Intercol T20 champs to be crowned today

PRESENTATION College, Chaguanas will be hoping that the return of Matthew Patrick and Jayden Seales could be the difference when the school tries to prevent Hillview College from winning a hat-trick of titles in the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket Intercol T20 tournament.

Presentation and Hillview will play in the boys T20 final at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba at 6.30 pm, today. In the first match of the day, defending champions Barrackpore East Secondary will come up against Holy Name Convent in the girls T20 final at 2.30 pm at the same venue.

Presentation have been on a tremendous run in the T20 tournament after a mediocre display in the 50-over competition earlier this year. Presentation stunned last year’s losing finalist Naparima College in the semifinals. Presentation will be the underdogs going into tonight’s match, as Hilliew are use to the bright lights having won the last two T20 titles. However, Patrick and Seales will give Presentation an added boost after not being fully fit during the 50-over competition. The duo also participated in a West Indies Under-19 camp in Antigua during the Easter holidays.

Presentation manager Roland Hosein said, “We are quietly confident. The fact is that we believe what we have done is really indicative of where we thought we should have placed in the (50-over) league. In the league we should have been in the top three, (but) we just made a mess of the games we had.”

Hosein is glad to have Patrick and Seales back in the team. “We have been a bit buoyed by the return of our two West Indies Under-19 players who have not really played with us for the whole season – Jayden Seales and Matthew Patrick.”

Patrick missed most of the season because of injury and Seales has also been hampered by injuries. Hillview are trying to win a hat-trick of titles, but coach Richard Kelly said the team is not feeling pressured. “I would not say they will be feeling very pressured.

Before every test there is always some level of anxiety...there is that level of expectancy and that I think will work positively for the team and help them focus a little more,” Kelly said.

Kelly knows Presentation are a talented team. “We are not taking Presentation College lightly. They are a good team, they are all good teams in the premiership, so we just going to play the game we know how to and hope we come out on top and with God’s grace we win.”