Tym Glaser, Associate Editor - Sport

Members of the West Indies and Zimbabwe teams, along with match officials, observe a minute's silence prior to the start of their ICC Cricket World Cup match at Sabina Park in honour of the late Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's coach. - Dellmar photo

MAYBE THE expectations were simply too high and too grand. Maybe it was mired in unreasonable demands or maybe, just maybe, it was a victim of circumstances beyond its control; whatever the case, Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 fell sadly short of the region's hopes and dreams.

What was supposed to be the high-water mark of sport in 2007AD and a shining example of Caribbean unity fell so short of the mark that, in the end, many pundits called it the worst Cup ever staged.

To find something to truly cheer about in this quickly fading year, Jamaican sport fans had to turn to the old staples of track and field and netball for their 'feel-good' stories - and even these were few and far between in an ordinary year for athletic accomplishments.

Tickets prices, restrictions

Horace Burrell ... back again at the helm of the JFF. - File

Where the CWC all started, where it tangibly kicked off, was at a shiny, new stadium in Trelawny on Sunday, March 11, with a bright and entertaining opening ceremony which wowed audiences worldwide through its colour and simplicity.

Where CWC all ended was, somewhat fittingly, in near-darkness at Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 27 with reigning champions Australia forced to return to the field to put the finishing touches on a final already won against Sri Lanka.

In the long month and a half in between, the event was beset by high tickets prices and restrictions on 'Caribbean exuberance' which alienated the West Indian fans, the shocking death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer in his New Kingston hotel room (see story on A7) after a stunning upset at the hands of Cinderella side Ireland, the surprise demise of big-ticket sides Pakistan and India at the initial Group stage, which caused thousands of sub-continental fans to change their holiday plans, and the precipitous fall of the host West Indian team.

Asafa Powell of Jamaica celebrates after bettering his world record, running 9.74 seconds at the Rieti Grand Prix in Italy. - AP

Logistically, CWC managing director and CEO, Chris Dehring, and his team did a remarkable job in getting nine separate Caribbean countries to come on board and synchronise together and the Cup did turn over a record profit. Jamaica can also boast a new stadium and a refurbished Sabina Park from the entire venture.

But the Cup was supposed to do more than upgrade infrastructure and sell tickets; it was supposed to sell the region to the world, but there was no truly distinctive Caribbean flavour to the too-long event and it may be quite some time before the islands get another chance to show that they have learned from the mistakes and display to the world the true meaning of Calypso cricket.

Sprinting sensations

While the year's sporting disappoint-ment took 47 days, sprint sensation Asafa Powell took just 9.74 seconds in Rieti to provide the Jamaican sporting highlight of the year.

On September 9, Powell smashed his own 100-metre world record by .03 of a second in the small, central Italian town while easing up at the finish line in the heats. The record somewhat atoned for another big-stage failure by Powell who could only manage third behind American Tyson Gay and Bahamian Derrick Atkins in the much ballyhooed men's World Championship 100m showdown in Osaka, Japan.

Powell's bronze was one of a record 10 medals (one gold, six silver, three bronze) won by Jamaica at the meet.

Sprinter Veronica Campbell flew the green, gold and black flag high with gold in the 100m and silvers in the 200m and 4x100m relay but the standout performance came from decathlete Maurice Smith who finished a superb second with a national record 8,644 points in the gruelling event. His tally was only 32 behind champion Roman Sebrle and silver could have been gold but for an arm injury which hampered his javelin throwing on the final day of competition and gave the Czech the lead.

At the youth level, sprinters Ramone McKenzie (200m) and Dexter Lee (100m) won the boys' sprint titles at the World Youth Championships in Ostrava, the Czech Republic.

Sunshine Girls triumph

It's up and over for Jamaica's Maurice Smith in the pole vault event of the men's decathlon at the 11th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. Smith won the silver medal in the gruelling event. - Reuters

The Sunshine Girls also shone on the world stage, claiming third place at last month's World Netball Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.

After an ordinary build-up to the event, which saw the Connie Francis-coached side swept by England 3-0 in a home series, the Girls pushed hosts New Zealand all the way in a tough semi-final before finally falling 59-49.

Led by the tournament's third highest scorer, young stringbean Romelda Aiken, they rebounded from that loss the next night to beat England 53-52 in the third-place playoff while Australia downed their trans-Tasman rivals for the title.

On the local football scene, the biggest news of the year happened off the field as Captain Horace Burrell reassumed the presidency of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) in a bloodless coup over non-running former president Crenston Boxhill's regime.

Burrell wasted little time in firing technical director Bora Milutinovic and replacing him with old confederate Rene Simoes, who arrives in the island on Saturday, and setting up two friendly games for the dormant Reggae Boyz at the National Stadium to rescue a FIFA ranking which had slipped to three figures and rekindle interest in the programme.

Winners in other field

Romelda Aiken was the third highest scorer at the World Netball Championshps in Auckland, New Zealand.

On the field, Harbour View clinched the National Premier League crown while Jamaica College emerged from 33 years in the title-winning wilderness to claim the Manning Cup over Bridgeport and the Olivier Shield against daCosta Cup and Ben Francis KO champions Garvey Maceo.

The Jamaica cricket team, under the guidance of new West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, also broke a drought of its own by winning the regional KFC Cup one-day tournament in Guyana and Barbados.

Gayle, who also led the West Indies to a surprise one-day series victory over England in the English summer, held the trophy aloft after undefeated Jamaica beat Trinidad and Tobago in the final. His golden touch as a skipper continued when he led the West Indies to their first Test victory in South Africa yesterday.

Locally, Melbourne claimed the all-island one-day crown and St. Elizabeth won the Super Cup.

Defending Corporate Area schoolboy champions Eltham won the Grace Shield, but were humbled by Headley Cup winners STETHS in the All-island final.

On the netball courts, Jamalco, featuring national players Aiken, Elaine Davis and Nadine Bryan, won the Berger Paints Senior League, while Tivoli Gardens captured the Jamaica National Open League crown.

Veronica Campbell celebrates her 100m victory at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

At the National Stadium, Calabar and Holmwood Technical won the Boys and Girls Champs, respectively.

In the best-of-three National Basketball Association finals, Urban Knights beat Blazing Panthers 2-0 to claim the Patrick Ewing Trophy.

At the racetrack, apprentice sensation Omar Walker rode away with the riders' title, while veteran trainer Wayne daCosta donned that crown again. Another old stager, Miracle Man, looked a safe bet for Horse of the Year.

Tyson Gay of the United States crosses the finish line to win the gold medal in the final of the men's 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan. At bottom is Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, silver, and at left Jamaica's Asafa Powell, bronze. - AP

The year was not a flash one for Jamaica's national tennis and golf teams. Douglas Burke's Davis Cup squad was relegated back to Americas Zone Group Three after a 5-0 hammering at home by the Netherland Antilles, while the golfers failed to win any hardware at the Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships in the Dominican Republic.

Passed on

Jamaica's captain Chris Gayle arrives home with the KFC Cup. It was Jamaica's first limited-overs regional title in eight years.

The year came to a melancholy end when track and field legend Herb McKenley passed away this month at age 85 and was given a state funeral at the National Arena before being buried at National Heroes Park (see story B6).

Other Jamaica sporting notables to leave us in 2007 included the first lady of horseracing, Eileen Cliggott, football coach David Hunt, journalist/statistician Jimmy Carnegie, racing and track and field mainstay, Richard Ashenheim, and women's hockey pioneer, Kathleen 'Kitty' Sharpe.