Middlesex crowned Kingston Wharves’ U-15 Cricket champs

MIDDLESEX overpowered Surrey in the final of the 35th Kingston Wharves Under-15 Cricket Competition at the JDF Up Park Camp Cricket Ground last Friday, avenging last year’s shared trophy after bad light stopped play. Surrey batted first but were skittled out for 73, with Ricardo Clarke top-scoring with 19 and captain Rajae McGeachy making 12. Middlesex captain Andino Edwards led the bowling with six for 13 in 9.1 overs, while Najae Wright took three for 27 in 10 overs. Middlesex reached 74 without loss in reply, with Daniel Wolliston scoring 36 and Jeremiah Johnson 27 to secure a 10-wicket victory. Middlesex coach Oral Simpson said the team had prepared specifically to avoid another shared trophy. “We have been preparing for this from we assembled as a Middlesex team. We spoke about what happened last year and we did our research. We played them in the first game we won but we analysed certain things that we needed to do. They won the toss, they decided to bat, which we wanted them to do and the bowlers put the ball in the right areas. We took our chances and got them all for 73. The batters, we know that they were going to get their spinners involved. We worked on that throughout the week leading up to this final and I think the batsmen, they did exceptionally well so this wasn’t about just coming to a final. We prepared for this final because we did not want to share it like what happened last year so the boys worked extremely hard to get the job done today.” Surrey coach Raymond Hart said his team’s collapse after reaching 37 without loss proved costly. “We started off well at 37 without loss and then the door just break off and everything just fell apart from there but still we got to give some credit to Middlesex who I think bowled well. They weren’t trying to get away with every delivery. They were in a good area most of the time and we just had to make the mistakes.” Middlesex captain Edwards was named MVP of the final and the winning team, while McGeachy was named MVP of the runner-up team. Johnson won the most runs award with 209, while Surrey’s Ansel Crawford topped the bowling with 23 wickets. Every player on the two teams received a Kingston Wharves bursary for school expenses, a knapsack and a water bottle. Jayden Newell of Muro College and Taviano Campbell of Black River High received scholarships covering all expenses at their respective high schools. Kingston Wharves CEO Mark Williams said the scholarships were intended to recognise resilience and academic performance. “We would have had scholarships before at the university level but what I wanted to do today was to recognize and celebrate resilience. Those youngsters from the West that were affected by Hurricane Melissa, they came out for the camp. We hosted over 100 youngsters and from all indications, it was well received but what we wanted to do also was to acknowledge academic performance and how we can assist in that so what we did today was to give two additional scholarships to two young men from the West.” The JDF also recognised four players for their performances during the two-week camp at Manley Horne Park in St Elizabeth. Newell was named most outstanding participant, Janavia Williams received the leadership excellence award, Vinroy Dell was recognised for sportsmanship and Adriel Allen for outstanding support. Jamaica Cricket Association cricket operations manager Oneil Cruickshank said the competition produced improved performances, with four players scoring centuries and six bowlers taking five or more wickets in an innings. JCA first vice-president Fritz Harris said selectors had identified the Under-13 and Under-15 squads from the programme. The Under-15 squad will compete in the regional tournament next year, while the JCA is exploring matches for the Under-13 team against other Caribbean boards.