By Samuel Peters
The Leeward Islands Women’s Under 19 team has shown that they can compete and are likely one of the favourites to win the title, despite their two-run loss to Guyana on Tuesday in the Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Female Under 19 Championship.
Guyana batted first and posted 94 for five in their allotment of overs but it was another ill-disciplined bowling performance by the Leeward Islands that contributed significantly to their overall score.
A total of 23 extras were bowled while there were runs off the bat from Naomi Barkoye 17, Realanna Grimmond 15, and Denellie Lindee 14.
Skipper Jahzara Claxton had two wickets for 26 runs but it was the economical bowling of the spin twins Gabrielle Harrylall and Saivani Kambalapalli who dried up the run flow of the Guyanese with them bowling eight overs for just 20 runs.
The Leeward Islands got off to a dreadful start, losing two wickets in the first over.
But Skipper Claxton played a compact innings given the situation, batting time and counterattacked when needed.
She made an unbeaten 52 that included two fours and two sixes while the only other player to get into double figures was Kimberly Anthony with 11.
The ladies needed 11 off the last over to win but, unfortunately, could not finish on the winning side after there was a mix-up between Harrylall and Claxton which left both batters stranded on one end, and Harrylall was run out two runs short of the target with two balls to spare.
They will now play Jamaica on Thursday for their final match.
About The Author
