West Indian batting great Viv Richards has heaped praise onto Indian superstar Virat Kohli after his stunning performances, so far, in this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in India.

While highlighting a number of stars at the tournament so far, including the likes of Australia’s Glenn Maxwell, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and South Africa’s Quinton De Kock and Aiden Markram, Richards singled out Kohli as his standout performer at the world’s greatest cricket showcase.

“There have been a whole host of talented individuals on show but to top them all, you cannot look past Virat Kohli,” Richards said.

“I am a huge fan of Virat, I have been for a long time, and he continues to show why he has to go down as one of the all-time greats, right up there with the likes of the great Sachin,” he added.

Kohli, who turned 35 during the tournament, is currently third on the leading run-scorers table behind Ravindra and De Kock with 543 runs from eight innings with two centuries and four fifties at an average of 108.60.

His last hundred, an unbeaten 101* against South Africa, saw him equal the great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for Kohli in recent times, however.

From December 2019 to December last year, Kohli only recorded one international hundred, 122* in a T20I in the Asia Cup against Afghanistan in Dubai in September 2022.

His form has since returned back to normal, with seven hundreds between December 2022 and now.

“Virat will have been through some tough times before this World Cup and some folks were even brave enough to call for his head,” Richards acknowledged.

“Credit must be given to the backroom staff and everyone who backed him. So much was said about his form but he is back on top of his game. It is phenomenal to see an individual who has had his low points bouncing back and playing like this. They say form is temporary – and he has certainly proven that class is permanent. I am so happy for him, he looks so focused and he is a credit to the game of cricket,” Richards added.

Richards then credited Kohli’s mental strength as what sets him apart from the rest, noting the many comparisons made between the two over the years.

“Virat is a go-getter and what sets him apart is his mental strength. He will have backed himself throughout, and on the occasions in the past in which I have chatted with him and we have discussed things, his mental strength has always been evident. That has been key to pushing him through to how he is playing now. Very few players, or people, are built like that,” he said.

“Many people have made comparisons between the two of us over the years, partly because of our shared intensity on the field. I love Virat’s enthusiasm – even if he is fielding at long-on or long-off, when one of his bowlers hits the pad, he is appealing. He is always in the game and I like individuals like that,” Richards added.

India are the form team in this year’s tournament and are currently unbeaten through eight games in the league phase and Richards believes that if they play the same way, there’s no stopping them in pursuit of their third World Cup title.

“In terms of this year’s competition, India have a mindset that they can go all the way playing like this. That absolutely should be their mindset and would be mine if I was in that dressing room – let’s go out with all guns blazing. That approach has worked so far and if that changes, things may go astray,” he said.

“I believe they can go all the way unbeaten, which is really something to strive for. There may be some fears of ‘we have played so well so far, there may be a bad game around the corner in the semi-final’. They have to try and nullify those and banish any negative thoughts,” Richards added.

President of the Jamaica Football Federation Michael Ricketts, has attempted to shed some light on the latest challenge facing the JFF in relation to the sanctioning of a number of the 56 delegates that will vote for the body’s next president on January 14, 2024, to determine the way forward for football in the country.

The 56 delegates will come from three pillars and, according to Ricketts, the JFF held an emergency congress on Sunday to sanction the Pillar-Three delegates.

Ricketts explained that there are six entities associated with Pillar Three but of that six, only three were able to meet the requirements.

He put this down to misinterpretation of the federation’s new constitution.

“The new constitution and its articles seem to be causing a lot of issues because people are not interpreting the contents of the articles,” he told SportsMax.tv on Monday, explaining that this was also an issue at Sunday’s meeting.  “What happens now is that there are certain criteria based on the articles that entities must meet for them to qualify for voting at the congress. They were listed! Of all the applicants, three would’ve met all the requirements.”

The president says the JFF received applications from two different coaches associations, a former players association and the beach-football association.

One of the coaches associations, headed by former senior women’s coach Vin Blaine, was not considered as it has been defunct for some time.

“The coaches', where one Mr. Vin Blaine, who is not even domiciled in Jamaica, says that he heads a coaches association with four listed persons. One of those persons does not live here and one of those gentlemen said that he is not a part of the association which has gone defunct for years. They have not been operative,” Ricketts told SportsMax.tv on Monday.

The other association, comprising current active head coaches, met all the requirements and was approved.

“The other one is current and includes practicing coaches now like Merron Gordon, Andrew Peart, Rudolph Speid and Xavier Gilbert among others. They met all the requirements,” Ricketts added.

He went on to say that the former footballers' association also met the requirements and were approved but the Beach Football Association did not because of “serious misrepresentation” as Ricketts put it.

 “The directors for the Beach Football Association were not named, the members were. The directors are those that are listed at the Company’s Office. There were members who were asked to serve. There is a huge debate right now because of one particular gentleman. A member of KSAFA got up in the congress yesterday and said that gentleman has vehemently denied ever being a part of the directorship,” Ricketts explained.

“However, the gentleman sent an email to the JFF this morning (Monday) saying that he is, in fact, a member. So, as it is now, there was serious misrepresentation because the gentleman sent an email saying he is, in fact, a member of the board of directors for beach football. What has happened is because that was raised, I suggested that we defer sanctioning the Beach Football Association until we get clarification so the other two-the coaches association and the past players association-were accepted,” he added.

The remaining stakeholders who have not applied will have until some time in December to try and meet the requirements.

“There are others who we would’ve reached out to and have asked them to apply. So, there are now applications from ISSA, PFJL among others. The referees have some further documents to be submitted. In an effort to ensure that we get all the stakeholders on board, we have extended the period to sometime in December so that those entities who have not met the requirements have a chance to get themselves up in line with the requirements and to apply so we will again have to have another congress maybe just before the voting congress,” he said.

In conclusion, Ricketts lamented the publicizing of the ongoing situation and accused detractors of trying everything to discredit the current JFF Board of Directors.

 “We are publicizing the whole thing and, believe me, we’re making so many issues, making mountains out of molehills, all in the interest of politics," the JFF president said.

"It is just sad how people will do everything to discredit this board. We are not perfect and we make mistakes but, my God man, don’t just try and destroy something you are a part of. We try to be strong and try to be guided by the articles of the constitution and we’re just hoping that after the election, things will be normal and that we just move forward in an effort to grow the sport of football which ought to be our aim and ambition."

The Guyana Harpy Eagles are through to the semi-finals of the 2023 CG United Super50 Cup after a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Jamaica Scorpions at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

In a game that was eventually reduced to 47 overs per side due to multiple rain delays, the Scorpions, after winning the toss, were bowled out for 181 with one ball to spare.

A number of Jamaica batsmen were able to get starts but none were able to carry on and get a big enough score to put pressure on the Harpy Eagles.

Brad Barnes was the highest scorer with 36 while Rovman Powell (33), Chadwick Walton (26), Andre McCarthy (23), Odean Smith (20) and Nkrumah Bonner (20) all got starts.

Nial Smith led the way with the ball for Guyana with 3-26 from 8.5 overs while Kevin Sinclair took 3-48 from 10 overs.

Guyana then needed only 39 overs to reach 184-3. The successful chase was led by half centuries from Tagenarine Chanderpaul and Shimron Hetmyer.

Chanderpaul led the way with 77 off 110 balls, his highest List A score, while Hetmyer finished not out on 62 off 53 balls including five fours and two sixes.

Captain Tevin Imlach provided good support with 30. Shalome Parnell took 2-26 off six overs for the Scorpions whose season now comes to an end with six losses and one no result in seven games.

The Harpy Eagles will now join the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and the Barbados Pride in the semi-finals.

Dominican World Championship finalist Thea LaFond won Dominica’s lone Athletics medal at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile with bronze in the women’s triple jump on Thursday.

LaFond, who was fifth at the World Championships in Budapest with a personal best 14.90m, was one of only three athletes to jump further than 14m throughout the competition, with her best jump of 14.25m coming in the first round.

Cuba’s Liadagmis Povea produced 14.41m in the second round to take silver while her countrywoman and World Championships bronze medallist Leyanis Perez produced 14.75m in the third round to take gold.

Bahamian Rhema Otabor picked up her country’s second Athletics medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile when she claimed silver in the women’s javelin throw on Friday.

The 20-year-old produced a best distance of 60.54m, her first throw over 60m, to finish second behind Colombia’s Flor Denis Ruiz who threw 63.10m for gold.

The USA’s Madelyn Harris took bronze with 60.06m.

This continues an excellent season for the Nebraska Junior.

