Federation’s Players Join Leeward Islands U19 Cricket

BASSETERRE — St. Kitts Cricket Association President Dennis Phillip on Monday saluted the Federation’s players representing the Leeward Islands at the West Indies Under-19 Women’s Tournament in Antigua, after the team split its opening two matches.

The Leeward Islands defeated the Windwards before falling to Jamaica in their second outing of the tournament, which runs through Aug. 15.

“A special shout-out to our very own Aaliyah Weekes, proudly leading the team as Captain,” Phillip said. “The journey continues, and we’re behind you all the way. Keep fighting, keep believing and continue making St. Kitts & Nevis proud!”

Weekes made St. Kitts history after being appointed captain of the Leeward Islands Stormers Women’s U19 team.

Weekes leads a St. Kitts and Nevis contingent that also includes Zara Skerritt, Leanga Warner, C’Quinya Dasent, Jahkazia Smithen, Sanajana Bhoojraj, Kiara Hanley and Kerranique Skeete. Skerritt, speaking ahead of the tournament on behalf of the group, said the pre-tournament training camp carried benefits beyond the field.

“I believe that this camp will be really beneficial for my own game, but also making connections with other people from other teams and possibly making a career for me in the future,” Skerritt said. “It’s a great opportunity to not only make friends, but to also improve my own cricket.”

She said the growth in the squad’s depth, now in her third year with the Leeward Islands, points to a rising pipeline for the federation.

“Cricket’s a growing sport for females especially, and to see the way we’ve each individually improved as well as how we’ve come together as a team, it’s actually astonishing to me,” she said. “I believe that if we keep working, there’s many people on the team that can follow in the footsteps of Jazara Claxton, who’s recently made the senior team and represented the West Indies in the T20 World Cup.”

Skerritt pointed to a recent pre-camp at Conaree, led by coaches Jace Taylor and Percy Daniel, as an example of the kind of initiative needed to grow the women’s game locally, with girls between the ages of 11 and 18 taking part.

“There’s a lot of things that we can still do to make more progress, but I believe that if we continue doing initiatives like that, we could get more girls playing,” she said. “The sky’s the limit for us. I just hope that maybe we could have some more tournaments for the girls.”

ROUND 1 – SATURDAY, AUGUST 8

• Leeward Islands vs Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club @ 9:00AM
• Trinidad and Tobago vs Jamaica – Bethesda Playing Field @10:00AM
• Barbados vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 2:00PM

ROUND 2 – SUNDAY, AUGUST 9

• Leeward Islands vs Jamaica – Liberta Sports Club @ 9:00AM
• Barbados vs Windward Islands – Bethesda Playing Field @10:00AM
• Trinidad and Tobago vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 2:00PM

ROUND 3 – TUESDAY, AUGUST 11

• Barbados vs Leeward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00AM
• Trinidad and Tobago vs Windward Islands – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00AM
• Jamaica vs Guyana – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00PM

ROUND 4 – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12

• Leeward Islands vs Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00AM
• Jamaica vs Barbados – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00AM
• Guyana vs Windward Islands – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00PM

ROUND 5 – FRIDAY, AUGUST 14

• Windward Islands vs Jamaica – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00AM
• Leeward Islands vs Guyana – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00AM
• Barbados vs Trinidad and Tobago – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00PM

FINAL & PLACEMENT ROUND – SATURDAY, AUGUST 15

• 3 vs 4 – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 9:00AM
• 5 vs 6 – Liberta Sports Club @ 10:00AM
• 1 vs 2 – Coolidge Cricket Ground @ 2:00PM