Harry is El Dorado Classic Golf Champion
Youngster, Ravindra Harry stormed off with the Demerara Distillers’ Limited-sponsored, El Dorado Golf Classic on Saturday at the Lusignan Golf Course after finishing with the best net score of the day. Playing on the lush greenery, Harry was classed in the ‘B’ Flight with 10-18 handicap where he bested second placed Faizal Haniff (68/15) and Paton George (68/18) by just one stroke after completing the course with a score of 67/16. In that Flight, Philbert London (70/18), Ayube Subhan (72/14) and George Bulkan (73/16) also performed exceptional.Meanwhile in the ‘A’ Flight 0-9 handicap, Jaipaul Suknanan (71/9) stunned 10-time Guyana Open Champion, Avinash Persaud who settled for second with 71/2 while Patrick Prashad (71/9) finished in third and veteran, Mike Mangal ending in fourth with 71/8 after a four-way tie.Also, in the ‘C’ Flight, Gavin Todd with 69/19 reigned supreme over Imtiaz Subhan (70/19) and Videsh Persaud (71/28) in second and third respectively. Brian Hackett secured fourth with 72/23 while Shanella London ended with 73/15. Former Deputy Mayor, Alfred Mentore copped the longest drive while Satrohan Tiwari won the nearest to the pin and Persaud walked away with the best gross.
PRETORIA, (Reuters) – A battling 77 not out from Rory Burns yesterday gave England a fighting chance of improbable success as they need 255 more runs for victory in the first test against South Africa at Centurion Park. Set an imposing 376 runs to win the first of the four-match series, England reached 121 for one wicket at stumps on the third day after a positive start to an enormous task.No team has scored more than 251 to win a test at the Pretoria venue, where batting last is difficult on a deteriorating pitch, but England defied the odds to keep in the hunt with two days still to bat.Burns and Dom Sibley put on 92 for the opening wicket before Sibley (29) chipped the ball back to spinner Keshav Maharaj for a caught and bowled. Burns, who survived a review in the first over, played an attacking innings with Joe Denly (10 not out) in a supporting role.South Africa, who will have to take nine wickets to end a run of five successive test defeats, were bowled out for 272 in their second innings, just before tea on Saturday, after frustrating England in the field.With 15 wickets falling on a lively pitch on Friday, England would have been expecting to wrap up South Africa a lot earlier after they resumed at 72-4 overnight. But the home side extended their overnight lead of 175 runs by 200 as debutant Rassie van der Dussen scored 51, Vernon Philander 46 and nightwatchman Anrich Nortje 40.Jofra Archer did bag a five-wicket haul but it cost him 102 runs off 17 overs, including a bashing from Quinton de Kock who smacked him for three sixes in a cameo of 34 runs.De Kock who made 95 in the first innings, began by bludgeoning Archer for successive sixes off only the second and third balls he received to race to 30 runs off 17 balls at lunch. But he turned circumspect after the break and went out meekly as he nicked Ben Stokes behind.Instead it was Philander who kept the post-lunch runs flowing, taking his tally from five to 46 before being the last man out.South Africa were sent into bat on the first day and made 284 in their first innings before then bowling England out for 181. 
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has shortlisted 60 local players to commence training at the National Training Centre, Providence, for the impending CONCACAF Men’s U20 Championships, which is slated to be hosted in Nicaragua from February 15th-23rd. The shortlisted players will form the provisional local squad and will be whittled down ahead of the final selection for the championship. The players are Goalkeepers Sean Adonis, Ronaldo Blair, Simeon Hackette, Reon Jones and Tony Ogle; Defenders Junior Adams, Nicholai Andrews, Kerry Baker, Albert Campbell, Jeffrey Charles, Neville Cheong, Tyrone David, Joseph DeFreitas, Kenrick Dover, Rickford Emmanuel, Vivian Felix, Prince Ford, Shawn Gilbert, Omari Nkosi Glasgow, Corvin Griffith, Leon Hope, Anthony Ifill, Bevney Marks, Eric Moore and Eric Sampson; Midfielders Atua Austin, Ravon Bailey, Ronaldo Felix, Donell France, Jermaine Garrett, Dorwin George, Michael George, Jemar Harrigon, Joel Isaacs, Joseph Jeffrey, Keanu Lawrence, Joshua Liverpool, Akeemo Marks, Andrew Mayers, Nicholas MacArthur, Darron Niles, Devon Padmore, Threvon Pluck, Shannon Samnauth, Troni Semple, Osafa Simpson and William Vaughn Jagmohan; and Forwards Kadeem Agard, Sekou Agard, Dan Arthur, Kemule Batson, Kevin Charles, Javier George, Julius Hamilton, Hazlewood Hutson, Cleavon Murray, Jermain Padmore, Junior Ravi, Osafo Simpson and Shemar Welch.Guyana will open their Group A campaign against Montserrat on February 15th at the Estadio de Nacional de Futbol from 16:30hrs. In their second fixture, Guyana will oppose St Vincent and the Grenadines two days later at the same venue from 16:30hrs. This will be followed by an encounter with the US Virgin Islands on February 21st from 20:30hrs. In their final showdown, Guyana will battle the host nation on February 23rd at 20:30hrs.In their previous outing in the CONCACAF U20 Championship in 2018, Guyana ended with a record of one win [against El Salvador] and three losses [to Guatemala, Curacao and Cayman Islands]. The qualifying round of the event features 17 teams divided into four groups. One group will comprise five teams. The top finisher from each group will advance to the knockout round. The other groups are Group B: Dominican Republic, Grenada, Dominica and Anguilla; Group C: Curacao, Guadeloupe, Belize and Saint Martin and; Group D: Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands and Barbados.Meanwhile, the remaining 16 teams have been divided into four groups of four in the second round section. The groups are Group E: United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Saint Kitts and Nevis; Group F: Mexico, El Salvador, Canada and Aruba; Group G: Panama, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname and; Group H: Honduras, Cuba, Guatemala and Antigua and Barbuda.The top three finishers from the second round division will progress to the knockout round. According to CONCACAF, “the final stage of the competition (round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal and final) will be played in a single match elimination format, with the semifinalists qualifying to the FIFA U20 World Cup Indonesia 2021.”
HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka, CMC – Despite heading into today’s second match of the One-Day International (ODI) series one down, West Indies is not overly worried and will be focused on levelling the series, says batting star Shai Hope. Hope, whose ninth ODI century was not enough to take the Windies to victory in the nail-biting opening match last Saturday, said while they would have preferred a win, the one-wicket loss has been taken in stride.
MUMBAI, (Reuters) – Five-day cricket remains the ultimate format for Australia fast bowling great Glenn McGrath, who believes day-night tests are the way forward for the format to survive in the age of the shorter Twenty20 version. The future of the longest format has been the subject of debate since the rise of popular T20 leagues over the last decade coincided with dwindling crowds at test matches outside cricket hotbeds Australia and England.Officials view day-night tests as having the potential to reverse the trend.“I am a big fan of test cricket, to me test cricket is still the ultimate and we’ve got to keep the game fresh, people enjoying it,” McGrath told reporters after a Tourism Australia event to attract more Indian visitors. “T20 has taken the world by storm, it is bringing a lot more people to cricket and that is brilliant and hopefully that will filter into test cricket.”The International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport’s world governing body, is also set to discuss the idea of reducing test matches by a day to free up a crowded international calendar.But McGrath, who took 563 wickets from 124 matches, is not in favour of having four-day tests. “We have got to keep test cricket alive and moving forward and positive and people coming to the game. And, to me, the way to do that is day-night test cricket. I’m big fan of it. I’m not a big fan of four-day test cricket,” he said.“I’m very much a traditionalist – five days that’s test cricket to me. But if we can bring something new that keeps people coming to the game, then that’s brilliant. Day-night cricket is that, it brings different challenges.”India have traditionally been reluctant to embrace innovation in cricket but after much heel-dragging they finally experienced a day-night test when they faced neighbours Bangladesh in Kolkata last year. The game’s most influential nation have also agreed to play a day-night test in Australia during their tour later this year, having declined Cricket Australia’s offer of a pink ball test during their most recent tour Down Under in 2018/19.Virat Kohli’s men won the test series 2-1 on their last visit but McGrath said Australia will be a different opposition with the return of batting aces Steve Smith and David Warner, who were serving bans due to ball tampering last time.“Australia are playing a pretty good brand of cricket. They’ve got Steve Smith back and David Warner back and both playing well,” said the 50-year-old McGrath. “Having back a batsman like Dave Warner and a quality batsman like Steve Smith, it’s a totally different game.“It’s going to be tougher for India. That’s not to say they can’t perform well. I think it’s going to be a really good series this year.”
