TTFF PRESS RELEASE RE: ATTACK ON ANTHONY HARFORD

TTFF PRESS RELEASE

RE: ATTACK ON ANTHONY HARFORD

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO FOOTBALL FEDERATION

(Incorporated as the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association

 by Act of Parliament No 17 of 1982)

6 Ana Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain, P.O. Box 400 Trinidad. W.I.

Tel: (868)-623-9500 (868) 623-3036//3475 Fax: (868) -625-8150 E-mail: ttff1908@yahoo.com website:www.ttffonline.com

 
Tuesday Oct 9th 2012

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation wishes to place on record its disappointment with the disparaging remarks made against Mr. Anthony Harford, Chairman of All Sport Promotions, during the budget debate in Parliament on Friday October 5th 2012.

The TTFF engaged the services of All Sport in July 2011 with the concurrence of the Ministry of Sport with a specific mandate of setting up a Marketing and Events Division to handle a wide range of services including,

. All sponsorship negotiation

. All Match management for all National Teams

. Handling a Marketing Secretariat with appropriate staff

. All camps, travel and issuing appropriate payments

. All Ministry of Sport Funding

All Sport agreed to reduce its service fees quote when advised that there were no funds available at the time. The revised quote was fifty percent of the original figure. The TTFF further confirms that it received from All Sport a full statement of accounts for the entire allocation of 11 million dollars from the Government plus an additional 1.3 million earned from sponsors, gate receipts etc. This document was presented on January 16th 2012 to the Ministry of Sport , delivered with a cover note requesting the Ministry to provide any queries, questions or suggestions within 3 weeks so that the accounts could be audited.

The TTFF is satisfied that All Sport has received only the funds agreed and that the company has worked tirelessly to improve the standard of administration of the game, through a professional and dedicated team.

The TTFF also acknowledges that All Sport has continued to work for the development of the Sport without further payment until the Federations’ position has improved. All Sport has funded four camps and travel for the National Teams in the absence of government or other funding

 

In the circumstances the TTFF feels the Minister should withdraw his statement.

Respectfully

Lennox Watson

President (AG)

congrats to west indies cricket team - 2012 world cup champions

In case you missed it http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket/t20-world-cup-2012/icc-t20-world-cup-2012-final-west-indies-vs-sri-lanka-live-score_749837.html

Charles comes up big as Windies outplay England

Charles comes up big as Windies outplay England
Kandy, Sri Lanka – Johnson Charles announced himself on the world stage with a match-winning half-century as West Indies made a great start to the Super Eights at the ICC World T20 tournament.

The 23-year-old opener cracked 84 off just 56 balls to set-up a victory by 15 runs over England, in front a sell-out crowd at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night. The result gave the Windies their first win of the tournament and moved them to the top of Group 1 in the second phase of the competition.

Charles featured in a brilliant opening stand of 103 off 11 overs with Chris Gayle, who cracked 54 off 35 balls with six boundaries and four sixes, as the West Indies rallied to make 179-8 off 20 overs.

Ravi Rampaul started the ball rolling with two wickets in the first over as England made 165-4 off their 20 overs. There was also some good bowling from Chris Gayle, with his quick off-spin, and leg-spinner Samuel Badree, who used the new ball in his first match; and excellent fielding by Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard on the edge of the boundary.

Charles was pleased with his effort, which won him the Man-of-the-Match award.

“I’m pretty happy. Getting Man-of-the-Match in this T20 World Cup tournament feels good and what is great about it is the fact that we went on to win the match. This is my first major contribution for the West Indies and I’m delighted that it led to a victory at this stage in the tournament,” he said.

Charles made his international debut last September against England and returned to the team for the Digicel Series against Australia in March. He entered the Sagicor High Performance Centre in June and said that has been a great boost to his development on and off the field.

“The HPC has helped me very much. Since going there I have improved my fitness and my approach to the game. I have been working on my batting, especially the start of my innings – how to go about my innings, how to build a big score. I have been doing a lot more batting than at any stage in my career and I have placed a lot more emphasis on fitness. It is an allround programme and after just four months I have seen some of the benefits,” Charles said.

The knock was the highest score for Charles in West Indies colours surpassing the 37 he made against Australia in Barbados earlier this year. The strongly-built right-hander said he relished the chance to play in front such a large number of spectators and enjoyed bating with Gayle. Throughout his innings Charles played some stunning shots with ten fours and three huge sixes into the crowd.

“If you’re batting with Chris Gayle you know his ability, you know what he can do ... you just have to give him the strike, sit back and watch. He’s that type of player, he just explodes ... he keeps it lively, and that takes the pressure off you. Just as Gayle can hit the ball far, I back myself to be able to hit the ball long and far and score quickly as well,” Charles added.

