Storm puts Under-19 cricket on hold

KINGSTON: Predictably, the passage of Tropical Storm Charley has forced organisers to abandon the first day of the third and final preliminary round of matches in the TCL Group West Indies Under-19 three-day cricket challenge yesterday. Tropical Storm Charley —  the third such weather system of the 2004 Atlantic Hurricane Season —  is propelling on a treacherous path towards Jamaica. The island has been on a tropical storm warning since late Tuesday and the National  Meteorological Services were considering an upgrade to a hurricane watch. “We had decided to reduce the matches to two-day encounters,” Brian Breese, chief executive of the Jamaica Cricket Association told CMC Sports.

“Right now, it’s very overcast. It’s not raining heavily, but it does not look good, so we took the only decision we could. We will assess the situation again on Thursday morning.” The key match of the third round was to bring Trinidad and Tobago, the defending champions, and Guyana for a top-of-the-table battle in Zone “B”. Both teams have 32 points from victories over Leeward Islands and Bermuda in their first two matches. The Islanders and the Bermudians were to contest the other match in Zone “B” yesterday, when hosts Jamaica were to meet Windward Islands in a key match in Zone “A” in Barbados was to face Rest of the Americas. (CMC)