Sports

Barbados Brings Home Gold In Volleyball

Barbados’ Under-19 Boys National Volleyball team won gold in the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association’s Championship.

The recently concluded tournament was held in Jamaica, where the Barbados team defeated the Trinidad and Tobago team in the finals, after they lost to them in the preliminary rounds. They won in five sets – 20:25, 24:26, 25:21, 25:22, 15:12 – to win the championship.

The team was led by captain Kaden Hoyte, who reflected on their journey. He shared: “The experience all around was a bit nerve-racking at the start. My boys were prepared, but they are very young. To gather my troops and really get them ready for this tournament was a very long and hard battle. They have been practising for six years, and to really see my team put all that effort in and end up on top; it’s very, very good.”

The captain also spoke of the significance of an earlier loss in the preliminaries against Trinidad, which served as a crucial learning experience. “Taking a loss in the preliminaries was one, an eye-opener; and two, it was a good thing because it really helped my boys fight. They felt like, well, look, ‘Trinidad beat me, but they can’t beat me again’, and I really saw that throughout the rest of the competition,” Kaden stated.

Head coach of the junior boys team, John Stuart, who expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, said preparation for the tournament was rigorous and there were some unexpected challenges.

*The Barbados’ Under-19 Girls and Boys National Volleyball team Captains Kaden Hoyte and Kayla Beckles.*

“Preparation was very, very good, but coming on to the week and a half before we left, we had no indoor court to practise on, so we resorted to the beach. But that did pay off,” Mr. Stuart said.

He mentioned some key players and their performances. “Isaiah [Francis], our big left-handed player playing Opposite, had a fantastic tournament. He started a bit slow, but in the semis and finals, he really came through. And of course, you have the captain, Kaden Hoyte. Honestly, all the guys that started did their job. I don’t want to single any person out because everybody that went on the court did what they were supposed to do,” Coach Stuart stated.

Best Blocker of the tournament was awarded to Nicholas Russell-Griffith, and Best Digger went to Dominic Durant. Best Outside Hitter and MVP went to Kaden Hoyte, who gave his MVP trophy to teammate Isaiah Francis, for his performance in the semi-finals and finals. Other notable players were setter Sergio Jones and Libero Zordan Thomas.

The coach also shared insights on the girls’ team, which finished third, and faced a challenging defeat. “The girls were a bit unfortunate because they should have gone to the finals. They were leading by two sets but lost from there. That was heartbreaking,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr. Stuart revealed that the boys’ team has qualified for the NORCECA (North, Central America, and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) Championship, an opportunity reserved for the team that wins this tournament. (PR/GIS)

Sports

KNIGHT RIDERS WIN AGAINST ROYALS

Article by David Harris

Trinibago Knight Riders defeated Barbados Royals in a keenly contested match when the Barbados leg continued at Kensington Oval on Friday night.

Chasing a target of 157 runs for victory, the Knight Riders scored 159 for eight wickets in 19.5 overs; they needed 11 runs off the final over and seemed to be heading to defeat when Akeal Hosein was dismissed off the third ball with six runs required for victory, but Jason Holder bowled a waist high no ball and Terrance Hinds smacked the free hit over long off for a massive six

The Knight Riders were in trouble at 11 runs for two wickets after off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana took the wickets of openers Sunil Narine and Jason Roy.

Nicholas Pooran blasted 35 off 23 balls to give the Trinidad and Tobago franchise the advantage before he was out to a spectacular double from Rovman Powell and Holder.

The left-handed batsman miscued a ball from left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj that was heading over long-off for six, but Powell caught the ball and flicked it to Holder to complete one of T20 cricket’s finest tag team relay catches.

Shaqkere Parris made 35 from 40 balls and shared a vital fourth-wicket partnership of 44 with Keacy Carty who contributed a brisk 32 off 21 balls, at that stage the Knight Riders appeared to be well on track needing 51 runs for victory off 36 balls.

