Hail, West Indies Academy

It was a very interesting turn of events when the West Indies Cricket Academy demolished their seniors in the trial matches, staged to help prepare WI teams for the A team tour to Bangladesh in the middle of May and for Test-cricket responsibilities versus India and New Zealand at home in the next few months.

The matches were included to give the youths some experience against senior players as part of their development, only for them to turn the tables, whipping Team Headley (TH) by a convincing seven-wicket margin. It was a shocker, to say the least, for the more experienced TH side, after trailing by 64 runs in the first innings, to be bundled out for 122 in their second turn at the crease.

Apart from skipper Joshua Da Silva’s delightful century and Akeem Jordan’s 54 in the first innings, there wasn’t much else to cheer about when the supposedly more accomplished TH batted. Hence the academy, having played better cricket, took the lion’s share of the praise, much to the surprise of this critic.

I could honestly say I didn’t know much about the Academy of Emerging Players, so when I noticed the way they approached the cricket, I had to sit up and pay attention.

The academy started in July last year, when Jimmy Adams, Cricket West Indies’ director of cricket, got together with cricket officials in the WI territories and invited promising players between 19 and 25 to participate in a cricket camp of 25 players of various abilities, to be trained holistically to become top-flight cricketers.

As the opportunity presented itself to prepare teams for international competition, a Test team and an A team, it was considered wise to measure exactly what sort of progress was being made in order to compete successfully in the future.

What better way than a competition of trial matches against two teams with more experience?

Who would guess that the yet unproven youngsters, many of whom had not even played a first-class game, would run away with the spoils of the contest? For after trouncing TH, they used that confidence to crush Team Weekes in the first innings with remarkable batting performances.

After Team Weekes (TW) were sent in to bat, there were some sound innings played. Zachary McCaskie, who opened the batting, put together a well-played 93, followed by Brandon King, well known for white-ball cricket, who scored a sprightly 92, both batsmen missing out on hundreds. Then Kevin Sinclair at no 6, better known for his off-spin bowling and celebratory somersaults on capturing a wicket, played a dynamic innings of 86. Wicketkeeper Jahmar Hamilton chipped in with 57.

In spite of no batsman getting a hundred, TW still managed to build a strong total of 401. Although the pitch was flat and batting was a bit easier than in the first game, nonetheless, the runs were on the board and had to be scored. Could an inexperienced team do it against their more imposing countrymen?

The academy batsmen did not let their team down. It was batting of the highest class.

Opening batsman the left-handed Kirk McKenzie batted with an excellent temperament, using remarkable drives, vicious pulls and astonishing cuts to power his score to a double century. His first first-class hundred was transformed to 221 before he was dismissed with one that lifted off a length from Niall Smith, the thick edge being caught behind by the keeper.

Chugging along at the other end was Kevin Wickham, who played like a batsman inspired by the confidence emanating from his partner.

He and McKenzie, with splendid concentration and noteworthy determination, built an incredible partnership of 259. taking the score from a vulnerable 142 for four to 401 when the opener was out. It was a marvellous piece of batsmanship from any angle. Their defence was solid throughout.

Bowlers on both sides had to struggle for penetration on the flat pitch, which will teach them perseverance. Mike Holding, who picked up a record 14 wickets in a Test match at the Kennington Oval in London on a flat batting wicket, said after the game, the less help one gets from the pitch, the harder one has to try.

Overall, the tougher the game, the more effort one requires to achieve success.

The academy convincingly and deservedly won the competition. Adams should be proud.