COMBERMERE ARE BACK on the hunt for more cricketing glory.
The reigning eight-time champs’ quest for a historic third successive Under-19 crown starts at home with a Zone A match against St Leonard’s on Saturday as part of the opening round of the Barbados Cricket Association’s limited overs tournament.
Details and fixtures for the 40-overs-a-side competition were released Tuesday during the official launch of the tournament at Kensington Oval.
“The whole developmental process has changed [because] when we look at an Under-19 competition in Barbados it falls in a different context than it did 30 or 40 years ago,” said acting chief executive officer of the BCA, Deighton Griffith.
“These days players appearing in an Under-19 competition have usually passed through an Under-13, an Under-15 and an Under-17 competition and I think that is important in the development of our cricketers.
“So we can develop players consistently from a very young age to the point where they’re ready to represent Barbados or the West Indies,” he added.
Fourteen-time finalists, Combermere are looking to become just the second school to ever record a three-peat in this competition, following Lodge’s unprecedented feat.
But Combermere’s quest for history isn’t the only incentive heading into the tournament, as sponsors Powerade announced the introduction of prizes for the player of each series as well as the tournament.
These will also be added to awards for the Player Of The Match in both the semi-finals and the final, which is slated for Kensington Oval depending on availability.
Twenty-one teams are slated to contest this year’s competition, including 19 government secondary schools and tertiary institutions, Barbados Community College and Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic.
Teams have been divided into four zones, where the top two teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals.
“It is a vital element in our schools’ cricket and it gives the schoolboys a bit of match practice immediately prior to the start of our domestic season,” said BCA cricket operations manager Rollins Howard.
“It also gives the coaches and the selectors for the Barbados Youth team an idea of who is out there, and what we are looking at for this year’s West Indies Youth Tournament.”
Howard also announced the arrival of the Cornwall Under-14 team from England, who will be playing two matches against a select BCA XI at Melrose and Lakes.
“We’re trying this year to raise the profile of all of our competitions to give the youngsters the kind of exposure that they really need,” Howard added.
