Do not be sucked into negativity, racism
* President tells PYARG youth assembly
“I WANT you to always be optimistic in your hearts. Never allow negative thoughts to come into your heads. For young people to succeed in today’s world they have to be positive and never allow anyone to say to them that they cannot achieve anything in this world. You try and try harder.”
This was the charge delivered by patron of the President’s Youth Award, Republic of Guyana (PYARG) President Bharrat Jagdeo when he met the youth assembly at the National Gymnasium in the City on Thursday.

PYARG is hosting the youth assembly in the capital city as part of Guyana’s 40 th Independence Anniversary celebrations.

President Jagdeo was scheduled to meet the youths at Parliament Building Thursday evening, but was unable to do so.

The Head of State told the young people that a positive attitude goes a far way in moulding their characters.

Commenting on the large assembly, comprising more than 500 participants from across the country, the President said there is strength in cultural and ethnic diversity as portrayed by the large gathering.

“I am extremely pleased to spend time with you because I think you are very important. In 10 to15 years, you would be the ones running this country and we can awaken in you from now patriotism and love for this country and the importance of all our people working together; and not allow how we look, how we speak or where we come from to matter, ” the President said.

He noted that Guyana has the talent, brilliance, vigour, enthusiasm and economic potential to succeed, even though these have been suppressed for a long time. He noted that Guyana came through really hard times particularly during the colonial years.

He also noted that young people are a powerful force to reckon with. Recalling his youthful experience as a Minister in the PPP/C government, President Jagdeo said there were many doubting Thomases who said he would not have survived as Finance Minister. However, he overcame through “hard work and perseverance.”

“ It shows young people can make a difference.”
He also urged the youths not to be involved in rumour mongering and talks of racism as “racism eats out the soul of a nation. Never allow that to harm or cause you not to interact with your fellow brothers and sisters in this country.”

Executive Officer of PYARG Alfred King said that the youth assembly is part of a well-thought-out activity fashioned to bring young people together to live and work cooperatively so that they can develop team and leadership skills and appreciate each other’s cultures. In Georgetown, the youths visited several heritage sites and other locations of historical importance.

Planned exercises included coastal clean-ups, tree planting, a poverty housing construction exercise in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity, camping and information technology sessions.

They also participated in the flag raising ceremony at the National Park Thursday evening.

On October, 3, 1998 the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport launched PYARG and since then more than 3000 youths have registered and hundreds have received Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.

The scheme is designed to help young people get through the difficult and challenging transition from adolescence to responsible adulthood.

Participants from throughout Guyana, between 17-25 years, and who fit other criteria, are accepted into the programme. This year, 700 new volunteers have signed on.

PYARG presents to young people a balanced, non-competitive programme of voluntary activities which encourage personal discovery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and service to their community.
Government contributes an annual $10M to the PYARG. (GINA)

Guyana preparing to host June Rio Group meeting
GUYANA is making preparations to host the June 19 to 20, 2006, meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Rio Group which it now chairs.

The Guyanese Minister, Dr Rudy Insanally, told a press conference, at the Foreign Service Institute in Georgetown Thursday, that a process of consultation is under way to ensure that the event is most meaningful.

He indicated that the thrust at that forum will be strengthening and deepening relations between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and South America, dealing with the imbalance among the member states of the grouping, bolstering its voice in world affairs and looking at the concept of Guyana being the gateway to South America.

Insanally said the conference next month will pave the way for a Rio Group summit.

Alluding to the Guyana/Suriname border issue being dealt with at the level of the Hamburg-based International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, he said the other disputant has until September to submit its arguments, before hearings begin at the Organisation of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Insanally said a decision on that adjudication is expected sometime next year.

On the Venezuela claim, he said there has been no spectacular development but President Bharrat Jagdeo is to reciprocate a visit by President Hugo Chavez at a date to be agreed after elections in both their countries.

Independence Arch will be put up again
The Independence Arch previously located at Ruimveldt in the vicinity of Alexander Village, South Georgetown, which was taken down to facilitate the construction of the East Bank Demerara four-lane road, will be re-installed but the location has not yet been identified.

Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Harry Narine Nawbatt said that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) and the Ministry of Public Works and Communications are to discuss the new location of the arch and agree on adjustments that may be required. Agricola or the previous site are two feasible locations.

The structure has to be extended to accommodate the increased width of the four-lane road.

The Arch was dismantled on November 14, 2004, when construction of the four-lane road commenced. It was constructed in 1966 by GEO.A. Hamilton and Sons to commemorate the granting of Independence to British Guiana.

It has since become a landmark, similar to the one on Brickdam, which was a gift to the people of Guyana from the Demerara Bauxite Company (DEMBA), also to commemorate the country’s Independence on 26 May 1966.

PSC recommends suggests random sample of Preliminary Voters List
THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) has recommended that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) consider authorising a national random sample of the Preliminary Voters List (PVL) for the purpose of establishing the existence of persons on the list.

In a letter to GECOM, made public to the media, the PSC said that the sample should provide for both visual evidence of the persons sampled and a reasonable degree of testimonial evidence that the persons exist if they are not present when the sample is taken.

“We believe that such an exercise would do much to defuse the political controversy over the question of verification and contribute to winning public confidence in the electoral list,” the release said.

The letter stemmed from a May 19th meeting between the two bodies in order for the PSC to have a full report with regard to GECOM’s readiness for the delivery of elections in a satisfactory manner by the constitutionally due date and with a clean electoral list.

At that meeting, the PSC urged GECOM to do everything within its powers to avoid a national crisis in relation to the issue of house to house verification.

According to the PSC, GECOM should have already established for the public’s benefit whether a Guyanese citizen who has been duly registered to vote is required under the law to be a resident in Guyana at the time of voting.

If residency in Guyana is not a requirement, then the demand for house to house verification for the purpose of establishing residency could result in disenfranchising Guyanese citizens who have already satisfied the registration requirements but are no longer resident in Guyana, the PSC said.

On the other hand, house to house verification is justified if residency is a requirement under law because a substantial number of persons who were registered to vote in 2001 have left Guyana.

However, the PSC pointed out that the final decisions have to be made by the Commission.

Some fuel stations have no reduced their prices
GOVERNMENT is keeping a close eye on privately owned fuel stations which have not reduced their price for fuel although the consumption tax on both gasoline and dieseline has been reduced.

Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon at his weekly news conference Wednesday said that the “non-state actors” are in an “apparent collaboration” when it comes to setting the prices for trade in fuel at the pump.

He added that in all cases, their prices exceed that of the state-owned Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), and functionaries of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce have been instructed to maintain close scrutiny in the matter.

The price for diesel at service stations should not exceed $600 per gallon following the Government’s reduction of consumption tax from 17.5 per cent to 10 per cent last week. It had been reduced from $664 per gallon.

This follows the earlier April 20th reduction on the consumption tax on gasoline from 45 percent to 30 percent. Consequently, gasoline has been reduced from $846 to $809 per gallon, Dr. Luncheon said.

In addition, kerosene prices will also be reduced to $564 per gallon, down from $573.

According to Dr. Luncheon, Cabinet is also urging that consumers be aware of the reduction in the consumption tax on diesel and gasoline which should be reflected in a decrease in the price at the pump.

Titles for more Amerindian communities
Titling for three more Amerindian communities has been approved by the Government.

