“Calypso cricket” is what head coach of the West Indies Women’s team, Shane Deitz, wants his team to play going forward.

The Australian 47-year-old, who was appointed in July this year, believes that the West Indies will have to play a more attacking brand of cricket to compete with the best teams in the world.

“The brand of cricket I want us to play is definitely the traditional West Indian ‘calypso’ brand of attacking, taking it to the opposition and getting on the front foot. It’s the way I’ve always coached cricket around the world and that’s not going to change here,” Deitz said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“It’s a style of play that I think is effective so the players will definitely be getting the message that we’re here to win and we’re going to win by playing attacking, free-flowing cricket,” he added.

The former Vanuatu and Netherlands Women head coach believes the implementation of this new philosophy will take time, but will be worth it in the end.

“It may take a little bit of time to really adjust to or a few skillset upgrades in players but we’ll work towards that so they’ve got the ability to play that style of cricket and I think that’s the most successful brand of cricket around the world,” he said.

“Australia play it at the moment in women’s cricket and are consistently getting over 300 in ODIs and 160 to 180 in T20Is so we’re definitely going to follow that method and play that style of cricket and play the Caribbean way,” added Deitz.

Deitz will get his first opportunity to see the team in a competitive outing when they embark on a tour of Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is from September 30-October 14.

He says this will be a great opportunity to see some of the players first-hand against some world-class opposition.

“I’ve only been here for the WCPL to see them live so I think this tour to Australia will be a great opportunity for me to see the players first-hand against the world’s best and a team that has dominated women’s cricket around the world,” he said.

“This is a great test for us and a way for me to see the reality of where we’re at, what we need to work on and what areas we need to improve so we can formulate a long-term plan to work on players to get them up to that world class, elite level and challenge Australia, England and India who have been challenging for World Cups,” Deitz added.

As for the nucleus of his team going forward, Deitz pointed to current skipper Hayley Matthews, former captain Stafanie Taylor and all-rounder, Chinelle Henry.

“Obviously we’ve got a few players who are near the top of the world rankings with Hayley (Matthews) and Stafanie (Taylor). (Chinelle) Henry is also showing signs of being an elite level cricketer,” he said.

Former sprinter Daniel Bailey could very well be Antigua & Barbuda’s greatest when it comes to the sport of Track & Field.

The 37-year-old currently holds the country’s national record in the 100m with 9.91 done all the way back in 2009. That year also saw Bailey have his best finish at a major outdoor championship, finishing fourth in the 100m final at the Berlin World Championships, the same race which saw Usain Bolt set the current world record 9.58.

A year later, Bailey took bronze in the 60m at the World Indoor Championships in Doha with 6.57. He also holds the Antiguan national record in this event with 6.54 done in 2009.

Today, Bailey is looking to give back to the next generation of Track & Field stars through the formation of his new Tigers Track Club in his home country.

Bailey explained that after his retirement from the sport in 2021, he needed to find a way to stay close to it because of the love he still had for it and this club is his way of doing that.

“That was one of my goals after retirement, knowing the love that I have for the sport. I just passed 20 years being a professional. Even after I retired, I felt the love still so the only way I felt I could stay close to the sport is through either becoming an agent or coach,” Bailey told Sportsmax.TV.

Bailey spent his professional career training in Jamaica under the tutelage of legendary coach, Glen Mills, at the Racers Track Club. He says Mills, as well as his former high school coach, Carl Casey, were two of the people he reached out to about starting his own club back home.

“I made the decision to call my former high school coach and told him I want to start a track club and asked him what he thought. He said it’s a great idea and opportunity for me. I also called coach Mills and told him this is what I’m going to do. He’s the one that’s been teaching me a lot when it comes to Track & Field, not just on the track but off the track as well,” he said.

“I finally said to myself let me just open a track club and see what the future holds. I’m confident that I’ll do well. I’m not going to guarantee that I’ll produce world beaters and world champions but that is my goal. I want to be different,” he added.

Bailey said he got the inspiration to start a track club when he started coaching a young athlete two years ago.

“Two years ago, I started training an athlete, River Robinson. I met him and we started training and sometimes I would call coach just to clarify certain things and then after a while, COVID hit and we could not do certain things or go certain places. We actually came back in to Antigua for a little bit. He was in school and had everything on point academically but he needed performance to get into a good school because the times that he was running could not get him anywhere so I said I’m going to start doing some work with him,” Bailey said.

