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Sunset Smashers beat Coral Reef Chargers in CPL Next Gen schools match
The Next Gen programme ended its Barbados run on Friday with a schools match on one of the most famous grounds in world cricket.
In brief
School cricket takes over Kensington Oval for a day
- 26 young cricketers from Barbados schools and clubs played the CPL Next Gen match at Kensington Oval on Friday 11 September.
- Sunset Smashers beat Coral Reef Chargers by seven wickets.
- The match was shown live on CPL's social media channels and on Rush Live & Louder.
CPL Next Gen schools match lights up Kensington Oval
The CPL Next Gen programme finished its Barbados run at the Kensington Oval on Friday 11 September, where 26 of the island's most promising young cricketers were split into two teams for a schools match in front of a live broadcast audience. Sunset Smashers beat Coral Reef Chargers by seven wickets.
The players were picked from a series of CPL cricket clinics held across Barbados. The Barbados Cricket Association, the Ministry of Sport and local schools and clubs helped identify them, and their reward was a match on a ground that has staged some of the biggest games in West Indies cricket.
Live coverage takes the match beyond the ground
The game was broadcast live on CPL's social media channels and on Rush Live & Louder, so family and friends who could not get to Bridgetown could still watch. For school-age players used to club grounds, playing a televised match in a professional set-up is a very different experience.
Jason Williams, the CPL's Project Development Manager, said: "The standard of cricket on display from these young players was outstanding." He also praised the work of the Barbados Cricket Association in finding and developing the island's young talent, on an island that has produced fine players for generations, and called watching the youngsters perform with such composure and skill at the ground a special moment for everyone involved.
Next Gen set to reach more islands
The CPL plans to take the Next Gen programme into other Caribbean markets in future seasons, working alongside Cricket West Indies' own efforts to bring through the next group of regional players. Giving young cricketers a taste of the professional environment is the point of the programme, and Friday's match was its biggest stage yet.
It sits alongside work such as the CPL SchoolYard sessions that run through the season. Barbados now turns its attention back to the senior tournament, with the remaining fixtures listed on the CPL 2026 schedule and viewing options in the watch live guide.