“What we are trying to do in Barbados is not only to create a winning team but a dynasty of sorts,” St Hill said.

In emphasising the depth of cricket talent in the country, he drew reference to the seven Barbadian players in the West Indies side in South Africa at one stage and noted Barbados still emerge Carib Beer Cup champions.

“Similarly, we would’ve had difficulties at the start of this season for the Under-15 where we lost our captain (Shamarh Brooks) because of an injury but yet were still able to go on and win the tournament.

“This is the kind of things that we are looking towards, not only winning tournaments but to have the depth of talent in Barbados and we are really proud of you guys," St Hill said.

Team coach George Linton lauded the boys for their exemplary conduct.

“It is indeed a pleasure to have toured with such a bunch of nice and well-behaved young gentlemen,” he said.

“It is indeed a great feeling to win this tournament when you hear about the length of time (since we last won). I didn’t realise that we hadn’t won this tournament for seven years,” Linton said.

He urged the boys to continue to work very hard at their game.

“Go back to your schools, work on your game. We kept, during our meetings in St Vincent, stressing on the weaknesses and what the players need to do to succeed at the highest level,” he said.

“There were obviously some outstanding individuals but overall it was a total team effort, splendidly led by Simon Steel, who got all these guys together,” Linton said.

He also thanked the parents who travelled with the team to St Vincent for their support.

“The support was great. We always complain about the parents involvement but when we see some person from Barbados, it is very encouraging,” Linton said.

He said that apart from the parents, there were some other Barbadian groups who were in St Vincent and journeyed to Stubbs, one of the match venues, to see their young compatriots play.

Compliments of the Nation News