SVG take Windwards U-19 cricket title

St Vincent and the Grenadines has returned to the top of the Winlott Inc Windward Islands Cricket Tournament for the first time since 2008.{{more}}

The Vincentians lads secured the 2015 Winlott Inc title, which concluded in Dominica last Thursday.

Finishing on 23.9 points, St Vincent and the Grenadines edged out Dominica, who tallied 21.9 points.

Dethroned champions Grenada ended third with 17.5 points and St Lucia were at the bottom on 13 points. The newly inducted champions’ aggregate of points came from two wins versus Dominica, a win and a loss against St Lucia, while both matches versus Grenada ended in no decisions because of rain.

But it was touch and go for St Vincent and the Grenadines, who had to beat St Lucia and hoped that Grenada did the same to Dominica.

Both St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada kept their ends of the deal, which resulted in the former lifting the top spot.

In their final match, played at Benjamin Park in Portsmouth, St Vincent and the Grenadines were dismissed for 133; Rasheed Fredericks made 39 and Benniton Stapleton, 25.

Bowling for St Lucia, Selwyn Boyce grabbed 5 for 36 and Joshua Mann 3 for 48.

St Lucia, in response, ended on 125, with Boyce top scoring with 45 and Dornan Edward – 35.

The combined bowling efforts of Rasheed Fredericks – 3 for 23, Kimson Dalzell – 3 for 25, Othneil Lewis – 2 for 25 and Obed Mc Coy – 2 for 37, ensured that St Lucia fell short by eight runs.

In the other fixture, Grenada overcame the host by 33 runs at the Botanic Gardens Ground in Roseau.

Grenada posted 265, to which Dominica replied with 232.

The triumphant Vincentians returned home last Saturday night, a buoyant bunch, continuing the spate of sporting successes in recent times achieved by St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Team captain Romano Pierre told SEARCHLIGHT that from the get go, their mission was to win the title.

“We set out to win and we did this… We played as a team, we supported each other,” Pierre said.

Pushed to the brink by St Lucia in their decisive fixture on Thursday, Pierre said self-belief took charge in the low scoring affair.

“I always backed my bowlers to deliver and they came through,” Pierre stated.

However, the Vincentian captain was dissatisfied with his own input, stating, “I did not contribute enough, with the bat especially.”

Pierre is, however, looking forward to the regional tournament starting later this month in Jamaica, when he is hoping to make an impact for the Windwards’ unit.(RT)