At his weekly news conference, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon announced that the communities to receive titles are Kaburi in Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Fairview in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni), and Annai in Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).

While the titles for Kaburi and Fairview are new, that for Annai is an extension.

The Iwokrama International Centre had earlier given its approval of Annai’s request to receive title, since it is located within the boundaries of the Iwokrama Reserve in the area known as Kurupukari.

Annai is already a titled area comprising five communities. Cabinet has given approval for the extension of the boundary for an additional area that represents logging concessions held by the North Rupununi District Development Board, Luncheon said.

Political parties must exercise caution during campaigns
-ERC Chairman
POLITICAL parties contesting the upcoming General Elections should ensure that their campaign methods are not in contravention of policies and guidelines stipulated by the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC).

This statement was made by the Commission’s Chairman Juan Edghill during a breakfast meeting Thursday morning in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), at Cara Lodge in Georgetown.

Among those present were UNDP Resident Representative Youssuf Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer, ERC Christine King and representatives of the local media.

The purpose of the encounter was to review the work of the ERC as it relates to the Multi-Stakeholder Forum which is funded by the UNDP, and pioneer initiatives to be implemented during the imminent national conversation.

One of the concerns raised during the encounter was the possible non-compliance by political parties with ERC stipulations.

Participants posited that political rallies which are sometimes racially inciting can erode the work done by the Commission.

According to Edghill, the sensitisation campaigns conducted by the ERC in various regions were effective and persons should not allow themselves to be easily influenced by race talk.

He added that the Commission will be deploying personnel to monitor the content of various rallies and other political meetings to ensure conformity with its stipulations.

As part of the Multi-stakeholder Forum, 143 community conferences have been conducted and the regional conferences are underway.

Following these will be the grand ‘National Conversation’, which will seek to convene all the regional representatives in an environment where they will pool ideas for the formulation of anti-discriminatory policies.

GTA-supported cricket song, video by Terry Gajraj launched
- to assist in promoting Guyana’s tourism
Popular local singer and overseas-based Guyanese Terry Gajraj Thursday launched a new song and video produced by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) to assist in showcasing Guyana’s tourism potential, especially with Guyana now heightening preparations to host Cricket World Cup 2007.

The video and song were launched during a press conference at the National Exhibition Centre, Sophia. The song, “Cricket Lovely Cricket” is about cricket in Guyana while the video consists of various attractive scenes around the country, including a number of tourist areas such as the Kaieteur Falls.

“It’s a pleasure for us from the GTA to host this little preview of what we see as a very important activity,” Executive Director of the GTA, Indira Anandjit stated.

She explained that Gajraj approached the GTA in December last and it was decided that with cricket coming up and people not aware of what a wonderful destination Guyana is, one way of sensitising people to this would be through entertainment.

“We are hoping to use this medium to send the message about Guyana and things which are happening here.”

She said when the GTA was approached, it was felt that the song would be an excellent way of sending some serious messages of things happening in the country and showcasing its beauty.

“Despite the negative image which some of you report on, we still have a lot going for us, a lot of positive things that are happening,” Anandjit told the media.

“When you look at this DVD, you will see the positive energy that went behind this and how patriotic I do believe Terry really is to this country because he promotes his work not only in the USA where he lives, but he frequents the UK and he goes to Canada. He has shows throughout the Caribbean and if this is one of the ways to showcase our country then we are not to complain because that is our job also,” the GTA Executive Director pointed out.

Anandjit noted that the song had been first rejected since it had infringed on one of the rules of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for Cricket World Cup 2007, as a line in the song had included the event. It had to be redone.

The GTA Executive Director expressed gratitude to a number of public and private entities that supported the venture and contributed to the making of the video, including the Government Information Agency (GINA) for providing much-needed footage, Baganara Island Resort, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Pizza Hut and the National Communications Network (NCN) for assisting with facilities for recording the video.

Meanwhile, Gajraj said that he is happy to be making another major mark on the music scene in Guyana and that he has observed a number of positive changes in the field here, such as better studio and other recording facilities.

He emphasised that the song has already been getting good reviews in New York, noting that it has been produced at a time when the West Indies cricket team seems to be making a ‘comeback’ and have won some matches recently.

Gajraj has been involved in the music industry for the past 15 years and has recorded other popular local songs, including “Guyana Baboo.” (GINA)

National Awardees to be announced later
A special ceremony is to be hosted this year when the list of National Awardees will be announced.

This disclosure was made by Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing Wednesday at the Office of the President.

Usually, the announcement is made each year on Independence Day and awards are presented at an investiture ceremony later in the year.

Guyanese from all walks of life within various fields are honoured yearly for their contributions toward the development of the country. The highest award granted is the Order of Excellence.
(GINA)

Plans in train for concrete bridge at Kurupukari
Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Harry Narine Nawbatt, has indicated that plans are in the pipeline for the construction of a concrete bridge at Kurupukari along the Linden to Lethem road.

Last month, the bridge collapsed under the weight of an overloaded truck carrying more than 16 tonnes. This resulted in traffic being cut off along the roadway. Government has since spent almost $13M to execute temporary repairs by constructing a wooden one-way structure that is currently facilitating traffic while weight restrictions are being enforced.

The contract for the bridge’s repairs was granted to Mekdeci Machinery and Construction (MMC) Incorporated, which also has responsibility to maintain the road from Mabura to Lethem under a sub-contract granted by government.

At present, quotations are being sought for the cost of constructing the structure from contractors, including one from Rupununi, Region Nine (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo).

Minister Nawbatt explained that construction of the concrete bridge would start later in the year.

Construction and repairs to bridges and roads are part of government’s developmental programme that targets every community. This year, more than $4.5B has been allocated to continue improvement of highways, roads and bridges.

The sum of $755M will be spent to start resurfacing the New Amsterdam/Moleson Creek Highway, while $217M will be used to complete the Mahaica/Rosignol road.

In addition, more than $2.4B has been allocated to upgrade community and urban roads countrywide, and another $220M for routine maintenance and road safety works.

A sum of $722M will be used for continuation of works under the bridges’ rehabilitation programme. (GINA)

Strategies must be aimed at removing impediments
Guyana observed it 40th Independence Anniversary yesterday, a special and significant milestone.

The fireworks and cultural presentation at the National Park as May 26 dawned did generate a festive mood.

But there was that undercurrent of anxiety as we could not forget the criminal elements at large in our country, and as we wonder who next will become victim of these.

And to make matters worse, the security forces have so far made little headway in apprehending those responsible for the long list of murders and robberies and other atrocities.

At the same time with elections imminent and GECOM still not being able to put its act together, and memories of the pre and post-tribulations associated with elections fresh in our minds, the uncertainty and fear is further deepened.

The present situation has caused cynics and pessimists to even suggest that nothing has been achieved under independence and Guyana should have remained a colony of Britain.

What these pessimists should realise is that independence and development is not a simple mathematical equation like two plus two equal four. Instead they should get into the causes and objective conditions for the difficulties under independence.

To begin with, it should be recalled that of the 40 years of independence, more than two decades were under an administration that preached the paramountcy of the party and under the experiment with cooperative socialism, when the party in power even flew its flag over the courts and policemen were used to sell its party organ by coercing citizens into buying it.

Sloganeering was a priority and a substitute for reality. “The small man will become a real man; Land to the tiller; Eat less, sleep less and work harder” and such like were prominently promoted and displayed.

