Members of the St. Ann cricket team and its management pose with the Red Stripe Cup following the parish's presentation ceremony last week-.

Content Gardens cricket team takes top prize - Contributed Secretary of the Jamaica Cricket Association, Milton Henry, who was guest speaker at the function, lauded the role of St. Ann Bauxite in the development of cricket in the parish and called on the St. Ann Cricket Association to continue to strive for excellence with vision and a good attitude.

The 2007 renewal of the John Issa SuperClubs All-island hotels 40 overs cricket competition resumes on Wednesday with quarter-final action.

Unbeaten Group A winners and first-time entrants Sandals Whitehouse European Village Resort and Spa host Group B runners-up Half Moon Hotel at the Seaview Cricket Ground in Whitehouse, Westmoreland, while in Elgin Town, the second-placed team in Group A, Tryall Hotel, will host Group D runners-up Breezes Runaway Bay.

Both matches start at 10.00 a.m.

The Sandals team has been one of the highest scoring in the competition, averaging more than 250 runs per match due to their winning the toss each time and batting first.

On a homeground where they have chalked up very impressive victories their batsmen, led by prolific rungetter and former STETHS middle-order player Nikoy Samuels, are expected to continue their good form.

Other players expected to do well for the home team and push them into the October 31 semi-finals are captain Alexander Pike, Ahmal Reid, all-rounder and parish representative Ewan McInnis, left-arm seamer Neil McLeish and wicketkeeper/batsman Wade Blair.

In the other match, Breezes Runaway Bay, despite travelling, should expose the brittleness of an inconsistent Tryall despite the presence of several parish representatives.

The Breezes team will again depend on captain Hensley Wilshaw, Martin Clarke, Andre Minto, Christopher Green, Rohan McNaughton and Marcel Flemming.

The other quarter-finals will be played on Thursday and feature pre-season favourites, the star-studded St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners who were unbeaten in Group D hosting third-placed Group C team Coral Cliff Hotel at Port Rhoades Sports Club in Discovery Bay. At Bickersteth in rural St. James, Sunset Beach Resort and Spa, who many tip to reach the final and do well, host the Lorenzo Ingram-led Starfish Trelawny.

Beach volleyball serves off today

The 2007 Burwood Beach Volleyball Tournament will be held today at Burwood Beach, Trelawny.

This will be the fourth staging of the popular tournament.

Registration will be between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., with the tournament beginning straight afterwards. There will be an amateur division along with a professional male and a professional female section with prizes for first place in each.

Ballards Valley, Uprising showdown

The finalists in the Intown SuperSave/Uprising 35-over cricket competition will be known tomorrow after the playing of the second semi-final.

Ballards Valley and Uprising will face-off in the contest with the winner set to meet Chocolate Hole, who defeated Lititz South Ridge in the first semi-final.

In the showdown set for 11:00 a.m., both teams are evenly matched.

Ballards Valley will have the services of Jason Nelson, Damion Bryce, Trace Powell and Wayne Simpson, who ended the recently concluded Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) Super Cup as the top wicket-taker.

On the other side, Wayne Billings, Lennox Simpson, Christopher Dyer and Vernon Boswell should lead Uprising's quest for victory.

Waterford, P'mouth mid-season clash

Defending champions Waterford face Portsmouth in the mid-season final of the RBTT-sponsored Portmore Metropolitan Cricket League tomorrow.

In the final set for the Bridgeport Sports Ground, the teams will battle for the Charles Simpson Cup. Simpson has been president of Portmore Metropolitan Cricket League since its inception more than three years ago.

The game is set to start at 11:00 a.m.

Portsmouth will rely on the batting talent of Hugh Hinds, Odane Hartley, Mario Downer and Carlos Green, while Colin Buchanan and Javier Campbell lead the bowling department.

Waterford, on the other hand, will have in their line-up Junior Connegan and Romone Senior.

Hellshire United, Westchester clash

Hellshire United and Westchester will meet in the final divisional league game of the Portmore Netball Association competition at Ascot High School courts.

Both sides have qualified for the semi-finals of the senior league but a win would give Hellshire a morale-boosting victory over Westchester and a meeting with arch-rivals Ken's Wildflower, the second-ranked team, in the semi-finals.

