分类： sports

As the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Premier League enters its final three matchweeks, one of the Caribbean’s most exciting domestic title races has also produced a tightly contested battle for the league’s most deadly striker, with Paradise FC forward Kamol Griffith holding a narrow advantage at the top of the goal-scoring charts.

The Vincentian international has put together a consistent, clinical campaign so far, notching his 13th goal in 13 appearances during Saturday’s clash against Wotton to extend his lead over his closest chasers. That one-goal advantage puts Griffith ahead of a trio of tied contenders: his own Paradise teammate Sheran Hoyte, Ellerton FC captain Shakille Belle, and Bagatelle FC standout Torian Joseph, all of whom have found the back of the net 12 times this season.

What makes the top of the golden boot standings even more striking is the heavy representation from Griffith’s own Dover-based club. Six of the 12 players tied or ranked in the top goal-scoring positions this season pull on the Paradise jersey, a statistic that reflects the club’s dominant attacking form across the campaign. Heading into the final three rounds, Paradise sits just one point behind defending league champions Weymouth Wales in the overall table, but has already outperformed every other club in front of goal: the side has racked up a league-leading 53 goals, more than double the 31 goals scored by second-place Weymouth Wales in that category.

Further down the rankings, Brittons Hill duo Kirtney Franklin and T’Shane Lorde sit at nine and six goals respectively. They are joined on six goals by Gall Hill FC attacking talisman Shakarie Mottley and Paradise’s Shamari Harewood. Four more players round out the top 12, all tied on five goals for the season: Paradise’s Jaron Oughterson and Tyrel Rayside Demendonca, Kickstart Rush’s Liam Luke, and Brittons Hill’s Steven Pierre.

With only three matches left to climb the rankings, every goal will count for the contenders chasing Griffith, who will look to extend his lead and help his side chase down both the golden boot and the overall Premier League title.

The annual Heroes’ Day Chess Tournament concluded this weekend at the Central Bank of Barbados’ Grande Salle, with three first-time division champions emerging from a field of roughly 70 competitors hailing from four Caribbean nations. The three-day competitive event, which grouped players by their official ELO ratings to ensure fair matchups, delivered tense final-round action and standout performances from new and returning competitors alike.

Top honors in Section A, the elite division reserved for players holding an ELO rating of 1800 or higher, went to Jamaican Candidate Master Darren Mckennis. In a display of dominant form, Mckennis claimed victory in every one of his six matches, finishing the tournament with a perfect maximum score of six points. Local Barbadian competitor Justin Kirton secured second place with a total of 4.5 points, while Jeremiah Farley took third spot on 3.5 points. Ronaldo Rochester and Travis Grant rounded out the division’s top five prize winners, both finishing with three points to claim their respective prizes. After the final round, Central Bank Governor Dr. Kevin Greenidge presented Mckennis with his first-place award.

In Section B, the intermediate division for rated players with ELO scores between 1400 and 1800, 22-year-old Loki Clarke turned in an unshakable performance to claim the division title from a 30-player field. Clarke entered the tournament’s final two competition rounds holding a full one-point lead over his closest rivals, and held his position through two drawn matches on the final day against Allan Herbert and Gaybrianna Moore, finishing with six points from seven total matches to secure the win. Savion Little closed out the tournament in second place with 5.5 points, boosted by a final-round win over Herbert. Janiya Browne claimed third place, edging out Nathan Simmon-Patterson and Moore on tie-breakers after all three competitors finished with five points. Leshay Springer was recognized as the highest-performing female competitor who did not secure a top main prize. Dr. Greenidge also presented Clarke with his division’s top prize at the closing ceremony.

The most dramatic title race unfolded in Section C, the unrated open division, where William Deer claimed the championship in his first over-the-board chess tournament in several years. Deer and competitor Benjamin Farmer both finished the seven-match schedule with six points, forcing a tie-break to decide the title, which Deer won to claim the crown. Heading into the final round, three players – Deer, Farmer, and Zane Ward – were tied for the overall lead with five points each. The final round paired Deer against Ward, while Farmer faced off against Maximmus Gonsalves, who sat in fourth place with 4.5 points. Farmer secured a decisive win over Gonsalves, but Deer claimed victory in a lengthy, hard-fought match against Ward to grab the top spot on the leaderboard. Ward finished tied for third alongside Liam Byer and Kevin St. Hill, all three posting final scores of five points. Rebekah Lashley earned recognition as Section C’s highest-placed female competitor with 3.5 points. Dr. Greenidge presented Deer with his first-place award to close out the award ceremony.