Agriculture which was and is the backbone of our economy, was largely neglected because those who were involved in agricultural production appeared to be supporters of the main opposition party.

Later on the government came to its senses and admitted that indeed agriculture is the backbone of the economy and brought in daylight saving time and began urging people to cultivate all possible bits of land. But this was like closing the stable door after the horse had fled.

The scrapping of the railway system aggravated the crisis, as OPEC production of oil was cut and took its toll on developing countries which were heavily dependent on imported fuel.

Strange enough it was a former deputy prime minister who admitted in the National Assembly that scrapping the railway was a mistake, while the architect of this absurd move remained mum.

In more recent times the society has been enveloped by a wave of unprecedented criminality.

Therefore an evaluation of achievements of independence cannot be seen in abstraction, but in relation to objective and subjective realities.

It also must be recognised that after that 40 years, a nation is still relatively young. That is not to say, however, that much more could not have been achieved over this period of time.

But when one looks at the U.S. for example, the most wealthy and powerful nation, it will be seen that it took over 200 years of independence to make it into a world power, and similar examples exist throughout the world. The U.S. also had its difficulties with a civil war which threatened its federation of states as well as its racial riots and clashes.

Independence is a logical social reality and when not granted will be sought. A child at a certain age seeks some level of independence from his/her parents, a married couple does the same and colonies do the same.

What is essential for a young nation is for its independence to be accompanied by patriotic and visionary ideals which must be nurtured by national unity. Unfortunately, in Guyana’s case, these have been lacking for the greater part of its 40 years of independence.

However, if Guyana is to put its independence to the benefit of its people, then the blame game and finger pointing has got to take a back seat.

Instead energies have to be directed to the formulation and implementation of policies and strategies aimed at removing impediments to progress.

A disrespectful Basil Williams
IT was very disrespectful of Mr. Basil Williams on the VCT Evening News (06.05.25) to have kept referring to President Bharrat Jagdeo as “Jagdeo” over and over. Here is this political figure in a news report on the mentioned newscast using just the President’s sir name numerous times in the story. This is a blatant rudeness. The President holds the highest office in the land and deserves to be referred to his title or at least “Mr. Jagdeo” whenever being mentioned by his supporters, the general public, his opposition colleagues and the media as a whole.

What example is Mr. Williams showing the public? What example is he showing the young people of this nation? President Jagdeo is Guyana’s President. He is a President for all of Guyana. The media also regularly refers to the leader by just his surname. A person who disagrees with the President or even lambasting him does not give them the right to address him by his surname alone. That is very unprofessional.

A very interesting letter writer wrote in the SN, May 25 that the PNC/R needs to be reborn. Well that is very true.
James Marakhan

D&I doing well
I hope I am not sounding the trumpet too soon but, I wish to give recognition to the amount of drainage and irrigation work that has been done in preparation for heavy rainfall.

So far, it appears that the output is proving fruitful in most of the areas where it can be seen that drains have been dug and structures put in place and repaired. Many initiatives were developed and I am sure these will make  a big impact.

The purchase of heavy duty excavators for deployment to the regions, the community drainage programme put in action by President Jagdeo and increased allocations to various agencies are some good measures taken.

Judging from the situation over the past two years, I think it is quite a step to gear up our drainage system to better deal with heavy volumes of rain.   

I do however wish to highlight the importance of maintenance.

If we look carefully at the situation, we’ll be able to see that it is no use constructing massive structures and excavating canals and then leave them to be silted up and destroyed. I am glad that the head of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority realizes this as I have heard him mention it many times in recent statements.

Garbage is yet another issue that we citizens need to take cognizance of in protecting ourselves against flooding.
Anita Wong

From the sublime to the ridiculous
THERE has been a lot of discussion on the issue of verification of the 2001 Official List of Electors (OLE) and the current (2006) PLE (Preliminary List of Electors).

Certainly, this subject will continue to be the focus of many more dialogues and debates.

My view (and I am confident that most Guyanese share the same belief) is that there has been strong and convincing evidence of a number of authentic measures that have been employed as part of a continuous verification process of the 2001 OLE prior to and after the 2001 general elections.

The 2001 OLE, along with the new registrants from the 2006 continuous registration process, will form the basis of the OLE for elections this year. I would not venture into further details of the various verification measures used so far since these have been ventilated over and over again.

However, I wish to comment on a statement made by Mr. Keith Scott, the leader of the National Front Alliance at the rally of the Joint Parliamentary Opposition Parties held on Saturday, May 13, 2006 at the 1763 Monument Square in Georgetown.

Mr. Keith Scott, in dealing with the verification issue, made reference to the capture of Trinidadian, David Millard who was wanted in his country for alleged criminal offences. Millard was hiding out in Guyana using a fake Guyanese passport. Mr. Scott insinuated that the 2006 OLE could be padded with such individuals.

If this is the level of simplicity to which leaders of the political parties will reduce themselves to deal with important election issues, then it is evident that their mind set constitutes a deliberate ploy to interfere with the smooth conduct of free and fair elections in this country, and the people must see them for what they are worth.

Neither Mr. Millard’s name nor the name he used on the fake passport (Edmond De Freitas) is even on the 2006 PLE. Imagine that is the name Mr. Scott is using to judge the authenticity of the voters list. This is really and truly a case of moving from the sublime to the ridiculous.

I only hope in the interest of this beautiful land of ours that the JPOP and all other political parties will bring to bear responsible conduct during their election campaign or else they can senselessly provoke an already fragile situation.
ROGER NELSON

Missing essential ingredients
IT HAS been disclosed that a poll has been recently conducted by American Dick Morris and Frank Lunz.

Some of the key statistics of the poll were that 1,063 persons who are expected to exercise their franchise at the next elections were interviewed. Of this number 40 per cent favoured President Bharrat Jagdeo, 36 per cent for Opposition Leader Robert Corbin and 21 per cent preferred AFC leader, Raphael Trotman. There were also other statistics emanating from the poll that have been published in the media.

The poll has generated many varying evaluations and predictions. What is interesting here, however, is that the methodology of the poll was not disclosed, neither were details of the questions posed to the interviewees. These are essential ingredients that pollsters are obliged to make public to establish the credibility of any such exercise.

I wish to posit that if the integrity of any poll is not clearly established then the disclosed results should not be used to do any assessment, projections or forecasts. No disrespect meant to Mr. Morris or Mr. Lunz, but anyone can announce figures and statistics of polls that they claim they have conducted but the veracity of such exercises must be clearly substantiated if any credence can be lent to them.

Clearly, the Morris/Lunz survey did not satisfy the credibility requirements of a reliable and dependable poll.

There is one other intriguing factor that also warrants consideration in this whole scenario. Mr. Morris and Lunz are members of the management team of the AFC elections campaign and they may think that it is a good strategy on their part to start the AFC’s campaign on an optimistic note by announcing the results of the poll they claimed they have conducted.

While that may be so, there is the inherent danger of misinformation leading to certain expectations which, is not realised, can have devastating consequences on our already fragile society.
RONALD ISAACS

Put this on hold
HERE is a simple reason why investors would not want to invest in Guyana.