This will prove a busy day for Westchester because they are also down to meet Thompson Pen in a rescheduled fixture.

Hoopers KO Central Flames

In the latest round of matches from the 2007 WBA President's Cup Knockout tournament, eighth ranked Hoopers defeated Central Flames of Lucea 78-59 at the Montego Bay Cricket Club court on Tuesday.

Omar Bell scored 21 points for the winners and was supported by Neville Clair (19 points) and Ryan Bolt (11).

Craig Dorman (17 points), Julian Walker (11) and Cordell Gordan (10) were the top scorers for Central Flames.

Railway Tigers, ranked 10th in the President's Cup, were not able to hold on to to their lead in the final quarter as they were defeated 53-50 by fifth-ranked team, Granville Jaguars.

Huwayne Blake with 26 points, two rebounds and two assists and Leroy Lawrence (16 points and three rebounds) led the way for Granville Jaguars, while for Railway Tigers' fight was spearheaded by Tommy Davis (18 points, five rebounds), Caustant Holness (eight points, three rebounds) and Desmond Foster (eight points, five rebounds, two assists).

In the day's other game, Catherine Hall All-Stars defeated Westland Wildcats 89-34. Goyan Malcolm (28 points, four assists), Duwayne McIntosh (26 points) and Damian Green (18 points, seven rebounds) were the top performers for Catherine Hall.

Richard Chambers (22 points, two rebounds) was the top man for the losers.

Rowe returns for Jamaica Open

Former national chess champion National Master Duane Rowe will make his much-anticipated return to the local chess scene when the 2007 Jamaica Chess Federation Jamaica Open pushes off at the Campion College Auditorium this weekend.

Rowe, who will be returning from post-graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England, will start the tournament as favourite. His last tournament in Jamaica was the National Championships which ended in September last year. He won the event a few days before he had to begin classes in England.

With next year being a Chess Olympiad year, Jamaica's top Masters are expected to be out in their numbers as they jostle to qualify for the national team.

Rowe's strongest competition is expected to come from National Masters Russell Porter, Brandon Wilson, Geoffrey Byfield and Equitable Brown, with a strong possibility that Master's KO Champion National Master Jomo Pitterson, who has been focusing on international events during 2007, may play in his first local open event for the year. Pitterson's entry would ultimately lead to a scintillating clash between two of Jamaica's and the Caribbean's chess heavyweights.

The Jamaica Open will consist of two tournaments, an open event and an event for entrants with a Jamaica Chess Federation rating below 1600. Each event will be staged over six rounds, using the Swiss pairing format, beginning at 8:30 a.m. today.

The defending champion is International Master Amon Simutowe of Zambia, who took last year's event with a perfect six points from six games.

CONTENT GARDENS walked away with the top prize at last week's St. Ann Cricket Association inaugural awards ceremony held at the Runaway Bay Heart Hotel in the parish.

Content Gardens took home $120,000 for retaining the St. Ann Bauxite Trophy ahead of Old Folly, who got $75,000 for second place. Losing semi-finalists Orange Hill and Lodge walked away with $25,000 each.

Alonzo Harris of Content Gardens Cricket Club got $10,000 for scoring most runs; Vanroy Wallace of Farm Town got $10,000 for most wickets, and the same amount for most five-wicket hauls; while Chavaun Cunningham and Sameer Edwards were rewarded for being the most valuable players in the Mini-League programme.

Special awards and recognition were given to members of the St. Ann cricketing fraternity who have contributed to the game over the years. They included St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite and businessman Peter Shand, who sponsors the Primary and All-Age competitions in the parish.

The president of the St. Ann Cricket Association, Keith Walford, said it was always good to thank those individuals and corporate sponsors who were willing to give of their time and money to make the sport the success it has been.

great support

He further said the support was indicative of the resurgence of the parish in national cricket and he challenged sponsors, players and supporters to continue to support and pave the way forward for the development of cricket in the parish.

Winston Watson of St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners, the company which has been the mainstay behind the St. Ann Cricket Association and the development of the sport in the parish, said his company was committed to using sport as a medium for youth and community development.

The company this year spent more than $1.5 million to sponsor the domestic cricket league in the parish and more than $3.5 million on the development of young talent.