Bounce Back

Barbados’ recent capture of the CWI Rising Stars Regional Under-15 Championship has come as no surprise to head coach Roddy Estwick.

Describing it as “the best balanced team” he had ever coached, Estwick said he fully expected the team to redeem itself following last year’s nightmare tournament where they finished bottom of the table.

This time around, Barbados finished unbeaten in the tournament held in Antigua and Barbuda, comprehensively winning four of their five matches after their opening round match against Guyana was rained out.

Barbados topped the table with 22 points, with Guyana second on 20.8 points and Trinidad and Tobago third with 13.6 points.

It was Barbados’ second title in three years after also playing unbeaten in 2022 to win the tournament.

The 14-member team arrived home on Thursday night, and was greeted at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) with much fanfare by family, friends and officials from the Barbados Cricket Association, including chairman of selectors Elvis Howard and manager of marketing and communication, Steven Leslie.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY moments after exiting the Arrival Hall, Estwick said the team was laden with talent.

“I expected Barbados to win. I thought it was the best balanced team I have ever coached. I’ve been coaching for a number of years and the talent is unbelievable.

“We had so many options. We had three leg-spinners and two were batting all-rounders, you had an opening batsman who was also an opening bowler, so you had a lot of balance and the captain Wiggins played out of his skin so I was always confident that once they didn’t become complacent we were always going to win,” Estwick said.

Skipper and opening batsman Damarko Wiggins finished the tournament with the most runs, while his opening partner Jahidi Hinds was the third highest run scorer.

Estwick said the two batsmen played a major role in the team’s success.

“I don’t like to single out performances but they played well. We got off to a 200-run partnership, we also got a 100-run partnership and a 50-run partnership, so we were always going to be in a strong position,” he admitted.

“Plus in the power play, which is very, very important, we were always 60, 65 without loss so that put the opposition under a lot of pressure.”

Wiggins, a student of the Lodge School, said he was always confident Barbados would do well in the tournament.

“It feels great man. All the preparation we had going forward, I told myself we just had to execute the plans and we would win,” he said.

“I don’t think we had any challenges to be honest. In Barbados we have higher levels, so I felt that we just had to stick to the plans, stick to the basics, be confident and play hard.”

Wiggins also credited the decision by Estwick to move him from his customary batting position at number 4 to open the innings, as the reason behind his success with the bat.

“That felt fantastic to be honest. Batting at number four wasn’t bad but I feel more comfortable opening the batting so it was a good choice,” he added.

Howard told Barbados TODAY he was happy that the boys were able to bounce back and win the competition.

“I’m happy for the guys. Obviously they would have worked hard from the inception when we started back in January and it’s good to see that their hard work has paid dividends,” the chairman of selectors said.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb