Trinidad and Tobago claimed the 2025 CWI Rising Stars Under-17 50-over Championship with a thrilling 23-run victory over tournament leaders Barbados last Monday at Gilbert Park.
T&T entered the final round in third place on 13.8 points and needed a victory to leapfrog the Leeward Islands (14 points) and Barbados (16.2 points) and their gamble paid off well.
Champions Trinidad & Tobago
After a shaky start at 38-3, the hosts recovered through Aadi Ramsaran’s 65, which featured five sixes. His key partnerships with Darrius Batoosingh and Christiano Ramanan steadied the innings and they ended on 194 all out. Renaldo Bourne led Barbados’ bowling attack with 3-44.
In reply, Barbados found themselves at 49-4 early on as T&T’s bowlers dominated. Daron Dhanraj (3-12) and Ra’ed Ali Khan (3-15) were particularly dangerous and left the defending champions at 100-7.
A spirited fightback from Raphael Lovell who top scored with 40, along with the lower order batters, brought Barbados close to the target, but they fell just short at 171 all out as Trinidad and Tobago’s victory prevented Barbados completing the double after their 2-Day title triumph last month.
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands’ title hopes were ended when rain forced abandonment of their crucial match against the Windward Islands at the National Cricket Centre, but Jamaica finally secured their first win of the 50-Over tournament as they beat Guyana by six wickets via Duckworth-Lewis in a rain-affected encounter.
Jamaica
Odane Binns registered an unbeaten 57 as Jamaica chased down their revised target of 122, reaching122-4 off 19.5 overs.
The Championship delivered thrilling cricket across the four rounds of play before Trinidad and Tobago’s title triumph in the fifth and final round.
Windward Islands
The opening round saw the Windward Islands take a four-run DLS victory over Jamaica at Queen’s Park Oval.
Ryan Littleton’s 70 helped Jamaica to 217-9, but the Windwards reached the revised target with seven overs to spare.
Rain wreaked havoc at the other venues, forcing the T&T-Guyana clash to be abandoned and a no-result between Barbados and the Leeward Islands.
Guyana
In the second round. Leeward Islands captain Tanez Francis crafted a superb century (110 off 94 balls) to guide his team to a one-wicket DLS win over Jamaica.
Barbados cruised past Guyana by seven wickets, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Daron Dhanraj claimed figures of 7-22 to demolish the Windward Islands for 125 in his team’s 5-wicket win.
Runners-up Barbados
In the following round, Barbados hammered the Windwards by 107 runs while the Leeward Islands maintained their momentum with a 55-run DLS victory over Guyana, built on Francis’ 74 and Amoree Jones’s 52 in their 110-run opening stand.
Trinidad & Tobago continued their good form with a 91-run win over Jamaica.
The tournament’s fourth round was completely rained out, with all three matches abandoned without a ball bowled due to persistent rain.
Trinidad and Tobago ended at the summit with 19 points from three wins, edging Barbados, who finished second on 18 points.
The Leeward Islands placed third with 16 points, ahead of the Windwards (10.8) and Jamaica (9.4). Guyana ended bottom with six points after failing to win a match
MVP & Most Wickets – Daron Dhanraj (T&T)
Tournament Awards:
Most Wickets: Daron Dhanraj (T&T) 13 wickets
Most Runs: Tanez Francis (Leeward Islands) 209 runs
Most Catches: Damarco Wiggins (Barbados) 5 catches
Wicketkeeper/Most Dismissals: Gadson Bowens (Barbados) 5 dismissals (4 ct, 1st)
MVP: Daron Dhanraj (T&T)