She also took top spot at the NCAA Championships in June with a 59.49m effort, the Bahamian national title with 59.75m in July and NACAC Under-23 title with 57.48m later that month.

39-year-old Donald Thomas once again proved that age is just a number after securing bronze in the men’s high jump at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Friday.

The 2007 World Champion had a best clearance of 2.24m, the same height as silver medallist Luis Joel Castro of Puerto Rico.

Cuba’s Luis Enrique Zayas took gold with 2.27m.

Jamaica’s Lushane Wilson and Cristoff Bryan were seventh and 10^th with best clearances of 2.21m and 2.15m, respectively.

Justin Greaves came up just five runs short of back-to-back hundreds to help the Leeward Islands Hurricanes move to the top of the CG United Super50 Cup points table with a four-wicket win over the Barbados Pride via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Thursday.

A rain delay meant the game was reduced to 42 overs and the Pride took first strike after the Hurricanes won the toss.

The Bajans quickly found themselves 19-3 inside 5 overs, losing Kraigg Brathwaite (2), Zachary McCaskie (4) and Shamarh Brooks (5) in quick succession.

An 85-run fourth wicket stand between Captain Shai Hope and Roston Chase restored order to proceedings before Chase fell in the 22^nd over for a 58-ball 45.

Hope went on to bring up his second fifty of the tournament before he fell soon after for 55 with the Pride on 138 in the 30^th over.

The skipper’s wicket brought about a procession with the Pride losing their final five wickets for 58 runs to eventually be bowled out for 196 in 41.2 overs.

Hurricanes captain Alzarri Joseph took 3-34 from his nine overs while Hayden Walsh Jr took 3-43 from eight overs.

Chasing a revised target of 192, the Leewards lost Kieran Powell off just the second ball of the innings for four.

Justin Greaves and Keacy Carty then put on 59 for the second wicket before Carty went off the bowling of Roston Chase for 18.

Jahmar Hamilton then came and went soon after for 10 to leave the Hurricanes 77-3 off 16 overs.

Terance Warde then joined Greaves in the middle and the pair added a crucial 65 for the fourth wicket before Warde fell for 22.

16-year-old debutant and West Indies Under-19 representative Jewel Andrew was next to go for five before Alzarri Joseph fell for seven to bring Hayden Walsh Jr to the crease to join Greaves with the Hurricanes needing 28.

The pair brought the Hurricanes home at 192-6 in 40.1 overs.

Greaves ended 95* off 120 balls, his third consecutive 50-plus score, while Walsh Jr finished 21* off just nine balls.

Roston Chase took 4-34 from nine overs for the Pride.

 The day's other game between the Jamaica Scorpions and the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force ended in a no result.

The Scorpions were 213-9 off 48 overs batting first before rain meant no further play was possible at the Queen's Park Oval.

Nkrumah Bonner led the way with 74 while Rovman Powell made 48 against three wickets apiece from Sunil Narine and Akeal Hosein. 

Defending champions Clarendon College remain on course to retain their ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup title after securing a 1-0 win over STETHS in Group 1 Round of 16 action on Wednesday.

Both teams entered the much-anticipated contest with a win under their belt but the 10-time DaCosta Cup champions now have six points from two games to strengthen their lead atop Group 1.

STETHS are now third in the group after Cornwall College beat Mile Gully 2-0 at Jarret Park to also move to three points, but, more importantly, have a goal difference of 1 compared to STETHS’ zero.

In Group 2 play, B.B Coke defeated Manchester High 4-2 in a top-of-the-table clash at STETHS. B.B Coke now have six points from two games while Manchester have three.

This was Manchester’s first loss of the season. They will know their standing in Group 2 after Happy Grove takes on Tacky High at Carder Park on Thursday. Both teams are looking for their first points of the Round of 16.

Dinthill recovered from an opening game draw against McGrath High with a 1-0 win over Christiana at Brooks Park to take over top spot in Group 3.

Christiana, who entered the day as leaders after a 3-2 win over William Knibb in their first game, are now second after William Knibb and McGrath played out a 0-0 draw at Drax Hall.

Glenmuir secured a 5-0 win over Port Antonio at Glenmuir to move to four points and top spot in Group 4 on goal difference.

