Cricketing stars of the future took to the Smith Road Oval on Friday to battle it out in the girls’ and boys’ finals of the annual Inter-Primary Cricket Competition.
The primary school tournament began at the start of May and since then teams have been playing every Friday afternoon across the island at participating primary schools and the Smith Road Oval.
This year’s competition was made up of 16 participating schools, public and private, which are divided into Zone A and B in the girls’ and boys’ league. Teams consist of 11 players and games are 12 overs in length.
The boys’ final took place first, with St. Ignatius Catholic School taking on Sir John A Cumber in front of an enthusiastic crowd of parents and coaches. In a hard-fought match, Sir John A Cumber batted first and scored a creditable 71 runs in the limited-over innings, but ultimately St. Ignatius prevailed, scoring 75 runs with four wickets to spare.
While the victorious St. Ignatius team celebrated, team coach Ed Gough told the Compass that the annual primary school cricket tournament was a huge benefit to the children.
“It’s great for us to get the opportunity to have years four, five and six play once a week all through the summer,” he said, “and they absolutely love it. It’s something they can do at the end of the week which allows them to completely switch off from whatever they’ve been working on and do something that they really enjoy.”
Once the boys had been awarded their medals and trophies, it was the girls’ turn to take to the pitch. Cayman International batted first, scoring 45 runs for 8 wickets, but it was the Island Primary A team which ultimately emerged victorious, scoring 46 runs with no wickets lost.
Island Primary coach Anna Boughie said that she was delighted with the team’s performance.
“The girls did really well,” she said. “They played seven games in the round-robin stages of the tournament and won them all, then won their semi-final and final, so it’s been an unbeaten run for them.”
The school, which is only in its second year, didn’t fare as well in the tournament last year, but, said Anna, it had been a good experience for the girls to learn from. She puts this year’s improved performance into making sure that all the children get a chance at all aspects of the game.
“All the kids get a chance to do everything such as batting, bowling and fielding,” she said. “We care a lot about inclusion and making sure that everyone who wants to can get out there and play. We have two teams, but they all train together and hopefully build their experience as well as giving them inspiration.”
As well as improving their sporting skills, playing cricket gives them a host of other skills, she said. “It’s confidence-building, for sure, and also teaches them different values, such as taking turns, being part of a team and supporting their teammates.”
The annual tournament is organised by the Department of Education Services and Department of Sports with sponsorship from the Caribbean Utilities Company and the Cayman Islands Cricket Association.
“It’s all about developing talent,” said Kerry Jones-Hylton, from the Department of Education, “and it’s a holistic development. So, we not only focus on education but sport, and the two can go hand in hand. It’s also for recruitment purposes, because the kids can actually get scholarships and move on to play for the national teams. We have found stars of the future playing in this tournament who are now playing for the national team.”
Cricket tournament finals results
Boys
1st: St Ignatius Catholic 75 for 4
2nd: Sir John A Cumber Primary 71 for 6
3rd: Island Primary 67 for 1
4th: Prospect 61 for 4
Girls
1st: Island Primary A 46 with no wickets lost
2nd: Cayman International 45 for 8
3rd: Cayman Prep won by forfeit
4th: Theoline McCoy won by forfeit
