The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) and long-time youth cricket sponsor Kingston Wharves have teamed up to award two deserving Under-19 cricketers full scholarships for their tertiary education at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The scholarships were recently presented at the JCA office at Sabina Park in Kingston.

The JCA highlighted the spectacular success of the Under-19 team, led by captain Brian Barnes and Steven Wedderburn. The team captured both regional championship trophies available in 2023. The idea for the scholarships arose from a desire to properly reward these talented cricketers while supporting their educational goals, ensuring they could continue playing the game at a high level.

JCA President Dr. Donovan Bennett welcomed the partnership with Kingston Wharves in awarding the scholarships. "We are very grateful at the JCA that Kingston Wharves has made this offer. It allows cricketers who have also excelled academically to be recognized and supported, helping them to enhance their life skills," he said.

Dr. Bennett also spoke about the process of determining the scholarship winners. "We had a joint committee with participation from both Kingston Wharves and the JCA. We invited applications, and after a thorough assessment process, the committee made the final recommendations."

The two awardees, Barnes and Wedderburn, along with their family members and coaches, were thrilled to receive the scholarships.

"I feel elated and honoured," said Barnes. "I'm just happy that both of us are being recognized with this scholarship."

Wedderburn echoed similar sentiments, stating, "I feel pretty elated because this is an honor. It's a result of hard work and dedication, and I feel great about receiving this award."

Kingston Wharves, the financial backer of the scholarships, was represented by Business Development Manager Alfred McDonald, who spoke about the company's commitment to supporting student-athletes. "We are focused on ensuring that those playing the sport are also excelling academically. We've seen their journey, and we want to support it. By providing funds—around $300,000 to $500,000 per annum for each of them—we believe this assistance will propel them to do their best both on the field and in school," McDonald said.

Simone Murdock, Corporate Services and Client Experience Manager at Kingston Wharves, who sat on the scholarship selection committee, expressed the company’s satisfaction with the selection process and the quality of the two recipients. "Our commitment is to see these young men through to the completion of their degrees. At that time, the company will reassess, as there might be greater needs in three years. For now, our focus is on helping them complete their degree program, and we will evaluate what further support is needed for cricket development afterward," Murdock said.

Barnes and Wedderburn will be pursuing marketing degrees at UWI, a program expected to last four years.

Regional youth cricket has long been a pathway for a number of young cricketers to make the transition to the senior ranks.

While developing the cricketing skills of the region’s young players is paramount, their development off the field is equally as important.

The latest initiative from the Jamaica Cricket Association is further emphasis of that fact.

To honour last year’s successful Jamaica under-19 double champions, the association, along with long-time partners Kingston Wharves Limited, handed out tertiary scholarship grants to two crucial members of the team, Brian Barnes and Steven Wedderburn.

Barnes, a left-handed top order batsman, was the team’s captain, a role he returned to in 2024.

Wedderburn, also a southpaw, was one of the top scorers during last year’s regional tournament and went on to represent the West Indies at the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa from January 19-February 11 this year.

The pair was chosen from a shortlist of five under-19 players, following the application process, which required the cricketers to be accepted at a recognised tertiary institution.

The four-year scholarship grant will see Barnes and Wedderburn studying marketing at the University of the West Indies.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the squad for the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s High-Performance camp being hosted at Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. This is the first activity to bring together the best Under 19s talent in the region and build towards the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in 2024.

The squad of 29 includes two players who were part of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s squad at the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was hosted in the Caribbean: left-handed batter Jordan Johnson, and right-arm fast bowler Isai Thorne. A third squad member, top-order batter Justin Jaggessar played two Youth ODIs on the West Indies Rising Stars tour of England in September 2021, but did not play in the World Cup.

Nathan Edward, a left-handed bowling allrounder, was originally selected in the squad but is currently representing St. Maarten in the Leeward Islands Senior Men’s Tournament being played in St Kitts. He will be available for future Rising Stars camps and tournaments.

The players were selected based on performances during the Rising Stars age-group tournaments in 2022. Later in the year, CWI will host the 2023 regional age-group Rising Stars presenting the opportunity for other players to compete for selection into the squad ahead of the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup.

The Rising Stars Under 19s High-Performance camp will feature targeted coaching sessions and physical preparations as well as sessions geared towards their off-field development. The camp started on 21 February and will run to 9 March. It will feature 50-over matches at the CCG on 25 February; 1, 5 and 8 March.

Robert Haynes, Lead Selector for the Men’s Youth Selection Panel said:

“This camp is all about the importance of the development of West Indies cricket and this is laying the foundation for the future of our game in the region. This is not just about playing in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup next year, but also about developing the overall player on and off the field. We have some very talented players in this group and we know they will do very well. We still have the age-group tournaments later this year where more players can put in performances and earn selection.”

Rohan Nurse, has been named as CWI’s new Talent Pathway Manager. As part of his role, he will design and lead the programme for the players’ preparations leading up to the next ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup scheduled to be played in the Sri Lanka in early 2024.

The former Assistant Coach of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s will lead the day-to-day management of the development squad as part of his wider high-performance role managing our best young talent across the region.

During the camp he will be joined by Assistant Coaches Nikita Miller and Rohan Clarke; Nick Wilton, specialist wicket-keeping coach; Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager; Chris Brabazon, CWI’s Coach Development Manager; and Steve Liburd, West Indies Women’s Under 19 Head Coach.

FULL SQUAD

Jacen Agard

Jewel Andrew

Brian Barnes

Solomon Bascombe

Golcharan Chulai

Mavindra Dindyal

Joshua Dorne

Tarrique Edward

Reon Edwards

Justin Jaggessar

Deshawn James

Orlando James

Jordan Johnson

Devonie Joseph

Jaden Lorde

Micah McKenzie

Joshua Morris

Stephan Pascal

Jatario Prescod

Andrew Rambaran

Rampertab Ramnauth

Tamarie Redwood

Nathan Sealy

Isai Thorne

Devin Tyson

Yanique Watley

Steven Wedderburn

Adrian Weir

Trevaun Williams