Garvey Maceo are also on four points after a 1-0 win over Frome Technical at Foga Road. Glenmuir have a four-goal advantage heading into Saturday’s final round of games in this stage.

Play in the Round of 16 will come to an end on Saturday. In Group 1, Clarendon College will take on Cornwall College in a mouthwatering clash at Foga Road while STEHTS will take on Mile Gully at Brooks Park.

Group 2 will see B.B. Coke face Tacky at Drax Hall and Manchester take on Happy Grove at Manchester.

Dinthill will host William Knibb while McGrath and Christiana battle at the Ewarton Sports Complex in Group 3.

In Group 4, Glenmuir and Frome will do battle at the Llandilo Sports Complex knowing a win for either means a spot in the quarterfinals while Garvey Maceo will look to book their spot with a win over Port Antonio at Carder Park.

A maiden List A hundred from Zachary McCaskie propelled the Barbados Pride to a 48-run win over the Combined Campuses and Colleges in their fifth round CG United Super50 Cup tussle at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St. Augustine on Tuesday.

McCaskie, playing his first game of the season, hit a 116-ball 131 including 13 fours and four sixes to help Barbados post 314-7 from their 50 overs after winning the toss.

West Indies batsman Shamarh Brooks also hit a well-compiled 65 off 67 balls including four fours and two sixes in support.

West Indies ODI skipper Shai Hope was also in a destructive mood, hitting 33 off just 19 balls including two fours and two sixes.

Left-arm seamer Jediah Blades and leg-spinner Abhijai Mansingh each took a pair of wickets for the CCC.

The CCC chase, after a valiant effort, ended in the 46^th over with them being bowled out for 266.

Captain Shane Dowrich, who hit a brilliant unbeaten 102* to lead them to victory against the Windwards in round three, top scored with 86 off 84 balls including five fours and three sixes.

18-year-old West Indies Under-19 batsman Jordan Johnson also showed excellent form, following up 41 in round four against the Jamaica Scorpions with a 45-ball 50 including two fours and two sixes on Tuesday, his maiden List A fifty.

Demario Richards, who also hit a half-century against the Scorpions, made 41.

Off-spinner Roston Chase took 3-56from his 10 overs while Dominic Drakes and Roshon Primus picked up two wickets, each, in support for the Pride who now have three wins, one loss and one no result.

Justin Greaves hit his maiden List A century to help the Leeward Islands Hurricanes secure a massive 114-run victory over the Windward Islands Volcanoes in their fifth round CG United Super50 Cup fixture at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday.

The Leewards posted 293 all out from their 50 overs after winning the toss.

Greaves, who also hit 58 in their last game against the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force, led the way with a masterful 121 off 126 balls including 10 fours and a six while Jahmar Hamilton provided good support with an even 50 off 72 balls, the eighth of his List A career.

Captain Alzarri Joseph and all rounder Terance Ward provided cameos of 24 and 22, respectively.

Pacer Shermon Lewis picked up three wickets in his seven overs, but was expensive, conceding 68.

Leg-spinner Darel Cyrus took 2-52 from his full 10 overs while Shamar Springer took 2-45 from six.

Springer then completed a fine all-round performance with a top score of 58 but it wasn’t enough as the Windwards slumped to another defeat, being bowled out for just 179 in 42.3 overs.

Alick Athanaze got a start once again with 39 and Kavem Hodge hit 38 against Hayden Walsh Jr’s 4-40 from 6.3 overs for the Hurricanes.

Left-arm spinner Daniel Doram provided good support for Walsh Jr with 2-29 from his 10 overs.

Walsh Jr and Doram are now top two on the leading wicket-takers list after five rounds with 17 and 14 wickets, respectively.

The Leewards now have three wins and two losses this season while the Volcanoes have only one win from their five games.

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and UWI Volleyball Club emerged as the respective male and female winners at the 2023 MOSA Classic Volleyball Tournament.

The event, a precursor to the national club league, was played on Saturday and Sunday at the MICO University College Auditorium.

On the female side, UWI were dominant throughout the two days, winning four matches out of five, with their only loss coming against Masters Volleyball Club in straight sets on day one.

The final gave them an opportunity to exact revenge on Masters and they did just that, winning by three sets to none. They sped to a 25-12 first set win before Masters put up more of a fight in the second set, eventually losing 19-25. The third set was closest of all with UWI prevailing 25-22 to come away with the title.

