-Jamaica’s U-17 team learns the importance of bouncing back from failures

-Special needs children meet their heroes in Trinidad and Tobago

Wednesday, 2nd August 2017 – Castries, St. Lucia: The first innings of the Digicel CPL Youth Programme came to an end in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago this weekend with each Big Brother clinic delivering a different experience to youngsters who participated.

In the Jamaica leg of the Clinics, members of the Under-17 squad, along with other youth cricketers from across the island were taken under the wings of the Jamaica Tallawahs coach, Paul Nixon and several players including Shane Thomas, Jonathan Foo, Jon-Ross Jaggersar, Kesrick Williams, Garey Mathurin and Andrew Richardson. Challenged by a losing streak for the second year in a row, the young cricketers were reminded that the sport of cricket is more than just winning every game.

“The very best batsmen in the world make an average of fifty runs each time they play, although everyone’s goal is to make a century,” shared Nixon. “So that means that they basically fail every second time that they play. But failing is a very important part of cricket—and any sport for that matter—as when you lose, you get an opportunity to step back, look inside yourself and take the challenge to fix your mistakes and play a better game next time.”

He added, “Of course, there’s always going to be some level of emotion when you don’t win.  The key is to stay calm and controlled, look at the positives in your plays and focus on how to improve your game. Don’t try to blame team members or put them down either—be a good sportsman and encourage each other and just keep working at building each other up. Win or lose, you’re still a team and you can’t let anything get in the way of that.”

Meanwhile in Trinidad and Tobago, over 20 Special Needs children were given an unforgettable opportunity to meet their cricketing heroes – Trinbago Knight Rider’s spin bowler, Sunil Narine and all-rounder Kevon Cooper.

Digicel Head of Sponsorship, Ben Bradley, said; “As the first phase of the Digicel CPL Youth Programme comes to an end, I must say the support has been tremendous. The communities have embraced us and the kids all walked away with valuable lessons to set them up for success if they apply what they learnt.”

He continued; “We’re now looking forward to phase 2 – Take it to the Street/Take it to the Beach – which starts next week and continues throughout the tournament in each CPL country in true Caribbean style.”

Applauding the programme, Trinbago Knight Rider spin bowler, Sunil Narine, shared; “Digicel is doing a great thing here helping out the kids and of course, it’s always good to give back. And to have the cricketers you cheer for on TV visit to play cricket, let’s them enjoy the game even more.”