EFL announces that all non-Sky Sports fixtures will be available to stream August 27, 2020 Betfred counters Oppenheimer bid in race to rescue Phumelela August 26, 2020 James Tweddle, Sky.Betfred has agreed a multi-year deal with Sky to show Sky Sports in all of its 1,360 UK high-street shops. The complete portfolio of seven Sky Sports channels, including Sky Sports News HQ and Eurosport, has been available to customers in Betfred shops since 1 July.Mark Stebbings, Managing Director of Betfred Retail, said: “Exciting live sport and a great customer experience are at the heart of our brand, so it’s great news for Betfred customers that we’ll be bringing them live Sky Sports content in our high-street shops. Sky Sports will greatly enhance our in-house Channel Betfred TV and make live betting even more exciting.”James Tweddle, Sales Director of Sky Business, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Betfred to distribute our unrivalled schedule of live sport throughout their estate. We bring more of the sport that matters to betting customers, with 75% of Premier League matches exclusively live on Sky.“Sky Sports News HD also offers Betfred customers non-stop valuable information about live scores, team formations, injuries, form and more. We’re looking forward to strengthening this great new partnership over the coming years.”Betfred is distributing Sky Sports content across its entire estate of shops via the Betfred TV channel. During the new Football season, Sky Sports will show 126 live Premier League games including the brand new Friday night slot, alongside exclusive live coverage of the English Football League and EFL Cup, La Liga, SPFL and Scottish Cup including exclusive coverage of Celtic vs Rangers clashes. Submit Related Articles StumbleUpon Premier League looks to broadcast every behind-closed-door fixture August 28, 2020 Share Share
If anyone benefited from Saturday’s postponement due to heavy rain, it was Orioles closer Zach Britton.Second in the American League behind only Minnesota’s Glen Perkins with 22 saves, Britton pitched for the fifth time in seven days Friday to preserve a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians. As the Orioles have played their best baseball of the season with 16 wins in their last 21 games, Britton has earned the save in nine of those victories.“Sometimes, his performance gets taken for granted,” manager Buck Showalter said. “It’s really hard to do what Zach’s doing.”While no Oriole currently leads his position in AL All-Star voting, Britton’s performance all but demands an invitation to Cincinnati on July 14 at this point. If selected by Kansas City manager Ned Yost, Britton would become the 10th Orioles closer since 1979 to be named to the All-Star Game.The lefty has pitched more innings (32 2/3) than any AL reliever with more than five saves and is 22-for-23 in save chances with his only blemish coming on April 25 when suspect defense contributed to a blown save in a game the Orioles won in extra innings. His ERA of 1.93 and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings — he struck out just 7.3 per nine in 2014 — have squashed any lingering doubts that Britton could repeat what he did last season.After transitioning from starter to long reliever to first-time closer last year, Britton has been asked to carry a heavier workload in his second year as the Orioles’ ninth-inning man. In an era when most closers are only asked to pitch one inning, Britton converted the two four-out saves of his career earlier this season and has twice secured five-out saves this month.It’s no wonder Showalter made a point to recognize Britton’s heavy workload on Friday night after his fifth save in a week.“It’s difficult. You physically have to make sure that you’re OK to go — you’re doing stuff in the gym or maintenance,” Britton said. “These are things that I’m learning. Last year, I don’t know if I had that many appearances in that [few] days. It’s just little things I’m learning, but it’s kind of the job title. I’m just adjusting to it.”Because he doesn’t shy away from pitching to contact, the Orioles closer will go through spells in which he puts runners on base like he has in recent outings. Of his nine saves in the month of June, Britton has allowed at least one batter to reach eight times, but he continues to get that all-important 27th out to preserve victories.As we saw in the clinching Game 3 of last year’s AL Division Series, Britton escaping trouble is typically only a ground ball away. On Friday, he worked around a leadoff single to convert his 18th consecutive save opportunity, matching his best stretch of 2014.“It’s not always easy I guess,” Britton said. “The last couple, I’ve had some guys on and had to work out of it a little bit. The hitters up here are so good, and guys are starting to get aggressive on that sinker, so it is just about execution on that first hitter. The last couple times, it just hasn’t been there. It’s not easy; I learned that last year you go through times where you have guys on every time out there. It’s the times where things aren’t going your way all the time that you just got to battle.“I’m just making pitches when those guys get on and getting out of those jams. I think the big thing is I know I’m one pitch away from getting that double-play ball.”It may not be easy, but Britton has made it look that way, leaving him more than deserving of a trip to the All-Star Game.
