The Trinidad and Tobago under-19 men's cricket team had a disappointing end to the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Men's Under-19 50-over Championships when they fell to a heavy 65-run defeat to Jamaica at the Arnos Vale Playing Field, Kingstown, St Vincent on July 30.
TT entered the fifth and final round of the competition in third spot with two wins and two losses, with their previous game on July 28 being a nerve-wracking one-wicket win against hosts Windward Islands in a low-scoring affair.
TT were unable to replicate the last-gasp heroics against Jamaica, though, who sauntered to their second win in the tourney.
Opting to bat first, Jamaica were restricted to 181 for nine, with lower-order batsman Odel Samuels (36 not out off 50 balls) leading a miraculous fightback with the bat. Samuels came to the wicket with Jamaica on 99 for six at the end of the 30th over, and he batted smartly with the tail to help his team score 82 runs in the last 20 overs. Samuels also frustrated the TT bowlers with an unbeaten 34-run partnership or the final wicket with Tamarie Redwood.
Andrew Rambaran (three for 22) led TT with the ball, with leg-spinner Aneal Rooplal grabbing two for 39.
Samuels appeared to carry his momentum into Jamaica's bowling innings, and he grabbed figures of three for 29 to help bowl TT out for just 116 after 39.3 overs.
TT's batting left a lot to be desired during the Rising Stars tournaments, and their final game was no different as they crumbled in the face of Jamaican pressure. Leg-spinner Matthew Morgan (three for three) wrapped up the TT innings by taking the last three wickets in quick succession.
TT manager Kerwin John was far from pleased with the team's batting efforts in a competition that saw their highest score of 161 coming in a losing effort versus eventual champions Barbados in their second match on July 24.
'I think we really underachieved with the bat. The bowlers did an excellent job in restricting the sides to under 200 most of the time,' John told Newsday.
'I think the batsmen didn't live up to expectations and that was a bit disappointing.'
John said the lack of application shown by batsmen wasn't limited to the TT team.
'The tournament itself saw low scores throughout. The tournament wasn't of the standard that would've been expected by many. I think the tournament lacked that high intensity and high standard we ought to see at under-19 level.'
John tried to hone in on the issues which may have contributed to the low scores.
'I think at some point the pitches would have contributed to a point. Besides the pitches, I think batsmen weren't showing that grit and determination at times when the pitches may not have been the best or fully conducive to big scores,' he said.
'The scores we would have seen weren't a reflection of how the pitches were...soft dismissals are plaguing batsmen around the region. We're not seeing that application in batting - the mindset to stick it out through the rough periods.'
The Barbados batsmen showed be
