by PHILIP SPOONER BARBADOS WILL BE out to retain their title when they journey to St Kitts for the eighth annual St Kitts 13-and-Under Cricket Tournament this week. The Bajans were fantastic winners last year, winning all their matches and will be out to do the same this year. Manager Andrian Donavan indicated the team was again strong, with seven players from last year's side returning to defend the trophy. Key players in the side are captain Anthony Alleyne, allrounders Kraigg Brathwaite and Roston Chase and 'keeper Mario Rampersaud. Rascelle Gittens is also a talented allrounder and fielder. Alleyne was voted Most Valuable Player last year. This year the organisers have welcomed a team from Montserrat. Vernon Springer, of the organising committee, said it was particularly special as the Montserratians do not participate in the Leeward Island Senior and Under-19 competitions. "Having Montserrat is good for us and for them," Springer said from St Kitts. "It will lift the profile of the competition and it will help to develop the game on that island." A decade ago life on the small island, home to 13 000 people, was disrupted when the Soufriere Hills Volcano erupted. The other teams are Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Dominica, Nevis, and the hosts. For the first time the tournament will be played on a round-robin basis and matches will be 25-overs per side. The venues are Edgar Gilbert Sports Complex, the Defence Force Oval and Newton Ground Playing Field. The tournament opens today and ends on September 2. Springer said the profile of the tournament was "on the up" and this year they attracted sponsorship from Pine Hill Dairy and Sagicor. The other sponsors are TDC Group of Companies, The St Kitts National Bank, and Sun Island Clothes Ltd., which is providing uniforms for the umpires and the St Kitts team. philipspooner@nationnews.com
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