By DAHALIA SMITH, NG Sports Reporter, dahalia@nasguard.com

Bahamian cricketers Jermaine Adderley and Rudolph Fox saw action as members of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Americas team playing at the CLICO International Under-15 Championships Knockout competition in Barbados on Sunday night.

In the end, an all-round performance by Bermudan Joshua Gilbert led the Americas team to a comfortable six-wicket win over Kenya. After restricting the Kenyans to a total of 133 runs, the Americas team, made up of players from Bermuda, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Canada and America, cruised to the winning tally with more than 13 overs to spare.

The 'Man of the Match' award went to Americas' captain Nitisj Kumar, who bowled well. He conceded just 14 runs in 10 overs and took three wickets. Speaking with The Nassau Guardian on Monday, coach Theodore 'Theo' Cuffy, the Cayman Islands Technical Director, talked about the Bahamians contribution to the semifinal berth.

"Fox, Adderley and all of the boys are behaving well. We played a good game yesterday and the talent is there," he said. "Fox, in particular, was in the starting line-up but he did not get to bat because he was further down the line-up. Also, Adderley was listed as an emergency player. Unfortunately, we had an injury and that gave Adderley the opportunity to play at least 25 overs. He did a good job.

"However, it is always difficult getting a team to reach its full potential when they are just being put together three days before a tournament. Our objective going into (today's) semifinal against the West Indies is to let the players get the exposure that is needed, for them to reach the next level. Most of the boys on this team are playing at the 10 and 11-year-olds level, so they still have a lot to learn about the game," said Cuffy.

Meanwhile, Fox told The Nassau Guardian: "I am happy for the chance to play at this level. I am learning a lot and playing in the games are also very exciting."

In one half of the semifinals, the West Indies will face the Americas Development XI squad, and in the other half of the semifinals, Bangladesh will take on Pakistan, which is also set for today. The winners of the semifinals will meet in the final set for Thursday, April 24.

The group stage begins next weekend with the eight participating teams being divided into two groups of four. The top two from each section advance to semifinals, and the winners of those matches meet in an overall final in Trinidad on May 4.

Adderley and Fox are two of the many juniors who got involved with the Bahamas Cricket Association's (BCA) Youth Program which began two years ago. It is spearheaded by John Welch. At the time, Welch expressed his ambition to get the sport of cricket into the New Providence Primary Schools Sports Association's curriculum, and give the junior nationals more exposure in the regional and international arenas.

Since Welch's involvement, the sport of cricket is now vibrant in the primary schools. Furthermore, Fox and Adderley have gained tremendous international exposure. Adderley, in particular, can now boast of being a right handed batsman and a right arm medium pacer. He is also the captain of the under-15 national team and has international experience playing with The Bahamas' Under-19 team. While on the under-19 team, he played in the Americas World Cup Qualifying Tournament held in Toronto, Canada last year.

Meanwhile, Fox is a left handed batsman and a left arm medium pacer. He was also a member of The Bahamas' under-19 team which played in the Americas World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

In related BCA news, Welch has extended an invitation for interested children to attend under 11,13, 15 and 19 national team practices. The under 11,13 and 15 practices will be held Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. at Windsor Park, and the under-19 national team practice will be held on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. at Haynes Oval.