The 2025 Cool and Smooth T20 brought Warner Park to life with a vibrant mix of competitive cricket, local pride, and a showcase of the region’s finest talent. With matches streamed globally, fans around the world witnessed dramatic finishes, explosive batting, and breakout performances that highlighted the depth of skill across St Kitts and Nevis. From rising stars to seasoned campaigners, players produced unforgettable moments that set a high benchmark for domestic T20 cricket. Once again, the tournament reaffirmed its status as a key fixture on the Federation’s sporting calendar.
The Story of the Tournament
Coming into the tournament, the Molineaux Blue Runners returned to Warner Park as champions, having won the inaugural tournament in 2024. However, between them and a second trophy was 10 days, with the tournament running from 15 to 25 May 2025. Alongside the Blue Runners, the Sandy Point Snappers, St Pauls Barracudas, Government Road Sharks and the Brown Hill Dolphins competed for the title. Teams were stacked with various combinations of West Indies representatives, regional talent, icons from the Kittian and Nevisian domestic scene and young talents looking to make a name for themselves.
With no team dominating outright and multiple games decided in the final over, the group stage proved fiercely contested. It produced several thrilling contests, including last-over finishes: the Blue Runners edged out the Barracudas in one such encounter, while the Snappers held on for a dramatic four-run victory over the Government Road Sharks. After the group stage, the Sandy Point Snappers sat on top of the points log as the only undefeated team, confirming their place in the semi-finals with three wins and a rained-out game against the Blue Runners. The defending champions squeezed through to the semi-finals in third place with two wins, a loss, and a rained-out fixture. Joining them were the Brown Hill Dolphins, the only team to beat the Blue Runners, and the St Pauls Barracudas, who rounded out the top four to reach Finals Day.
The semi-finals set the stage for a dramatic finish to the tournament, with the Molineaux Blue Runners bouncing back from a third-place group finish to storm into the final. They produced a memorable team performance against the Brown Hill Dolphins with a dominant 10-wicket win, chasing down 114 in just 11.3 overs thanks to a scintillating 71* from Christanja Carey. In the second semi-final, the St Pauls Barracudas ended the Sandy Point Snappers’ unbeaten run in a rain-affected contest, chasing a DLS-adjusted target of 131 to win by four wickets behind a composed 69* from Nathan Sealy. The results set up a final between two of the tournament’s most in-form sides, while the Dolphins and Snappers met again in the third-place playoff.
Final day drama saw the Brown Hill Dolphins secure third place with a five-wicket win over the Sandy Point Snappers. The Snappers set a competitive 138-run target, boosted by Dahri Francis’s explosive 26 off 11 balls and Adrian Williams’s powerful 46. The Dolphins’ disciplined bowling attack, led by Colin Archibald’s 3/29, kept the Snappers in check. In reply, Jedd Joseph’s unbeaten 52 guided the Dolphins to victory despite regular wickets falling.
In the final, the defending champions Molineaux Blue Runners retained their title with a 19-run win against the St Pauls Barracudas. After a shaky start, the Blue Runners were steadied by captain Jacques Taylor and a brilliant counter-attacking 50* from Keon Harding, who formed a pivotal 90-run partnership that set a target of 142. The Barracudas fought hard in reply, with Nathan Sealy and Tariq Newman providing resistance, but the Blue Runners’ bowling unit, spearheaded by Zidane Clarke and Clayton Skeete, maintained the pressure to seal back-to-back championships.
Tournament Stats
The 2025 edition of the Cool & Smooth T20 tournament made a memorable chapter in the competition’s legacy, delivering a thrilling spectacle of cricket packed into 14 fiercely contested matches. Across 26 innings, teams combined for a total of 3,268 runs, hitting the boundary 256 times, including 104 sixes.
The tournament featured 14 half-centuries and highlighted the importance of partnerships, with 12 stands surpassing 50 runs and two exceeding 100, often proving decisive in match outcomes. Bowlers held their own in this batter-friendly format, claiming 159 wickets from 2,745 deliveries. A dot ball rate of 46.8% and eight maiden overs reflect the sustained pressure applied by disciplined bowling attacks.
Fielding units were sharp, contributing 52 catches and seven stumpings.
Individual Stars
Keon Harding of the Molineaux Blue Runners was named Player of the Series for his outstanding all-round contributions. He finished as the tournament’s joint third highest wicket-taker with nine wickets in five games, boasting an impressive strike rate of 13 and an average of 6.16. With the bat, Harding was the 12th highest run-scorer, accumulating 94 runs at a strike rate of 128.77, being dismissed only once. His vital unbeaten 50 in the final helped the Blue Runners set a formidable target. Harding brought his wealth of experience to the tournament, having represented the West Indies, Barbados, and the Barbados Tridents before relocating to St Kitts and showcasing his full skillset.
Leading the run charts in the Cool & Smooth T20 2025 was Cameron Pennyfeather, captain of the St Pauls Barracudas, who amassed 196 runs in six innings at a brisk strike rate of 139.01. He recorded two half-centuries, with a top score of 74. Pennyfeather’s 2025 season continues to go from strength to strength after making his regional debut for the Leeward Island Hurricanes earlier in the year and impressing during the 2025 Breakout League, marking him as a rising talent to watch in future tournaments. Close behind was Daren Benta of the Brown Hill Dolphins, whose consistency earned him 157 runs in five innings, averaging 39.25 with a strike rate of 134.19, also registering two fifties. Matching Benta’s run tally but in a more aggressive style was Jamie Cornelius of the Sandy Point Snappers. The left-hander scored 157 runs at a strike rate of 128.69, including the tournament’s highest individual score of 85.
On the bowling front, Kaivalya Mishra of the St Pauls Barracudas emerged as the tournament’s top wicket taker, claiming 11 wickets in 24 overs at an economy rate of 5.25. His consistency and control earned him a bowling average of 11.45, making him a pivotal figure in his team’s campaign. Close behind was Kian Pemberton of the Sandy Point Snappers, whose raw pace yielded 10 wickets in just 16.2 overs. With a strike rate of 9.80, he was the most frequent wicket-taker in terms of balls bowled. Rounding out the top three was rising star Micah McKenzie of the Brown Hill Dolphins, whose off-spin accounted for 9 wickets at an impressive average of 10.33 and an economy of 5.03, including a standout five-wicket haul.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 Cool & Smooth T20 will be remembered not just for the Molineaux Blue Runners’ successful title defense, but for the emergence of new talent, the depth of competition across all five teams, and the countless moments of brilliance that showcased why this tournament has become such a cornerstone of Leeward Island cricket. As players return to their respective clubs and regions, they carry with them the experience of a tournament that continues to elevate the standard of domestic T20 cricket in the West Indies.
As this year’s tournament concludes, attention now shifts to the Leeward Islands T20 tournament, which returns to Antigua from 31 May to 8 June 2025, marking the long-awaited revival of inter-island cricket. Antigua and Barbuda enter with a team full of franchise and international experience. However, with St. Kitts and Nevis each fielding their own sides, and their players arriving in hot form following the St. Kitts and Nevis Cool and Smooth T20, and with other teams also packed with talent, it is anybody’s race to the title.
The unique collaboration between smaller territories, with the Combined Islands (Montserrat and St. Maarten) and the Virgin Islands (US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands), adds an intriguing dynamic to the competition. All players will be looking to use the tournament as a platform to showcase their islands, their communities, and their talent. Several players who starred at Warner Park will likely represent their respective islands, taking the momentum and form from the Cool & Smooth T20 onto the regional stage.
(text- Isaac Lockett, feed courtesy Mr Dario Barthley)
