Sports Commentary

-

By Dale Brown

2021 Olympic Games Update

Friday, April 3, 2020 --The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the 2020 Olympic Games will now be held on July 23, 2021.   Although the event is scheduled for 2021, it will still be known as the 2020 Games.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the International Paralympic Committee.

The Paralympic Games will be held from August 24, 2021 until September 5, 2021.
The decision is based on the intention of safe guarding the interests of the athletes and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus.

All athletes who have already met the qualifying standards for the 2020 season by virtue of their marks attained during 2019 season will still be considered as qualified for the 2021 games.

Diamond League

World Athletics announced that six Diamond League meets have been postponed.  These are the meets which were scheduled to be held on April 17 in Doha, May 9 in China (location unknown), May 16 in Shanghai, May 24 in Stockholm, May 28 in Napoli and May 31, in Rabat. The Shanghai meet has been tentatively rescheduled for August 13, 2020.

Presently the Diamond League season is slated to open in Eugene, Oregon, with the staging of the Prefontaine Classic on June 7, 2020.

 Olympic Medal Upgrade?

There is a possibility that Jamaican 400mH Kaliese Spencer – Carter’s fourth-place finish at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be upgraded to a bronze medal. This would be the first major individual championship medal for Spencer- Carter, who is the all-time second fastest Jamaican in the event with her 52.79 clocking in 2011.  The Gold medal winner Natalya Antyuhk of Russia, is facing charges of using a prohibited substance during the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Athletics Integrity Unit based their case on an investigation into Russian Doping practices presented to WADA by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.

Money matters

Kudos to Visa for offering to extend the expiring contracts of athletes into the 2021 season.  Visa announced that the 96 athletes on their roster were contacted and the offer was made to have their contracts extended.

Cricket

It’s official.  Cricket Australia announced that former captain, Steve Smith, is now eligible to be appointed captain of the national cricket team.

Smith had served a one-year ban from international cricket starting April 2018 to April 2019. The ban was punishment for his role in a ball-tampering incident during the third test match at Newlands, against South Africa. The incident took place during the March 2018, third Test match.  He was also banned from being the captain for an additional year. Since his return to Test cricket a year ago, Smith has played under Tim Paine, the current captain. Paine has already announced his willingness to step aside and allow Smith to be once again appointed captain.

Whither, West Indies Cricket?

Test cricket ranking #8……   ODI ranking #9 …….  Twenty/20 ranking #10
Like any other sport, cricket results are based on performance. Batsmen make runs. Good batsmen rotate the strike by taking singles, thereby upsetting the opposing bowlers’ rhythm and making it difficult for the opposing captain to set effective fields to contain the scoring. Excellent running between the wickets can also have the same effect when well-judged singles are taken. They concentrate on building partnerships throughout the inning.

Bowlers take wickets and generally complement each other’s bowling. Good bowlers pressure batsmen with accurate bowling and also by consistently probing the weaknesses of the opposing batsmen.

Fielders help to dismiss the opposing batsmen by accepting catches. They also help the bowlers to build pressure by restricting the batsmen scoring opportunities with excellent ground fielding.
Poor batting technique, not taking singles, not building partnerships, inconsistent bowling, and substandard fielding have all been features of West Indies cricket.  We have witnessed a steady and at times rapid decline in the standard of our cricket during the past two decades.

Why?  There are many opinions available.

However, it appears that most of the players lack the discipline and mental awareness to be consistently successful in the longer formats of the game.  Their inconsistent performances in all facets of the game could easily be attributed to a lack of focus and mental stamina.

Thankfully, because of the explosive nature of the format, the team remains a feared and dangerous opponent to any Twenty/20 team
To be continued…….

Editor’s note: Dale Brown is a sports historian and co-host of the sports show, SECOND BASE, streaming live, Tuesdays at 7-8 pm, on the Wee Radio Network at; www.weeradioonline.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TEAM JAMAICA BICKLE HANDS OUT VIRTUAL 5K RUN/WALK AWARDS

-
Image
JAMAICA TO THE WORLD . Jetola Anderson-Blair of Houston, Texas was presented with the Marcia Sinclair Memorial Award for best depiction of ‘Brand Jamaica’. -           contributed New York, NY. October 29, 2020 --- The Awards Ceremony to announce the winners of the recently held Team Jamaica Bickle (TJB) Inaugural Virtual 5K Run/Walk, was held on Sunday October 25, 2020. The organization which had since 2011 held its annual 5K Run/Walk at Baisley Pond Park, Queens New York (NY) made the transition to the virtual space this year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The ceremony was streamed live on  Jamaicans.com , on  TJB’s Facebook Page  and its other Social Media Platforms and was hosted by Ms. Ann-Marie Grant, Director of The American Foundation of the University of the West Indies (AFUWI).   A total of nine prizes were awarded in the following categories: The youngest participants, Hussein Miller; 29 year old mal...
Read more

Sports Commentary - JAMAICA’S FEMALE SPRINTING: 100/200 MEDAL PROSPECTS FOR THE 2020 OLYMPICS (TOYKO 2021)

-
Image
  By Dale Brown   GOLDEN GIRLS . Jamaica’s winning sprint relay quarter at the 2019 WC, in Doha, Qatar. (l-r); Natalliah Whyte, Shericka Jackson, ShellyAnn Fraser Pryce, Jonielle Smith. NEW YORK, NY. Tuesday, November 3, 2020 -- How can a small island like Jamaica continue to produce sprinters of the caliber of the great Veronica Campbell- Brown? Veronica Campbell – Brown (38 yrs .) is universally recognized as one of the greatest sprinters in the history of the sport.   VCB is a legend by any standard and is a champion on and off the track. Her 11 individual global medal collection consists of Olympic 2 gold medals in the 200m (Athens 2004 / Beijing 2008) and (2) 100m bronze medals in Athens 2004 and London 2012. Veronica’s success at the World Championships are 100m - a gold medal (Osaka 2007), 2 silver medals (Helsinki 2005) and (Daegu 2011).   Her podium finishes in the 200m are, (1) gold medal (Daegu 2011), (2) silver medals (Osaka 2007 and Berli...
Read more

Sports Commentary - Derek Thompson Soccer player, Elite Track and Field Coach

-
Image
By Dale Brown Derek Thompson, outstanding USATF Youth Coach and mentor. -          contributed NEW YORK, NY. Monday, April 27, 2020 -- This is an article to highlight a Coaching Guru who has emerged as being among the best in the world of Track and Field Athletics but remains virtually unknown among his fellow Jamaicans as an esteemed figure in the sport. The life of this unique and exceptional man named Derek (JugHead) Thompson began in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1954. He attended Calabar High School from 1968 – 1970 and Vere Technical High School from 1970 to 1973. He was an outstanding football (soccer) player from an early age and represented Calabar in football at the U -15 level and then Vere Technical in the DaCosta Cup which is contested by High Schools from the rural areas of Jamaica. He was a member of the 1971 Vere Technical DaCosta Cup Championship team and also served as Vere’s captain during the 1972 seas...
Read more