Sports

(Reuters) – Captain Stuart Broad and Jade Dernbach held their nerve in the closing overs to bowl England to a five-run victory and a 2-1 series win over Pakistan in the final Twenty20 international in Abu Dhabi  yesterday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) In a reported bid to diffuse tensions between the Jamaican Government and the West Indies Cricket Board, (WICB) board president Julian Hunte is to pay a visit to Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to ‘make amends’ following heated exchanges between the board and the prime minister over the last week, sources tell The Gleaner The verbal confrontation surrounds the continued exclusion of opening batsman Chris Gayle from the West Indies team and the fact that Jamaica was not considered as a venue for any of the matches for the upcoming tour by Australia.

(Reuters) – Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant paid a price for becoming the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game’s leading scorer, breaking his nose in the Sunday contest, the Lakers said yesterday.

DHAKA, Bangladesh, CMC – Hard-hitting batsman Dwayne Smith smashed his maiden Twenty20 century to fire Khulna Royal Bengals to a comfortable 69-run win over Sylhet Royals in their final preliminary round game of the Bangladesh Premier League here yesterday.

Former West Indies and Guyana leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo is still creating problems for batsmen  grabbing a five wicket haul on the weekend for Central Sports in their clash against W Connection Wanderers in Tribidad and Tobago.

The Guyana Floodlight Softball Cricket Association (GFSCA) will be sending two teams to the annual Florida Cup Softball tournament to be held this week-end next weekend.

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, -CMC – West Indies Women went down by six wickets in the final Twenty20 International of their five-match series against India at Warner Park here yesterday.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Guyana, trailing by 160 runs on first innings, reached 156 for six in their second innings at tea on the final day of their day/night fourth round match in the Regional Four-Day Championship at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground yesterday.

By Emmerson Campbell Barbadian Shawn ‘The Sniper’ Cox scored a sensational first round knockout of Guyana’s former World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight champion Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite Saturday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall  in the headline bout of the card dubbed the ’WBC Cup of Caribbean Champions.’

By Emmerson Campbell The national men’s Sevens rugby team, fresh off being declared joint Bowl winners at the recently concluded Las Vegas Invitational Sevens tournament, is now preparing for the HSBC Sevens World Series in Hong Kong from March 23 to 25.

An unbeaten century from discarded West Indies middle order batsman Brendan Nash paced defending champions Jamaica to 339 for the loss of five wickets at press time replying to Guyana’s first innings score of 294.

If there were any lingering doubts about the seriousness of the Golden Jaguars’ upcoming third round 2014 World Cup qualifiers against  Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador, events during the just concluded four-game Caribbean tour, should firmly put those doubts to rest in the mind of the Guyanese public.

Stephan James clocked the fastest 200 metres time on local soil yesterday when the Guyana Police Force held its fun day yesterday at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.

By Emmerson Campbell One day after winning the feature 35-mile Invitational race of the 21st R&R International sponsored ‘Teach Them Young’ Programme on the inner circuit of the National Park on Saturday, Robin Persaud took his talents to the open road yesterday to capture the R&R International sponsored 40-mile road race.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – Shane Watson made a triumphant return by captaining Australia to an emphatic 87-run victory over India on Sunday and ensuring the hosts a place in the final of the one-day international Tri-series.

(Cricinfo)  Marlon Samuels may not want to lock eyes with Sachin Tendulkar when he arrives to play in his debut IPL season for the Pune Warriors.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, – CMC – Discarded Test batsman Brendan Nash was leading a Jamaica fightback after Guyana?s

By Emmerson Campbell Robin Persaud yesterday sped off with the feature 35-lap Invitational race when national cycling coach Hassan Mohammed and R&R International staged an 11-race cycling meet at the National Park circuit, Thomas Lands.

Odinga Lumumba is having his cake and eating it too. The President of Alpha United Football Club seems to know how to wheel and deal in local football circles.

The recent Mashramani Swim Meet/National Swimming Championships at the National Aquatic Center (NAC) saw the introduction of Guyana’s first ever Long Course (LC) swimming competition.