The ICC T20 World Cup has led to significant scheduling conflicts, causing disruptions for the Regional UWI Volleyball Games 2024, an intercampus and club volleyball competition set to begin today, Friday, May 24, 2024, at the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.
The St Augustine campus gymnasium, designated as an official training venue for the T20 World Cup, became unavailable for the final day of the volleyball tournament due to strict security protocols. This unexpected change, combined with the last-minute unavailability of the UWI Cave Hill male team, forced the organizers to condense the competition from three days to two.
"The venue is an official training location for the ICC World Cup, and the security protocols have strict proximity rules," explained Cheryl Daley, Competitions Coordinator. "That means the gymnasium is no longer available on Sunday as was previously the case. We were able to adjust without too much upheaval since the Barbados male team dropped out, which reduced the number of games to be played overall."
This tournament marks the first inter-campus regional volleyball competition since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring club and university teams from Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados. The new schedule compresses the games into two intense days of play, a change welcomed by Mona Head Coach Dr. Ricardo Chong.
"It just makes it all the more exciting," Dr. Chong said. "Now we have two intense days of play which will really put our teams to the test. Both the UWI intercollegiate and club teams are top teams in Jamaica, and now we will see how we match up against other islands."
Prominent Trinidad & Tobago volleyball clubs Glamorgan, Big SEPOS, and West Side Stars are confirmed for the two-day competition, which will be held at UWI’s Sports and Physical Education Centre gymnasium in St Augustine. The games will run from Friday, May 24 to Saturday, May 25, 2024, kicking off at 1 PM Jamaica time.
Despite the scheduling challenges, the condensed tournament promises to deliver thrilling volleyball action, showcasing the resilience and competitive spirit of the participating teams.
Super Eight fixtures beginning to take shape as T20 World Cup Group Stage reaches final stretch
As the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 comes to a close, the action will move to the next chapter in the event, the Super Eights, which will see eight remaining teams battle it out for four semi-final spots.
India (Group A), Australia (Group B), Afghanistan (Group C), West Indies (Group C), and South Africa (Group D) are the five teams who have qualified for the second round thus far.
India, Australia, and Afghanistan will feature in Group 1 of the next round, whereas West Indies and South Africa will feature in Group 2.
All of these sides have been unbeaten in their respective groups, and are shaping well ahead of the next round.
The second round commences in Antigua on June 19.
The following day will see the unbeaten India and Afghanistan face-off in Barbados in what looms as a crucial fixture prior to the knockout stages of the tournament. This will also be the first occasion on this tournament that India will play a contest in the Caribbean.
The rampant Afghans will look to make amends for their close loss to Australia at last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup when the two sides meet on June 22 in St Vincent. Back-to-back games against formidable opponents can overwhelm most sides but Rashid Khan’s team have shown an indomitable fighting spirit in the tournament thus far.
More crucial fixtures follow up in coming dates: with co-hosts West Indies taking on South Africa in their final Group 2 clash on June 23 in Antigua.
The Proteas have historically dominated the West Indies, but the tables were turned last month when the Men in Maroon swept the three-game T20I series between the two sides at home.
Another Men’s Cricket World Cup-centric encounter takes place in St Lucia, where finalists India will clash against the eventual winners Australia on June 24.
Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia, and St Vincent will host all 12 games in this round.
Fixtures
19 June: A2 v South Africa, North Sound, Antigua
19 June: B1 v West Indies, Gros Islet, St Lucia
20 June: Afghanistan v India, Bridgetown, Barbados
20 June: Australia v D2, North Sound, Antigua
21 June: B1 v South Africa, Gros Islet, St Lucia
21 June: A2 v West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados
22 June: India v D2, North Sound, Antigua
22 June: Afghanistan v Australia, Arnos Vale, St Vincent
23 June: A2 v B1, Bridgetown, Barbados
23 June: West Indies v South Africa, North Sound, Antigua
24 June: Australia v India, Gros Islet, St Lucia
24 June: Afghanistan v D2, Arnos Vale, St Vincent
“This is my dream”: Rutherford rates 68* against New Zealand as best knock of his career
West Indies batsman Sherfane Rutherford rates his well-compiled half century against New Zealand at the ICC T20 World Cup on Wednesday as his best knock.
