Pakistan Women head coach David Hemp not to extend two-year contract in October

David Hemp, the head coach of Pakistan Women, will not extend his two-year contract in October, the PCB confirmed on Tuesday. Hemp, who was the second overseas coach for the women's team, said he took the "difficult decision" to spend more time with his young family.

"I have enjoyed living in Pakistan and working with the women cricketers, but it has also been difficult on me and my young family as I have been unable to spend enough time with them like any other father," Hemp said in a statement issued by PCB. "After consulting my family, I have conveyed this difficult decision to the Pakistan Cricket Board, which has very graciously understood my situation and accepted my decision.

"It has been incredibly enjoyable and satisfying working with the girls. Although results in international arena may not truly reflect the hard work and effort that went into the planning and preparations, I am satisfied that I gave my very best and the girls equally responded."

Hemp had taken charge from Iqbal Imam, who was appointed in an interim capacity after Mark Coles' exit in October 2019. He oversaw Pakistan's progress in the Women's World Cup Qualifier last year, the Women's World Cup earlier this year and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last month.

While Pakistan failed to get past the league stages at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, they managed to end their streak of 18 losses in the competition in New Zealand, when they beat West Indies by eight wickets. Moreover, the rise of young Fatima Sana has been one of the positives from Hemp's tenure.

"I was especially pleased with the emergence of Fatima Sana, who won the ICC Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2021 award and became the first Pakistan women cricketer to win the ICC Cricketer of the Month award and displayed her excellent talent in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games," he said. "I am optimistic we will see many more young women cricketers from domestic competitions and talent hunt programmes to enter the Pakistan framework and contribute in the teams' future achievements.

"I want to thank everyone at the Pakistan Cricket Board, women's wing and the entire side who not only backed and supported me but also made my stay memorable and comfortable. I will remain a big fan of Pakistan women's cricket, will continue to follow their progress with excitement and remain confident that better results and successes await them down the road."

More recently, ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Pakistan blanked Sri Lanka 3-0 in the T20I series at home before taking the ODI series 2-1. Their next assignment is the ODI series at home against Ireland in November, which will be part of the ICC Women's Championship.

Tania Mallick, PCB head of women's wing, paid tribute to Hemp by saying, "It is sad to lose someone of David's caliber, enthusiasm and strong work ethics, but at the same we also understand and accept that family has to come first. The PCB thanks David for all his efforts and contributions, and wishes him best of luck in his future endeavours."

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/pakistan-women-head-coach-david-hemp-not-to-extend-two-year-contract-in-october/?feed_id=15076&_unique_id=6305d09839b8e

ECOWAS ‘convinces’ Guinea to two-year transition of power

Guinea's spokesman has denied lowering the duration of the handover of power but a West African bloc official said it was agreed upon in principle.

Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said he had convinced Guinea's junta to shorten its timeline. (AFP)

The chair of a West African regional bloc said at a briefing with France's president that Guinea would cut its transition to civilian rule from three to two years.

Speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron at a media briefing in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), said on Thursday that he had recently convinced Guinea's junta to shorten its timeline.

"I was in Conakry with the president of the commission (of ECOWAS) to make the military junta understand the decision of the summit of heads of state that the transition cannot exceed 24 months", Embalo said.

"They had proposed 36 months, but we succeeded in convincing them," he added.

Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, a Guinean minister and spokesman for the transitional government, told AFP that "neither the government nor the presidency confirm this information about the duration of the transition in Guinea".

An ECOWAS official said on condition of anonymity: "The principle is accepted but we were waiting to formalise it... before announcing it."

A junta led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, which overthrew President Alpha Conde in September last year, had pledged to hand over power to elected civilians within three years.

But regional powers rejected this timeline, with ECOWAS suspending Guinea after the coup.

West African mediators last week met Guinea's ruling junta for talks on a return to civilian rule, according to ECOWAS and state media.

Embalo, Gambian diplomat Omar Alieu Touray, who is the president of the bloc's commission, and Benin's former president Thomas Boni Yayi, the ECOWAS mediator for Guinea, were all present.

Protests in Conakry

Earlier in July, ECOWAS leaders had met in Ghana's capital Accra to discuss transitions to civilian rule in Guinea, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso, which together have undergone four coups since August 2020.

They lifted tough sanctions that had been imposed on Mali's military regime, accepting a March 2024 return to civilian rule.

And they agreed to allow Burkina Faso two years for its transition back to democracy.

But discussions until then had been trickier with the rulers of Guinea, where the junta had announced a 36-month transition -- a period that African Union chairman and Senegalese President Macky Sall described as "unthinkable".

On Thursday, protests against Guinea's military leaders brought Conakry to a standstill.

The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution (FNDC), a coalition of political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations, called the demonstrations to denounce the junta's "unilateral management" of any return to civilian rule.

Other parties and coalitions joined the protests.

The junta in May banned public demonstrations, and Thursday's protests led to sporadic clashes between demonstrators and police.

Source: AFP

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/ecowas-convinces-guinea-to-two-year-transition-of-power/?feed_id=3564&_unique_id=62e30d6f3a951