The reintroduction of Theekshana in the 15 th over lured Parris into a false shot triggering a collapse from the Knight Riders. It set up a grandstand finish until Hinds’ late heroics stunned the local fans. Theekshana picked up three wickets for 26 runs, medium pacer Obed McCoy took two for 30.

Earlier, the Royals scored 156 for seven, after the Knight Riders won the toss and opted to field Powell made 59, and Quinton de Kock got 39. Left-arm spinner Waqar Salamkeil captured three wickets for 13 runs, and Narine grabbled two for 16.

Sports

Royals Secure Third Consecutive Victory

Article by David Harris

Barbados Royals defeated Antigua Falons by 10 runs in a rain affected match at Kensington Oval on Wednesday night.

Chasing 177 runs for their third consecutive victory in this year’s edition of the Caribbean Premier League, the Royals were 127 for three wickets in 14.3 overs when persistent rain forced a premature end to the match with the Royals 10 runs ahead on the DLS method.

The Royals lost an early wicket with only one run on the scoreboard when off-spinner Chris Green had opener Rakheem Cornwall was caught at mid-off by Roshon Primus, but Man of the Match Quinton de Kock (48) and Alick Athanaze (38) added 72 for the second wicket to repair the damage.

After 11 overs, the Royals were73 runs for three wickets and behind the eight ball, at that stage, the match changed in their favour after Primus bowled a seemingly never-ending but equally dramatic 13 ball over that yielded 23 runs.

At the end of the over, the Royals had motored to 104 for three wickets with an improved run rate, 13 runs flowed in the next over, by then the rain had arrived and the Royals were ahead by 12 runs on the DLS.

The match resumed after a 30-minute break but after another heavy downpour, the game was called off with seven overs remaining. By then the Royals were ahead on the DLS by 10 runs.

Earlier, the Falons scored 176 for five wickets, after the Royals won the toss and opted to bowl, Justin Greaves made 61, Sam Billings got 56 and Brandon King contributed 27; Jason Holder captured two wickets for 36 runs, and medium pacer Naveen –ul-Haq took two wickets for 34 runs.

The Royals are second on the points table with six points, the Guyana Amazons Warriors are ahead of them only on run rate. The Royals’ next match is against Trinbago Knight Riders on Friday night.

Sports

BARBADOS ROYALS AND ANTIGUA & BARBUDA GAME TONIGHT AT KENSINGTON

Captain of the Barbados Royals Rovman Powell is upbeat ahead of his team encounter with Antigua & Barbuda Falcons in the first match in the Barbados’ leg Caribbean Premier League (CPL) which bowls off tonight at 7 pm at Kensington Oval.

The Royals are second position after winning their first two matches in the tournament; they were triumphant against the Falcons by nine wickets in their opening match against the Falcons at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, and narrowly defeated St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by two wickets at Warner Park in St Kitts.

Despite the Royals overwhelming victory against the Falcons, in their first encounter, Powell says that his team will not be complacent in tonight’s match.

“The mood in the camp is very good, we have started with two wins on the road, it is now an opportunity for us in our home games to get a few more wins, but we will not be complacent”, Powell told journalists at Kensington Oval on Tuesday evening.

Powell, who is also the captain of the West Indies T20 team stressed the importance of home matches for the Royals.

” All of the home games are important and when you go on your own ground, you must dominate. It’s always good when you win at home because that sets the tone for the competition. It’s a short competition and we started well, therefore; it will be good to have a few wins at home”, he explained.

According to Powell, the team is at full strength and the pitch at the Oval is in top condition and will not be affected by the rain which fell earlier in the week.

“It is in one of the better conditions that I have seen in Barbados, we had a training camp here before the start of the CPL and the practice wickets were good, and the guys told me that the wickets in the middle were good. So hopefully we will have a good wicket on Wednesday night”, Powell said.

The captain said that the Barbadian public had supported the Royals well in the last two years and the matches at Kensington Oval against the Falcons, the Patriots, Trinibago Knight Riders, and the defending champions the Guyana Amazons Warriors give them another opportunity to come out and support the Barbados based franchise.

“We are going to do our utmost best to entertain our fans in the matches at the Oval”. Powell said.