South win Girls SSCL inter-zone T20 title

AMIN Forgenie, coach of the Girls Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) Inter-zone T20 title-winning team, South, believes there has been significant improvement in the standard of girls cricket over the preceding season.

After hoisting their third Girls SSCL crown in four years, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on Saturday, Forgenie expressed elation with his team’s performance. He also credited runners-up and debutant finalists South East, on their never-say-die attitude which earned them a deserved title-shot at the 2020 edition.

“I must say that throughout the duration of the tournament was the standard of girls’ hardball cricket in TT is definitely improving. Flow’s sponsorship with the SSCL played a big part in the development of the hardball cricketers. This is the first time South East made it to the final, so it is evident of improvement within the zones,” said Forgenie.

South has been the most dominant zone over the past four years, winning three (2017, 2018 and 2020) of their four contested finals. Last year, Central halted South’s hat-trick win. This, according to Forgenie, served as added motivation for the girls to regain the crown in Saturday’s meeting.

“It’s an excellent feeling because they have been working really hard in the last couple months trying to retain the title we lost last year. At the end, it’s an important win for them because they were really upset having lost a very close final to Central. This is the beginning of that chase towards another hat-trick,” he stated.

Additionally, Player of the Match and South captain, Shalini Samaroo, also expressed delight with her squad’s performance. The 16-year-old Barrackpore East student produced a stellar performance on the day, top scoring with 20 runs and conceding just seven runs off four overs.

“It was a hard start but we came back good at the end. We just had to fight, remain positive on the field and was confident throughout the game. These elements took us through the game and to the win. To come back this year was a great feeling among the team and we really worked hard for it,” she said with a broad smile.

Samaroo, who was also vice-captain of the TT women’s Under-19 team last year, is currently in form five and is preparing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination. She is working towards entering sixth form and then heading off to university. With regards to her cricketing career, Samaroo is working towards a coveted West Indies call-up and remains optimistic she would be selected to the regional team for the 2021 Under-19 World Cup.

Meanwhile, South East coaches Jamieyel Pantor and Che Baisden, were pleased with their team’s display although losing the clash. Having competed in their first SSCL T20 final, the pair has high hopes for the future.

“It was a very competitive game and hard fought. My girls will come back and play harder next year, putting their best foot forward. We have a good group of players, a mixture of seasonal and inexperienced. But, they are willing to learn and that’s one of the most important things going forward. Rotating the strike costed us but looking back at the tournament, we had some great individual performances,” said Pantor.

2020 SSCL Girls Individual Prizes

Woman of the Match- Shalini Samaroo (South)

Best Batswoman- Shalini Samaroo Captain (South)

Best Bowler - Serisha Kankaran (South East)