TAHNIDA Nunes, sponsorship manager at Digicel Jamaica Limited, said that the schoolboy Twenty/20 Cricket Championship is the best approach to developing youth and sports in Jamaica.

Delivering the keynote address at the presentation ceremony of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Super Eight Twenty/20 Cricket Championship at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Thursday, Nunes said that she was pleased with the outcome of the competition and that her company will continue its support.

“Digicel is committed to youth development in Jamaica and we continue to show our commitment through our support of several sporting initiatives for young people, like this Twenty/20 competition, to developing youth and sports in Jamaica.

“As you may know, Digicel is also sponsors of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). As a sponsor we also had to think of the continuity of the event, so at the start of the youth Twenty/20 championship, we had a very clear goal for it to be used as a springboard for young players into the CPL. Fabian Allen of Vere Technical High School helped us to fulfil this goal.

“So with such a great success, it is indeed my pleasure to officially announce that Digicel is on board to be a part of this competition for the next three years as we are looking out for a new and improved championship,” Nunes said.

Meanwhile, Fabian Allen from Vere Technical High, who has been called up to the Tallwahs’ training squad along with Tristan Coleman from Cross Keys and Ramal Lewis from STETHS, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the tournament. Allen, who was absent from the ceremony, also captured the most runs award with 305, which included two centuries.

Other major awards went to Ryan Burnett from Vere Technical High (Most Wickets), Leonardo Salmon from STETHS (Man-of-the-Match in the final).

Other awardees were Shahid Crooks from STETHS (Batting Centurion), Sadique Henry from Wolmer’s Boys (Batting Centurion), Allen (Batting Centurion), Clive Ledgister from STETHS (Coach of the tournament), Dewith Coleman from Vere Technical High (Runner-up Coach), Dennis McGravey from STETHS (Top Performance in Final), Burnett (Four Wicket Hauls), Allen (Four Wicket Hauls), Kevon Williams from STETHS (Four Wicket Hauls), Marquino Mindley from STETHS (Four Wicket Hauls), Lyndon Gairey from York Castle High (Four Wicket Hauls), Malcolm Whyte from Wolmer’s Boys (Four Wicket Hauls) and Christopher Powell from Manchester High (Four Wicket Hauls).