“After all this, we started training during COVID and we spent most of the time training on the grass with no gym work or no offseason work. After a little bit, I realized they started to lift the COVID restrictions so we could travel. There were a couple of meets in Jacksonville and after three months of training, we wanted to see where he ranged up. We did that and got him ready. Before that, his fastest time was 11.44 and that can’t get you anywhere but when I saw him run, I saw the talent. With the three months work of me getting him stronger and more technically correct, we went to Jacksonville to compete in three meets. He missed the first one and ran 10.5 in the second one, a big personal best. That’s when schools started to call him. After that I said to myself, ‘I think I can do this.' I think there’s just an art around it and anything I don’t understand I can just ask questions. I always have a guide where coach Mills is concerned,” Bailey added.

The former sprinter then went more in depth about his relationship with his former coach, discussing the things he learned from Mills that he would like to implement at his own club.

“I trained with coach Mills for 15-16 years. I left from Antigua at a young age to join the club but when I got to Jamaica, I realized the difference with what I was doing here in Antigua. The whole gym regimen and training was different. What got my attention was when I got back to Antigua after so many years in Jamaica, that a lot of the young athletes here are doing the stuff that I used to do when I was a little kid. We can get better for these athletes. They have the talent but there’s a lack of pedigree,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, we do have young athletes going through the system but I know they can run a lot faster so my aim is to try to transfer what I’ve learnt in Jamaica to my athletes. Not just what I’ve learnt on the track but off the track as well. I want them to be well rounded,” he added.

While he recognizes that his club is in the grassroots stage, Bailey believes that, in the future, Tigers Track Club will be able to attract talent from all over the world. In fact, he says some athletes from across the globe have already started reaching out to him.

“I also want to invite athletes from overseas to join my club. I’m already getting athletes that live overseas calling me to join the club but I’m not at that stage as yet,” he said.

“Right now, I’m just focusing on local athletes. I have nine athletes right now that I’m getting ready for CARIFTA next year and whatever branches off from that, we’ll take and move forward,” Bailey added.

Hydel High confirmed their status as serious title contenders for this season’s ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup title with a stunning 4-0 win over 16-time winners Kingston College at Royal Lakes on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Zone A, Calabar opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Penwood.

In Zone B, Kingston Technical secured a 3-1 win over Cumberland while Spanish Town and Meadowbrook played out a 2-2 draw at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

STATHS were the second biggest winners on the day with a 6-0 drubbing of Bridgeport in Zone D action. Also in Zone D, Excelsior beat Clan Carthy 3-0 while Tarrant secured a 2-1 win over Cedar Grove.

Edith Dalton James were the day’s biggest winners with a 7-0 score line over St. Mary’s College while St. Catherine High beat Innswood 3-0 in Zone E action.

In Zone G, Wolmer’s Boys beat Donald Quarrie 6-1.

Hosts Sri Lanka ended day one of the second Youth Test against West Indies U19s with a 64-run first innings lead at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka first dismissed the young West Indians for 127 in 36.4 overs after the tourists won the toss and chose to bat.

Left-hander Jordan Johnson followed up his 149 in the last game with a 49-ball 52 including six fours and two sixes while openers Stephan Pascal and Steven Wedderburn hit 28 and 24, respectively.

Vihas Thewmika led the way with the ball for Sri Lanka with 5-43 from 11.4 overs while Malsha Tharupathi took 3-16 from five overs.

Sri Lanka then reached 191-4 off 51 overs at stumps.

Rusanda Gamage was the top scorer with 58 from 52 balls including 10 fours while Ravishan de Silva hit 43 and Pulindu Perera made 41.

Isai Thorne, Deshawn James and Nathan Sealy took the wickets.

Jamaican middle-distance specialist Adelle Tracey finished what can be dubbed a successful 2023 season with a fifth-place finish in the 42^nd annual 5^th Avenue Mile in New York on Tuesday.

Tracey ran a time of 4:22 for fifth. The race was won by Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie in 4:20 ahead of Ireland’s Sarah Healy (4:20) and the USA’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant (4:21).

“Every mile deserves a smile! No better way to sign off the season than smiling on the streets of NYC, finishing fifth at the 5^th Avenue Mile in 4.21.3,” Tracey said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“Big thank you to New York Road Runners for always putting together such a fun meet! I’m so thankful for the experiences I’ve enjoyed the last couple of weeks, and I’m already excited to see how these could shape next season…But first it’s time to rest up and enjoy some down time,” Tracey added.

