Bermuda Under 19s 211; School of Nations 72 for seven (match reduced to 31 overs per side)

Vice-captain Malachi Jones became the first Bermudian batsman to score a century at the Sir Gary Sobers International Schools Tournament in Barbados yesterday.

Jones smashed a magnificent 118 runs off 75 balls to lead Bermuda’s Under-19s to a 139-run victory over Guyana’s School of Nations.

Electing to bat first, Bermuda rattled up 211 for five in their allotted 31 overs in a match that was reduced after morning showers had delayed the start with Jones in punishing form with the bat.

The Southampton Rangers all-rounder put the School of Nations attack to the sword during a raw exhibition of power hitting that featured some enterprising strokeplay on both sides of the wicket.

Jones raced to 50 off a mere 28 balls and reached the triple digit milestone off an additional 35 deliveries during a boundary filled innings containing 10 sixes and eight fours.

Jones and Khiry Furbert (27 not out) rescued Bermuda from a precarious 30 for three by adding a record 153 runs for the fourth wicket.

Stephen Bremar jr weighed in with a useful 17 as Bermuda’s youngsters finished the tournament with five wins and three losses to their credit.

“We are pretty well pleased with the team’s batting. At first we did have a few concerns, but the batting improved tremendously during our last four games,” said assistant coach Andre Manders. “The guys started to bat well against spin which was something that gave us problems at the beginning of the tournament.

“The bowling has always been fine while fielding-wise we still have to work on that a little bit. We took some excellent catches but also dropped some easy ones. But overall I thought the team did well in Barbados,” he added.

In reply, the Caribbean team could only muster 72 runs in their allotted overs with only David Clarke (31) offering some degree of resistance.

Tamari Tucker bowled consistently down a nagging line to tie the batsmen in a knot, and found good support from seamers Lamar Richardson and Greg Maybury, who seized two for 12 and two for 18 respectively.

Bermuda’s Under-19s return home on Friday to intensify preparations for next month’s World Cup qualifiers in Toronto.