KENSINGTON Cricket Club President Wavell Hinds says having the right blend of youthful and experienced players was a major contributor to the team lifting its first two-day title over two decades ago.

The east Kingston-based club emerged champion of the Stewart’s Automotive-sponsored Michael Holding Senior Cup after securing first-innings honours against St Catherine CC in the drawn final at Ultimate cricket ground in St Ann, June 7-8.

Kensington, who won the toss and opted to field first, dismissed St Catherine CC for 203. They then batted St Catherine CC out of the game by studiously piling up 339-8, knowing a first-innings lead in the case of a drawn encounter would assure them the title.

“We have been building the youth programme [at the club] and we now have an opportunity in which the youth, [with] their enthusiasm and talent and fearlessness, meet the experience,” said Hinds, a former Jamaica and West Indies batsman.

“I think the team did exceptionally well; they played as a team from the minute they started to bowl and field on the first day. I think the bowlers did an awesome job, and when they went to the crease to bat they certainly played as a team,” he said of the Derval Ellis-coached Kensington unit.

Ironically, Hinds was captain when Kensington last won the Senior Cup in 2004. His sons Alex and Corey were born in the year of that successful title run. Both are now integral members of the current team — as fate would have it, Alex captained Kensington in the recent final.

When Kensington bowled against St Catherine, the wickets were shared almost evenly, with Anthony Dacres (3-43), Tamarie Redwood (2-22), Jamie Hay (2-37), and Ryan Francis (2-45), leading the way, as national pacer Ojay Shields missed out due to West Indies A duty.

Trevaughn Williams (60) and Carlos Brown (40) got most runs for St Catherine CC.

Alex Hinds, who scored an unbeaten 70, and Excelsior High schoolboy David Dewar, who earned the player of the final award for his pivotal innings of 69 batting at number three, guided Kensington to the title. Nicholson Gordon added an unbeaten 44 as St Catherine CC’s Jeavor Royal and Vitel Lawes grabbed 2-53 and 2-77, respectively.

The Kensington club president hailed Dewar’s contribution.

“While Alex Hinds made 70 not out to take it home, David Dewar stood up and batted very well for his 69… in a high-pressure game — first time in a final at that level for him and a lot of the other youngsters,” he explained.

Hinds said the more senior members of the team, including Francis, Leroy Lugg, Jamie Hay and Denneil Griffiths, offered effective guidance for the young players.

In assessing Kensington’s performance in the final and their progress over the course of the season, the senior Hinds reiterated that the current crop of players is all about teamwork.

“They had a cohort of leaders on the field, making decisions together and executing together. They are a pretty cohesive unit that figured things out together and executed together,” he said, noting that a number of those players came through a youth programme at the club dating back to 2017.

The Catherine CC coach Odean Brown said his team’s batting was the main let down in the final even as he criticised the bowling unit for lacking discipline on a surface that favoured the batsmen.

“We needed to score like 300 to 350 runs on that wicket — it was a good track for batting but our batters just never dug in deep on the track… but credit to Kensington because I think they batted and bowled well,” he said.

“I think we were impatient when bowling. When we have a good batting wicket we have to stick to the plans. When you try to bully out people on a good batting wicket you’ll pay the price and that is what happened,” Brown explained.

Ian Spencer, chairman of the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) marketing committee, said the 2025 Senior Cup, rebranded in honour of Jamaica and West Indies fast bowling legend Michael Holding, was highlighted by excellent performances since it began in March.

“It was an outstanding tournament with batsmen showing their class; a competition worthy of the great Michael Holding. We, at the JCA, hope that the form shown by the players will extend to the regional level,” he said, while thanking first-time sponsor Stewart’s Automotive for partnering with the JCA.

Jamaica Defence Force player Tevin Gilzene got the nod for most valuable player of the tournament after scoring 698 runs and claiming 27 wickets. Gilzene’s runs tally also topped the batting charts.

St Mary Cricket Association batsman Alwyn Williams remarkably scored consecutive double hundreds in the opening two matches of the season.

Osbourne Palmer of Trelawny CA led all bowlers with 47 wickets in the season.

— Sanjay Myers