“Once he (Gayle) got out I had to take the leading role and take it from there. There was still some work to do as we were looking for a big total, so I knew I had to keep going and set the platform. I will look to build on this start and look to achieve greater things for the West Indies. I always had the belief that I could perform and now I have proven it, it’s time to be consistent and make a contribution all the time.”

West Indies will have fitness and planning sessions at the team hotel on Friday as they prepare for Saturday’s second Super Eights match against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. First ball in the night match is 7:30 pm (10 am Eastern Caribbean Time/9 am Jamaica Time).


West Indies Super Eights schedule

Thursday, Sept 27: West Indies beat England by 15 runs at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
Saturday, Sept 29: vs Sri Lanka at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium - 7:30 pm
Monday, Oct 1: vs New Zealand at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium - 3:30 pm
Semi-finals
Thursday, October 4: Super 8 Group 1-1 vs Super 8 Group 2-2 - R Premadasa Stadium
Friday, October 5: Super 8 Group 2-1 vs Super 8 Group 1-2 - R Premadasa Stadium
Grand Final: Sunday, October 7 - R Premadasa Stadium

Star girl Dottin powers West Indies to perfect start

Star girl Dottin powers West Indies to perfect start

 

Galle, Sri Lanka – Deandra Dottin loves the big stage and on Wednesday afternoon she put in a big performance to power West Indies to a massive win over New Zealand in the opening round of the ICC Women’s World T20 tournament.

 

The 21-year-old world record holder slammed the bowling to all parts of the field in a brilliant unbeaten half-century, as Windies cruised to victory by seven wickets with 12 balls to spare. It was Dottin’s fifth half-century in T20Is and she ended on 58 not out off 42 balls with six fours and two sixes.

 

She came to the crease with West Indies two wickets down in the second over and added a match-winning 82 runs for the third wicket with the reliable Stafanie Taylor, who made 38.

 

Dottin was named Player of the Match and said her aim was to take on the bowlers and keep the Windies ahead after they limited New Zealand to 117-9 off 20 overs, with some good bowling and fantastic fielding.

 

“Things went really well in this match. We had momentum from the time we got on the bus to come to the ground. That led to us putting on a great display in the field and with the ball and that gave is the momentum when we went on to bat,” she said.

 

“I just went out and played my natural game. The plan was to punish the bad balls. Once the first few deliveries hit the middle of the bat, I got the confidence to play my shots. I just told myself I had to bat to the end, I decided to play each ball on its merit and look to hit the bad ball with meaning and into the gaps.”

 

The powerfully-built Dottin is a talented athlete, having represented Barbados in track and field and football. She was a schoolgirl and regional age group champion in javelin and shot putt.

 

She is the cousin of West Indies Men’s Head Coach Ottis Gibson, and holds several records in the ICC World T20 tournament. Back in 2009 she made the fastest half-century off just 22 balls against Australia at Taunton, England. In 2010 she made the fastest ever century off just 38 balls against South Africa at Warner Park, St Kitts.

 

“I don’t set my mind to break records or establish any feats, I just play my natural game and it comes off. I spend a lot of time in the gym as I try to get stronger and fitter.  I like to hit the ball, but I see myself as more than just a power-hitter. Today I hit the ball through the gaps and we ran hard between the wickets,” Dottin said.

 

“Today, Stafanie played really well and she was there supporting me. She is a great team-mate and played an important role in helping me along. This win has set the stage for something big and we believe we can go on to win our other two matches and top the group. We played the team which everyone felt was the hardest team to beat in the group, so it is up to us now to continue the good work and get even better,” she added.

 

The West Indies will have a training session on Thursday before their second Group B match against Sri Lanka on Friday at Galle International Cricket Ground.

 

West Indies Women World T20 Schedule

First round matches

Wed, Sep 26: West Indies beat New Zealand Women by 7 wickets at Galle International Stadium, Galle

Fri, Sep 28: vs Sri Lanka Women – Galle International Stadium

Sun, Sep 30: vs South Africa Women – Galle International Stadium

Semi-finals

Thu, Oct 4: Winner Group A vs Second Group B – Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

Fri, Oct 5: Second Group A vs Winner Group B – Premadasa Stadium

Grand Final

Sun, Oct 7: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 – Premadasa Stadium

Narine wants to get his hands on the ICC Emerging Cricketer Award

Narine wants to get his hands on the ICC Emerging Cricketer Award

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – West Indies spin bowler Sunil Narine is looking forward to Saturday night. The 24-year-old believes he has done enough to win the International Cricket Council’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year award and wants to get his hands on the trophy.

