An inexperienced team filled with youngsters to begin with and not many would have expected them to win much of anything. They were led by the Cool N Smooth T20 MVP Mr. Kofi James who demonstrated what leadership was all about. He was the only player in the team with regional cricket experience and it was enough to help his team win the competition. The core of the team was set up around batting prodigy Jewel Andrew, the handyman Demari Benta and the resilient Glenton Williams.
These four players were expected to carry the team through the tournament but it didn’t always work out that way. What worked well for the Rangers than any other team was that it had contributions from more players than just a few. It wasn’t just Kofi James and Glenton Williams (Most Wickets in the Tournament) that carried the team only, but support from Jahvaughn James, Miandre James, Brent Joseph, Uri Smith, Tariq Benjamin, Jewel Andrew and Malik Marcellin gave this team an advantage above the rest.
To rub some salt in the wounds of many, this team had fringe players from the Liberta Blackhawks and Empire Nation who got limited opportunities in recently held Cool N Smooth T20 Competition. The likes of fast bowler Miandre James bowled brilliantly using his height and skills to bamboozle batsmen mixing his pace up intelligently; the diminutive all-rounder Brent Joseph bowled the new ball with guile and tenacity having batters looking for turn but drifted them instead; Jahvaughn James bowled with pace and skills having the ability to crank it up, get lateral movement off the pitch and changed his pace at will.
Furthermore, the team was victorious over teams that had managers and coaches who were well versed, more experienced than they had. Rockets had Leeward Islands Assistant Coach, Wilden Cornwall Sr, Abdiel Hughes at Pacers, Ian Tittle at Hawksbills, Ajarni Frederick at Renegades, Eldine Baptiste and Sylvester Joseph at Chargers. Coaching his first senior team at any level was Rangers Coach, Physical Education Teacher Mr. Andra Samuel who was able to keep a young team teeming with talent and ability motivated and focused on the task and he did just that.
In summary, Rangers didn’t have the experience but they wanted to win more than their opponents; didn’t have the big names but they were willing to make a name for themselves; they were more balanced and disciplined in their approach to the games than all other teams and finally they were the youngest team in the competition. Congratulations Rangers! Job well done!
Highlights:
Rahkeem Cornwall (Most Runs – 356 Runs | Highest Score – 98 & MVP)
Glenton Williams (Most Wickets – 17)
Kofi James (Most Catches)
Demari Benta (Most Wicketkeeping Dismissals)