Barbados’ rising stars lit up Conaree Cricket Ground in St Kitts with a dazzling display, blowing away the United States Under-19 team in a one-sided final to capture the Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Men’s U-19 title in emphatic style.
It was a highly skilled performance as the young Bajans stamped their authority on the regional stage with a thumping victory by six wickets with more than 11 overs to spare. In a truly outstanding performance, Barbados bowled out the US for 212 and they raced to 215-4 off 38.2 overs.
Led by the charismatic and composed captaincy of Joshua Dorne, Barbados defended the limited overs title they won in St Vincent last year. They also won the three-day title last year, but that format was not contested this year. It also capped an excellent campaign and was sweet revenge over the US who beat them in the preliminary round.
Chasing a modest target of 213, Barbados cruised to victory, thanks to an unbeaten 55 from Dorne. The skipper faced 82 balls and struck seven fours, and he was there at the non-striker’s end when Gadson Bowens swung a long hop to the deep square-leg boundary for the winning runs. This sparked celebration as the teammates ran onto the field to celebrate the emphatic victory shortly after 4 p.m.
Other valuable contributions from Shaquan Belle – 45 off 41 balls; Zachary Carter – 34 off 14 balls with three sixes), and Micah Greenidge – 32 off 36 balls with five fours. Openers Greenidge and Carter added 65 runs for the first wicket off just 5.2 overs in a sensational start to the run chase.
Then, Greenidge and Belle weighed in with a 51-run second wicket partnership as Barbados motored to 116-2 in the 15th over. Captain Dorne then got stuck in, and he and Joshua Branche, who made 29, added 84 runs for the fourth wicket, to virtually seal the contest.
Earlier, Barbados’ bowlers had restricted US to 212 all out, with left-arm seamer Jakeem Pollard bagging 3-42 and Carter also had an impact with the ball to claim 3-46. Skipper Dorne took 2-16 off six overs as the Americans failed to cope with the relentless pressure applied by the Bajans. Sahil Garg with 40, and Adnit Jhamb, 38, fought hard but their efforts proved insufficient.
Dorne ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 328 runs while Carter was second with 324. Both look set to be selected to the West Indies U-19 training camp in preparation for the ICC Men’s U-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe early next year.
This was the second time in recent days a junior Barbados cricket team was crowned regional champions. It comes less than a week after the Barbados Women’s Under-19 team beat Leeward Islands in the finals to win the West Indies Women’s Rising Stars 35-over tournament at the Diego Martin Complex in Trinidad.
The Barbados team will stay an extra day in St Kitts to watch the T20 International between West Indies and Australia tonight at Warner Park.
