BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – BEDECKED in their new WICB Grass Roots Cricket shirts and caps, over 80 young cricketers turned up on Saturday (Sept. 28) at the St. Paul’s Cricket Complex to participate in the end of the Quarter Cluster Matches.
Annually, Cluster Matches are organised at the end of every quarter to assess the young cricketers’ development.
This initiative, according to Leeward Islands Territorial Development Officer Junie Mitcham, gives the coaches and participants a more realistic opportunity to see how well they have developed by implementing what they were taught during the period of coaching in a competitive environment.
Mitcham noted that it also gives them a chance to express their natural way of playing and provides them the opportunity to socialise and interact with their peers from other Clusters.
Two matches were played on Saturday in the Under-15 and Under-17 categories and Mitcham said he was impressed with what he saw.
“While witnessing the assessment matches, I was pleased to see the emergence of new talented players and, most importantly, some recognisable improvement in a vast majority of the participants’ technical ability, tactical awareness, decision-making skills and their knowledge of the game.”
He however declared that there is still much work to be done that would enable the participants to demonstrate “the said attributes on a consistent basis”.
Mitcham also declared that it was most heartening to see a very significant increase in the number of participants who attend the coaching sessions and assessment matches.
“This, he explained, “is an indication that the participants are not only enjoying the coaching sessions and what they were taught, but they have been developing a deeper love, passion and appreciation for the game.”
The first match played was in the Under-15 category between Teams A and B.
Team A won the toss, batted first and chalked up 91 for 1 off its allotted 15 overs. K’Von Esdaille and Aushaun Brown both contributed 23 runs while Javrel Alford claimed the lone wicked for 11 runs off three overs.
In reply, Team B won the match by five wickets, scoring 100 for 5 off 14.4 overs with Javarl Ward contributing 37 not out and Malik Manners chipping in with 9 not out.
Bowling for Team A, Israel Chumney claimed two scalps for 15 runs off two overs while Esdaille and Brown captured one wicket each.
The second match saw Team A playing against Team B in the Under-17 category, which resulted in the team winning by 19 runs.
Batting first, Team A placed 96 runs on the board for the loss of three wickets off the allotted 15 overs. Jerrickson Louis top scored with 45 and he was ably supported by Terrence Richards and Jeremiah Louis with 24 and 17 respectively.
Bowling for Team B, Kadeem Govia claimed 2 for 28 off three overs and Jerrilious Louis one for 21 off three.
Taking to the crease, Team B could have only mustered 78 for 4 off their allotted overs, with Phillip Richardson hitting 24 and Rasheed Eddy 11, while Rashidi Rogers took one for 11 off two overs.
In the Under-17 category, Javarl Ward was adjudged Best Batsman, K’Von Esdaille Best Bowler and Best Overall Player, Cordel Romney Best Fielder and Levon Rawlins Best Wicketkeeper.
For the Under-17, Jerrickson Louis was named Best Batsman and Best Overall Player, Kadeem Govia Best Bowler, Kwame Challenger Best Wicketkeeper and Jeremiah Louis Best Fielder.
