St. James U15 Cricket team etched their name into history on Monday when they stormed into the quarter-finals of the 32nd Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition. In a remarkable twist, it was the prowess of female bowler Samoya Samuels that proved pivotal, as she secured a hat-trick to clinch victory against many-time national champion St. Elizabeth.

Despite a modest batting performance that saw them score 61 all out, with Ryan Parris leading the way with 17 runs and Sanjany Samuels contributing 14, St James’ efforts were bolstered by a notable 20 extras. St. Elizabeth's Eckoney Robinson emerged as a formidable force, claiming 5-15 in 10.4 overs, while Jayden Shaw captured 2-7 in nine overs.

However, it was in the field that St. James truly dazzled. St. Elizabeth, historically a dominant force, faced an unprecedented collapse, being dismissed for a mere 25 runs in 14.3 overs.

The team's reliance on 11 extras highlighted their struggle against St. James' impressive bowling attack. Jaheim Bennett's contribution of five runs emerged as the sole spark amidst the challenge. The star of the show, Samoya Samuels, exhibited her finesse with the ball, taking the last three wickets with three consecutive deliveries. Her remarkable feat concluded St. Elizabeth's inning in just 1.3 overs. Jaden Williams and Desron Dunn also showcased their prowess, each taking three wickets for six and seven runs, respectively.

Cecil Fletcher, President of the St. James Cricket Association, beamed with pride as he hailed his team's exceptional performance. Eagerly anticipating the upcoming quarter-final match against multiple-time national champion Manchester, Fletcher's optimism was palpable.

Richard Walters, manager of the St. Elizabeth team, acknowledged the challenging year they faced, winning only two of their four preliminary round matches. Despite the setbacks, he expressed confidence in the team's resilience, citing their historical success in the quarter-final round.

Results from other completed matches on the day revealed a dynamic array of outcomes. The Portland vs. Kingston match was rained out, while Kensington triumphed over Lucas and Trelawny emerged victorious against Hanover. St. Catherine Cricket Club secured a win against KSACA (Kingston & St. Andrew Cricket Association), while Manchester triumphed over St. Catherine Cricket Association, the only other team to suffer defeat in all their matches. The Portmore vs. Boys Town match ended in a draw, and the rescheduled Clarendon vs. St. Ann match similarly resulted in a tie.

Looking ahead, all eyes are on the forthcoming quarter-final matches scheduled for the 21st of the month. With the pursuit of victory as their driving force, teams from across the island will converge at four venues, ready to make their mark in this exhilarating cricket competition.

Brian Lara and Chris Gayle will headline several legends who will take part in the first ever RESI Legends T20 game at the Treasure Beach Sports Park in St. Elizabeth on January 15.

The game is being put on by former West indies fast bowler Daren Powell, who is the founder of RESI Legends and will also be playing in the game.

The day’s festivities will kick off at 9:00 am with a match between the St. Elizabeth All Stars and the Manchester All Stars before Lara’s XI and Gayle’s XI square off in the marquee event.

Gayle and Lara will be joined by the likes of Jerome Taylor, Krishmar Santokie, Wavell Hinds, Robert Haynes, Nehemiah Perry, Nikita Miller and Delroy Morgan.

Powell, speaking SportsMax.TV, said that the participation of international players like Sulieman Benn, Daren Ganga, Dave Mohammed, Dwayne Smith, Kirk Edwards, Devendra Bishoo and Narsingh Deonarine was not yet confirmed as he is still seeking sponsorship from airlines to fly them to Jamaica for the event.

Powell, who represented the West Indies in 37 Tests, 55 ODIs and five T20Is from 2002-2009, wants the match to “reignite cricket in the parish of St. Elizabeth,” before emphasizing that the focus of the event is cricket, not charity.

“It’s a cricket event, a legends cricket event that we are putting on. Normally in my life whatever I do, from when I was playing for the West Indies, I contribute to my past school and assist people who need it. In this situation, I’m playing cricket to bring back life to me and life to St. Elizabeth and, in so doing, if there is support from the public and corporate Jamaica, if there so be a case that I can contribute to any entity, I will. My main focus is about cricket.”

He also spoke extensively about the presence of Brian Lara, calling it an opportunity for the development of the parish in more areas than just cricket.

“I thought I was putting on a Cricket match but ever since Brian Lara’s name has been mentioned in it, I have seen whereas it is more than just cricket. It’s about sports tourism also. It’s a good thing for the hoteliers and workers in the parish. It is something that can bear fruit and every entity in Jamaica can benefit from; tourism, sports and locals.”

