Sports

By Tony Cozier   IT was inevitable that the current Ashes series, literally now in full swing in Cardiff, should have been preceded by an exultant outpouring of nostalgia from one side.

Paul DeNobrega out-pedalled Robin Persaud in a thrilling two-man sprint finish yesterday to emerge winner of the feature 35-lap event of the 15th annual P and P Insurance and General Consultancy Limited 11-race cycle programme.

Region #2 champs Charity Secondary earned a national quarterfinal berth in the Digicel Secondary Schools Championship, overcoming Region #1 holders Port Kaituma 3-2 yesterday in a national playoff at the Kumaka ground in Moruca.

National player Priscilla Greaves played unbeaten last weekend to capture the girls 18 years and under title at a specially arranged tournament run by the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) in observance of Olympic Day.

Winning is nothing strange to Guyana’s most decorated muscleman Hugh Ross, but the behemoth’s victory at last month’s World Bodybuilding Championships was arguably his most satisfying.

Guyana’s hopes of medaling at the ongoing 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada will now rest on the shoulders of the swimmers and the track and field athletes.

An unbeaten knock of 25 from Gordial Mattai and a composed innings of 24 from skipper Ricky Deonarine led Guyana Fllodlight softball cricket team to victory in the 2015 New York Softball Cricket League 2015 Legends Cup, in New York, United States of America recently.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – St Kitts and Nevis Patriots used a three-wicket burst from seamer Carlos Brathwaite, to beat St Lucia Zouks by 26 runs in the Caribbean Premier League here Friday night.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Standing a set and 5-1 up in the Wimbledon final against a Spaniard playing only her second match in tennis’s most famous arena, a fourth consecutive grand slam singles title looked a formality for Serena Williams yesterday.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – A rapid William Perkins half-century condemned St Kitts and Nevis Patriots to a six-wicket defeat here yesterday, as the hosts struggled with their second game in 24 hours at Warner Park.

MUR DE BRETAGNE, France, (Reuters) – Alexis Vuillermoz earned the French their first victory on this year’s Tour de France, his final kick proving too hot to handle for the big guns in the eighth stage yesterday.

CARDIFF, (Reuters) – Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali led England’s charge to a 169-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the first test yesterday to make a flying start in their bid to regain the Ashes.

Guyana’s rugby, badminton and squash players will spring into action today on Day 1 of competition of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada.

Former Golden Jaguars manager, Mark Xavier confirmed yesterday that he along with Faizal Khan and Frank ‘English’ Parris were relieved of their management duties last week by the GFF Normalization Committee.

SCARBOROUGH, Tobago, CMC – Jamaica trounced Leeward Islands for their third straight win to remain unbeaten while title-holders Barbados lost again in a rain-hit contest, in the third round of the Regional Under-17 Tournament here yesterday.

The Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) will have a busy month ahead.

LONDON, (Reuters) – A fresh-faced Spaniard who has a love-hate relationship with grass will be eager to prove in today’s Wimbledon final that the mighty Serena Williams is as human as the next person with blood, and not ice, pumping through her veins.

Payless Variety Store is onboard the Alicia Fortune express as the elite athlete travels to France.

Caribbean and African nations could soon find themselves punching with power equal to the more developed countries as the International Boxing Association (AIBA) is ready to lend a helping hand by offering scholarships to deserving pugilists of their lesser developed affiliates.

Ahead of their four home matches of the ongoing Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL), team Operations Manager of the Guyana Amazon Warriors Omar Khan said that home fans support will be important to the Warriors.