Kirton off to Canada for qualifiers

Young Barbadian batsman Nicholas Kirton has been selected to represent Canada in the upcoming ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe.

The 19-year-old left-handed batsman was spotted by Canada’s coach and manager Ingleton Liburd during a series of practice matches at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill Campus against a select UWI/Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) team, late last year.

Kirton scored an impressive century during one of the matches after which Liburd immediately expressed an interest in having him join the team, on their journey towards qualifying for the World Cup.

UWI and CCC head coach, Floyd Reifer said he was delighted that Kirton has been given an opportunity to experience playing at an international level.

“Since joining the UWI Blackbirds cricket programme, he has certainly taken advantage of all the resources available to develop his game – the coaching, facilities and modern, high-tech equipment,” said Reifer.

The former Barbados batsman and West Indies’ captain said Kirton, who also captained the UWI Twenty20 team to the title last year, had worked extremely hard on his game.

“His work ethic and dedication must be commended. He possesses leadership qualities that we continue to harness in the UWI programme. Nicholas is the youngest captain at UWI to win a national T20 title. He is certainly a player we will continue to groom for the future,” noted Reifer.

As a result of his selection, Kirton, who also captained the Barbados Under-19 team in 2016, has taken a semester’s leave from UWI to pursue his exploits in the international cricket arena. He will return to join the Sagicor UWI Blackbirds for the 2018 Barbados Cricket Association’s season.

In last year’s season, Kirton, who is also a useful off-spin bowler, scored three half-centuries while scoring 287 runs at an average of 26.09 in nine matches. (EZS)