The best of those experiences of the last two weeks for Tracey came at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest where she set personal bests in both the 800m and the 1500m.

Tracey ran 1:58.41 to finish seventh in the final of the 800m. This was after Tracey became the first Jamaican woman to go under four minutes in the 1500m, running 3:58.77 in her semi-final.

2022 Ben Francis Cup Knockout champions Edwin Allen High started their 2023 DaCosta Cup campaign with a 7-1 win over Claude McKay on Monday.

Edwin Allen, who were quarterfinalists in last year’s DaCosta Cup, are now leaders of Zone H after the first round of matches. Elsewhere in the zone, Kellits High secured a 1-0 win over Thompson Town. Zone H play kicked off on Saturday when defending champions Clarendon College beat Lennon High 5-0.

In Zone I, Wycliffe Martin High secured a 1-0 win over St. Mary High.

Andre Fletcher starred with an unbeaten 93 to lead the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots to a four-wicket win over the St. Lucia Kings at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Saturday.

This win was the first for the Patriots this season in nine games, their worst run since the 2020 season where they finished last after winning just one match.

The Kings were restricted to 149-7 off their 20 overs after the Patriots won the toss and decided to field first.

Shadrack Descarte led the way with a 31-ball 43 while Johnson Charles hit 42 for the Kings as Ashmead Nedd bowled beautifully up front for the Patriots with 2-14 from his four overs. Benny Howell also bowled well with 2-31 from his four overs.

Fletcher then starred with an unbeaten 93 from 64 balls including six fours and five sixes to lead the successful chase for the Patriots.

Sherfane Rutherford was the next highest scorer with 17.

Things got a bit tricky for the Patriots in the 17^th over when Fletcher picked up a hamstring injury which left him unable to run unimpaired for the remainder of the chase.

With that being said, the chase seemed comfortable up until the penultimate over from Alzarri Joseph.

The Patriots needed just 10 from the final two overs at that point before a brilliant over from Joseph meant St. Kitts & Nevis would end up needing nine from the last over with an injured Fletched and Corbin Bosch at the crease.

Roston Chase was tasked with bowling the last over. The first two balls were hit for singles before Bosch was dismissed caught at deep mid-wicket off the third ball leaving the Patriots needing seven.

Dominic Drakes joined Fletcher at the crease and was only able to get a single off the fourth ball.

Fletcher then ended proceedings with a six off the fifth ball to seal the win.

Kharry Pierre, Roston Chase and Sikanda Raza all took two wickets, each, for the Kings.

“A great feeling” is how Reggae Boyz winger Demarai Gray described netting his first goal on Jamaican soil.

The 29-year-old scored his third goal for the Reggae Boyz and his first in Jamaica to help the team secure a 1-0 win over Honduras to kick off their CONCACAF Nations League Group A campaign at the National Stadium on Friday.

After a scrappy and cagey first half, the Al Ettifaq winger latched on to a through ball from Fulham midfielder, Bobby Decordova-Reid, to comfortably slot home Jamaica’s winner in the 64^th minute.

“It was important that we got the three points because that’s all that matters in the end,” Gray told the media after the match.

“It wasn’t the nicest game. Credit to Honduras because they were aggressive and made it difficult for us but in the second half, we came back together and came up with a game plan. You have to be patient in these games and wait for the moment and, luckily, the moment came for me on this occasion. We’ll look back on what we did well and what we did badly and focus on the next game,” he added.

The former Everton man also described the feeling of scoring his first goal in front of the Jamaican crowd.

“Scoring in front of the fans was a great feeling but, most importantly, we take the three points. The fans came out to watch us so we needed to give them something to celebrate and we did that,” he said.

“We have to give thanks for them because without them, we’re half as strong. When we play at home, especially, we have to give our best. Jamaica as a team are going to keep growing,” he added.

Gray will hope to continue his excellent form to start his Reggae Boyz career when the Jamaicans host Haiti at the same venue on Tuesday.

Rusheen McDonald, the fastest Jamaican in the world this year, produced a typical fast finish to take the 400m crown at the Brussels Diamond League on Friday.

The 31-year-old had a relatively fast first 300m before digging in for the last 100m to win in 44.84, holding off the fast-finishing Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic who ran a season’s best 44.93 in second.

Norway’s Havard Bentdal Ingvaldsen ran 45.07 in third.

This is the fifth time that McDonald has dipped below 45 seconds this season, with all coming after the Jamaican National Championships in June where he didn’t report for his semi-final.

