‘This one’s for you’
Windies captain Brathwaite dedicates series sweep over Bangladesh to people of the Caribbean
WEST INDIES captain Kraigg Brathwaite has dedicated the 2-0 Test series win over Bangladesh to the people of the Caribbean.
The Windies completed the sweep with a 17-run win over the hosts in Dhaka yesterday.
Brathwaite, who was filling in for regular captain Jason Holder, said he wanted to share the victory with the people of the Caribbean
who have been through a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This means everything back home,” Brathwaite said. “Cricket means everything to us. Our people will be proud of this win. Some persons wrote us off. But we kept it simple and we enjoyed it, and we proved them wrong.”
FOUR MORE WICKETS
Rahkeem Cornwall led the way with another four wickets. The burly Antiguan off-spinner, who had claimed five wickets in Bangladesh’s first innings, took 4 for 105. The other six wickets were shared between fellow spinners Brathwaite and Jomel Warrican, as the home side was bowled out short of the target.
Brathwaite said the total team effort and the commitment shown by the players were the catalysts for the team’s win. He said the win is a fitting finale to what has been a tough tour for the regional side that came into the series as underdogs, having lost the OneDay International series 3-0.
“I would say it’s a team effort,” Brathwaite said. “We had a plan
and we executed and enjoyed it, and we are happy to win the series. It is always nice to get a series win in Asia for the first time since 2012. Coming here without some players and with the protocols and so on, the victory is even sweeter.”
Cornwall, who was named Man of the Match, also claimed three catches to go along with his wickets. The Antiguan said he was pleased with his outing as well as the commitment and determination shown by his teammates.
“It was a good performance,” Cornwall said. “The whole team had good energy from day one, and the coaching staff backed us. Once the conditions gave a bit of spin, I enjoyed it. I always backed myself and tried to put the ball in the right areas. You just have to be patient and be consistent and build pressure. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the morning in slip fielding. When the ball comes to me, I wanted to catch it.”
Jamaican batsman Nkrumah Bonner was named Man of the Series.
CARIBBEAN FOOTBALL Union (CFU) President Randy Harris says that the revamped Caribbean Club Championship could see an increase in qualifying spots for some countries as Concacaf moves towards implementing its new Concacaf Champions League (CCL) competition format.
The regional governing body announced on February 4 that the CCL will be expanded to 50 teams, including 10 teams from the Caribbean competing in the group stage in 2023 . As a consequence of the new structure, the current version of Caribbean Club Championship, which has been used as the qualifier for regional tournaments, will be retired in 2022 and a new cup competition launched to determine the qualifying teams, in addition to results from the domestic leagues.
Harbour View Football Club President Carvel Stewart and Jamaica Football Federation Technical Committee Chairman
Rudolph Speid had recently indicated a desire to see Jamaica’s qualifying spots increase from the expansion.
Harris said that while the CFU is committed to having as equitable a tournament as possible, he anticipates increases in spots allocated to member nations with professional leagues.
“[For] the allocation, we will try to get [it] as balanced as possible, but I would say while there is no confirmation [yet],” Harris told
“Those member countries that already have
professional leagues will perhaps have a better opportunity to have more than one club representation in the competition, but there are no firm regulations so far, although we will hear more about it in a couple of weeks.”
CARIBBEAN CLUB SHIELD MAY END
The expansion of the CCL will also mean the end of the Caribbean Club Shield, which has been used to allocate more Caribbean teams for regional competitions, and the Concacaf League, which was used to determine CCL places. Both tournaments will end in 2022. Harris says that the expansion is the next step to increasing the standard of regional club football.
“Now they (Concacaf) have gone a step further to expose more clubs and more players, and I believe that this time period can be a [benefit] for more professional
clubs in the Caribbean since it offers more opportunities,” Harris said.
Waterhouse FC President Donovan White says that the step taken by Concacaf means that the Caribbean must take the necessary steps in improving locally to take advantage of the new competition format.
