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Friday 14th October 2011 - Kingston, Jamaica: The West Indies are on a tour that will see them take on the Bangladesh Tigers in two Tests, three one-day internationals and a one-off Twenty20 match. While Tuesday's T20 booked a loss for the Windies, yesterday's opening ODI win has levelled the playing field. West Indies Coach, Otis Gibson, spoke exclusively towww.digicelcricket.com on his thoughts for the remaining games and the importance of confidence among the team.
"In terms of preparation, it was very hot here yesterday and today so we are not getting in as much practice as we would like. We have the medical team on standby to make sure the players are fit and ready for tomorrow's second ODI. It is much more humid than what we are accustomed to so managing the heat and the players' fitness is the focus.
"Tomorrow I don't necessarily think we'll be doing anything differently. We'll look at the pitch and the players' fitness in the morning but we have our game plan and we are sticking to it. A few players are undergoing some physiotherapy so we're hoping they'll be fit for tomorrow also."
Talking about the Tiger's tradition as a strong test match team, Coach Gibson says he's not focusing on the tests just yet.
"This tour of Bangladesh is a tough series and we are gearing ourselves up for it, strengthening our team and making sure everyone is in top form.
"The mood in the camp is very good at the moment. Obviously we are a bit disappointed at losing the T20 but yesterday we came out and played and our focus came through - and it hasgiven us a lot of confidence. Marlon Samuels was in great form and Lendl Simmons hit his first century. Overall the guys stuck with the plan they had - and the results speak for themselves."
With two tough series' behind them earlier this year against cricketing giants, Pakistan and India, has the team gained confidence from their efforts against them?
"Yes absolutely. Things are going well so far - we've started this series positively and the boys are even talking more about believing they can win - about what they need to do to win this series. Yesterday's win has put the opposition under pressure and a couple of more wins will see us win this series - something we haven't done in a while - so we're looking forward to it.
"Morale is very high and now going forward our consistency is a big focus. We have the confidence so now we need to maintain momentum and deliver consistently," continued Gibson.
Gibson was happy and optimistic when discussing the future of the young team - and who he thinks might go on to be a star...
"There are many future stars on the team. Young Bishoo has shown his capabilities on the international stage and Bravo continues to improve. Kirk Edwards and Simmons are also proving their worth so if they continue to put in the hard work and continue to improve; the sky is the limit for these guys."
Digicel, proud sponsor of West Indies Cricket, is also sponsoring the live radio coverage for all games in the West Indies away series against Bangladesh and India through its partnership with regional network broadcaster, Line & Length.
Thanks to Digicel's sponsorship, Line & Length Network will provide regional supporters with live ball-by-ball radio broadcasts of the away series. In addition, the Regional Super50 tournament in Guyana will also be aired on radio stations in the Caribbean.
The West Indies' tour of Bangladesh, which includes two Tests, three One-Day Internationals and one Twenty20, runs from Tuesday 11th October to Thursday 3rd November 2011, while the India series that follows immediately after will have three Tests and five One-Day Internationals and is expected to finish on Monday 12th December 2011.
ENDS
REGIONAL RADIO STATIONS COVERAGE
COUNTRY | STATION |
Barbados | CBC Radio 94.7FM |
Trinidad | VIBE CT 105FM and Caribbean New Media (CNMG), Talk City 91.1FM |
Jamaica | KLAS Sports FM 89 and Newstalk 93 |
Antigua | ABS Radio |
Anguilla | Radio Anguilla |
St. Lucia | RSL 97 (The Experience) |
Grenada | Grenada Broadcasting |
St. Vincent | NBC Radio |
Guyana | NCN |
Dominica | Kairee FM |
St. Marteen | Pearl FM |
St. Kitts | ZIZ Radio |
Cayman Islands | Radio Cayman |
ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP
After ten years of operation, Digicel Group Limited has 11.5 million customers across its 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.
Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Cup. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.
Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set upDigicel Foundations in Jamaica, Haiti and Papua New Guinea which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.
In 2004, Digicel developed Digicel Rising Stars - an annual talent show to support aspiring young music artists in the Caribbean. The show has spanned the Eastern Caribbean, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago ranking as one of the top-rated shows.
Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and its markets comprise: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Nauru, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu. Digicel also has coverage in St. Martin and St. Barts in the Caribbean.
Thirty-three-year-old Griffiths, a former star player for Glenmuir High, died on Sunday night at a hospital in Kingston after a bout of illness.
Griffiths, who made his debut for Jamaica's Reggae Boyz in 1998, made 28 appearances for the national team scoring two times.
A midfielder, Griffiths, who played for Humble Lion in the National Premier League last season, recently returned from Canada. Griffiths also represented Galaxy, Hazard and Arnett Gardens.
Burrell has been banned from taking part in any football related activity, be it administrative, sports or any other.
The Ethics Committee has however decided to suspend three months of the ban, subject to a probationary period of two years.
This ruling effectively rules Burrell out of the running for the presidency of the CFU.
CFU elections are due on November 20.
JFF General Secretary Horace Reid was given a warning along with David Hinds and Mark 'Bob' Forde of Barbados and Yves Jean-Bart of Haiti.
On Tuesday a video was posted on the internet showing former CFU President Austin 'Jack' Warner encouraging CFU executives to accept cash 'gifts' from Mohamed bin Hammam.
Burrell and Reid were Jamaica's representatives at the meeting.
The video was used by the FIFA Ethics Committee in its investigation.