The Maritime Administration and the government want to standardise the Georgetown/Vreed-en-Hoop speedboat service to carry a maximum of 32 passengers from June 1, 2006. This will cost an additional investment by owners of $31,000,000 to build new boats and $9,500,000 for additional engine. Seventy-five per cent of the owners have to rebuild and another 15 per cent would have to make adjustments to their boats; also 20 per cent of the owners would have to purchase new engines.

They claim the reason for this is the following: safety, and there was a voting of owners some four years ago to standardise.

There was no accident for the past 10 years in this service; also the Chairman and other owners of the Association have no right to determine how many passengers we should carry. These boats are all in service for the past five years and are carrying passengers according to the laws of Guyana. Standardisation is not law because Parika has various sizes of boats operating in that service -- the same as Georgetown.

Owners who are agreeing to this have the size of the 32 seater boat. These owners do not have the right to determine what number of passengers other owners should carry. If this is what the government wants, then they should see that Banks DIH and DDL make the same profit.

We need some help from the media, the international community, international maritime or anyone. We need this to be put on hold. We need a committee of inquiry into this matter immediately.

(1) Any voting to be done must be documented by signatures, this was not done.

(2) Who will compensate owners for the additional investment? Profit will be less.
OPERATORS

At last…
A Big Hurrah
… Lara and Bravo take Windies to glory
By S. Rajesh
PLAYING what will probably be his penultimate one-day game at his home ground of Queen's Park Oval, Brian Lara produced a glorious match-winning 69 as West Indies romped home to a six-wicket win to seal the series with an unbeatable 3-1 lead, yesterday.

Set a target of 218 after the Indians’ batting misfired again, West Indies stuttered briefly when they lost Chris Gayle, but Lara found a willing ally in fellow Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo, who remained unbeaten on 61, and their 91-run stand shut out all hopes for India.

On a pitch which tested a batsman's run-scoring abilities - the pace and the bounce were variable, and the spinners got significant turn - the Indians were again found wanting after being put in to bat. The West Indies fast bowlers - led by Fidel Edwards, who added impeccable control to his usual pacy offerings - shackled the Indian top order early in the innings.

Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif subsequently injected some momentum with half-centuries, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced some fireworks at the end, but India were restricted to a total far below what they would have liked.

Gayle slowed down noticeably after his frenetic start - his last 16 runs took him 40 deliveries - but by then the Lara show had begun. Hesitant at the outset, especially against Ajit Agarkar - again India's standout bowler - Lara gradually found his rhythm, pacing his knock quite superbly. The first few runs came mostly off singles, but as the confidence returned so did his breathtaking footwork against the spinners, which was easily the highlight of his innings.

Ramesh Powar and Harbhajan Singh would have fancied their chances on this pitch, but Lara won that battle, and quite convincingly. His tussle against Powar was especially engrossing - Powar repeatedly tried to beat Lara in flight, and each time Lara rose to the challenge, padding it away when he wasn't to the pitch, but willing to take a few chances as well. A sashay down the pitch for a flick past mid-on off Powar brought up the fifty partnership, before he turned his attention to Harbhajan in his last over.

Twice, Lara shimmied down the wicket and hoisted him over midwicket for fours, and then followed it with a glorious lofted stroke - high backlift and complete follow-through - high over long-on for six.

If West Indies' batting was authoritative, their performance in the field was equally without blemish. Fidel Edwards ended up with only one wicket, but could easily have had a few more, and his economy rate of 2.37 suggests just how much he made the Indians struggle.

Dravid, especially, was all at sea against the late swing that Edwards obtained. Ian Bradshaw kept up his excellent form in the series with two early strikes as Virender Sehwag failed to repeat his St Kitts act and Suresh Raina failed for the second time at No.3. When Dravid was finally put out of his misery by Corey Collymore, India were struggling at 47 for 3 in the 16th over.

Yuvraj and Kaif then got together for the brightest phase of the Indian innings. From the outset, they looked to break the shackles, placing the ball in the gaps, running hard between the wickets, and putting the loose balls to the boundary.

Their 80-run stand came in 16.2 overs, with Yuvraj - back in the side after missing the previous match due to injury - continuing the form, and the drives down the ground, which had almost taken India home in the second match.

Kaif, meanwhile, produced his most fluent innings of the series. The runs under his belt showed as he timed the ball well from the start, getting off the mark with a spanking cover-drive, and then he found the gaps far more consistently than he had in the previous matches.

Once the stand was broken, though - and it took a magnificent delivery from Edwards to do it - West Indies tightened the screw again. Dhoni, struggling for confidence and runs in this series, was denied for long periods by deliveries fired in at the blockhole - there was a passage of play, between the 39th and 45th over, when Dhoni could only manage eight runs in 21 balls.

With the overs fast running out, Dhoni finally got his act together, belted a few boundaries in characteristic style, but with Lara and Co. in such sparkling form, a target of 218 was hardly adequate. (Cricinfo)

INDIA innings
V. Sehwag c Gayle b Bradshaw 11

R. Dravid c Sarwan b Collymore 15

S. Raina c Sarwan b Bradshaw 7

Y. Singh c Baugh b Edwards 52

M. Kaif b Bravo 62

M. Dhoni not out 46

I. Pathan c Collymore b Bravo 8

A. Agarkar b Bravo 0

R. Powar not out 0

Extras: (lb-5, nb-1, w-10) 16

Total: (for 7 wickets, 50 overs) 217

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-28, 3-47, 4-127, 5-188, 6-206, 7-206.

Bowling: F. Edwards 8-1-19-1 (w-1), I. Bradshaw 10-0-41-2 (nb-1, w-4), C. Collymore 9-2-49-1 (w-3), D. Bravo 5-0-32-3 (w-1), C. Gayle 6-0-28-0, M. Samuels 10-1-37-0, D. Smith 2-0-6-0 (w-1).

WEST INDIES innings

C. Gayle c Agarkar b Powar 46

M. Samuels lbw b Pathan 9

R. Sarwan c Sehwag b Agarkar 6

B. Lara c Raina b Powar 69

D. Bravo not out 61

W. Hinds not out 13

Extras: (lb-5, nb-1, w-8) 14

Total: (for 4 wickets, 44 overs) 218

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-49, 3-91, 4-182.

Bowling: I. Pathan 5-0-32-1 (nb-1, w-4), S. Sreesanth 9-1-39-0, A. Agarkar 8-1-24-1 (w-1), H. Singh 10-1-42-0 (w-1) R. Powar 9-0-56-2 (w-1), Y. Singh 2-0-10-0, S. Raina 1-0-10-0 (w-1).
Result: West Indies won by 6 wickets.

National Junior squash c’ships…
Arjoon, Fung-A-Fat battle in Under-15 thriller
VICTORIA Arjoon defeated Mary Fung-A-Fat in an Under-15 five-game thriller in Thursday’s fixtures of the 2006 Woodpecker Products-sponsored National Junior squash championships at Georgetown Club courts.

Arjoon went down in the first game 9-10 and in the second 2-9. She bounced back to take following two games 10-9, 9-3 to level the match then won the decider 10-9.

Coordinator Robert Fernandes said: “The Under-15 match between Victoria Arjoon and Mary Fung-A-Fat, two of the most talented young ladies to ever come out of the junior programme, turned out to be one of the closest matches in junior Nationals history.”

It was Arjoon’s first victory over Fung-A-Fat for the year, but the two are set to do battle once again in the Under-13 category tomorrow.

