The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas will again host regional cricket competition as the country looks to continue its success in the sport at the junior level.

The International Cricket Council is all set to host its Pepsi ICC Americas Under-19 Division II Championship tournament August 14-16 in the capital at both local sites, Haynes Oval and Windsor Park.

The Bahamas will compete alongside Argentina, Suriname and the Cayman Islands. Teams are expected to arrive today and the games village will be at the Melia Nassau Beach, Cable Beach.

The tournament will be Twenty-20 double round robin fixture and will get underway 10am Thursday when the Bahamas is slated to face Cayman at Haynes Oval. The home team will follow with their second game of the day against Argentina in Haynes Oval at 3pm.

The Windsor Park schedule will see Suriname at 10am followed by the Cayman Islands and Suriname at 3pm.

On August 15, the morning schedule at 10am will see the Bahamas against Suriname at Haynes Oval and Argentina faces Cayman at Windsor Park.

The Bahamas will shift to Windsor Park for the first time at 3pm when they face Cayman while Argentina will face Suriname.

The final day of round robin play, Saturday August 16, will feature the Bahamas in the morning session at 10am against Argentina at Windsor Park. They will follow against Suriname at 3pm at the same location.

Over at Haynes Oval, Suriname will face Cayman at 10am and the evening game will feature Cayman against Argentina at 3pm.

ICC tournaments in both junior and senior categories have been hosted in the Bahamas before. The last was the senior team tournament played here in February 2013 which was won by the Bahamas.

Bahamas Under-19 teams have successfully participated in these tournaments in Canada, Cayman Islands, Bermuda and at home.

Local cricket enthusiast Paul Thompson said the tournament will be a test of the country’s national junior development programme.

“The team is not the same team as we had before when we did very well because they have progressed so we have a new team of youngsters coming. I know they have played pretty well here so we will have to see as the team against the visiting competitors to get an idea of how they will measure up and how the programme is doing.”

The Bahamas Cricket Association hosted the International Cricket Council Tournament of the Americas Division II at the senior level last February.

Participating teams included Argentina, Belize, Panama, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas.

The Bahamas previously captured the ICC Americas Division II title despite losing a thrilling final match to Suriname by three wickets, so the Bahamas looks to be one of the major players in the tournament.

“Cricket continues to thrive, although it’s not getting the publicity it deserves. Cricket and music, unlike politics, united the people of the Caribbean and made us feel proud. Recent statistics have shown that cricket is second only to soccer in the world of sports. The game is played in 125 countries worldwide with 655 million viewers. To that end, we are hoping we get some support for the upcoming tournaments,” Thompson said.

“The Bahamas national teams, Under-15, Under-19, and senior teams have participated successfully in International Cricket Council-sponsored tournaments all over the region of the Americas. The 2001 team emerged as champions in the tournament played in Jamaica, in 2004, the team beat Panama to qualify to play in the World League, and in 2009, the Bahamas won the Under-15 regional tournament and the Pepsi Cola ICC tournament for senior teams.”

TEAM BAHAMAS

Nandkumar Jagroo (Captain)

Cody Dean Jr

Whitcliff Atkinson Jr

Kapry Kemp Jr

Chavez McPhee

Marcus Bowe

Sharano Kemp

Stephen Fox

Lee Melville Jr

Anthony McFarlane

Kayaan Longley

Rahael Simon

Xavier Rhone

Munir Gharbhan