McDonald was a member of the Jamaican 4x400 quartet at the World Championships in Budapest.

Janieve Russell and Rushell Clayton finished second and third as Dutch World Champion Femke Bol continued her unbeaten run this season in the 400m hurdles at the Brussels Diamond League on Friday.

Bol started calmly before using her unreal strength to pull away from the rest of the field in the last 100m to come home in a meet record 52.11.

Russell, a two-time Commonwealth Champion and a finalist at the recently concluded World Championships in Budapest, was second in 53.80 while Clayton, who took bronze at those World Championships, was third in 54.10.

Andrenette Knight, who was also a finalist in Budapest, led the field after the first half of the race but faded into sixth in 54.75.

The first Youth Test match between Sri Lanka U19s and the West Indies U19s at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium has ended in a draw.

The West Indies entered Friday’s fourth and final day on 119-3 off 31.5 overs, a deficit of 313 runs.

Jordan Johnson, who entered the day unbeaten on 54, carried on to make a brilliant 149 off 207 balls including 11 fours and two sixes. Johnson also hit a century in the ODI series.

Steven Wedderburn entered the day on 28 and eventually made 41 while Nathan Edward contributed 36 as the West Indies were eventually bowled out for 309 in 89.5 overs.

Vihas Thewmika took 6-78 off 28.5 overs while Vishwa Lahiru took 3-61 off 24 overs for the hosts.

Sri Lanka then reached 122-4 in their second innings before play was called off and the spoils were shared.

Ravishan Nethsara hit an even 50.

The teams will now turn their attention to the second match beginning on Monday.

Reigning two-time World 200m champion Shericka Jackson says she is eyeing Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 34-year-old 200m world record when she lines up in the event at the Brussels Diamond League on Friday.

Griffith-Joyner set the world record of 21.34 at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Jackson first came close to that mark at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene when she produced 21.45 for gold.

This year in Budapest, Jackson came even closer, running 21.41 to defend her title.

“At the World Championships I was so close. Just a little wind and I would’ve been the world record holder,” Jackson said at the pre-meet press conference on Thursday.

“Coach and I have spoken and we are going after it this year. I hope to get it tomorrow. If I do, that would definitely ease a bit of pressure off me going into the Diamond League final in Eugene,” she added.

Jackson then added that the conditions as well as her execution will have to be good for her to break the record.

“There is no perfect race but I just want to run a good race tomorrow. We’re right there and it would be good tomorrow if we got some Jamaican weather,” she said.

Jackson will run out of lane six tomorrow.

West Indies Under-19s will enter the fourth and final day of the first Youth Test against Sri Lanka U-19s facing a 313-run first innings deficit at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium.

The West Indies ended Thursday’s third day on 119-3 from 31.5 overs replying to Sri Lanka’s massive 432-8 declared.

Jordan Johnson has led the way for the young West Indians so far with an unbeaten 54 while his Jamaican countryman, Steven Wedderburn, is the other not out batsman on 28.

Vishwa Lahiru has picked up 2-22 in 11 overs for the hosts.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors Women got their first win of the 2023 WCPL season with a 21-run triumph over the Trinbago Knight Riders Women at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday.

The Amazon Warriors posted 132 all out in 19.5 overs after winning the toss. Sophie Devine continued her good form this season with a top score of 48 while Captain Stafanie Taylor made 32 against four-wicket hauls from Anisa Mohammed and Marie Kelly for TKR.

Knight Riders Captain Deandra Dottin then led the way with 35 but it wasn’t enough as they were restricted to 111-9 off their 20 overs.

Shreyanka Patil (2-15 from four), Karishma Ramharack (2-16 from four), Sophie Devine (2-27 from four) and Shabnim Ismail (2-29 from four) all bowled well for the Amazon Warriors.

Sri Lanka Under-19s were 163-3 at stumps on a rain-affected day one of their first youth Test against the West Indies Under-19s at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Tuesday.

Only 38 overs were possible on the day after the hosts won the toss and decided to bat first.

Opener Pulindu Perera, who hit 155 in the third ODI last week, followed that up with a 66-ball 71 including eight fours and two sixes.

Captain Sineth Jayawardene, who opened the batting as well, made a run-a-ball 34 while Ravishan Nethsara ended the day 31*.

Tarrique Edward, Nathan Sealy and Isai Thorne are the West Indian wicket-takers, so far.