IN A bid to further expose the country's top young cricketers to high-level regional competition, the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) has decided to send an Under-17 team to participate in the annual Sir Garfield Sobers Invitational Schools Cricket Tournament, which will be held in Barbados from July 5.

The team, which will be coached by Wolmer's head coach, Gibbs Williams, and managed by Dudley Bryan, will comprise most of the top players, who led Jamaica to the regional Under-15 crown in April, as well as those players who participated in the recent Under-19 trials, but were unsuccessful.

These include Excelsior High batsman Ramon Senior and St Elizabeth Technical pacer Omar Samuels, who were members of the victorious West Indies Under-15 team which defeated Pakistan and Bangladesh in a Tri-Nation series recently.

Regional schools

The tournament, which is in its 22nd year, normally attracts schools from across the region, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

Holmwood Technical, Meadowbrook High, St Catherine High and Eltham High have represented Jamaica at the tournament. Jamaica Under-17 squad: Senior (Excelsior), Kemar Marshall (Charlemont), Daniel Bromfield (STETHS), Kashane Roberts (Seaforth High), Andre Foster (Munro College), Rajiv Service (William Knibb) - batsmen; Ashan Plummer (Haile Selassie High), Coi Thompson (St Catherine High), Paul Palmer (STETHS) - spin bowlers; Samuels (STETHS), Mickel Francis (Old Harbour), Nicholson Gordon (STETHS) - pace bowlers; Hanchard Hamilton (Holmwood Tech) - wicketkeeper.