The 25-year-old came to the crease with the hosts teetering at 22-4 in the sixth over after bring put in to bat at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
On a pitch that he described as “tacky” and “spongy” in the post-match press conference, Rutherford took his time in the early part of his innings before accelerating to a top score of 68* to help the West Indies post a match-winning 149-9 from their allotted 20 overs.
Rutherford described the innings as perhaps the best of his career, so far.
“I will put it as my best knock. It’s a World Cup. This is my dream. I’ve always wanted to play in a World Cup and this one is going to stay close to my heart. Hopefully, I can continue to take out good innings like this for my team and for myself,” he said.
At the halfway point of the innings, the West Indies were 49-5 and Rutherford says head coach Daren Sammy’s advice was to bat time and take it deep.
“He was just telling me to take it deep. I was batting with Akeal (Hosein) so I told him to keep going but my role was to basically take it to the 15th or 16th over but after we lost wickets I just told myself to try and take it to the 20th over and try and maximize those last two overs which they had to make up with two bowlers,” he said.
The Guyanese hard-hitter was recently a part of the Indian Premier League with the Kolkata Knight Riders and, despite not getting a game, he says he has been using that time to prepare for situations like the one he faced on Wednesday.
“I pattern my game off these situations. Even before the World Cup, I try to put myself in positions in the nets where I have to bat properly and then have to excel in the end so I think it’s good to see that my plans and my work are coming to show,” he said.
He faced a similar situation when the West Indies found themselves 79-5 batting first in the third T20I against Australia in Perth in February.
Rutherford and Andre Russell put on 139 for the sixth wicket with Rutherford finishing 67* off 40 balls.
He says the main thing he took from that innings was the importance of giving himself time at the crease.
“The innings in Australia is one that I kept close to me and, even though it was a good innings, I try to pick a few things out of it. One of the few things was give myself time. It’s always a process and when you look too far ahead you can forget about the process so, for me, it was just ball after ball, give myself time, run singles and get myself ready so that in the back end I can make up,” he said.
Finally, Rutherford made mention of the crowd at the Brian Lara Stadium.
“When batting I try not to worry about the crowd. I just try to look at what’s in front of me and focus on the process but it’s good to have some support. It’s good to have the home crowd with us and hopefully they can keep supporting us,” he said.
The West Indies will next take on Afghanistan at the Daren Sammy Stadium on June 17.
Suryakumar leads India into T20 World Cup Super 8s past spirited States
India secured their place in the T20 World Cup Super 8s with a game to spare, after recovering from a slow start to see off the United States.
Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten half-century as India successfully chased down their opponents' target of 111 for a seven-wicket victory - and their third win in as many Group A matches.
The tournament co-hosts also entered the contest with a perfect record from their opening two games, but endured a poor start as Arshdeep Singh claimed Shayan Jahangir and Andries Gous in the first over.
That left them at 3-2, but they managed to settle with Steven Taylor (24 from 30 balls) and Nitish Kumar (27 off 23) top-scoring as their side finished at 110-8.
However, the States made a purposeful start in the field. With the second ball, Virat Kohli was gone for a duck as Gous caught him from Saurabh Netravalkar, who also dismissed Rohit Sharma for just three.
Suryakumar (50 off 49 not out) stepped in and held the fort alongside Shivam Dube (31 off 45 not out), though India were still in danger of a potential shock, needing 35 off the final 30 balls.
Nevertheless, an untimely five-run penalty was awarded to them as the USA took longer than a minute between overs for the third time.
That swung the pendulum firmly in India's favour. Successive boundaries from Suryakumar eased the pressure as they saw out what was eventually a comfortable win.
Data Debrief: India through, but Kohli's struggles continue
It was not as comfortable as India would have hoped for but, nevertheless, they managed to get the job done, with Suryakumar leading the charge.
However, the form of Kohli will be a cause for concern. His dismissal for a golden duck means he has now scored just five runs in his nation's opening three matches.
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