Aaron Bankay hits 122 in Under-19 cricket trials

AARON Bankay cracked a century to propel Central/South West to a commanding 100-run victory over South East/South when the TT Cricket Board Under-19 cricket trials continued at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Couva, on Thursday.

Bankay and Justin Jagessar put on 102 for the opening partnership in 16 overs to give Central/South West the perfect start. Jagessar was the first batsman dismissed when he fell for 53. His 59-ball knock included nine fours and one six.

Bankay found another able partner in Kyle Kissoondath as the pair added 98 runs for the second-wicket to take the match away from South East/South.

When Kissoondath was sent back to the pavilion for 42 Central/South West were 200/2 in the 37th over.

Bankay, with some assistance from Raul Pitiram (21 off 29 balls), Shiva Sankar (18 off 16) and Nick Ramlal (19 off eight), guided their team to a massive 309/7 in 50 overs. Isiah Gomez grabbed 2/43 in ten overs and Nickyle Jalim picked up 2/43 in eight overs.

In reply, South East/South were all out for 209 in 45.2 overs after the top order struggled. South East/South were reduced to 67/4 after 15 overs, before Gomez battled hard hitting 52 off 64 deliveries which included five fours and two sixes. However he could not rescue his team from falling to a heavy defeat.

Darren Samlal struck 34 and Romario King made 27 opening the innings.

The trio of Justin Manick, Ravi Sankar and Rajeev Ramnath all took two wickets. Manick snatched 2/16 in six overs, Sankar grabbed 2/15 in four and Ramnath bagged 2/22 in four.

On Saturday the final match of the trials will be held at NCC when the top players from the tournament are selected to play in a North versus South contest.

The tournament is being held in an effort to identify the best players in the region as the regional Under-19 tournament has been cancelled because of covid19.

SUMMARISED SCORES

Central/South West 309/7 (50 overs) (Aaron Bankay 122, Justin Jagessar 53, Kyle Kissoondath 42; Isiah Gomez 2/43, Nickyle Jalim 2/43) vs South East/South 209 (45.2 overs) (Isiah Gomez 52, Darren Samlal 34, Romario King 27; Justin Manick 2/16, Ravi Sankar 2/15, Rajeev Ramnath 2/22) Central/South West won by 100 runs