Sandals Whitehouse look to extend unbeaten run

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer

Tuesday, January 20, 2015    

FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Sandals Whitehouse will seek to extend their winning start to the Jamaica Football Federation Charley’s JB Rum Western Confederation Super League when they travel to face Holland United at Elleston Wakeland Centre today.

Sandals Whitehouse have won all six games played so far and lead with 18 points, two more than Savannah SC, who dropped points for the first time this season when they were held 1-1 at Village United in the previous round.

Wadadah FC are in third place on 12 points, one more than promoted Salt Marsh United, with Granville FC and Village United tied on 10 points each.

Savannah SC will be gunning to get back to winning ways when they travel to Granville Community Centre to face a team that has defied logic so far, scoring just three goals, winning three games by 1-0 margins, losing one by the same score, then drawing 0-0 in their last game against Tomorrow’s People.

The Savannah offence sputtered for the first time this season when they had to rely on a defender’s goal to get the point at Village. Prior to that they had scored 17 goals in five games.

Decades ago, a Wadadah FC vs Violet Kickers fixture would be national headliners, but both have fallen from their mid-1990s status and only a handful of diehard fans are expected at the UDC field today.

On form, Wadadah FC should prevail, but Violet Kickers, second to last in the table, have shown they can be lethal.

Salt Marsh United have shown they are not to be underrated and Tomorrow’s People could find out first-hand today when they meet at Irwin High.

Tomorrow’s People have played recent games without a number of top players who are reported to have changed clubs during the FIFA transfer window.

Montego Bay Boys Club will seek a third straight win when they travel to Watson Taylor Park in Lucea to face Jericho Rangers, while Beaches Negril, still seeking a win, will host Village United at Long Bay Beach Park.

(PHOTO: PAUL REID)

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Sandals Whitehouse look to extend unbeaten run

Smith"s unbeaten 72 puts Australia at 259-5

MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s Steve Smith played another captain’s knock and Chris Rogers and Shane Watson hit fifties on the opening day of the third Test against India in Melbourne yesterday.

Before a Boxing Day crowd of almost 70,000, Smith joined teammate David Warner in reaching 1,000 Test runs for the calendar year with his unbeaten 72.

At the close, Australia were 259 for five after winning the toss, with Brad Haddin seeking a confidence-boosting innings on 23.

Smith passed 50 for the fourth time in five innings in this series, among them an unconquered 162 in Adelaide and 133 in Brisbane. So far he has amassed 447 runs at 223.5 for the series.

Smith, who won his first Test as skipper in four days in Brisbane last weekend, was well positioned for his third ton of the series after Rogers and Watson missed out on cashing in on solid starts.

“It’s phenomenal to watch and great to be a part of. He is just growing day by day and it’s scary to think how good he can be,” Rogers said of Smith.

“Someone threw a ball back at him today and he had the confidence to say a few words back at him so it looks as if he knows he belongs and he knows he’s one of the better players in the world at the moment.”

Rogers hit his third straight half-century of the series and Watson made 52 in a 115-run stand before they were dismissed five minutes apart in the hour after lunch.

The pair had put on 59 runs off 131 balls for the fourth wicket.

Rogers, who scored 116 in last season’s corresponding Boxing Day Test against England, pushed at paceman Mohammed Shami and was snapped up behind by MS Dhoni for 57.

“I think three scores in the 50s is good in some respects but it’s also very disappointing,” Rogers said.

“As an opener you do the hard work and put yourself in a position where you can get a big score, so to get out like that was disappointing because I felt good today, I felt my feet were going and I had a real desire to get a big score.”

Watson followed six balls later in off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s seventh over with an ill-judged sweep shot and was out leg before wicket for 52 in 89 balls.

Watson had a let-off on 37 nearing lunch when Shikhar Dhawan fumbled him at second slip at the third attempt off Shami.

It was Watson’s 23rd half-century in

Tests with just a below-par conversion rate of four centuries in his 55th Test for the senior top-order batsman.

It was the 27th time in 102 Test innings Watson had been dismissed leg before wicket.