There is news that the organizers had received responses from 13 of 49 athletes and of the 13 responses, two would not have been able to attend
The celebration was slated to start with an all white beach party on the October 7 at the Grand Palladium Resort in Hanover, where the athletes would have spent the weekend.
Jamaica captured 4 gold, 4 silver and a bronze medal at the 13th IAAF World Championships in Daegu, ending with a blistering world record run in the sprint relay.
Bolt, who false-started in South Korea last month to end his hopes of retaining his world title, shaved 0.03 seconds off his previous fastest time this year - 9.88 at Monaco in June - on a warm, still night.
"It was a poor start," said Bolt, the world and Olympic record holder. "I kind of lost concentration and just went through the line. It was OK, I suppose, but I could have done better, especially with the weather like that."
Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis ran a season-best 10.01 seconds to finish second, ahead of Trinidad's Richard Thompson at 10.03.
There was standing room only at the 61st Boris Hanzekovic Memorial, where Real Madrid President Florentino Perez and club official Emilio Butragueno arrived in time to see Bolt run. Madrid begins its Champions League campaign at Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday.
"It was wonderful, the crowd here," Bolt said. "I loved that they were excited and that the fans come up to me. I'm always grateful for that."
However, security had trouble controlling the crowd as "Boltmania" took hold when he celebrated with delirious fans.
"It's not as bad in Jamaica, where they see me every day," Bolt said, laughing.
The commotion extended to his news conference, which was cut short when too many journalists tried to force their way into the room.
World champion Yohan Blake equalled his personal best of 9.82 seconds in the 100 metres to set a meet record yesterday, while Americans won gold in the 100 hurdles, shot put and high jump at the ISTAF event.
The 21-year-old Jamaican comfortably beat Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis, who finished in 10.01 at Berlin's Olympic stadium.
"That's why they call me the beast," Blake said. "There were some very good guys in this field, so it wasn't easy to win. I pushed myself to run faster. It's a wonderful feeling to win here. Life changed a bit after the world championship."
Trinidad's Richard Thompson was third in 10.08, with Jamaican Michael Frater - who helped Blake set a world record in the 4x100-metre relay in Daegu, South Korea - finishing fourth.
Blake ran the same 9.82 time at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich last Thursday. The previous meet record was 9.86 held by Maurice Greene and Asafa Powell.
Blake seized the world title in Daegu after training partner Usain Bolt was disqualified for a false start. Bolt, the Olympic champion and world record-holder, skipped the Berlin event.
Dawn Harper led a US sweep of the 100 hurdles in 12.68 seconds, ahead of Kellie Wells and Yvette Lewis.
Jesse Williams of the US won the high jump by clearing 2.33m while Trevor Barry of the Bahamas was second with 2.30m.
Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad claimed the 100m in 11.15, ahead of Jamaicans Sherone Simpson (11.24), Kerron Stewart (11.28) and Aleen Bailey 11.37.
This time, no gold medal or world record, but a false start and straight elimination from the world championships in a race he has regally reigned over for three years.
In a stunning few seconds, Bolt's showboating turned into real-life despair when he jumped the gun and was led away from the track before Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake won gold ahead of American rival Walter Dix.
"Looking for tears?" Bolt asked as a small group of reporters followed him around. "Not going to happen."
Bolt was in no mood to talk, and instead of wide smiles, he snapped at anyone who tried to ask him about the disqualification.
While everyone had been wondering what Bolt would do to his world record of 9.58 seconds, it was Blake who won his first 100 title with a slow time of 9.92, the only racer to break 10 seconds in the final.
Dix took silver in 10.08 and Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis was third in 10.09.
"I didn't really think they were going to kick him out," Dix said. "How can you kick Usain out of the race?"
Another person who knows that feeling is double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius. The South African was kept from competing by the IAAF until the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the ruling shortly before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
On Sunday, he bounced on his carbon-fiber blades, ran past several able-bodied runners and qualified for the semifinals of the 400 in a historic breakthrough for Paralympic athletes.
Like always, though, Bolt found a way to capture all the attention. And for once in his golden career, he was not play-acting.
Instead of beating the clock, he beat the starting gun.
Three steps into in his race after the gun blasted, Bolt's face turned into a primal scream. And in one instinctive move he started pulling off his Jamaica shirt, needing no one to tell him he had made the biggest error in his career.
He was shown the red card and led to the sideline.
"I was so surprised because we have been talking about that in training and now it happens," Blake said.
After the second gun signaled the false start, Bolt gritted his teeth in self disgust and threw up his arms in desperation. Hands over his head, he walked away before slamming the blue stadium wall.
All dreams of a third golden triple in as many major championships were gone, and he had no one to blame but himself. One year ahead of the London Olympics, the world championships showed him as human instead of an infallible sporting superstar.
Mullings tested positive for the banned substance furosemide at the National Championships in June.
It is unsure if the sprinter will personally attend as up to Friday, August 19, he was undecided.
The meeting will be chaired by attorney-at-law Lennox Gayle along with former FIFA referee Peter Prendergast and Dr. Japheth Ford.
Mulling faces the prospect of a life ban, after he was banned two years in 2004 for excessive levels of testosterone.
It is understood that the results of a test carried out by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission during the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA)/Supreme Ventures National Senior Championships, held between June 23 and 26 this year, showed the presence of the substance, which is meant to conceal the existence of banned substances or illegal drugs, such as anabolic steroids or stimulants.
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