The men’s tournament saw JDF go unbeaten over the two days, with the final against UWI “A” proving to be their toughest test.

JDF took the first set 25-17 before UWI “A” rallied to tie proceedings at one set all with a 25-21 triumph in the second. The third set was won by JDF by a score of 25-20 before UWI “A” win the fourth 25-22 to push the final to a fifth and deciding set.

In the end, JDF held their nerve to pull out a 15-7 fifth set victory and crown themselves as champions.

MOSA Volleyball Club took home third place in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

They defeated JDF (24-22, 21-9) in the women’s tournament and beat Venus Volleyball Club (21-17, 21-13) in the men’s tournament.

The Most Valuable Player of the female tournament was Erica Harris of UWI while JDF’s Mark Blake took home MVP honors on the male side.

Seven-time Pan Am Games gold medalists, Argentina, were at their dominant best to steamroll Trinidad & Tobago 21-0 in Field Hockey action at the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile on Monday.

The world number three Argentina scored two goals in the opening period before a six-goal second period meant they had an 8-0 lead at halftime.

The third period was their most fruitful, scoring eight goals before a five-goal final quarter completed the 21-0 rout.

Agustina Gorzelany lead the way with six goals while Maria Granatto scored three. Valentina Raposo, Delfina Thome, Sofia Cairo and Eugenia Trinchinetti and Julieta Jankunas all scored a pair of goals each while the other goals came from Victoria Sauze and Maria Campoy.

Defending champions Clarendon College and last year’s semi-finalists Manchester High maintained their perfect win records in this season’s ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup with wins over Mile Gully High and first-time qualifiers Tacky High, respectively, to kick off the Round of 16 on Saturday.

Clarendon College are the early leaders in Group 1 on goal-difference after beating a stubborn Mile Gully High 2-0 at Glenmuir High for their 11^th consecutive win of the season.

St Elizabeth Technical edged 10-man Cornwall College 3-2 at Jarrett Park in the day’s other Group 1 game.

Manchester High gave Tacky High a warm welcome to the Round of 16, beating them 4-1 in Group 2 and took their perfect run to 13 games.

The other Group 2 game saw Happy Grove suffer their first loss of the season, going down 2-4 to B.B. Coke after leading 2-1 at halftime.

Christiana High are the early leaders in Group 3 after a 3-2 win over William Knibb while Dinthill Technical and McGrath played out a goalless draw. Interestingly, Dinthill had already beaten McGrath twice this season.

In Group 4, a Demar Williams’ 20^th minute goal was good enough for Frome Technical to beat Port Antonio High 1-0 at Carder Park while Garvey Maceo and Glenmuir played out a 1-1 draw.

Reggae Boyz winger Demarai Gray scored the winner as Al-Ettifaq secured a 3-2 victory over Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.

Dutch former Liverpool and Newcastle midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum gave Al-Ettifaq the lead in the 18^th minute before Craig Goodwin equalized for Al-Wehda in the 37^th minute to ensure the teams went into halftime locked at 1-1.

Six minutes after the restart, Goodwin got his second to give Al-Wehda a 2-1 lead. With nine minutes left, Wijnaldum got Al-Ettifaq’s equalizer.

The game seemed to be heading for a draw before, in the eighth minute of added time, Gray cut inside on his right foot and unleashed a fierce strike from just outside the box into the bottom left corner of the goal to give Al-Ettifaq the 3-2 win.

Al-Ettifaq are now seventh in the league standings with 20 points from 11 games.

Carissa Robinson led the way with a double-double as the Lady Eagles secured a seven-point win over the Lady Panthers in Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) action at the National Stadium on Thursday.

A tense first quarter saw the Eagles close with a narrow 8-6 lead before each team seemed to get more comfortable in the second. The Eagles took that one 12-9 to lead 20-15 at halftime.

An 11-11 tie in the third quarter set up an exciting finish with the eagles taking the final stanza 9-7 to secure a 40-33 victory.

Robinson led all scorers with 17 points and an impressive 17 rebounds while also dishing out six assists.  Jovianne Donaldson had eight points, three rebounds and four steals while Asia Williams had seven points and eight rebounds.

Tissia Parker had nine points for the Panthers while Sasha Dixon had eight points, 17 rebounds, four blocks, seven steals and six assists.