Hosted at the Central Bank of Barbados’ main event space, the tournament drew competitors from across the Caribbean, including international players from Jamaica, Martinique, and Grenada alongside local Barbadian chess enthusiasts, highlighting the growing regional appeal of competitive chess in the area.

As cricketers across the Caribbean gear up for a make-or-break clash in the 2023-24 West Indies Four-Day Championship, top-order batter Amir Jangoo has doubled down on Trinidad and Tobago Red Force’s belief that this is their year to convert early-season momentum into a long-awaited championship title.

Red Force booked their spot in the semi-final knockout play-off after wrapping up a 1-0 bilateral series win over the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, setting up a high-stakes encounter with Barbados Pride this Sunday at Antigua’s Coolidge Cricket Ground. The winner of this match will advance to the tournament’s final, where they will face defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles, who secured their place in the title decider after a flawless 3-0 sweep against the Windward Islands Volcanoes in their qualifying series.

For years, Red Force have developed a frustrating pattern: they have consistently stormed out of the gate with strong early results, only to falter before reaching the top step of the podium. That is a trend Jangoo says the squad is determined to break this campaign. “Every year there’s a pattern where we start off the tournament really strong, so I think we want to go two steps further now, take it one game at a time from here and then hopefully we can bring home the title,” Jangoo said in the lead-up to Sunday’s game.

That focused, one-game-at-a-time approach will be particularly critical when they face a Barbados side hungry for revenge. Last season, Joshua Da Silva’s Red Force defeated Barbados Pride by an innings and 56 runs, a result the Pride will be desperate to overturn in this do-or-die clash. Jangoo, however, remains confident in his side’s ability to come out on top if they play to their full potential. “We defeated them last year on their home turf, so I think it will be a really exciting game and once we play our best cricket I think we will come out on top,” he said. “I think we just focus on our team right now, focus on our processes and then Sunday will take care of itself.”

Barbados have proven their batting strength throughout the season, with opening batter Kevin Wickham notching three centuries and former West Indies Test captain Kraigg Brathwaite hitting a mammoth 176 against Jamaica in their qualifying bilateral series. Still, Jangoo reiterated that Red Force’s result will depend not on their opponents’ strengths, but on their own ability to execute the game plan they have built in training. “I think the batting has been doing really well, but for us it’s about what we do as a team,” he explained.

Beyond the team’s title ambitions, this play-off also represents a key opportunity for Jangoo to showcase his form as he chases his long-term personal goal: a regular spot in the West Indies Test side. The left-handed batter stressed that consistency is the key to both team success and fulfilling his international dreams. “My ultimate goal is to play Test cricket for a long period of time, so it’s just for me to keep scoring runs and hopefully it pays off,” Jangoo said.

Competition for spots in the senior West Indies side remains fiercely competitive, with a deep pool of talented batters vying for limited places. Jangoo says he is ready to make the most of every opportunity he gets, whether at the regional or international level. “There’s a lot of good players in the West Indies team. For me, it’s about taking the chances when I do get those games and having that sort of consistency to play at that level. I’m still in the team, so that’s a bonus – it’s about waiting for my chance and taking it,” he said.

A big part of Red Force’s batting success this season has come from the reliable, productive partnership Jangoo has built with captain and wicketkeeper-batter Joshua Da Silva. The pair have developed a natural on-field chemistry that makes batting easier for both, Jangoo says, and Da Silva’s good form heading into the play-off bodes well for the whole squad. “I think if you watch our partnerships in the past, we bat really well, we complement each other really well. Batting gets a lot easier when I’m batting with Josh,” he said.

When it comes to high-pressure knockout cricket, Jangoo says the biggest key to success is sticking to pre-match preparation and keeping a calm, clear mindset. “It’s all about sticking to my preparation and doing well in training, training hard and then it will take care of itself in the game,” he added.