For Lucas CC it was the perfect gift for Christmas — a successful defence of its National Under-17 title in a victory over familiar foes Melbourne CC at Chedwin Park last Saturday.

The performamce of Lucas, as far as the Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) is concerned, was more evidence of a credible, result-driven youth development programme on display. It also signalled to the JCA that the future of its senior programme is bright.

Having won the toss, Melbourne opted to field first hoping to benefit from rains at the venue the night before the game.

However, sloppy work in the field, which included six failed catches, negated any advantage they hoped to get from the existing conditions. Melbourne could only limit Lucas to 200-7 from the allotted 40 overs with captain Daniel Beckford scoring a game-high 66 runs, earning him the Man of the Match award. Melbourne’s Alifah Cox was the pick of the bowlers with 2-25 from seven overs.

In response Melbourne came up 25 runs short, getting to 175-8 from 40 overs. Matthew Comerie contributed with 49 not out and Sherwayne Thomas showed promise, but only made 32 from 42 deliveries.

Lucas skipper Beckford dedicated the victory to late coach Dennis Miller.

“The victory today means a lot to us… our coach Mr Dennis Miller who passed away this year — and he really put a lot of effort into this team. He worked with us from a much younger stage and we have grown, on and off the field. He was a great gentleman who inspired us all,” he said.

Former National U-15 coach Dennis Miller started an annual summer camp programme at Lucas, targeting the development of youth cricketers in 2013. The camp, which still continues, was also expanded to include training sessions at the club on Saturday mornings.

This programme is thought to be the crux of Lucas’ youth cricket dominance. In addition to the club being holders of the National Under-15 and Under-17 titles for two years running, the programme has produced youth prodigy Jordan Johnson, who toured England earlier this year as part of a Cricket West Indies Under-15 outfit.

“This is the kind of model we wish to see implemented across all our clubs and associations,” said JCA CEO Courtney Francis.

“It produces results, and if done properly across the local cricket landscape, can make tournaments more competitive. It would produce the type of strong, young cricketers which should form the core of our senior squad,” he added.

Francis continued: “We lose quite a bit of the talent identified in our preparatory and primary school competitions when they matriculate into high schools which don’t have a cricket programme.

If our clubs and associations all had a strong youth development programme then we would be able to keep those youth engaged, as Lucas has managed to do here with good results. It is the way to go, but we know it just doesn’t happen overnight. Careful planning and distribution of well-qualified coaches are required to make it a reality; that’s something we’re working on aggressively.”