Young cricketers make great start
Bermuda Under-19s 167; Queen’s Park Combined 147
Bermuda’s Under-19s made a perfect start to this year’s Sir Gary Sobers International Schools Tournament in Christ Church, Barbados yesterday.
Bermuda narrowly defeated Queen’s Park Combined by 20 runs at Banks Field in a match they nearly let slip through their fingers.
Bermuda had their fellow Zone A opponents on the ropes at 54 for five after 16 overs, and later 117 for nine after 30, with victory seemingly all but in the bag.
But Queen’s Park’s tail wagged with last pair A Hossein (18) and K O’Brien (10 not out) adding 28 runs for the tenth wicket to bring the Caribbean team to within striking distance of victory before the former was eventually run out — much to the relief of the Bermudian contingent.
Leading the way yesterday were batsman Chris Douglas, who slammed a typically aggressive 36 off 44 balls and seamer Kyle Hodsoll, who collected three for 33.
“We tried to give everybody a bowl and it almost cost us the game. We ended up getting them (Queen’s Park) out, but the game shouldn’t gone on as long as it did,” Bermuda assistant coach Andre Manders explained last night from Barbados.
“It was a little scary at the end, but the guys were very relieved and happy to get that first win. This is the first time since we’ve entered this tournament that we’ve actually won our first game.”
Bermuda lost the toss and were sent in to bat on a track possessing few demons and received healthy support throughout the order to post a respectable total in their allotted 40 overs.
“We got a good start but then our run rate dropped,” Manders said.
Openers Douglas and Terryn Fray got the ball rolling by adding 73 runs for the first wick
Douglas, the more aggressive of the two batsmen, smashed five boundaries during his top knock, while the more watchful Fray added 35 off 70 balls and provided the per
“Our run rate dropped considerably once our openers were dismissed but the middle order batsmen eventually picked up the pace,” Manders said.
Middle order bats Malachi Jones (21) and fellow all rounder Dennico Hollis (seven) added 41 runs for the fifth wicket to keep the scoreboard ticking over, and then skipper Rodney Trott and the versatile Khiry Furbert each contributed 15 during a late flurry before Bermuda completed their quota of overs with three-wickets in hand.
Jones belted two fours and a six off only 13 balls.
Queen’s Park off-spinner and team skipper Rangy Ramadhin led his team’s bowling from the front by claiming one for 25.
Manders now hopes his young charges can continue their winning ways in today’s second match against what he anticipates will be formidable opponents in Dominican Schools.
“While we are certainly happy with the result we don’t want the guys to get carried away because this was only our first game,”he said. “We still have another important game tomorrow (today).”
Overall Manders said he was satisfied with yesterday’s performances but reckons there’s always room for improvement.
“Basically I think we still need to work on our running between the wickets because we failed to capitalise on a few singles,” he pointed out.
“But the guys know exactly where they went wrong and where it is they will have to improve.”
Under-19 players representing 19 teams from nine different countries are currently competing in Barbados.
