Narine, Edwards-Taylor, 8-a-side football committee cop QPCC awards

MYSTERY spinner Sunil Narine was named Queen's Park Senior Sporting Personality of the Year, at the club's annual dinner and awards ceremony on Friday night, at the Century Ballroom, Queen's Park Cricket Club, St Clair.

The awards featured a number of distinguished guests including President Christine Kangaloo and her husband Kerwyn Garcia, SC.

Cricket West Indies president Dr Kishore Shallow was also present and gave the feature address. CWI vice president and TT Cricket Board boss Azim Bassarath was also in attendance.

Narine got the edge for the award over fellow nominees Shemar Britton (table tennis), Chelsea Frederick (football), Randy Antoine (football), Joran Vieira (hockey) and Richard Hart (squash).

Narine, 35, announced his retirement from international cricket earlier this month, during the CG United Regional Super50 Cup, where he helped bowl TT to the title.

He was also stellar at club level with 44 wickets, including four ten-wicket hauls with an astonishing seven wickets for no runs in one innings. His efforts saw Queen's Park convincingly win the National league title despite being without a number of first-team players who were on national duty.

Narine's prowess is world renowned and he was contracted by six franchises, including Trinbago Knight Riders, Kolkata Knight Riders, Surrey, LA Knight Riders and Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. Narine was not present to receive the award as he is in Abu Dhabi playing his trade.

The Junior Sporting Personality of the Year award went to table tennis player Imani Edwards-Taylor, who is currently ranked first locally.

Edwards-Taylor represented TT in the Caribbean Junior and Senior Championships in Guyana as well as at the CAC Games in San Salvador.

She had a brilliant 2023, claiming Caribbean under-19 singles bronze, Caribbean Juniors under-19 silver, Classified Senior runner-up, Silver Bowl Seniors runner-up, National Senior runner-up, and Nationals under-19 runner-up, to name a few. Edwards-Taylor's mother received her award on her behalf as she is in England studying and competing.

Other top juniors nominated included Arie Bhagan (football), Michael Chaves (football), Joshua Davis (cricket), Seth Thong (squash) and Nicholas Siu Butt (hockey).

The prestigious Kingston Trophy was awarded to the QPCC 8-a-side football committee which organised an extremely popular tournament earlier this year.

Master of ceremonies Colin Murray said the tournament was not only a financial success but brought the club's members together for competition and camaraderie.

"The tournament's allure was not confined to the participating members alone; it drew support from an extensive network of sponsors, with over 30 contributors playing a pivotal role in its success. This collaborative effort not only fuelled the event but also strengthened the club's ties with the community and business partners, reinforcing its position as a hub of sporting excellence."

Special awards were also presented to Bassarath and Kenneth Ferguson, who received national awards in September, and Sports Hall of Fame inductee Stacey Siu Butt.

In his address, Shallow hailed the Queen's Park Oval as one of the best in the region, and pivotal to West Indies cricket's future. He said members should be proud of the club's long and rich history producing some of the region's best players.

Hinting at the controversy surrounding the absence of Queen's Park batsman Darren Bravo from the WI team, Shallow said one of his friends asked him if it was the right time to be visiting TT. However, he said he was ready to respond to any questions.