TTCB planning Guyana tour for Scotiabank Under-13 cricketers

THE best cricketers in the Scotiabank NextGen Under-13 Cricket Development Programme will be selected for a possible tour of Guyana in August to further harness their talent.

Eight zonal teams will compete in two groups in the 50-over tournament bowling off, on Wednesday.

East, North East, North and Tobago will play in Group A and South, South East, South West and Central will feature in Group B.

Following the preliminary phase, the top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals. The final is scheduled for June 1.

On Thursday, the programme was launched at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva.

Speaking about the possibility of an Under-13 team touring Guyana, president of the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) Azim Bassarath, said, “To the Under-13 cricketers, there is no CWI (Cricket West Indies) Regional Under-13 tournament, however, the TTCB has assigned selectors to view each match at this level to select a national Under-13 team to travel to Guyana in August, to play a few matches against their Guyana counterparts if all goes well.”

Bassarath said the TTCB will try to get the necessary funding to make the trip a reality.

“We will be approaching the Sports Company of TT for assistance with airfare and the other associated necessities, to ensure that this tour comes off,” Bassarath said.

“I have already made contact with the Guyana Cricket Board and they are very excited about this initiative and are looking forward to welcoming our national Under-13 team to Guyana.”

Bassarath thanked Scotiabank for supporting the development of TT cricketers.

“We at the TTCB are pleased that at this especially important juncture when cricket was relegated to the pavilion for about two years (because of covid19) that Scotiabank would keep its word and fulfil its corporate responsibility to take another deep dive into youth cricket development.”

The cricketers will be fortunate to be “exposed to the specialised tutorship and training available over the next few weeks,” according to Bassarath.

There will be an online developmental segment of the Under-13 programme.

Facilitator Brendon Ramlal gave details on the holistic development of the programme.

“Participants will be introduced to 11 modules, specifically chosen to cover the players' physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development,” Ramlal said.

Among the topics the players will learn are time management, goal setting and problem-solving, nutrition, mental health and well being and fair play and citizenship.

“These modules will be delivered by a host of highly trained and qualified professionals in their respective fields, ranging from former West Indian cricketers, school supervisors, sports journalists, registered dietitians, psychologists, psychotherapists, members of the protective services, teachers and CWI level III coaches,” Ramlal said.

Director of the Scotiabank Foundation Peter Ghany urged the participants to learn as much as possible.

Ghany said, “To these young, aspiring cricketers, I encourage you to be open to everything this programme is giving you. Yes, you will enhance your game and learn from your coaches and fellow teammates new techniques of batting, bowling etcetera but you also have the unique opportunity to hear from some experts on various topics.”