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Jamaica stun U15 titleholders, Fontaine hundred gives Windwards winning start

Published:Wednesday | April 5, 2023 | 1:20 AM
Jamaica under-15 opener Tyson Gordon watches a ball carefully during his innings of 48 against the Young Genius Cricket Academy at Chedwin Park recently.
Lennox Aldred
Jamaica under-15 opener Tyson Gordon watches a ball carefully during his innings of 48 against the Young Genius Cricket Academy at Chedwin Park recently.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC):

BARBADOS SUFFERED an early blow to their title defence when they went down by 18 runs to Jamaica in the opening round of the West Indies Rising Stars Under-15 Championship yesterday.

Asked to chase 166 for victory at Liberta Sports Club, Barbados were bowled out for 147 off 39 overs, despite opener Gadson Bowens’s top score of 64.

The run chase was undermined by Demarco Scott (3-12) and Adrian Silvera (3-22), both picking up three wickets apiece.

Earlier, Scott had also taken centre stage with a top score of 49 as Jamaica rallied to 165 all-out in the 43rd over.

Scott struck four fours in a 91-ball knock, adding 77 for the third wicket with Savio Jones (34), after Tyson Gordon (21) and Damien Daley (12) had posted 47 for the first wicket.

Once Jones departed in the 36th over, Jamaica lost their last seven wickets for 39 runs with R’Jai Gittens finishing with four for 24.

Barbados endured a rocky start to their run chase when they slumped to 39 for three at the start of the 11th before Bowens pulled the innings around.

He struck nine fours off 111 deliveries, putting on 105 for the fourth wicket with Justin Parris, whose 47 came from 75 balls and included three fours.

However, once the partnership ended, Barbados collapsed to lose their last seven wickets for three runs in the space of 24 deliveries.

The Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium saw the first hundred of the tournament, Earsinho Fontaine hitting a sparkling 130 not out as Windward Islands defeated Leewards Islands by 99 runs.

Fontaine’s 146-ball knock was the foundation of the Windwards’ 263 for three off their 50 overs, Jonathan Daniel chipping in with 52.

In reply, the Leewards slumped to 164 all out at the start of the 45th over, Elran Glasgow (3-14) and Theo Edward (3-15) snaring three-wicket hauls as Jaheem Clarke top-scored with an unbeaten 40.

At Coolidge Cricket Ground, Trinidad and Tobago also started the tournament on a winning note when they trounced Guyana by seven wickets in a low-scoring contest.

Three-wicket hauls from Yasir Deen (3-8) and Darrius Batoosingh (3-10) saw Guyana toppled for a paltry 75 in the 33rd over, and Christian Lall then struck a swift 32 not out off 27 balls to fire his side to victory.