Naps explode for record 506/4

Hillview pacer Jean-Phillip Barry sends down a delivery against St Benedict's College at the Daren Ganga Recreation Ground in Barrackpore yesterday. PHOTO BY VASHTI SINGH
Hillview pacer Jean-Phillip Barry sends down a delivery against St Benedict's College at the Daren Ganga Recreation Ground in Barrackpore yesterday. PHOTO BY VASHTI SINGH

NAPARIMA College, led by Cephas Cooper, smashed almost every record in the history of the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) 50-over premier division tournament yesterday with a memorable performance in round two of the 2019 competition.

Batting first at their school ground on Lewis Street, San Fernando, Naparima blazed a beleaguered Barrackpore West for the highest ever total – an astronomical 506 for four in 50 overs.

Cooper, a former West Indies Under-19 player, also put his name in the record books with an astonishing 297 off 142 deliveries. The right-handed opener lashed 32 fours and 12 sixes. Naparima then dismissed the hapless Barrackpore for 112 in 29.5 overs to win by 394 runs – another premier division record. President of the SSCL Surujdath Mahabir confirmed the three records in the league, which has been around for almost ten years.

After the match, Naparima manager Percy Samlalsingh said Cooper's knock was very special.

"I think it is a captain's knock; he led from the front. The last game he batted at number four and we asked him to open the innings today and he put down his head and bat and he had good partnerships," Samlalsingh said.

He was full of praise for Cooper and declared it the best innings he has seen from a Naparima player.

He said, "Definitely yes, he has made 200-plus in under-16 (cricket) and he made a 300-plus in under-16 on our ground here already. This is premiership cricket, this is the top schools in the colleges cricket league. Players can make 100, 150 but to make almost 300 runs (is excellent) – he batted almost the entire innings."

Huge partnerships helped set up the Naparima total as a 205-run opening stand between Cooper and Kyle Roopchand (47) began the onslaught. Cooper and Qwinci Babel then combined to put on 120 for the second wicket, before Avinash Mahabirsingh and Cooper added a further 101 runs for the third wicket. Cooper fell with the score on 426 in the 44th over. Darren Samlal also cracked 54 not out off 26 balls to boost the team's total. All the Barrackpore West bowlers felt the brunt of Cooper and the other Naparima batsmen. Shiva Ramlal ended with the best figures of 2/57 in four overs.

FLASHBACK: Naparima's Cephas Cooper drives the ball against Fatima College in a 2018 Powergen Secondary Schools Cricket League match. Cooper scored a remarkable 297 against Barrackpore yesterday. PHOTO BY ALLAN V CRANE/CA-IMAGES

In reply, Barrackpore West were bundled out for 112 in 29.5 overs with Dillon Jagmohan's 28 not out top scoring. Spin bowler Ryan Bandoo took 5/23 and Mathew Cooper, brother of Cephas, grabbed 2/28. It was a brilliant response from Naparima after losing by eight wickets to defending champions Hillview in round one.

SUMMARISED SCORES:

Naparima College 506/4 (50 overs) (Cephas Cooper 297, Darren Samlal 54 not out, Kyle Roopchand 47; Shiva Ramlal 2/57) vs Barrackpore West 112 (29.5 overs) (Dillon Jagmohan 28 not out; Ryan Bandoo 5/23, Mathew Cooper 2/28). Naparima won by 394 runs.

St Benedict's College 128 (31 overs) (Joshua James 30; Anderson Mahase 5/19, Navin Bidaisee 3/27) vs Hillview 132/2 (21.1 overs) (N Bidaisee 56 not out, Leonardo Julien 36 not out). Hillview won by eight wickets.

Vishnu Boys Hindu College 176/7 (50 overs) (Rajeev Ramnath 37, Kristian Dookree 33 not out; Aiden Ragoonath 2/28, Rajiv Ramnarine 2/38) vs Presentation College, Chaguanas 164 (48.1 overs) (Justin Jaggessar 40, Aneil Pitiram 25; Sameer Ali 5/21, Aryan Sammy 2/14). Vishnu Boys won by 12 runs.

Fatima College 179/9 (50 overs) (Jonathan Ramdhanie 43 not out, Chadeon Raymond 27; Nicholas Ali 3/19, Sachin Siewsankar 4/52) vs Shiva Boys Hindu College 176/8 (50 overs) (G Nandlal 45, N Ali 22 not out; J Ramdhanie 2/34, Mikel Govia 2/24). Fatima won by three runs.

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