Kimani Melius: The wonderkid who scored a 34-ball 100 in a St Lucia T10 match
19-year-old Kimani Melius led the West Indies team to a fifth place finish in the U19 World Cup held in South Africa earlier this year. Although he did not set the stage on fire at the tournament, Kimani Melius was the leading run scorer for the team from the Caribbean.
His only 50+ score in the World Cup came in a big 246-run win against minnows Nigeria, but the world could see that Kimani Melius was a special player. The youngster’s abilities were on show right from his List A debut where he made a stroke-filled 46. The knock helped West Indies B to a steady start against Canada in a game that will probably be remembered for skipper Marlon Samuels’ match-winning century.
Kimani Melius’ St. Lucia T10 exploits
Although the St. Lucia T10 Blast has only just started, Kimani Melius has already made his mark in the tournament. With cricket only recently returning to the world after the Covid-19 pandemic, the people of St. Lucia were eagerly awaiting the re-introduction of the sport in their country.
Their patience was justly rewarded by a very special innings, however. Playing for the Gros Islet Cannon Blasters, Kimani Melius reintroduced himself to St. Lucia and Daren Sammy National Cricket Ground with a blistering 34-ball 100 that included 4 fours and 11 sixes.
The West Indies U19 captain shared an unbeaten 166-run stand at the top of the order alongside Tarryck Gabriel who scored a fifty of his own. Kimani Melius’ century completely took the game away from Vieux Fort North Raiders, leaving them with a required run rate of almost 17 an over right from the start of the innings. Gros Islet would win comfortably by 63 runs, and get off to the perfect start in the St. Lucia T10 Blast.
While it may still be early days to be dreaming about a successful international career, it seems poetic that a batsman truly capable of exploding at the top of the order came by when Chris Gayle is in the twilight of his career. The next great West Indies opener may just be the teenager who scored a century in a T10 match.