In more Under-15 action, Keisha Jeffrey was also twice victorious, beating Mary Fung-A-Fat 9-3, 9-2, 9-5 and dropped one point against twin sister Kayla 9-0, 9-0, 9-1.

Ashley Khalil defeated Alysa Xavier in straight games 9-6, 9-4, 9-0 while Alex Arjoon disposed of Lee Fung-A-Fat without conceding a point 9-0, 9-0, 9-0 and Oliver Kear defeated Jason Ray Khalil in straight games 9-1, 9-7, 9-0.

Defending Under-19 Girls’ champion Kristina King put away Kayla Jeffrey in straight games 9-3, 9-4, 9-3, while Chantelle Fernandes defeated Ashley Khalil 9-1, 9-7, 9-1.

Raphael De Groot chalked up two victories in the Under-17 category, defeating Deje Dias in four games 9-7, 9-5, 5-9, 9-2 and Robert Hiscock 9-1, 9-1, 9-1. Alex Arjoon defeated Oliver Kear in four games 9-7, 9-0, 7-9, 9-5.

In the Under-13 fixture, Mary Fung-A-Fat did not drop a point to defeat Rebecca Xavier 9-0, 9-0, 9-0, likewise Jason Ray Khalil in beating Steven Xavier by similar socres.

Nyron Joseph needed four games to put away Shem Marcus 7-9, 9-6, 10-9, 9-2, while Marcus defeated Ian Mekdeci in straight games 9-4, 9-4, 9-4 and Abhishek Singh beat Mekdeci 9-7, 9-3, 9-0.

In the Under-11 category, Stephen Marcus defeated Matthew Xavier in four games 9-4, 7-9, 9-1, 9-2 while Shem Marcus disposed of his brother Shandon Marcus 9-4, 9-3, 9-3 and Nyron Joseph took care of Stephen Marcus 9-1, 9-2, 9-2.

On Wednesday, the Under-13 winners were Nyron Joseph, Jason Ray Khalil, Abhishek Singh and Joven Benn; the Under-15s Ashley Khalil, Kayla Jeffrey, Keisha Jeffrey, Deje Dias and Alex Arjoon; the Under-17s Alex Arjoon and Oliver Kear, and Under-19’s Ashley Khalil, Chantelle Fernandes and Peter De Groot.

On the opening night, Tuesday, the lone Under-11 winner was Nyron Joseph, the Under-13 winners Mary Fung-A-Fat, Victoria Arjoon, Jason Ray Khalil, Steven Xavier and Joven Benn, Under-15s Ashley Khalil, Kayla Jeffrey, Keisha Jeffrey, Jason Khalil, Alex Arjoon, Under-17s Deje Dias and Under-17s Kristina King and Kayla Jeffrey.

The competition continues this morning at the same venue and will close tomorrow.

Caribbean scrabble tourney…
T&T starting title defence beat Guyana
By Faizool Deo
DEFENDING champions Trinidad & Tobago started their defence of the biennial Caribbean Scrabble championship, yesterday, with an emphatic 26-10 victory over Guyana at the Courts residence, Le Ressouvenir Shore on the East Coast of Demerara.

Five players on the visiting team won five of six games. The Twin Island Republic captain Eddie Metivier led from the front with five wins at a spread of 581 points, while Brian Yates finished with 394 and Anthony Modeste 202.

The competition which is only into its second playing (2004 the first) also includes Barbados, who will open their challenge to the defending champs today at the Malteenoes Sports Club.

Guyana’s main scorer was William Woolford who finished with three wins.

The competition started with M. DeSouza defeating national champion Fred Collins 398-369. Victory was also recorded by Pat John who got past the home team’s number one ranked player Ulric Harris 373-355.

Guyana’s only victory in the first round was through Woolford who defeated Metivier 372-323, while Orlando Michaels lost to Leslie Charles 446-350 and Earl Vigilance lost to Anthony Modeste 419-340.

The second round saw Guyana winning four of six games. Collins beat John 426-386, while Metivier defeated Harris 431-398 as the Trinidadian scored a day-high 111 points playing out the word ‘Quoters’.

Woolford brought Guyana back when he got past Charles 465-328 and with Michaels’ victory over Modeste 447-373, the locals surged ahead, but Yates continued his dominance out-wording Vigilance 478-362 as the Twin Island Republic kept afloat.

Leading 7-5 after two rounds, the visitors then took control in the third winning all six games, Metivier defeated Collins 415-398, while Charles recorded the day biggest victory beating Harris 583-284.

Charles had five ‘play out’ words including engirds (74 points), paeonic (83), manglers (75), eutrophy (83) and thawler (75). Yates got past Michaels 395-373, while De Souza again won Vigilance 438-328, and John against Ewart Adams.

Round four and five saw Trinidad win five of six games while in the final round, there were three apiece for the two teams.

Independence table tennis…
Bryan avenges Under-13 title loss
NIGEL Bryan turned the tables on nemesis Brandon Baldie, Thursday, with a 3-0 victory in the 15-&-Under Boys’ final of the National Sports Commission’s Independence table tennis tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Bryan, 13, won 11-6, 12-10, 11-9. Earlier in the competition (last week Saturday) Baldie had the first laugh when he won the 13-&-Under competition.

In the Boys’ Doubles final, Anthony Niles and Devon Richmond defeated Eiran Barrat and Darwin Walcott 11-3, 11-8, 10-12, 11-7.

The male Novices title went to Clarence Edwards and the female title to Alisa McKoy.

In the final, yesterday, Edwards defeated Denzil Duff three games to one 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9. Third place went to the younger Duff, Jamal, who got past Denzil Hopkinson 11-7, 4-11, 11-4, 11-3.

The female competition was exciting with McKoy recording a come-from-behind victory over Ria Burnette 9-11, 11-9, 13-11, 12-10 in the final to take the winning trophy. According to National coach Linden Johnson, the competition in the older age group was for players who never played a competition before and they were more lenient towards the younger players.

A total of 32 players took part in the competition - half the amount registered for the female leg.

Ruimveldt club tour Suriname again
RUIMVELDT Sports Club (RSC) will travel to Suriname a second time to play two feature limited-over cricket matches, today and tomorrow.

The team will be led by former East Bank Demerara first division player Mukesh Dass and the all-rounder will have former Gandhi Youth Organisation first-division player Vishnu Ramgobin as his deputy.

In the last visit there, the East Bank of Demerara team participated in three matches, with a solitary defeat against Paramaribo. They will, once again, face the same opponents tomorrow.

RSC are expected to depart this morning and play their first match against Nickerie today before returning home on Monday.

The team reads: - Mukesh Dass (captain), Vishnu Ramgobin (vice-captain), Kelly Bovell, Harvin Singh, Reon Joseph, Mohanchand Persaud, Rovindra Ramlall, Sham Ramgobin, Gavin Tolwer, Anil Henry, Sudesh Latchman, Daiwan Kumar, Julian Kellman and Khemraj Sewnarine.

Pietersen hits third ton…
England in control
By Richard Sydenham
BIRMINGHAM, England, (Reuters) - Kevin Pietersen scored his third century in consecutive Test innings at home to put England in control of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston, yesterday.

Pietersen cracked 142, including a reverse sweep for six, as England scored 295 on the second day after losing their last five wickets for five runs in reply to Sri Lanka's 141. Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan finished with six for 86.