“Once this game can go off successfully, hopefully we’ll have another one a year from now.”

St. Mary defeated St Elizabeth by seven wickets (D/L) to get their hands on the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition for the first time on Thursday at Sabina Park in Kingston.

St. Elizabeth was bowled out for 113 all in 31.5 overs in the low-scoring affair. The weather then intervened and based on the Duckworth/Lewis method, St. Mary only had to make 75 in 33 overs to win the match and they duly obliged.

Five of St. Elizabeth's players got into double figures but failed to capitalize. Jayden Shaw, 14; Adrian Silvera, 12; Shaaairi Jadoo, 12; Dimitri Binns, 11; and Odane Binns, 10; were the principal scorers but they were all outdone by 36 extras conceded by St. Mary.

Jevaughny Brown took 5-33 while Tedain Noyan, 2-18 and Dijon Taylor 2-20 were decisive in support.

St Elizabeth conceded 11 extras before any of St. Mary's batsmen got a run on the board as the bowlers struggled in the damp conditions.

They would eventually concede 31, making life that much easier for St Mary’s batters.

Opener Tyreece Saunders, 12, and Jevaughny Shim, 13, led the scoring for the victors.

Jahliel Smith, Adiran Silvera and Demitri Binns each took a wicket for St Elizabeth.

 St. Mary's Jevaughny Shim took home several awards; Most Wickets (23), MVP for St. Mary and final MVP for his five wickets for 33 and top score of 13.

“It’s been a very good competition, I have seen some good performances (and) I tell myself that I did well and I am looking forward to next year to start playing again," he said afterwards.

St. Elizabeth's Kevaun Brown, who scored 330 runs during the competition including a top score of 129, won the award for most runs scored.  He was also named the MVP for St. Elizabeth with 16 wickets along with his 330 runs.

David Dewar, the captain of Kensington Cricket Club was the best wicketkeeper in the competition with nine dismissals that included four stumpings.

Cricket Operations Manager at the Jamaica Cricket Association Oneil Cruickshank was pleased with the running of the tournament.

"It went much better than we expected,” he said.

“The performances that we saw coming out of this competition were very heart-warming.  We thought it may have been less but we saw a youngster scoring over 300 runs, one youngster taking over 23 wickets, and one young lady making a century.  When we put it all together it was a fantastic tournament.”

 Simone Murdock, Corporate Services and Client Experience Manager at Kingston Wharves was also pleased.

"Today's winner St. Mary is proof that we are moving the needle because it's St. Mary's first time with the trophy and we are so glad for them.  We are also celebrating with St. Elizabeth who is a consistent performer," she said.

A new champion will be crowned on Thursday in the 31^st edition of the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition as unbeaten St. Mary will take on St. Elizabeth in the final at Sabina Park after contrasting semi-final matches on Tuesday.

St. Mary only dropped points in the last match of their preliminary round against St. Catherine Cricket Association, which was rained out while St. Elizabeth lost only one of its preliminary round matches against Westmoreland.

St. Elizabeth defeated Kingston by 104 runs at Sabina Park.

After taking first strike, St Elizabeth made 214-8 from their allotment of 50 overs. Wicketkeeper/batsman Odane Binns was the top scorer with 49 while Davian Mason scored 40 and Adrian Silvera, an unbeaten 35.

Jhaliel Smith was also among the runs with 30.

There were two wickets apiece for Kingston’s bowlers Goevanni Grey, Captain Kajeev Bathyka and McKanell Palmer.

In reply, Kingston was bundled out for just 90 from 26.5 overs as the St Elizabeth bowling attack wreaked havoc. Only opener Nicoli McKenzie (13) got into double figures and there were 42 extras.

Davian Mason 3-1, Jhaleil Smith bagged 3-19 while Eckoney Robinson took 2-16.

The other semi-final at Kensington Cricket Ground was reduced to 38 overs a side because of bad weather.

In the low-scoring affair, St. Mary won the toss and invited home team Kensington to bat. They were bowled out for 93, despite a valiant 54 from Captain David Dewar.

Rushawn Bell took 4-22 and Dijon Taylor 2-14 while scything through the Kensington line-up.

In reply, St. Mary laboured to 94 for seven in 23.2 overs to win by three wickets.

Tyson Gordon, who was unbeaten on 38 and Devonte Miller 10 were the only players to get into double figures and there were 26 extras.

Geovanni Golding was the most successful bowler, getting 4-20 in six overs.