The CWI Rising Stars Under-19 Men’s 50-over Championship concluded on Wednesday with a historic display of all-round cricket that saw Barbados retain their title, led by a match-winning performance from Justin Parris that capped an undefeated run through the tournament. In the tournament-deciding final held at Liberta Sports Club, Parris turned in a once-in-a-generation double performance: a brilliant, pace-setting century with the bat followed by a devastating five-wicket haul with his off-spin, steering Barbados to a dominant 116-run victory over Jamaica.
Barbados’ batting got off to a rocky start after Jamaica won the toss and put the defending champions in to bat. Jamaica seamer Jahdae Moore removed opening batter Gadson Bowens for just eight early on, but a 74-run second-wicket stand between Kelani Clarke (49 off 44 balls) and Jordan Graham (21) steadied the innings, moving Barbados to 95 for one by the 16th over. A quick flurry of wickets from Jamaican bowler Alixandre Elliot turned the tide back in Jamaica’s favor: Elliot removed Clarke, snared Graham for 21, and Demarco Scott bowled Seth Smith for three to drop Barbados to 101 for four midway through their innings.
It was here that Parris stepped up to rescue his side. Partnering with Kemar Dixon, the all-rounder steered Barbados back into control with a 108-run fifth-wicket stand. After Elliot dismissed Dixon for 48 and Jahidi Hinds for one, Parris combined with R’Jai Gittens (37 off 19 balls) for an aggressive 80-run eighth-wicket partnership off just eight overs, pushing Barbados to 291 for seven after 48 overs. Parris brought up his century in the penultimate over of the innings, finishing with 100 runs off 98 balls, including 12 fours and one six, before being dismissed shortly after. Rajeev Parsooram closed out the innings with a quick 14 off five balls, leaving Barbados on a competitive total of 320 for nine after 50 overs. Elliot finished as Jamaica’s leading bowler with 4 for 40, while Moore took 3 for 58.
Chasing 321 for the title, Jamaica never recovered from a disastrous start. Barbados pace bowler Asher Branford trapped opener Odane Binns lbw for seven, had Joel Williams caught for a duck and removed Demarco Scott also via lbw, leaving Jamaica reeling at 46 for three. After Tyson Gordon Jr was dismissed for 28 by Hinds, Demario Hall and captain Pajay Nelson put on a 58-run fifth-wicket stand to bring Jamaica back into the contest at 131 for four. But Parris, who had already won the game with his bat, closed out the contest with his spin: he removed Hall for 47 to break the partnership, and went on to take the wickets of Ryan Lyttleton, Geovanni Grey, Elliot and Moore to finish with five wickets for just 35 runs. Parsooram took the key wicket of Nelson for 36, leaving Jamaica all out for 204 in 43.5 overs. Branford finished with 3 for 19 to support Parris’ match-winning spell.
The victory marked Barbados’ sixth consecutive win of the tournament, securing their second straight title and cementing their place as one of the most dominant teams in the recent history of the competition.
In the third-place playoff at Bethesda Sports Ground, Trinidad and Tobago cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket win over the Leeward Islands to claim third place in the tournament. The Leeward Islands, who chose to bat first, produced their poorest batting performance of the entire tournament, bowled out for just 88 runs in 26.5 overs. Renaldo Fournillier led the collapse, taking three of the first four wickets to fall, and finished with 4 for 26, while Daron Dhanraj took 2 for 14. Only Tanez Francis (22), Eirette Richards (19) and Lyhte Brown (13) reached double figures for the Leewards, who lost their last six wickets for just 40 runs. In response, Trinidad and Tobago lost three early wickets for just 20 runs, but captain Brendan Boodoo remained unbeaten on 49 off 46 balls, combining with Tariq Richards for an unbroken 41-run fourth-wicket stand to see the side home at 89 for three in just 15.1 overs.
At the fifth-place playoff held at Pigotts Sports Ground, Guyana earned revenge over the Windward Islands, beating them by 53 runs just days after losing to the side in the final round of group matches. Guyana’s batters struggled for the second match running, with only Dhanesh Persaud (53 off 73 balls) and Emmanuel Lewis (43) offering significant resistance. The pair put on a 92-run partnership after Guyana slumped to 72 for five in the 22nd over, but after Lewis was dismissed, Guyana lost their last five wickets for just 20 runs, all out for 184 in 49.2 overs. Theo Edwards was the Windward Islands’ leading bowler with 3 for 12.
In their chase, the Windward Islands lost captain and opener Theodore Edward to the second ball of the innings, but Derwin Lewis and Earshino Fontaine put on 46 runs to keep the contest alive. After Lewis was trapped lbw by Adrian Hetmyer, wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the Windwards at 76 for five. A 37-run stand between Tyler Venner (24) and Khavaughn Bartholomew (27) briefly revived their hopes, but Gilbert Griffith dismissed both to end the comeback. Griffith finished with 4 for 19, while Romario Ramdehol took 2 for 13 and Hetmyer took 2 for 38, bowling the Windward Islands out for 131 to secure a 53-run win for Guyana.