With the Ravens beginning their 20th training camp in franchise history this month, expectations are high for John Harbaugh’s team as they eye their seventh trip to the postseason in eight years.As veterans report to Owings Mills on July 29th and the first full-squad workout takes place the following day, we’ll examine each position group entering the summer.July 20: Quarterbacks July 21: Defensive line July 22: Running backsJuly 23: LinebackersJuly 24: Wide receiversJuly 25: Tight endsJuly 26: CornerbacksJuly 27: Offensive lineJuly 28: SafetiesJuly 29: SpecialistsBelow is a look at the Baltimore running backs:RUNNING BACKS & FULLBACKS LOCK: Justin Forsett, Kyle Juszczyk, Lorenzo Taliaferro, Buck AllenBUBBLE: Fitz ToussaintLONG SHOT: Kiero Small, Terrence MageeSynopsis: It’s still strange to think how much this unit has changed from only a couple years ago when Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce appeared on track to being one of the best running back duos in the NFL, but the Ravens should feel very good about the current group. We saw last year that Justin Forsett was a perfect fit for their zone-blocking schemes and you won’t find a better mentor for the other young backs on the roster than the 29-year-old. It will be interesting to see what impact new offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has on the running backs after Matt Forte caught 176 passes out of the backfield over the last two years in Chicago. With the entire offensive line returning, there’s little reason to think this group can’t succeed in 2015 with Lorenzo Taliaferro and Buck Allen competing behind Forsett for carries.One to watch: The Ravens selecting Allen in the fourth round should grab the attention of Taliaferro, who had a solid rookie season cut short by a foot injury. Reporting to spring workouts looking leaner and faster, Taliaferro figures to have the early advantage for the No. 2 job after rushing for 292 yards and four touchdowns on 68 carries as a rookie. The Coastal Carolina product still must prove he can thrive in a one-cut, zone-blocking system, but his ability in short-yardage situations figures to only improve with experience under his belt.One on notice: Kyle Juszczyk will need to prove he fits in Trestman’s offense, which didn’t feature much use for a fullback in Chicago. The Harvard product caught 19 passes out of the backfield in his second season, but fumbles did not land him in the good graces of the coaching staff. It also doesn’t help Juszczyk that the Ravens have so many young tight ends, which will likely limit his opportunities as a receiver. Kiero Small wouldn’t figure to provide much of a threat to Juszczyk, but this year will probably go a long way in determining whether the 2013 fourth-round pick is a long-term fit in Baltimore.Sleeper: Fitz Toussaint wouldn’t figure to have a great chance to make the roster strictly as a running back, but the Ravens’ gaping hole in the return game could improve his chances. The Michigan product worked as a kick returner in the spring and should be in the mix during training camp and the preseason. The Ravens thought enough of Toussaint to not only promote him from the practice squad last year, but he even began receiving some carries, which illustrated how much they liked him as well as the immense disappointment that Pierce was in his final season with Baltimore.
It’s become an annual story line at the start of training camp.Who’s going to return kicks and punts for the Ravens?Since Jacoby Jones’ impressive three-year run from 2012-14 that included a trip to the Pro Bowl and a standout performance in Super Bowl XLVII, the only constant at the return specialist spot has been uncertainty. In fact, the only player even resembling continuity in the return game has been reserve wide receiver Chris Moore, who’s more often been used as a Plan B option at kick returner than as the answer.With previous return specialist De’Anthony Thomas opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic last month, general manager Eric DeCosta officially added veteran running back Kenjon Barner to the return mix on Wednesday. The 30-year-old returned 35 punts for 267 yards and a touchdown and 17 kickoffs for 406 yards playing for Atlanta last year, but the 5-foot-9, 195-pound Barner is now with his sixth different NFL organization — he had two stints with Philadelphia and three separate runs with Carolina — and fumbled four times in his only season with the Falcons.A lack of ball security is something for which head coach John Harbaugh has had little patience in the past.“What we saw in Kenjon, it just gives us another opportunity to bring in another guy, a veteran guy that has some experience,” special teams coach Chris Horton said. “That is a spot that we’re lacking, so it just gives us a little bit of an insurance policy. And I think that’s one thing that we are going to be working on; we’re going to be working on making sure that he can catch the ball [and] he can hang onto the ball, so we can be productive in that phase.”Barner is far from a roster lock as Moore and second-year running back Justice Hill remain in the kick return mix and rookie wide receiver James Proche is expected to receive an extended look as Baltimore’s punt returner and also returned kicks in his collegiate career at SMU. Horton praised Proche’s quickness and ability to “hit it and get it” after catching the ball, and Harbaugh has gone as far as suggesting the punt return job could be the sixth-round pick’s to lose.Of course, the cancellation of the four preseason games eliminates the valuable live-game opportunities to evaluate returners, creating another challenge for the competitors and the coaches evaluating them.“I think it is going to be my job and the job of my assistants of just making sure that we put [Proche] in those game-like situations,” Horton said, “so when he is our guy and he wins that job, he’s been put in those situations to go out there and say, ‘You know what? Game 1 — this is our guy.’ It’s not easy coming in from college [and] catching turn-over balls, but he has great ball skills, he’s been working, and he’s getting better every day.”
Related Super Eagles star Victor Moses has expressed his disappointment over the team’s painful exit from Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.The team came close to qualifying for the knockout stage before an 86th winner from Argentina defender Marcos Rojo gave his side a 2-1 win over Nigeria in their final Group D.The result ensured that Argentina booked a place in the last 16 at the expense of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.A draw would have secured Nigeria’s passage into the next round.Speaking via his official Twitter handle, Victor Moses, who had earlier scored a 51st penalty to cancel out Lionel Messi’s opener said he was devastated with the outcome.His tweet read: “To say I am devastated would be an understatement. The boys gave absolutely everything and I wish it could have led to us going through. I am proud to be a part of this team though and I proud to be Nigerian. Thank you to the whole country for the incredible support.”