Grant tops list of three half-centuries as Clarke’s X1 beat Bolden’s X1 by 3 wickets in first Barbados Under-19 trial

Bridgetown, Barbados, July 4 –(www.barbadoscricket.org) – Three batsmen struck half-centuries including the pugnacious Kamario Grant, who shared in a brisk seventh wicket partnership of 97 with his Foundation schoolmate and fellow former Barbados and West Indies Under-15 team player Nathan Sealy to spur Rivaldo Clarke’s X1 to a three-wicket win with nine balls remaining over Nimar Bolden’s X1 on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method in the first Barbados Under-19 one-day trial match at Brighton on Sunday.

Chasing a revised target of 209 in 40 overs after Bolden’s side made 179 for five off 40.5 overs and with a decent crowd at the ground and the match also streamed live, the burly Grant and all-rounder Sealy brought back memories of their dominant performances in the last BCA Under-15 Tournament two years ago when Foundation retained the title with a crushing 10-wicket win over Queen’s College in the Final at Dayrells Road.

That season, Grant, easily one of the biggest blokes in the Championship, amassed the highest overall aggregate of 666 runs including four centuries and two fifties, at an amazing average of 222.00. He made 54 in the Final.

Sealy, a left-arm orthodox spinner and right-hand batsman and then the Foundation captain, finished with a season-high 61 wickets at a miserly 5.74 runs apiece, along with 458 runs (ave: 65.43) containing two hundreds and two half-centuries. He did the “dog” in the Final with a match haul of 10 for 62 off 39.3 overs and the match topscore of 58.

Their performances led to selection on the 14-member West Indies Under-15 team, of which Sealy was the vice-captain, for an August tour of England, sponsored by the world-renowned Barmy Army.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made life tough for cricketers since last season with limited competitions at all levels, but with great relief, the island’s leading junior players now have a chance to show their mettle.

They are seeking to impress in a four-match series this month in preparation for the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup (the 14th), which is to be played in the West Indies for the first time, with 16 teams taking part.

It probably came as a surprise to many fans that there was actually play on Sunday – postponed from Saturday – following the passage of Hurricane Elsa, which pounded the island on Friday and caused telling destruction to homes.

Amidst a mixture of sunny conditions and occasional rain, the old Texaco Sports Club ground (now Rubis), with a sandy base next to the popular Brighton beach and the home of the Barbados Light & Power Company, was perhaps an ideal venue.

Grant and Sealy are positive players, brought up at Church Hill under the highly successful Foundation coaches Nhamo Winn and Denis “Parker” Osbourne – both former BCA top division players (one of their students is England fast bowling sensation Jofra Archer, who scored 86 and took five for 50 in the 2013 BCA Intermediate division four-day Final against pre-match favourites Isolation Cavaliers, spurring Foundation to the title and with it the first school team to be promoted to the First division under the rebranded top two divisions from 2012, and where they have remained ever since the 2014 season).

Grant and Sealy both know what winning is all about and Sunday was no exception.

With Clarke’s X1 struggling on 108 for six, the pair took charge, adding their 97 in 14.3 overs before Sealy fell to left-arm spinner Giovonte Depeiza for 48 off 46 balls including two fours and three sixes with just four runs needed for victory.

Grant, cocky at times, hit the match topscore of 74 not out off 79 balls with four fours and the same number of sixes, at No. 6.

Lodge school opener Hakeem Perryman smacked 34 off 26 balls, counting four fours and two sixes, but when he was second out with the score 52 in the eighth over, a collapse set in as four wickets tumbled for seven runs in 4.2 overs.

A recovery was led by Grant and Joshua Morris, a Coleridge & Parry student, and who was one of four Barbadians in the West Indies Under-15 team for that 2019 tour to England. The other was Rashad Worrell of St. Leonard’s, and who also played on Sunday.

Grant and Morris put on 49 in 10.4 overs before Morris fell for 19 off 33 balls, to Isaiah Folkes, another member of the champion Foundation Under-15 side two years ago.

Giovonte Depeiza, a former student of Frederick Smith and who had a commendable season for Barbados Youth ‘B’ in last season’s Elite/Division 1 Twenty20 Cup Championship with eight wickets at an economy rate of 5.68 (he also played for North Stars in the 2019 Intermediate division Final against champions Isolation Cavaliers), was the leading bowler with three for 26 off six overs, while another talented player, off-spinner Tariq O’Neale of The St. Michael school, took two for 51 off eight overs.

