Bidaisee: Teamwork was key in Hillview winning title

Navin Bidassie
Navin Bidassie

THE 2019 PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) 50-over premiership division ended on Tuesday with the final round of matches. Newsday continues to shine a spotlight on the excellent performances each week.

Hillview captain Navin Bidaisee is the Newsday Star of the Week becoming the first player to win the award on two occasions. After clinching the title in the penultimate round, Hillview ended the season with seven victories from as many matches with a three-wicket win over Fatima College at the latter’s school ground in the final round. Bidaisee grabbed five wickets for 23 runs and struck 31 to help Hillview keep its flawless record in tact. We spoke to Bidaisee about Hillview’s memorable campaign and thoughts on the T20 competition coming up.

Name: Navin Bidaisee

Age: 18

Club: Comets

Batting/bowling style: Left hand bat/right hand leg break

Form: Upper Six

Favourite batsman: Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Star performance: five for 23, 31

Newsday: How does it feel to become the first player to win the Star of the Week twice?

Bidaisee: I feel pretty honoured about it. I was working hard during the season and it is good to see that it’s paying off.

Newsday: Do you think you performed better with the bat or ball this season?

Bidaisee: I don’t like to choose one. On a specific day I could show up with both bat and ball or any one. I like to think it is one of my strengths.

Newsday: How does it feel to end with a perfect record.

Bidaisee: It feels amazing, not just for us the players but it means a lot to both the support system at school and our parents as well.

Newsday: What gave Hillview the edge this season?

Bidaisee: We back ourselves from the time we step on the field. We have a lot of experienced players like (Kirstan) Kallicharan, JP Barrie and Ronaldo Forrester as well. We play as a team most importantly.

Hillview’s captain Navin Bidaisee,left, celebrates a wicket during the SSCL match between Hillview College and Shiva Boys Hindu College at UWI SPEC, St. Augustine, on February 26. Hilview won and were crowned SSCL Champions for the 3rd year in a row.

Newsday: Did the team feel pressured this season to defend the title?

Bidaisee: (We did) not really feel pressure but it kept us on our Ps and Qs because we knew what was expected from us and it was just to go out and deliver.

Newsday: What impact did coach Richard Kelly have on the team?

Bidaisee: He is a really good coach, he always motivates us and he always tells us to not be complacent which was the key thing for us knowing that everyone was depending on us to come out victorious. It was really good to have such a cool coach.

Newsday: Will be it be difficult to adjust to the T20 format?

Bidaisee: We are ready for the challenge. Most of us are aggressive players, so it should fit in our natural game. I am anxious about it.

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