Theo Edward scored 540 runs in four matches in the WICB U15 Tournament.
Contributed
Alton Crafton, Coach of St Lucia’s national U15 cricket team believes Theo Edward with the right guidance and work ethic has the potential to become a West Indies player in the next few years.
The 15-year-old student of the St Lucia Sports Academy, who in 2019 expressed his ambition to one day play for the West Indies, scored four consecutive centuries in the recent WINLOTT Windward Islands Cricket Board U15 Tournament that helped guide his side to the title playing undefeated.
Edward had scores of 198, 101, 137 and 104 for a total of 540 runs and average of 135.
“Even if you are playing in your backyard, you might score one 100, but four in a row?” said Crafton, who was impressed with Edward’s output during the tournament declaring that he is confident that the all-rounder can make it all the way to the top.
“Certainly. If he just follows the right pathway and have the correct influence around him, for sure.”
Speaking with Sportsmax.TV days after the conclusion of the tournament, the proud coach revealed that while it is still early days young Edward is always showing signs that already has many of the tools needed to become a successful international cricketer.
“He knows his game and he keeps his game very simple,” he said.
“You wouldn’t find him going over the top in the first five overs. He’ll get set and play each ball on its merit and he has high levels of concentration. He can focus for long periods of time and he did so exceptionally during the tournament.
“At that age, he is a work in progress, He knows the game. He has a very good pull shot. He drives off the back foot and front foot. There is always room for improvement but what he has now is enough to carry him through.”
Edward and his teammate Leon Alexander, who also enjoyed a successful tournament with both bat and ball practice with Crafton’s training group. The coach reveals that even though both spend time working on their physical skills, they also focus on other critical areas of development.
“We put a lot of emphasis on them (skills) and they get a chance to practice, practice, practice (but) there is a lot of emphasis on the mental space, keeping them in the right direction, letting them know what exactly they are about and I have no doubt they will go all the way.”
Crafton said it is essential that Edward keeps the right people around him to ensure that he maintains his discipline and focus and believes he always has that.
“I know for sure he has his dad in his corner. He just needs to keep it narrow and simple to people he can trust and just move on and keep with the hard work,” he said.
For now, he just needs to spend a little more time working on his game while finding a balance with his academics, Crafton said, the rest will take care of itself.
“We will give him all the support that we can give him,” he said.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Leon Bailey's injury update emerges with surgery a possibility
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Manager Unai Emery was reluctant to put a timeline on Bailey’s return, and Dr. Brar, a physical therapist and sports scientist, agreed as he explained that the 27-year-old’s return will be determined based on the extent of the injury.
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Maanum netted the only goal of the game in the 19th minute after Caitlin Foord saw her cross spilled by Rugile Rulyte, with Maanum on hand to finish from close range.
The Gunners could have made the encounter more comfortable as Alessia Russo's header came back off the crossbar to conclude a dominant first half.
Arsenal struck the woodwork a further two times after the interval, through Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross, with Leah Williamson also seeing her header cleared off the line.
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Arsenal go through to the next stage of the next stage of the competition, which is a knockout tie played across two legs.
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The Manchester United forward opened the scoring early on at the Philips Stadion.
A quiet start to proceedings burst into life in the 13th minute as Simons' deflected effort dropped kindly for Zirkzee, who nodded the ball beyond Nikola Vasilj.
But with their second shot on target, Bosnia snatched an equaliser after Denis Huseinbasic's defence-splitting pass picked out Ermedin Demirovic, who finished smartly.
Teed up by Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders restored the hosts' advantage before teeing up Cody Gakpo, who maintained the goalscoring form he displayed at Euro 2024.
Bosnia provided a nervy finish to proceedings after Edin Dzeko neatly poked the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen, only for Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons to seal the win in the closing stages.
Data Debrief: Gen Z(irkzee)
Having only held a one-goal advantage until the 88th minute, the scoreline eventually reflected the Netherlands' dominance in Eindhoven.
Koeman's side generated an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, registering 28 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to their opponents' four and three.
Zirkzee, meanwhile, became the fourth player after Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Bas Dost and Vincent Janssen to contribute a goal and assist on their starting debut for the Netherlands.
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