades of international and World Cup experience give the squad’s rising players a trusted foundation to grow into the high-pressure tournament.

“What stands out most for our group is how hungry our young players are to learn and improve,” Matthews explained. “Having players like Stafanie and Deandra in the dressing room means the next generation can feed off that experience, learning what it takes to compete at the highest level of World Cup cricket. For us, it all comes down to pulling everything together at the right moment, and delivering when we step onto the pitch.”

The road to the World Cup has already held an early test for West Indies: the side fell to a 26-run defeat against India in its opening warm-up fixture, and will wrap up its pre-tournament preparation with a final practice match against world-leading Australia on Wednesday. Their official tournament campaign kicks off on June 13 against defending champions New Zealand, a matchup Matthews knows intimately after sharing and competing against many of the Black Caps’ top players in global T20 franchise leagues.

“Every time we take the field, we come to play our best and compete for the win,” Matthews said. “New Zealand is always a top-tier opponent, packed with world-class match-winners who can turn a game on its head in a few overs. We know we have to work hard to limit the impact of key players like Melie Kerr and Sophie Devine as much as possible. At the end of the day, it’s about executing our game plan as a unit – when we play to our full potential, we believe we can beat any side in the tournament.”

New Zealand claimed the 2024 World Cup title with a victory over South Africa in the final, and Matthews acknowledged that women’s T20 cricket has transformed dramatically since West Indies lifted the trophy 10 years ago. “The game has grown exponentially in the last decade,” she noted. “Nowadays, to compete at the top level, you have to play without fear. I expect we’ll see a lot of records broken this tournament, and only teams willing to take aggressive, smart risks will come out on top.”

Matthews also opened up about the game-changing impact of veteran all-rounder Deandra Dottin, who holds the record for the most sixes hit in Women’s World Cup history. Calling Dottin a priceless asset to the West Indies setup, she emphasized the all-rounder’s ability to shift momentum with bat, ball, and in the field.

“She can change the outcome of a game from anywhere on the pitch – whether she’s batting, bowling, or pulling off a spectacular play in the outfield, you see how electric she can be,” Matthews said. “We’re so lucky to have her in our squad. When Deandra is finding her rhythm at the crease, she’s a dangerous player for any opposition to face.”

West Indies is drawn in a competitive group that includes not just New Zealand, but also Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka, and England. The side will face hosts England at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground on June 24, a fixture Matthews says the entire squad is eagerly anticipating.

“Playing at Lord’s is special any day, but doing it at a World Cup against the home team? It’s going to be a truly monumental occasion,” she said. “We’re incredibly excited for that game. We’ll go in with far less pressure than England will carry as hosts, so our focus is just on enjoying the moment and playing our best cricket.”

Unrelenting wet weather at Kingston’s Sabina Park delivered a double blow to the West Indies men’s cricket side on Monday, forcing the abandonment of the third and final One Day International against Sri Lanka and confirming the hosts’ first home ODI series defeat in three years.

Sri Lanka claimed an opening match victory by 41 runs at the same venue to take an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series, after the second fixture was also called off without a single ball being bowled due to rain. The disappointing outcome not only hands Sri Lanka the series win, but also costs the West Indies critical ranking points in their fight for automatic qualification to the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup, which is set to be decided by the March 2027 cut-off date. Only the top nine highest-ranked teams will earn direct entry to the tournament.

Currently sitting in 10th position in the ICC ODI rankings, the West Indies now face an uphill battle to climb into the top 9 and secure automatic qualification. Speaking after the abandonment of the third ODI, West Indies captain Shai Hope acknowledged the disappointment of the result but struck a reflective, forward-looking tone.

“We cannot control Mother Nature, and it is just bitterly disappointing that we were not able to get two full completed games of cricket to give ourselves a shot at fighting back into this series,” Hope said. “That said, this result is a reminder of how important it is to make the most of every moment we get on the pitch, because we could never have predicted how this series would play out.”

Despite the series defeat, Hope emphasized that his side could still draw key positives from the contest, highlighting encouraging performances in patches of the opening match. “I have to give credit to the guys for the parts of the game where they performed well. Our bowlers found their rhythm quickly, particularly in the first power play of the opening game,” he explained. “We have struggled in certain areas over the last couple of years, so it is good to be able to pull out some positives from this first ODI that we can carry forward into the upcoming series against New Zealand.”

Hope stressed just how important it will be for his side to pick up every available ranking point in the upcoming home ODI series against New Zealand, as the side continues its push for World Cup qualification. “I have said it before and I will keep saying it: every single match counts for us right now. Every game carries huge weight in our ranking fight. I would not go so far as to call it crunch time yet, but we have to approach every fixture like it is our last chance. That does not mean putting unnecessary pressure on the group, but we have to keep learning from every experience we get,” he said.

Before the ODI series against New Zealand gets underway, Hope and his side will shift their focus to an upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, with the captain eager to turn their recent ODI disappointment into a T20 series win. “We are hungry for a turnaround. We want to end up on the winning side of any series, no matter what format we are playing,” Hope said. “We did not get the result we wanted in this ODI series, but we have gained valuable experience that we can use going forward. Most of our guys came off the recent T20 World Cup with some good results under their belt, even if we did not get the title we wanted. We can lean on that experience, draw on the knowledge we have built as a T20 unit, and put our best foot forward to turn things around and get the win in this series.”

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced a reshuffled 15-player squad for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka, bringing three uncapped or emerging talents into the fold while moving aside three players who featured in the team’s recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign. Young prospects Shamar Springer, Jewel Andrew and Ackeem Auguste have earned their call-ups to the senior national side, replacing Johnson Charles, Quentin Sampson and Jayden Seales – all of whom were part of the West Indies squad for the World Cup held in India late last year.

One key absence from the T20I roster is experienced fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who has been rested from the short-format series as part of CWI’s structured workload management strategy. Instead of competing in the T20Is, Joseph will dedicate this period to focused training and preparation for the two-match Test series that will follow the T20I leg, scheduled to be hosted in Antigua.

Another fast bowler, Shamar Joseph, departed the West Indies camp early ahead of the third One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka for personal matters. CWI confirmed that the paceman is on track to rejoin the squad ahead of the T20I series, which gets underway at Kingston’s iconic Sabina Park on June 11. The team will begin formal pre-series preparations on June 9.

West Indies head coach Daren Sammy framed the upcoming series as a critical milestone for the side in their post-World Cup rebuilding phase. He emphasized that the matches will give the newly adjusted squad a valuable chance to connect with home fans and deliver the dynamic, engaging brand of cricket that the region is known for globally. “This series is our first major assignment on home soil since the World Cup in India, where our side showed the passion, fight and collective spirit that has always been the backbone of West Indies cricket,” Sammy shared in an official statement released by CWI. “Our priority right now is to build on the strong foundations we laid at the World Cup, keep developing our cohesion as a unit, and make our supporters proud with the intensity and heart we bring against Sri Lanka.”

The full finalized T20I squad for the series against Sri Lanka is: Shai Hope (captain), Jewel Andrew, Ackeem Auguste, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, and Shamar Springer.