BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – A century from Nicholas Kirton set Barbados Under-13s up for an innings and 24-run victory over Trinidad and Tobago Under-13s in the Malcolm Marshall Memorial Classic which ended on Tuesday. Kirton wrote his name in the record books with a circumspect 108 that helped Barbados reach 259 to gain a 140-run first-innings lead in the three-day match that was contested at the famous Empire Club nestled in the heart of the Barbados capital.
The 12-year-old left-hander nervously reached his milestone after batting confidently for most of his innings, when he pulled a short delivery over mid-wicket and it sailed dangerously close over the head of fielder Keron Simmons.
Kirton joined fellow Barbadians Justin Greaves and Kraigg Brathwaite, as well as T&T’s Yannic Cariah, as the only players to have scored hundreds in the 12-year history of the series.
Fast bowler Shamar Springer and left-arm spinner Camarie Boyce then shared seven wickets, as T&T were dismissed for 116 shortly after the lunch interval on the final day.
The result meant that Barbados swept the annual bilateral series between the two sides, having also won the three-match Inshan Ali Memorial limited-overs series 2-0 last week.
On the opening day, Brandon Maraj hit the top score of 49 to bring some respectability to T&T’s first-innings total of 119. None of the other visiting batsmen reached 20.
Springer, Jadeja Edwards and Hasani Newton collected three wickets apiece to undermine the T&T batting, after the hosts chose to field.
Barbados, resuming the second day on 55 for two, took control of the match, after Kirton and Newton added 144 for the third wicket.
Newton made 80 before he gave a return catch to Keron Persaud, but Kirton soldiered on to put Barbados in an impregnable position.
Kirton struck nine fours from 211 deliveries in just over six hours before he was caught at gully off Persaud, triggering a decline that saw the home team lose their last six wickets for 24.
T&T then suffered a horrific start to their second innings, losing their openers Daniel Williams and Jonathan Botan for ducks, as they reached 55 for two at the close.
On the final day, Simmons and Saiba Batoosingh fell early for 32 and 34 respectively, and T&T ran into trouble on 81 for eight, before Suresh Balai scored 27 and dominated a stand of 35 with Cavan Byrne that put some beef on the total before Boyce snared the last two scalps to wrap up the innings.