Boyce Half-Century Drives UWI Women Past Canada U19 in Senior-Club Test

Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago 

Cricket Canada’s U19 Women’s team suffered their first outright defeat of the inaugural tour of Trinidad & Tobago on Wednesday, May 20, falling to a strong UWI Women’s Cricket Club side by 8 wickets in a club fixture played in Port of Spain. A composed 60 from 42 balls by UWI opener Reniece Boyce decided the contest, taking the senior-college side to 135 for 2 in 17.2 overs in pursuit of Canada’s 134 for 6. The result was Canada’s first loss against a senior club opposition on tour and a useful, if uncomfortable, marker of where the squad stands against more experienced women’s cricket.

Canada won the toss and elected to bat — and for the first 12 overs of the innings, that decision looked entirely vindicated. Captain Rabbjyot Rajput and opener Harper Chalmers shared a tour-best 85-run opening partnership, the highest opening stand the U19 Women’s team had produced across the campaign to that point. Chalmers struck a fluent 37 from 40 balls, including six fours, while Rajput batted with characteristic patience for 42 from 46. But once Chalmers was caught at deep extra cover off Daylia Alexander in the 13th over, Canada were unable to push on as the UWI bowlers tightened the field and the dot-ball pressure mounted. From 85 for 1 in the 13th, Canada slipped to 116 for 4 by the 18th and closed on 134 for 6.

If the Canadian innings was a story of a partnership and a stall, UWI’s reply was a story of one player. Reniece Boyce played the innings of the day, striking eight fours and a six in her 60 off 42 balls at a strike rate of 142.9. Her opening partner Kamara Ragoobar fell early to Namrit Dhillon (1/17), but Boyce found a steady ally in Mikaela Jodhan (36 not out off 38) and the pair added 74 for the second wicket to all but seal the contest. Shreya Vora eventually broke through to remove Boyce in the 13th over with the score on 111, but UWI required only a further 24 runs and Jodhan and Amelia Khan (10 not out off 14) finished it off with 16 balls to spare.

The Innings That Got Away

From 85 for 1 in the 13th over, Canada would have expected a total in the 160s. The trickle of wickets and a quieter middle phase against tidy UWI off-spin meant the platform was not fully cashed in. Mikaela Jodhan was the pick of the UWI bowlers with 2 for 20 from her three overs, and four other bowlers — Kamara Ragoobar, Shalini Samaroo, Daylia Alexander and Seanna Ramsundar — each chipped in with a wicket. Canada’s batting card showed nine players passing 0 but only three reaching double figures, a reminder that against a more seasoned attack, the middle and lower order will be tested in different ways than against age-group opposition.

Context: Why This Fixture Matters

UWI Women’s Cricket Club is a senior club side based at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, drawing from collegiate and adult women’s cricket in the country. The fixture against a Canada U19 squad was always going to be a step up in opposition, and the value of these matches on tour is exactly that: the exposure to a level above. Cricket Canada has built the 12-match Caribbean schedule precisely so that the squad faces varied opposition — peer U19 sides, senior club teams, and competitive opposition under match pressure — in the lead-up to hosting the ICC U19 Girls’ Americas Region World Cup Qualifiers in August.

Result

Result: UWI WCC won by 8 wickets

Canada U19: 134/6 (20 overs) — Rabbjyot Rajput 42 (46), Harper Chalmers 37 (40), Namrit Dhillon 9 (14), Sanjana Rao 9 (9)

UWI WCC: 135/2 (17.2 overs) — Reniece Boyce 60 (42), Mikaela Jodhan 36* (38), Kamara Ragoobar 14 (12)

Best bowling (Canada): Namrit Dhillon 1/17 (1), Shreya Vora 1/27 (4), Harper Chalmers 0/13 (2)

Top UWI bowling: Mikaela Jodhan 2/20 (3), Kamara Ragoobar 1/20 (4), Seanna Ramsundar 1/21 (3), Shalini Samaroo 1/22 (4)

Toss: Canada U19 won the toss and elected to bat

Canada Standout Performances

• Rabbjyot Rajput (C): 42 (46) — a third consecutive innings of substance from the captain, anchoring an 85-run opening partnership and following her 48 in the third T20I against T&T U19.
• Harper Chalmers: 37 (40) with six fours — fluent timing through the off side and a continued purple patch with the bat that has now produced 18, 97*, 5, 50 and 37 across the tour to date.
• Namrit Dhillon: 1/17 from a single new-ball over — broke through with the early wicket of Kamara Ragoobar to give Canada an opening.

Looking Ahead

Canada bounced back the very next morning, sweeping a doubleheader against the Without Limits Cricket Team on Thursday, May 21, by 8 and 9 wickets respectively. The Wednesday loss to UWI sits as the only outright defeat against a senior club opposition on tour to date, and one of just two losses overall — the other a Duckworth-Lewis decision in the rain-affected opening T20I on May 16.

The squad faces Hibiscus Cricket Club on Friday, May 22, before the international series against Trinidad & Tobago U19 resumes on Saturday with two T20Is. Canada leads that five-match series 2-1; one win in either Saturday fixture will secure the program’s first-ever international series victory.

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