T&T Under-15 cricketers crush Jamaica

A clinical performance by the national Under-15 cricket team yesterday led by Nathaniel McDavid kept T&T’s chance of retaining the West Indies Cricket Board Regional U-15 title alive in Jamaica.

T&T crushed hosts Jamaica by eight wickets in round four action to record its third win of the round-robin tournament. Bowling first T&T was led by McDavid, who snatched four wickets for five runs as the home team was dismissed for a paltry 129. The T&T spinners kept the Jamaicans at bay with some tight bowling. After 30 overs, Jamaica was struggling on 77/4 with Brian Brown on six and Dominik Samuels on eight. Samuels has been in sparkling form in the tournament scoring 54, 90 not out and 111 not out in the first three rounds.

McDavid got the prized wicket of Samuels, trapping him leg before for 11. Jamaica were then in all sorts of trouble on 95/7. The home team was eventually dismissed for 129 with Dorrel Thomas top scoring with 19 and Ricardo McIntosh contributing 17. McDavid ended with remarkable figures of six overs, three maidens, five runs and four wickets (6-3-5-4). Cephas Cooper (3/40) and Avinash Mahabirsingh (2/19) were also among the wickets.

Captain Kirstan Kallicharan led the chase for T&T, hitting an unbeaten 60 to guide his team to 130/2 in 24.5 overs. Opening batsman Chrystian Thurton pitched with 31, while Cooper showed his all round ability scoring an unbeaten 24.

Up to the press time, the final results of the other matches were not available. Leaders Guyana were in trouble on 164/7 after 40 overs chasing 280 for victory against Windward Islands. In the other match, Leeward Islands were 158/6 (38 overs) in pursuit of 293 for victory against Barbados.