England then reduced Sri Lanka to 86 for four in their second innings to lead by 68 runs at the close.

Swing bowler Matthew Hoggard and left-arm spinner Monty Panesar collected two wickets each. Upul Tharanga departed first, caught behind to Hoggard's fourth ball of the innings, collecting a pair in the match.

Kumar Sangakkara clipped Panesar's fifth ball to Paul Collingwood at midwicket for 18 and Mahela Jayawardene was lbw to a Hoggard ball that kept low.

Panesar then had Thilan Samaraweera stumped for eight as play went on into the evening to compensate for the 80 minutes lost at the start of play due to overnight rain.

Samaraweera was dropped on two by Geraint Jones off Panesar. Opener Vandort was unbeaten at the close on 30 and Tillekeratne Dilshan was on 21.

Pietersen, who struck 158 in the first Test at Lord's to equal his previous highest Test score set against Australia in last year's Oval Test, became the first Englishman since Graham Gooch in 1990 to make hundreds in three straight Test innings at home.

AUDACIOUS
England passed Sri Lanka's total in the 36th over when Pietersen drove Muralitharan's first delivery of the day through extra cover for four. The shot set the tone of things to come.

The right-hander continued his aggressive approach after lunch, going from his score at the interval of 65 to his fourth Test century in just 31 deliveries.

His most audacious display of confidence came with his reverse-sweep to Muralitharan for six over cover point from a full toss.

Muralitharan, clearly irritated, trapped Pietersen lbw two deliveries later with his doosra. Pietersen had faced just 157 balls and plundered 20 boundaries and three sixes.

He put on 69 with Collingwood (19) and 52 with Andrew Flintoff. Skipper Flintoff, bowled for nine by Lasith Malinga, played a subdued innings of almost an hour but it said more about Pietersen's dominance than Flintoff's struggle.

Some of Pietersen's shots bordered on the patronising. Two fours off Nuwan Kulasekera were bottom-handed flicks powerful enough to travel straight down the ground to the boundary.

He reached his hundred with an on-drive, also against Kulasekera, and his celebration was typically animated as he jumped in the air and dropped his bat in the process.

Possibly his one moment of fortune came when he missed a sweep shot against Muralitharan when on 104, but umpire Darrell Hair gave runs to what he saw as a bottom edge.

England's batting fell away at the end as Flintoff, Liam Plunkett (0), Geraint Jones (4) and Panesar (0) all failed. Muralitharan claimed his 52nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

SCOREBOARD

Sri Lanka 1st innings 141

England 1st innings (Overnight: 138-3)

M. Trescothick c Sangakkara b Muralitharan 27

A. Strauss run out 30

A. Cook lbw b Muralitharan 23

K. Pietersen lbw b Muralitharan 142

M. Hoggard b Vaas 3

P. Collingwood c Tharanga b Muralitharan 19

A. Flintoff b Malinga 9

G. Jones c Samaraweera b Muralitharan 4

L. Plunkett c Vandort b Muralitharan 0

S. Mahmood not out 0

M. Panesar lbw b Malinga 0

Extras (b-6 lb-13 nb-14 pen-5) 38

Total (all out, 78.3 overs) 295

Fall of wickets: 1-56 2-69 3-125 4-169 5-238 6-290 7-290 8-293 9-294

10-295

Bowling

C. Vaas 16 - 6 - 30 - 1

L. Malinga 13.3 - 2 - 68 - 2 (nb-5)

F. Maharoof 11 - 3 - 42 - 0 (nb-4)

M. Muralitharan 25 - 2 - 86 - 6 (nb-4)

N. Kulasekara 13 - 2 - 45 - 0 (nb-1)

Sri Lanka 2nd innings

M. Vandort not out 30

U. Tharanga c G. Jones b Hoggard 0

K. Sangakkara c Collingwood b Panesar 18

M. Jayawardene lbw b Hoggard 5

T. Samaraweera st G. Jones b Panesar 8

T. Dilshan not out 21

Extras (lb-3 nb-1) 4

Total (for 4 wickets, 40 overs) 86

Fall of wickets: 1-2 2-38 3-43 4-56

To bat: N. Kulasekara, F. Maharoof, C. Vaas, L. Malinga, M. Muralitharan

Bowling

M. Hoggard 9 - 4 - 14 - 2 (nb-1)

A. Flintoff 7 - 2 - 17 - 0

L. Plunkett 7 - 4 - 10 - 0

M. Panesar 13 - 3 - 39 - 2

S. Mahmood 4 - 2 - 3 - 0

Indoor hockey ...
Everest beat Old Fort off the court
EVEREST Hikers thrashed Old Fort, 4-1, in a high-paced first division thriller Wednesday night and the losers abandoned the court minutes before the final whistle.

In the indoor competition at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, the two teams produced a very entertaining first half. Despite some brilliant goalkeeping by Old Fort’s Tony Cole in the early going, Everest still managed to take first strike. Playmaker Jerry Bell weaved down the right side in the 14th minute and slotted a crafty shot past the last line of defence.

Old Fort responded almost immediately through a brilliant reverse stick flick by Ascofu Simon over the head of the sliding Everest goalkeeper, Azad De Abreau.

Old Fort began to tire in the second half and Everest kept up the pressure, resulting in Marvin Dannett pouncing on a lose ball off a defensive error to score in the 24th minute. Dannett produced two more in the next six minutes taking the score to 4-1.

With six minutes left in the game, Aderemi Simon and Dwight Sullivan were issued red cards and the team left the floor ending the match prematurely.

According to Tournament Coordinator Gregory Sills, the FIH rules by which this tournament is governed stipulate that a team, leaving the court prior to the completion of its match, attracts an automatic disqualification.

The two clubs met earlier in a second division clash where Everest pulled off a 3-1 victory through goals by Jermaine Lewis, Randy Hope and Sheldon Corlette with Old Fort’s lone goal coming off the stick of Tony Cole.

In other second division games, the Western Dragons hammered Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) 6-1, with four unanswered goals coming in the second half.

Deon Branford hit a hat-trick for the Dragons while Harris Simon, Trason Corbin and Jermaine Murray added one each. Stuart Gonsalves pulled one back for GCC.

Degenerates arrested Police 6-4. Former National player Gavin Hope was on fire blasting in five of his team’s six goals, with another former National Ivor Thompson netting the sixth.

Dwight McCalman hit a hat-trick for Police with Compton Semple netting the fourth.

In Ladies’ action, the Everest Hikers A demolished GCC B 6-0, netting three goals in each half. Led by the speedy Amanda Boodram (three goals) and Chantelle Fernandes (two goals), the Hikers dominated the match from start to end over the junior GCC girls. Captain Yohance Alexander also scored for the Hikers taking their tally to six.

The GCC ‘A’ ladies extracted sweet revenge later in the evening against the Everest ‘B’.

After trailing 1-0 in the opening minutes through a goal by captain Maria Munroe,

GCC ‘A’ then responded with three goals through a Sonia Jardine double and one from Tiffany Solomon before Munroe could put the Hikers within one.

Gabriella Xavier sealed the deal for GCC, however, by slamming one home five minutes before full time to take the final score to 4-2.

T&T name 26 to prepare for Stanford Twenty20 tourney
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin heads a list of 26 players invited by the national senior selectors to prepare for the forthcoming Stanford 20/20 tournament in July in Antigua.

