CRICKET: Kennedy named Player Of The Tournament

Irish left-armer Graham Kennedy was a deserved winner of the Player of the Tournament award at the Under-19 World Cup qualifying tournament in Jersey.
Player of the Tournament, Ireland's Graham Kennedy, receives his trophy from Ed Shuttleworth of the ICC.Player of the Tournament, Ireland's Graham Kennedy, receives his trophy from Ed Shuttleworth of the ICC.
Player of the Tournament, Ireland's Graham Kennedy, receives his trophy from Ed Shuttleworth of the ICC.

Kennedy won three Man-of-the-Match awards in the six-game qualification series, finishing with 17 wickets at just 4.88 and an economy rate of only 2.22.

He pipped Scotland paceman Ihtisham Malik who took 14 wickets at 9.86 and Daniel Birrell who claimed 13 victims 1t 9.15.

Kennedy was presented with the award by Ed Shuttleworth of ICC.

“It was definitely a wonderful moment finding out I got player of the tournament at the dinner last night,” said Kennedy.

“I’ve been working hard over the past year, spending endless days at Ballyspallen - often by myself training and trying to improve my game.

“The hard work has definitely paid off and I owe a lot to Ballyspallen who gave me my chance at a young age and helped my progress,” added the 17 year-old.

In a competition where the bowlers were primarily on top, Denmark’s Sandjeev Thanikaithasan was the leading run scorer with 220.

Scotland’s Finlay McCreath was second with 220 runs, while Irish skipper Harry Tector was third with 181.

Waringstown’s Morgan Topping made the highest individual score of the tournament - hitting 96 in the win over Denmark.

Ireland claimed the last slot with a five-run win over Scotland and they will play in the U19 World Cup in New Zealand next January.

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