The annual International Cricket Council’s Awards gala will be held at the Water’s Edge at 4:30 pm (7 am Eastern Caribbean Time/6 am Jamaica Time).

Narine is on the short list which also includes New Zealand fast bowler Doug Bracewell, Sri Lankan top-order batsman Dinesh Chandimal, and James Pattinson, the Australian pacer. To qualify for the award a player must be under the age of 26 at the start of the observation period and have played fewer than five Tests and/or 10 One-Day Internationals and/or five T20Is at the start of the voting period.

“It would mean a lot to me to win this award…I will just hope and see what happens tomorrow night (Saturday night),” Narine said. “It’s a privilege to be nominated. Now coming onto the scene and being up for an award is a good feeling. It’s through hard work and dedication which has brought me to this point. I look forward to being nominated for a lot more awards.

“When I was called up for the West Indies team I was just looking to fit in, work hard and try and maintain my place in the team. I just want to continue performing and get a permanent place in the team,” Narine said.

Narine came onto the international scene when he made his first appearance for West Indies in India late last year, and has been quite successful in his first year of his career.

He made his Test debut in England in June and has so far taken 12 wickets in three Tests, including a match-winning 5-132 against New Zealand in the first Test in Antigua in July. He played a pivotal role as the Windies won both matches in the two-match rubber.

He has played 15 One-Day Internationals with 28 wickets at 18.82 runs per wicket.  He was brilliant in the recent Digicel Series against New Zealand – which the Windies won 4-1 – and was named the Digicel Player of the Series.

Narine has been equally impressive in the T20 format with seven wickets in five appearances for the Windies. His economy rate is a mere 6.4 runs per over and he has become one of the toughest bowlers to score off. He showcased his brilliance for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and won the Most Valuable Player award as his team won the title.

“My debut means the most to me so far. I was called into the team and to play against India in India and to bowl the way I did, I think that was a good achievement. To make my debut and help us to win the match was pleasing for me,” he said.

In that match he bowled first change and ended with 2-34 off 10 overs as the West Indies bowled out India to win by 16 runs after setting a victory target 260 at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“It was a total team effort to win against New Zealand in all three formats. To come back from losing in India and losing (Test Series) against Australia to beat New Zealand was something to cherish and something quite memorable. It said a lot about the team – that we have heart. We want take that momentum and come here and do well in the T20 World Cup,” Narine added.

The West Indies will continue their preparations for the ICC World T20 tournament with a full training session at the R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday at 9 am. They will have another training session on Sunday at the P Sara Oval at 2 pm. On Monday they will have their second warm-up match against Afghanistan at P Sara Oval at 2:30 pm.

The ICC World T20 tournament, which features 12 teams, will be played from September 18 to October 7. The West Indies have been drawn in Group B alongside Australia and Ireland and both first round matches will be at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Their opening match will be against the Aussies on Saturday, September 22 followed by a clash with the Irish on Monday, September 24.

Full Squad: Darren Sammy (Captain), Dwayne Bravo (Vice Captain), Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin (Wicket-keeper), Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith

SCHEDULE

Warm-up matches

Thursday, Sept 13: vs Sri Lanka - NCC, Colombo
Monday, Sept 17: vs Afghanistan - P Sara Oval, Colombo
First round matches
Saturday, Sept 22: vs Australia - R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Monday, Sept 24: vs Ireland - R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Super Eight matches
Thursday, Sept 27: C1 v D2 - Pallekele
Thursday, Sept 27: A1 v B2 - Pallekele
Friday, Sept 28: D1 v C2 - Colombo
Friday, Sept 28: B1 v A2 - Colombo
Saturday, Sept 29: A1 v D2 - Pallekele
Saturday, Sept 29: C1 v B2 - Pallekele
Sunday Sept 30: B1 v C2 - Colombo
Sunday Sept 30: D1 v A2 - Colombo
Monday, Oct 1: B2 v D2 - Pallekele
Monday, Oct 1: A1 v C1 - Pallekele
Tuesday, Oct 2: B1 v D1 - Colombo
Tuesday, Oct 2: A2 v C2 - Colombo
Semi-finals
Thursday, October 4: Super 8 Group 1-1 vs Super 8 Group 2-2 - R Premadasa Stadium
Friday, October 5: Super 8 Group 2-1 vs Super 8 Group 1-2 - R Premadasa Stadium
Grand Final: Sunday, October 7 - R Premadasa Stadium

Cariah eyes strong performances

Cariah eyes strong performances
on Sagicor HPC tour of Bangladesh

KHULNA, Bangladesh – Yannic Cariah said the tour of Bangladesh by the Sagicor High Performance Centre team will be a good experience for him and the other members of the squad.