Also included among the players is Jamaica-born engineering student at the University of the West Indies Tamayo Hutton.

Hutton was a member of 2002 UWI team that took part in the Red Stripe Bowl tournament in Jamaica.

Daren Ganga, who led Trinidad and Tobago to their first ever regional first-class double in the Carib Beer Series earlier this year, heads the list of invitees.

The players will take part in two practice matches carded for tomorrow at Gilbert Park.

INVITEES - Lendl Simmons, William Perkins, Mario Belcon, Jason Mohammed, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Ramjass, Sunil Narine, Adrian Barath, Samuel Badree, Tamayo Hutton, Kieron Lynch, Gregory Mahabir, Shazan Babwah, Rishaad Harris, Keagan Jaggessar, Ravendra Rampersad, Sean Siloch, Dane Teelucksingh, Magnum Nanan, Imran Khan, Daren Ganga, Denesh Ramdin, Jeewan Ramroop, Fazil Baksh, Anderson Bryce, Kapil Harry.

Pistons hold off scorching Heat to even series
By Kevin Krolicki
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., (Reuters) - The Detroit Pistons held off a furious late rally to edge the Miami Heat 92-88 in Game Two of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday, tying up the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

After slumping to a surprise home loss in the series opener, the Pistons attacked early, finding centre Ben Wallace cutting to the basket and building an 18-point lead by the third quarter.

But the Heat, led by guard Dwyane Wade, rallied with a blistering 17-point run in the final 90 seconds to cut the lead to just two points, stunning a sell-out Detroit crowd into silence.

Detroit guard Chauncey Billups struggled early but hit two crucial free throws in the final seconds before reserve guard Lindsey Hunter sealed the win with a steal from Wade at the three-point line as time ran out.

Tayshaun Prince carried the burden for Detroit with 10 fourth-quarter points while the rest of the Pistons offence sputtered.

Prince, who ended with a team-high 24 points, was called for a potentially devastating clock violation when he could not find an open player on an inbounds pass with less than 20 seconds left.

Prince said afterwards he had been trying to call time-out but was ignored by the referee.

"I was pretty upset about it, but things happen," Prince told reporters. "I just move on."

IN A HOLE
The broken play gave Miami the ball and set the stage for a running three-point shot by Wade that took the score to 90-88 and seemed to put a stunning comeback victory within reach.

Pistons coach Flip Saunders said his team was in danger of coasting its way to an upset loss as the clock ticked down.

"What happens so many times, you get near to the end of the game and you start playing not to lose instead of playing to win," he told reporters. "You wait for that clock to keep rolling for the game to end."

Wade said the Heat would need the intensity they found in the final minutes of play to take Game Three.

"We've got to have that same want throughout the game," he said. "You can't do it against a Detroit team -- dig yourself into a hole because this team will not beat themselves.

Miami centre Shaquille O'Neal, who had 21 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, also said the Heat came out too slow.

"We know that they're the best team in the East and we knew they were going to regroup and play," he said.

"We started to pick it up in the end and still had a couple chances to win, but we had too many turnovers and we were not playing smarter."

Pistons centre Wallace, the heart of the Detroit defence, emerged as a surprise scoring option in the early going, with seven first-quarter points and nine for the game.

"We need to make Ben an offensive threat out there," said Pistons guard Richard Hamilton, who scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half. "Sometimes they don't guard him and things like that."

Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace, who had just seven points in Game One and was slowed by an injured ankle, connected for 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. He fouled out of the game in the final minute.
Game Three of the series is in Miami, today.

Unlikely trio eye women's French Open crown
By Pritha Sarkar
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Amelie Mauresmo, Nadia Petrova and Martina Hingis were unlikely to have been at the top of anyone's list of likely French Open champions six months ago.

Mauresmo was a perennial underachiever at the grand slams, Petrova floated on the women's tour as the forgotten Russian and Hingis had not even been spotted on a tennis court for three years.

Yet when the Roland Garros gates are thrown open tomorrow for the season's second grand slam, the trio will be among five players the rest of the 128-strong field will want to avoid running into - the other two being Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne, the defending champion.

Since Mauresmo contested her first major final at the Australian Open in 1999, when she lost to Hingis, she criss-crossed the world to compete in 23 grand slam events over the next six years.

On every occasion, the talented Frenchwoman's trip ended in frustration as she failed to reach another showpiece match.

Paris was an especially unhappy hunting ground. While she had at least reached the semi-finals in the other three slams, she failed to even equal that feat on home territory. Each time her fragile nerves crumbled under pressure.

After finally getting her hands on a grand slam trophy at the Australian Open in January, however, Mauresmo has acquired new-found confidence in her game and is determined to live up to her world number one status in Paris.

"To start the tournament as number one seed will spur me on even if I know that a lot of people will turn their attention to me," said the 26-year-old, who expects to be fully fit despite withdrawing from last week's Italian Open with a sore throat.

"I was sorry not to be able to play in Rome where I always had good results but maybe that's a good thing," she said.

"The previous years I won in Rome or reached the final and it didn't help me in Paris."

When her Russian compatriots Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova won three of the four majors in 2004, Petrova got lost in the crowd.

In fact, she did not win her first WTA title until last season.

This year she has been almost unstoppable on clay, sweeping up titles in Amelia Island, Charleston and Berlin.

HAPPY HINGIS
Hingis has been the story of 2006. Since announcing her comeback in December from a self-imposed three-year exile, she has clambered up the rankings at a furious pace.

Victory in the Rome final cemented her place as one of the serious challengers for the Roland Garros crown and the world number 14 is eager to win the only grand slam title that slipped through her grasp during the first phase of her career.

The 1997 and 1999 runner-up is happy with her role as underdog.

"The pressure is on them, it's not on me, and now with winning this event I know that I can do it again. I know I'm very close."

In 2005 a merciless Henin-Hardenne took just 62 minutes to pummel Mary Pierce into a 6-1, 6-1 submission in the final, capturing her fourth major trophy.

The win capped an undefeated 24-match streak during the gruelling claycourt season.

Second-ranked Clijsters is no big fan of clay but has been runner-up in Paris twice.

Like Henin-Hardenne, the U.S. Open champion has had her share of injury problems but is now raring to go.

"Nothing is stopping me from going out a hundred percent, that's the most important thing," she said. "Nothing is restricting me from playing, so that's a great feeling to have.”

Place in last eight would be positive for Mexico
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico have often threatened to make a significant impact on the World Cup, only to bow out when the going gets tough.

The Mexicans have fallen in the second round at the last three finals, losing on penalties to Bulgaria in 1994, going out 2-1 to Germany after leading 1-0 in 1998 and succumbing to neighbours the United States with an inept display last time around.

This time, however, the Mexicans appear ready for anyone -- provided they do not speak English.

Coach Ricardo La Volpe, despite a gruff personality, a unique dress sense and controversy over the selection of naturalised pair Guillermo Franco and Antonio ‘Zinha’ Naelson, has rejuvenated the team and produced competitive wins over Brazil and Argentina in the last two years.

Their progress through CONCACAF'S tortuous qualifying tournament was relatively painless, marred only by defeats against the U.S. and Trinidad & Tobago late in the campaign which suggested a possible weakness against physically tough or Anglophone opponents.

