By Samuel Peters
After capturing the Jennings Tigers’ first title in over 16 years during the 2025 season, head coach Elijah Peters describes the campaign as “bittersweet” — celebrating the Antigua Parish League Sir Vivian Richards T20 Thursday league title while acknowledging room for improvement in other formats.
Now entering his third year at the helm, Peters has his sights set firmly on making 2026 a breakthrough season for the club.
The Tigers’ 2025 triumph marked a historic moment for the Jennings Cricket Club, with Peters crediting the team’s strong spirit and positive mindset throughout the season. “We won our first championship, so we’re looking forward to this season and much better results,” Peters said ahead of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association’s Two-Day Competition starting January 17th.
The coach has particular reason for optimism given the rapid development of young star Matthew Miller, who has progressed to represent the West Indies U19 team. Peters attributes Miller’s meteoric rise to an unrelenting work ethic and natural talent.
“He’s a really, really hard worker. He learns fast. He keeps on improving session by session, practice by practice, game by game,” Peters explained. “The talent is out this year. Now he’s matching that with the hard work and the results are showing.”
Peters also highlighted the advantage of Miller coming from a cricketing family, with three older brothers who played before him, a father who has been coaching at Jennings for years, and a mother who serves as the club’s secretary and is involved with the Cricket Association.
“Cricket is in the blood,” Peters noted. “He gets the support at home, and they have the knowledge as well.”
As with any season, the Tigers have undergone roster changes. The team has lost D’ahri Francis to Empire and Jedidiah Martin to New Winthorpes, but Peters is excited about incoming talent including Deran Benta, Jaheim Norde, and the return of Emmanuel Lawrence.
Due to the absence of Francis at the club, Glenton Williams has been named captain, with Jaheim Africa serving as vice-captain. The leadership transition follows Francis’ captaincy during the latter part of last season.
“Both guys are upbeat. The team is upbeat. And we’re looking forward to that,” Peters said of the new leadership structure.
Peters believes the addition of longtime friend Deran Benta brings crucial experience to a squad already featuring veterans Shane Burton, Keif Baltimore, Xavier Freeland, and Paul Miller.
“A lot of experience, a lot of knowledge of the game. And he sits very much on top of his game,” Peters said of Benta, whom he has known since they were nine years old. “With the likes of him and our other veterans, we have a solid team.”
The Tigers have been training since late October, and Peters feels confident the preparation will translate to success across all formats. “I think we can go all the way this year,” he declared. “I feel like we can win at least one championship and compete in all of the competitions … be up there in the top two, top three in all of the competitions this season.”
Beyond his club responsibilities, Peters is developing his coaching credentials by assisting Ajarni Frederick with the national under-15 team, describing it as an important part of his learning curve. He also coaches in schools, embracing every opportunity to improve his craft.
“I’m learning every year, every day,” Peters said. “We have our ups, we have our downs, our highs, our lows. Been getting better at it. Still got a lot of work to do; still got a lot to learn. But slowly but surely it’s coming.”
Perhaps most ambitiously, Peters is working to revive grassroots cricket in Antigua, expressing frustration with the current state of youth development.
“Currently, we can’t wait on the cricket association (ABCA) anymore because they’re not really doing much,” Peters said candidly. “Neither the cricket association or the ministry of sports, they’re not really doing much for the grassroots.”
Peters is collaborating with Leeward Islands all-rounder Kofi James to establish a free grassroots program aimed at preventing young talent from drifting to other sports. “There’s so much talent in Antigua. But because cricket is hardly being played, especially at the younger level, the grassroots level, they get taken into football or something else.”
The initiative aims to provide children with a place to learn cricket fundamentals, with Peters hoping to launch the program by March.
“We’re looking to get back our grassroots program back up and running so the children have somewhere they can go and play and learn the fundamentals of the game.”