The 20-year-old Cariah and the rest of the team arrived in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Wednesday before travelling to this south-western city ahead of the opening match of the tour against the Bangladesh National Cricket Academy, starting on Sunday at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.

“It will be the first time I will be going there, playing in Asian sub-continent conditions, and I will be looking to take all that I have learnt in the Sagicor HPC and all the preparation we have done and try to perform well,” he said.

“It will be a good chance for me to showcase my talent. All the hard work over the last three months, it is for me to go out there and play well, clear my mind and do what I have got to do, and was born to do.”

The month-long tour also features a four-day match against the Bangladesh A-Team, as well as three One-day and two Twenty20 matches against the same opponents between September 16 and October 5.

Cariah said the first three months of the Sagicor HPC programme had been challenging, but there were a few lessons that he had learnt over the period.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be in the Sagicor HPC,” he said. “I have learnt a lot and I have worked hard on my game. Everybody, including my coaches and my teammates, has put in a lot of hard work.”

He added: “I have tried my best to gain a lot of information about all aspects of my game including the mental side.

“One of the important things I have learnt is that anything you do in practice will be reflected in your game. You have to do everything 110 per cent. You have to be purposeful if you are going to succeed in this game.”

The Sagicor HPC squad has been encamped since June 1 this year at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies in Barbados.

Cariah, a leg-spinner and handy left-handed batsman, said the players had bonded well and had grown into a closely knit unit, which he felt would serve them well on the tour.

“This is a family,” he said. “People from different countries, different backgrounds, and we have grown to know and understand each other.

“We are all getting along very well and we are all looking forward to doing well on the tour.”

Cariah, a former West Indies Under-19 player at the 2010 ICC Youth World Cup, has played five Regional 4Day for his native Trinidad & Tobago and two Regional Super50 matches for the Windies U-19s over the last three years.

He said his obvious long-term goal was to play for West Indies, ultimately becoming a reliable member of the team.

“I have my goals in life, but my expectations are high because I set very high standards for myself,” he said.

“I want to continue to enjoy playing the game and giving my all in everything I do.”

This is the second squad of players at the Sagicor HPC since its inauguration two years ago.

The first squad of players that included current West Indies opener Kieran Powell and fast bowler Shannon Gabriel successfully completed the programme.

The Sagicor HPC programme, which is exclusively funded by the West Indies Cricket Board through sponsorship from regional financial services company, Sagicor, has been broadened to focus more intensely on developing the mental prowess of the players.

In addition to the standard rigorous training in skills development and fitness required for high performance athletes, the players are also benefitting from specialised training in a number of other areas including their roles as ambassadors, personal development, anti-doping and anti-corruption.

The 2012-2013 Sagicor HPC programme will conclude next May.

Gibson optimistic about West Indies’ World T20 chances

Gibson optimistic about West Indies’ World T20 chances

Bridgetown, Barbados – West Indies coach Ottis Gibson said he was optimistic of his side’s chances in the World Twenty20 Tournament taking place this month in Sri Lanka.

Gibson said the composition of the team struck the right balance between experience and talent, and he expected West Indies to live up to his long-held belief that they had the potential to win the World T20 title.

“The players have done very well at the camp and looking at the composition of the team. . .we have a good combination, a good mix of experience and young players. . .and we feel we have a real good chance of doing very well in this tournament,” said Gibson prior to the team’s departure on Sunday.

Gibson noted that players like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine have done very well in the T20 format.

“They have been stars of the Indian Premier League, and have in-depth knowledge of this format,” he said.

“The captain, Darren Sammy, is in great form, so too Andre Russell and Fidel Edwards, and there are others that can step up.”

The World T20 features 12 teams and will be played from September 18 to October 7.

West Indies have been drawn in Group B along with Australia and Ireland – and both first round matches will be played at the Premadasa Stadium in Sri Lanka capital of Colombo.

Gibson said it was hard to predict which sides were the biggest threat in the competition and it was important that West Indies focus on the things within their control.

“On the day, if everybody executes well, anybody can win a match,” he said. “We have seen it before. . .In this format, anything is possible.

“It is important that you are on top of your game on the day, on top of your plans, and people stick to their skills, and always doing the basics.

“This game still revolves around string basics, so it is important for our guys to be looking after those basics all the time.”

West Indies open the tournament against the Aussies on Saturday, September 22 followed by a clash with the Irish on Monday, September 24.

-ENDS-

Squad
Darren Sammy (captain)
Dwayne Bravo (vice-captain)
Samuel Badree
Darren Bravo
Johnson Charles
Fidel Edwards
Chris Gayle
Kieron Pollard
Sunil Narine
Denesh Ramdin
Ravi Rampaul
Andre Russell
Marlon Samuels
Lendl Simmons
Dwayne Smith