Shaun Marsh again failed to go on after a solid start and was caught behind by Dhoni off Shami with no addition to his tea score of 32 off 83 balls.

Debutant Joe Burns was given a rousing welcome as he came out to bat at four wickets down and got a roar with his first scoring shot off Shami for three.

Burns hoisted Ashwin over mid-wicket for four in a positive show of confidence at Test level.

But he lasted 27 balls before he attempted a pull shot on 13 and bottom-edged through to Dhoni off Yadav.

Warner, who scored twin tons in the opening Adelaide Test, was out in the second over of the innings.

He only lasted six balls before he played across Umesh Yadav and edged to Dhawan at third slip for a duck.

Shami and Yadav finished with two wickets each.

India made two changes from the team that lost the second Brisbane Test, with debutant Lokesh Rahul and Mohammed Shami coming into the side.

Rahul, who replaced Rohit Sharma, was selected to bat at number six, while speedster Varun Aaron made way for Shami, who was off the field for injury treatment late in the day.

Team officials said Aaron was flying home for his grandfather’s funeral and would be returning to Australia by the end of the Melbourne Test.

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Smith"s unbeaten 72 puts Australia at 259-5

Warriors end Tridents unbeaten run

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Mohammad Hafeez and Steven Jacobs ripped through the middle order of the Barbados Tridents to help the Guyana Amazon Warriors register a crucial 27-run win over the front- runners after match 13 of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League at the Queen’s Park Oval here Sunday.

Hafeez snared three for 19 and Jacobs two for 12 both off four overs as the Barbados Tridents, searching for a victory target of 150, were dismissed for 122 in 19 overs and four balls.Veerasammy Permaul claimed the first wicket of the innings, having Kirk Edwards stumped by Denesh Ramdin for one, before Hafeez trapped Dwayne Smith leg before for 28 off 24 balls with five boundaries.The Tridents were then 48 for two. Umar Akmal came in and faced one ball, running past a delivery from Hafeez to be promptly stumped by Ramdin.Shaoib Malik, who was the eighth wicket to fall, watched on helplessly at the other end as the Tridents slid to 63 for six, including the wicket of influential skipper Kieron Pollard, who was bowled by Jacobs through the gate for one.Jacobs also accounted for Shakib Al- Hasan (3), who lofted a catch to James Franklin at long off.Carlos Brathwaite with 18 from 14 balls, and a late flurry from number 11 Jason Holder with 16 from four balls, including one four and two sixes in the final over bowled by Narine, were the only other knocks of merit.Krishmar Santokie with the wickets of Malik, caught by Mohammad Hafeez for 48, and Rayad Emrit, in successive deliveries, finished with two for 21. Sunil Narine was expensive picking up two for 46.Amazon Warriors won the toss and immediately had to endure the loss of Lendl Simmons off the first ball of the innings, playing on to Jason Holder as he attempted to cut square.Martin Guptill and Mohammad Hafeez went about repairing the early damage, posting a second- wicket partnership of 98 that raised hopes of a dominant total by the Warriors.Dwayne Smith conceded 20 runs in the 16th over with Guptill hitting a six, four, and six off the final three deliveries.But Warriors went into sharp decline thereafter. Hafeez top edged a slog off Smith and was caught by Pollard running in from long on that ended the partnership with Hafeez.James Franklin then added 38 with Guptill for the third wicket. But the demise of Franklin, caught by Smith at mid wicket, triggered a dramatic collapse that saw the Warriors lose their last seven wickets for 15 runs in the final three overs of the innings.Guptill was caught on the long on boundary by Pollard for 73 that came off 55 balls with four fours and four sixes.None of the remaining Warriors got into double figures as Rayad Emrit and Shakib Al-Hasan ploughed through the Amazon lower order.Emrit ended with three for 27 from four overs, and Shakib Al-Hasan bagged two for 25 from his four.The victory by the Guyana Amazon Warriors took them to six points, two below front runners Tridents, who are still top of the table with eight points after their first defeat of the CPL 2013. SANTOKIE… the Jamaican finished with two for 21 for Warriors

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Warriors end Tridents unbeaten run