Earlier, Bolden’s X1 owed their fighting total to half-centuries by Achilles Browne and Kwame Patton, who featured in a fourth wicket stand of 90 in 20.1 overs.

Browne, an Alleyne student, led the way with an unbeaten 64 off 119 balls including four fours and one six at No. 3, while Lodge boy Patton made an attacking 55 from 59 deliveries as he counted six fours and one six.

Shomario Depeiza, formerly of Frederick Smith, was the only other double-figure contributor with 24.

Thierry Walcott, another decent performer for Barbados Youth ‘B’ in the 2020 T20 Cup with eight wickets (ER: 5.30) and who is a product of Frederick Smith as well, took two for 21 off 10 overs, while Coleridge & Parry’s Kobe Williams picked up two for 26 off 4.5 overs.

SCORECARD
NIMAR BOLDEN’S X1
+S. Parris c Clarke b Springer 2(8 balls)
S. Depeiza b Walcott 24 (37 balls, 3×4)
A. Browne not out   64  (119 balls, 4×4, 1×6)
M. Young b Walcott  6 (28 balls)
K. Patton c Sealy b Williams 55(59  balls, 6×4, 1×6)
G. Depeiza c Roberts b Williams  3 (4 balls)
Extras (b2, lb1, w12, nb10) 25
TOTAL (5 wks, 40.5 overs) 179
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Parris, 1.1 ov), 2-51 (S. Depeiza, 12.4), 3-75 (Young, 18.4), 4-165 (Patton, 38.5), 5-179 (G. Depeiza, 40.5).
Did not bat: *N. Bolden, I. Folkes, T. Dowrich, M. Husbands, T. O’Neale.
Bowling: Worrell 6-0-23-0 (w4, nb5), Springer 4-0-17-1 (w2, nb1), Roberts 6-0-42-0 (w2, nb1), Walcott 10-1-21-2 (w1, nb3), Sealy 10-0-47-0, Williams 4.5-0-26-2 (w3).
RIVALDO CLARKE’S X1
H. Perryman c S. Depeiza b O’Neale  34 (26 balls, 4×4, 2×6)
M. Simmonds c & b Layne  1 (6 balls)
T. Walcott c Vaughan b G. Depeiza  1 (27 balls)
J. Roberts b O’Neale 3 (8 balls)

*+R. Clarke hit wicket b G. Depeiza  1 (5 balls)
K. Grant not out 74 (79 balls, 4×4, 4×6)
J. Morris c Young b Folkes  19 (33 balls, 2×4)
N. Sealy c Folkes b G. Depeiza  48 (46 balls, 2×4, 3×6)
R. Worrell not out 2 (3 balls)
Extras (b1, lb4, w18, nb3) 26
TOTAL (7 wks, 38.3 overs)  209
Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Simmonds, 2.2 ov), 2-52 (Perryman, 7.5), 3-53 (Walcott, 9.5), 4-57 (Clarke, 11.4), 5-59 (Roberts, 12.1), 6-108 (Morris, 22.5), 7-205 (Sealy, 37.2).
Did not bat: K. Williams, D. Springer.
Bowling: Layne 5.3-1-22-1 (w3, nb2), Husbands 2-0-18-0 (w11), O’Neale 8-1-51-2 (w2), G. Depeiza 6-0-26-3, Folkes 8-0-38-1 (w1, nb1), Dowrich 6-2-24-0, Vaughan 3-0-25-0 (w1).
NB: Rain at 11 a.m. Bolden’s X1 75-3 (18.4 overs); 12.59 p.m. 179-5 (40.5 overs).
Result: Clarke’s X1 won by 3 wickets (D/L/S) with nine balls remaining after they were set a revised target of 209 in 40 overs.
Toss: Bolden’s X1.
Umpires: Dave Thompson, Troy Tudor.
Scorer: Ayana Holder.
Coaches: Sherwin Campbell (Clarke’s X1), Dexter Toppink (Bolden’s X1).
Other matches, also at Brighton: July 10, 11, 17. Start: 9.30 a.m.