Champs St Mary wary of Manchester

The Kingston Wharves-sponsored under-15 cricket competition culminates today at Up Park Camp, with defending champions St Mary looking to stave off the challenge of a confident Manchester in the final.

Both teams had relatively easy passages to the final, with Manchester brushing aside Kensington by eight wickets and St Mary journeying to Kingston to easily defeat Kingston Cricket Club by nine wickets.

The teams are emphasising that whoever executes best in the field may very well end up lifting the trophy, with both possessing quality players with both bat and ball.

St. Mary will be relying heavily on their national under-15 batsman Tyson Gordon Jr, who has played a handful of games and has a top score of 79 not out in his tally of 94 runs in three innings.

Despite the heavy reliance on Gordon, captain Jiovanni Richardson expects an all-around team effort to help them win back-to-back trophies.

"Yes, we have national players in our team, but we have other players who have done a lot for us this season, and they have helped get us to where we are," Richardson said.

These players include Shavaughn Boyd, who has picked up 17 wickets in five matches this season. With fielding expected to play a big part, Tedain Noylon may come into the fray as he aims to add to the six catches he has taken.

Manchester's title bid will rest heavily on the performance of their captain Demario Hall, who has led the team admirably with 163 runs in six innings, including a top score of 120 not out. His 18 wickets are the fourth most in the competition, and the skipper is looking to lead from the front and hope they can back him up with good performances.

"We have been playing some good cricket, and once we tighten up our bowling by limiting the wides and no balls in the field and take our chances, we have a good chance of coming out on top," Hall said.

Wicketkeeper Pajay Nelson is also expected to play a crucial role with both bat and gloves, as his 274 runs in six innings leads all in the tournament. Nelson is also the leading gloveman, with six catches and four stumpings.