St John’s, Antigua – Top regional Under 15 bowler, Guyanese Renaldo Mohammed copped the Most Outstanding Cricketer award at the recently concluded West Indies Cricket Board Sandals Foundation Under 15 High Performance Camp in Antigua.
Mohammed’s teammate, Richie Looknauth won the trophy for Best Bowler while Trinidad and Tobago’s Under 15 captain Kirsten Kallicharan was adjudged the Best Batsman. Mohammed was also the leading bowler in the WICB Regional Under 15 Tournament this year, finishing the tournament with 33 wickets, inclusive of a match haul of 14 wickets against the Leeward Islands.
The Best Fielder Award at the WICB Sandals Foundation Camp went to Chrystian Thurton of Trinidad and Tobago.
Another Trinidadian, Leonardo Julien took the award for Best Wicketkeeper.
Other awards:
Most Disciplined Team – Guyana
Team Spirit Award – Asher Cornelius (Antigua and Barbuda)
Most Promising Players
Uri Smith – Antigua and Barbuda
Ashmead Nedd – Guyana
Javani Tyson – Leeward Islands
Nathaniel McDavid – Trinidad and Tobago
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Sports, Senator The Honourable Winston Williams has urged graduates of the Camp to be unstinting and share the wealth of experience and training afforded to them during the recently concluded week-long training camp in Antigua and Barbuda. A similar camp was held in St Lucia where the Jamaica, Barbados, Windward Islands and St Lucia Under 15 teams were encamped.
Speaking at the closing ceremony on Tuesday afternoon at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Minister Williams applauded the players for successfully completing the rigorous training program.
According to President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) Zorol Barthley, the 57 elite young cricketers were not only fortunate for being apart of the camp but they are also responsible for sharing the knowledge with those not fortunate enough to have gained it first hand.
"This project is established to ensure that you become good human beings. And it is important that you understand the principles and sacrifices made here for you," Barthley said.
The former West Indies Youth Team Captain also joined in applauding the WICB for the expertise and commitment injected into the program.
Head Coach Dwain Gill was pleased with the outcome of the camp and reiterated his coaching staff’s focus for the past week. The emphasis involved three main pillars – Technical Skills, Techniques and Strategy, and Life Skills.
He said the limitations of the players were identified early and the coaching team used the camp to address those specific points.
"Most of the participants would have passed the test and we urge them to take this knowledge and talents back to their countries and clubs," Coach Gill said.
He said most players appeared to have mastered what used to be their flaws, and are now able to develop further and become "thinking" cricketers.