Taped Phone Conversation: West Indies’ Marlon Samuels Gave Team Strategy To Bookmaker

If The Allegations Are True, The Hopes Of Many Will Be Shattered

My son is sleeping right now. I’ll have to tell him in the morning.

Damn

UPDATE #1: CBC is reporting that Samuels admitted the conversation but “didn’t know” he was talking with a bookie. (CBC link here)

Doesn’t matter if he knew or didn’t know the man was a bookie. It still looks like he betrayed his mates. Double damn.

It’s all over but the crying…

UPDATE #2: Chris Gayle Mentioned – More Trouble

From Times Now…

The latest development in the cricket  match fixing saga is the possible involvement of a second West Indian player in the case. Sources have confirmed to TIMES NOW that more than one player was involved in leaking information to bookie Mukesh Kochar.

Although no name has been mentioned yet, the needle of suspicion points to West Indian opening batsmen Chris Gayle. Gayle had reportedly stayed an extra two days in India along with Marlon Samuels to be part of a reality show on Indian television in Mumbai.

… story continues at Times Now (link here) Thanks to reader Jerome Hinds for contributing this link.

Woe, woe, woe.

Original story…

Reports: Indian police say West Indies cricketer discussed strategy with illegal bookmaker

CALCUTTA, India: Nagpur police allegedly taped phone conversations in which West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels discussed team strategy with an illegal bookmaker during the recent limited-overs series in India.

Amitesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police in Nagpur, where India and West Indies played the opening match on Jan. 21, said on Wednesday information on the alleged conversations between Samuels and alleged bookie Mukesh Kochchar was passed to the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit and to the Indian Cricket Board, according to India media reports.

… continue reading this article at The International Herald Tribune (link here)

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HRH Prince Edward In Barbados For A Few Days – But You’d Never Know

HRH Prince Edward Attending Several Functions

From the Royal Diary website (link here) …

Wednesday, 7th February 2007

The Earl of Wessex Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Foundation will attend a Gold Award Ceremony at Government House, St. Michael, Barbados.

The Earl of Wessex Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Foundation will attend a Dinner in Barbados.

Thursday, 8th February 2007

The Earl of Wessex Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Foundation will visit the new National Heroes Gallery, Bridgetown, Barbados.

The Earl of Wessex Trustee, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Foundation will attend a Reception and present the prizes for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Cup at the Sandy Lane Golf Club, St. James, Barbados.

Nothing In The Barbados Media That We’ve Seen

There was a time when folks would line the roads to catch a glimpse of any member of the Royal Family, but those days are long gone – as are the attitudes and circumstances of life on the island before our independence.

300 Year-Old Grudge or Just Not Interesting? 

Now the Barbados media often ignores visits by members of the Royal Family – deliberately I’m sure. Sometimes people who make the decisions about what is “newsworthy” carry a 300 year-old grudge. Sometimes they are just not interested in the Royal Family. Sometimes they are anti-monarchists who use their position to further a political agenda.

There are those on this island who think that history should be erased. There are also those who appreciate the monarchy as a last line of defense against a dictatorship of democracy. (Now there’s a concept for discussion!)

And there is such a thing as simple courtesy – and that old saying about “You can pick your friends, but you’re stuck with your family.”

Whether you are fans of the monarchy or not, the fact that the Barbados media did not mention a visit by Prince Edward – is newsworthy in itself.

As for me, I view the Monarchy as a safeguard against heavy-handed government, and I enjoy the sense of history that is embodied in members of the Royal Family… even if my ancestors might have thought quite differently 300 years ago.

Barbados Tourism Minister Says 135,238 Cruise Ship Visitors Arriving April 1 to 28 – Port Schedule Says Something Else!

Some Cruise Ships Are Not Quite As Large As Others

In the Daily Nation today ( Wednesday February 7th, 2007) under a banner headline Lynch: CWC room targets being met it was stated “that between April 1 and 28, 135,238 cruise ship visitors were expected to arrive in Barbados”.

This figure somehow does not sound right, as at least some of the ships will act as floating hotels and others will also leave Barbados to moor in St. Lucia for the semi-final.

I cannot see how it can amount to 4,829 cruise ship passenger arrivals per day or 33,809 over a seven day period.

All the ships scheduled to berth in Barbados are shown on www.barbadosport.com (under cruise schedule) and during April you will see that many of the ships including the three or four Yankee Clippers and Sea Dream 2 have relatively small capacities.

Also interesting is despite the undisclosed taxpayer subsidy being paid to the Carnival Corporation to ‘guarantee’ ship arrivals and a minimum number of landed passengers, that once we get past April, the number of berthing ships looks bleak.

May – 16 ships
June – 10
July – 11
August – 13
September – 10

Even each ship had a capacity of 2,000 persons (which they don’t) and every passenger left the ship whilst in port (which they do not), that’s still only a total of 120,000 cruise ship arrivals over a five month or 153 day period.

Ships like the Holiday Dream which makes 21 visits out of a total of 60 named ship arrivals over this five month period has a maximum capacity of just 600 persons.

Perhaps the Minister could explain the figures?

Adrian Loveridge
7 February 2007