Defending champions Barbados completed a flawless round-robin campaign in the 2026 Cricket West Indies Rising Stars Under-19 50-Over Championship, winning all five preliminary matches to book their place in Wednesday's championship final against Jamaica.
The Barbadians finished comfortably atop the standings on 35.6 points, continuing the dominance they displayed from the opening round and positioning themselves as favourites to successfully defend the title they captured in 2025.
While Barbados' place in the first-place playoff was secured with a round to spare, the battle for the second finals berth went down to the final day of round-robin action.
Jamaica ultimately claimed second place on 20.2 points, despite falling to Barbados in their final preliminary fixture. The result was enough to edge both Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands, who each finished on 19.2 points, and earn a chance to challenge the defending champions for the title.
Trinidad and Tobago kept their hopes alive until the very end, producing an impressive four-wicket victory over the Leeward Islands after successfully chasing 270. However, despite securing the win, they fell just short of overtaking Jamaica in the standings.
That outcome sets up an intriguing rematch between Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Islands in the third-place playoff, while Guyana and the Windward Islands, both of whom recorded their first victories of the competition during the fourth and fifth rounds, will contest the fifth-place match.
West Indies 269 for 8 (Hetmyer 69*, Rutherford 61, Lennox 3-35) beat New Zealand 268 for 9 (Latham 69, Kelly 64, Joseph 2-38) by 2 wickets
Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 69 helped the West Indies secure a tense 2-wicket victory over New Zealand in the 5th and final One-Day International in Kensington, Barbados, on Tuesday.
The West Indies needed to recover following a deflating defeat in the 4th ODI. While that result secured the series for New Zealand, points were still on offer for the Caribbean side.
Hetmyer shared in a crucial 95-run partnership with Sherfane Rutherford. The Guyanese pair came together in the 26th over when the hosts had lost their main contributors, captain Shai Hope (39 from 52) and Keacy Carty (20 from 54), in the span of 14 balls, slipping from 118 for two to 123 for four.
The 90-ball fifth-wicket stand between Hetmyer and Rutherford not only laid the platform for what could be two crucial points for Daren Sammy’s men, but it also triggered a series of what-if scenarios in the mind of Caribbean fans. More so for Hetmyer.
The last time the left-hander crossed three figures in ODIs was against India at the Chidambaram Stadium in 2019. His 139 then was his 5th century in the format, and at the age of 22, it made him the youngest West Indian to score five ODI hundreds.
New Zealand 189 for 9 (Chapman 80, Santner 34*, Motie 5-47) beat West Indies 188 all out (Jangoo 51, Motie 41, Fisher 3-40) by 1 wicket
West Indies’ narrow one-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the 4th One Day International at Kensington Oval on Sunday has made the Caribbean side's improbable task of avoiding the ICC Qualifying tournament even more difficult.
Windies gave a valiant attempt at defending 188, which made for a far more enthralling contest than the FIFA World Cup Final, which was being played in New York at the same time.
A win would have given the West Indies important points to keep alive their hopes of a direct spot at the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
After Gudakesh Motie kept the hosts in the contest by completing his maiden five-wicket haul (5 for 47), Jayden Seales produced the wicket-taking delivery needed to secure the win when he had Black Caps captain Mitchell Santner slicing the ball in the air with three runs required for victory.
However, there was no communication from Ackeem Auguste coming in off the boundary and Justin Greaves running back from the inner circle, resulting in the clash of bodies, a spilt catch, and a series loss.
Sir Garfield St. Aubrun Sobers passed away on Friday, July 17, 2026. With his passing, cricket lost not merely its greatest all-rounder, but perhaps the finest cricketer ever to grace the game. When I read the heartbreaking news on Caribbean Cricket's message board, my mind travelled instantly to another day that has remained etched in my memory for almost sixty years – February 28, 1967.
It is not an easy day for me to forget. I was eight years old, lying in a hospital bed after the doctors had quietly told my mother there was little more they could do. At that very moment, two of my childhood heroes, Rohan Kanhai and Gary Sobers, were preparing to do battle at Bourda.
Cricket West Indies President Dr. The Hon. Kishore Shallow’s statement on the death of Sir Garfield Sobers:
There are moments in the story of a people when the life of one individual becomes woven into the hopes, dreams, and identity of generations. Today, the Caribbean mourns the passing of such an individual, The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers NH, AO, OCC, a son of Barbados whose extraordinary journey became part of the story of our region and whose brilliance carried the name of the West Indies with distinction across the world.
In the story of cricket, there are great players. There are champions. Then, there are those rare individuals who redefine the very meaning of greatness. Sir Garfield Sobers was the greatest cricketer the world has ever seen. His mastery of batting, bowling and fielding was unparalleled, but his true significance reached far beyond the boundary ropes.
He emerged from the Caribbean at a time when our region was finding its voice and asserting its place on the world stage. Through his excellence, he gave millions across our islands and in the diaspora, a renewed belief in what was possible. He showed that greatness was not confined by the size of our nations, the geography of our islands or the circumstances of our beginnings.
