Saint Lucia are the 2024 WINLOTT Windward Islands Under-15 Male Cricket Champions, courtesy a 5-run victory over Dominica at the Gros-Islet Playing Field on Sunday afternoon. It was a pressure cooker of a final as the Dominicans took control very early, never allowing the hosts to settle with the bat.
Dominica won the toss and decided to field, and were soon enjoying the fruits of that decision. Saint Lucia lost wickets at 1 for 00, 2 for 03, 3 for 05, 4 for 21 – all inside the first power play. Wickets continued to fall 5 for 34, 6 for 80, 7 for 97, 8 for 115, 9 for 115, and 10 for 115 in 30.5 overs.
Kaleb Charles top-scored for Saint Lucia with 31, Samuel Jean 22, while Kerlan Daniel and Curdin Jones made 12 each, with extras totaling 22 made of 2 byes, 2 leg-byes, 12 wides, and 6 no-balls.
Bowling for Dominica Kelan Christmas was the destroyer taking 4 for 12 in 5.5 overs, Jershaun Joseph took 2 for 11, Dylan John 2 for 29, Vince Darroux 1 for 10, and Nian Davis 1 for 23.
Saint Lucia refused to lay down and die, forcing Dominica to fight for every run, as both teams continued to trade punch for punch. Dominica lost wickets at regular intervals – 1 for 02, 2 for 11, 3 for 45, 4 f0r 47, 5 for 56, 6 for 57, 7 for 97, 8 for 97, 9 for 97, and all out 110 in 36.5v overs.
Leading the Dominican efforts with the bat was Zaiden Cornelius with a top score of 33, Kelan Christmas 31, and Elon Pascal with 12, while extras totaled 16 made of 4 byes, 1 leg-bye, 10 wides, and 1 no-ball.
For Saint Lucia, Kaleb Charles rose to the occasion grabbing 5 for 24 in 7.5 overs and was duly voted as the Man-of-the-Match for his superb all-round performance. Jean-Claude Emmanuel took 3 for 41, Daniel Lorde 1 for 08, and Jeanille Williams 1 for 11, as Saint Lucia won by a narrow 5-runs and claimed the 2024 Winlott Windward Islands Under-15 Male Cricket Championship.