“It’s also a very ambitious move that will require some amount of capacity building by clubs across the region,” White said. “They (Concacaf) have identified four countries that have a solid leg to stand on, which are Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago, because of the structure of the top-flight football professionally. So, Jamaica is in a good position.”
The new structure guarantees a Caribbean team qualifying for the knockout phase of the tournament, and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani said that the new Caribbean championship will provide “great matchups between rival clubs and further drive development of the club game within the respective regions”.
THE SAYING ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ could not be more true for Jamaicans living in the diaspora. As we continue to observe Reggae Month, Jamaicans living in other countries have come out to express their gratitude for being included in the monthlong celebrations. Pointing out how much more the culture means now that they are away from home, diaspora members say their appreciation for reggae music has grown tremendously.
“Since becoming consul general in October 2018, I think I have become more Jamaican than I have ever been because there are so many activities celebrating Jamaica. It’s like when you’re away from home, somehow even a piece of yam taste nicer than it has ever been. Things that you take for granted at home, you appreciate more when you’re away and I think that is what has happened in the diaspora,” said Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s consul general in Miami. “We galvanise more, we come together more and we celebrate everything about Jamaica in a new, fresh way. From our vantage point here in the Diaspora, reggae is alive and well. One of the major objectives that we have is engaging our second, third and fourth generation Jamaicans to embrace Jamaica more than becoming climatised to being American. Reggae music and our culture aims to be at the forefront in terms of galvanising them and keeping our Jamaica strong. Here in the diaspora, Reggae Month has been well received. As Tony Rebel say, ‘Reggae put Jamaica pan top’, and we believe that here in the diaspora and so we continue to push Reggae Month and the virtual events.”
The consulate has been hosting a boatload of activities to mark Reggae Month including poetry readings, Bob Marley tributes, a weekly event dubbed Sunday Scoops and Reggae Month story time, which had its most recent session yesterday. According to Mair, being an integral part of Reggae Month has a great deal to do with identity.
“You come here (to the US) with different cultures and so Jamaicans have to pull together to be stronger and to exist in a new space. We celebrate our Jamaican-ness and culture as a way of sticking together and being stronger and showcasing to the world what we have, which people love and embrace. We fully embrace Reggae Month and look forward to participating in all the activities.”
Also sharing how excited the city or Miramar has been to be a part of the Reggae Month celebrations, Commissioner Alexandra Davis agreed with Mair that becoming involved in the festivities was due largely in part to identifying as Jamaican. “We (in the diaspora) are proud of our heritage and we want to make sure we showcase it to our children and their children to ensure that it never dies. We need to remember our heritage because who we are at the core are Jamaicans and we want to know that we can pass that along no matter where we are in the world,” she said. “We hope going forward that we do other events throughout the month of February. We at the diaspora always try where we can especially in the position of elected officials in the city of Miramar, to partner with Jamaica to bring Reggae Month outside of the island.”
UK Reggae Month collaborator, Rudi Page, whose Fresh FM radio has been making vital reggae links with Nigeria, Ghana, South
‘We celebrate our Jamaicanness and culture as a way of sticking together and being stronger and showcasing to the world what we have, which people love and embrace. ‘
Africa and Zimbabwe, told The Gleaner that he was happy to see the country trying to rope in the diaspora in the Reggae Month activities. Pointing out that the diaspora is an extended family, Page said he does not want the Jamaicans living outside of Jamaica to feel separate from the country of their birth. He said the smoother the pathways that connects the diaspora to Jamaica are, the stronger the relationships will be.
“It’s important that you see the diaspora as part of your borderless family because these messages are really important in terms of relationship building,” he said, highlighting that the virtual celebrations have been making the latter easier. “The digital connectivity allows a level of collaboration that historically hasn’t been there because you’re able to bring together many partners. For the foreseeable future, we will be delivering online and so we have to keep the digital connectivity going.”