La Volpe proudly says that, whereas Mexican players used to make their debuts only in their late 20s, his side have several players who are much younger and are already seasoned internationals.

Midfielder Gonzalo Pineda had not even played a first-division game before La Volpe sent him out to face Iceland in 2003 while players such as Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido and Luis Perez have also come of age.

All are now regulars in a squad which contains only six survivors from 2002.

La Volpe adds that Mexico have a base of around 30 players who can compete at international level, no longer depending on one or two individuals such as they did in 2002 when everything revolved around the volatile Cuauhtemoc Blanco.

Blanco himself has been omitted by La Volpe after refusing to take part in last year's Confederations Cup because he said he was tired.

"We have managed to make young players shine. Nobody knew them before and, now, everyone's talking about them," said La Volpe. "It hasn't been easy; it's been three years of hard work."

Mexico played some high-quality football during last year's Confederations Cup in Germany, even if their tournament was marred by the dismissal of two players for drug-related offences.

Although it is impossible to see Mexico making the later stages of the competition, they do have the potential to make life difficult for their opponents. In Group D they face Iran, Angola and Portugal.

Recent performances suggest Mexico could finally equal their previous best of reaching the quarter-finals in the two tournaments they hosted in 1970 and 1986.

If they did that, then La Volpe would probably admit the World Cup had been a reasonably successful one in terms of Mexican expectations.

Ramnarine reiterates importance of retainer contracts
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC - Dinanath Ramnarine, president and chief executive of the West Indies Players Association, has lauded the effort by his organisation and the West Indies Cricket Board in reaching the recent resolution over retainer contracts.

"I am pleased to say we now have in place a platform that is firmer than any that has been in place before," Ramnarine said, while speaking at the WIPA awards gala function on Wednesday night.

"This year we laid the foundation for the unity of players, purpose and performance that will take us back to the top of World Cricket where we belong.

"After 30 years of existence, WIPA has finally been able to sign a collective agreement with the WICB that recognises and accepts that we are the sole and exclusive bargaining unit for the players."

He continued: "This means that our players can focus on the game while WIPA and the WICB put our energies together to create and maintain an environment that unleashes the creativity and genius that is associated with the people of the Caribbean.

"We now await the final contracts and expect that the WICB will have them available to the players soon."

WIPA and the WICB were recently locked in lengthy negotiations over retainer contracts and only managed to resolve the issue just prior to the start of the Zimbabwe series.

In late April, WICB president Ken Gordon announced a settlement in the contracts issue, with eight to 12 contracts expected to be handed out.

Ramnarine said this achievement would play a huge role in helping the development of regional cricket.

"We have in place a Memorandum of Understanding between the WICB and WIPA," Ramnarine explained.

"We have agreed on a Code of Conduct which accepts that WIPA will be involved in the process, not just to protect the rights of the players, but to ensure that the discipline that was demonstrated by our winning teams in the past is once more so evident, so much a part of our present and future teams that it will never have to be enforced.

"We have achieved retainer contracts which ensure that players who have achieved a plateau of high performance can now reach the peaks of perfection.

"The contracts are not just about security for the players but allow the WICB to use these players for commercial benefits which, hopefully, will help to give the game in the region financial stability and sustainability."

He added: "For those players who are on the way up and who have not yet demonstrated the level of performance on which the retainer contracts would be based, we have now rationalised the process and criteria for match tour contracts.

"This does not mean that the players have given up all their rights. They can continue to have individual sponsorship deals but within a better defined legal framework. This was the critical issue that saw radical surgery in the team without the benefit of an anesthetic."

Ramnarine said he hoped for a better understanding between WIPA and the WICB, noting that it was for the betterment of West Indies cricket.

"As in any relationship, this one will take some tolerance on both sides.

In any matter involving a 78-year-old and a 31-year-old organisation, we have to blend the experience of one with the enthusiasm and energy of the other," the former West Indies player pointed out.

"Hopefully, neither party will be consumed in the "consummation" and we will see the birth of new hope for West Indies cricket."

He added: "The true beneficiaries of these agreements are the fans and the game itself. We will have an environment that encourages our players to be the best they can be.

"It will be one that will delight the fans and enhance and elevate the game of cricket to which we West Indians have added our unique personalities and style.

Ryan’s XI capture Pomeroon Oil Mill trophy
ESSEQUIBIAN Ramesh Narine’s experience for Ryan’s XI helped them to rebound from tottering at 23 for three to beat Trophy Stall XI by a comfortable 22 runs in the long-awaited Pomeroon Oil Mill 25-over softball final, yesterday.

The match at the Guyana Softball, Windball and Cricket Association (GSW&CA) ground on Carifesta Avenue saw eventual man-of-the-match Narine stroke 41 to help Ryan’s XI reach a challenging total of 136 all out in the penultimate over and then bowl out the opposition for 114 in the 22nd over.

West Coast of Demerara’s Ryan’s XI won the toss and without the slightest hesitation decided to take first strike in brilliant sunshine on a very slow but lush green outfield.

The left-handed Narine, who struck four towering sixes and a four, also engaged in a fighting 28-run fifth-wicket stand with Madnlall Doodnarine who made 15 (one four) and Ryan Boodhoo who chipped in with 13 that included a terrific six.

Shazim Mohamed, who was belatedly introduced from the southern end, was the most economical and successful bowler for Trophy Stall XI, snaring three for 14 from just three overs and Mark Fung supporting with two for 36 from his required five overs.

In reply, the Bourda Market boys threatened momentarily in the latter part of their innings before Doodnarine retuned with the ball to justify his all-round ability capturing three for 21 from his mandatory five overs. Left-arm bowler Timor Mohamed assisted with one for 17 from four overs.

Ryan’s XI received a trophy and $40 000 while the losers’ consolation was a trophy and $20 000, and Narine, who played his eleventh softball final, pocketed $5 000. He also received a trophy.

Surajpaul Deosaran of Trophy Stall XI was named man-of-the-series after making two consecutive fifties (55 and 65) in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively and he was the recipient of a trophy. (Ravendra Madholall)

Rahaman, Rambharose lead Leonora to victory
A DASHING five-wicket haul from Rajin Rahaman and a fine century from Ganesh Rambharose were the main highlights in the latest round of the West Indian Sports Complex Trophy 15-over softball cricket competition on the West Coast of Demerara.

Rahaman conceded a mere ten runs in his required three overs while Rambharose hit ten sixes and five fours in his 105 as Leonora Youths whipped Refugee by an emphatic 198 runs at the Groenveldt ground.

Leonora Youths took first strike on winning the toss and made a daunting 235 for nine from their allotted overs. Rambharose was supported by Jetendra Kishore who chipped in nicely with 30 that contained a six and three fours.

When Refugee batted they were never in the hunt and were eventually tumbled out for 37 in the penultimate over as Lakeram Odram splendidly assisted Rahaman, snaring three for 17 from his mandatory three overs.

In other encounter, Ruimzeight beat La Grange by 28 runs. Ruimzeight batted first and made a challenging 151 all out from 13.4 overs with Tulsieram Pariyya hitting 47 while Mohanauth Chitram scored 33.

Ricky Persaud grabbed two for 20 from his three overs, bowling for La Grange, who in reply were skittled out for 123 in the final over with Persaud returning to top score with a fighting 39. Arjune Basdeo snatched three for 18.