Old Harbour youth cricketer called to national trials

Powell, 15, is among 40 of the country’s most prodigious young talents who have been given the opportunity to make the national youth team during a series of trials over the next month.

The final squad is expected to be announced in July ahead of the West Indies Under-17 tournament slated for Trinidad and Tobago in August.

Arguably the most talented cricketer of his age group from this side of the parish of St Catherine, Powell has been on the radar of the national selectors for some time now. He caught their eyes back in 2020 and was invited to the national under-15 trials but the tournament was cancelled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Now with covid-19 a thing of the past, he has been summoned again by the selectors after a good season this year, leading Old Harbour High to the semi-finals of the ISSA Under-16 competition.

The right-handed batter scored 325 runs with a top score of 145 against Ocho Rios High, while capturing 14 wickets with is off-breaks.

Head coach of Old Harbour High Orane Kelly says the Burke Road native “is a talented cricketer who works hard to improve his game” and “is well respected by his fellow teammates”.

At trials, the stakes are much higher and Powell must work even harder in order to make the final 18-man squad, 14 of whom will travel to the twin-island republic with the other four staying home on stand-by as the reserve.

Jamaica finished second and third in the respective 2021 and 2022 regional under-17 tournaments which remain elusive for well over a decade. 

This year’s tournament will see the teams compete in two formats of the game – a two-day and one-day competitions as the governing body seeks to improve the quality of the player’s all-round game.

The Windward Islands are the defending champions.