U15 North/South Classic bowls off on Saturday

THE first of four Price Club Youth North/South Classics bowls off with the Under-15s at the National Cricket Centre in Couva on Saturday from 9.30am.

The Under-15s will be led by coaches Aaron Kurbanali (North) and Ishwar Ramnath (South) and captained by Yasir Chan Deen and Bendan Boodoo respectively.

The participating cricketers were picked based on their performances in the Scotiabank Under-15 Inter-Zone tournament and will be aiming to catch the eyes of the national selectors to play in the Cricket West Indies Regional Tournament from August 17 to 28 in Grenada.

TT are defending Caribbean champions in this age group having won when the tournament was last staged in 2019, in Antigua and Barbuda. A good all-around performance at this year’s Classic almost guarantees a spot on the national U15 team.

At Wednesday’s U15 launch, Kelvin Mohammed, who managed the title-winning 2019 team and will serve in the same capacity in 2022, said he anticipates an exciting clash as youngsters hunt a precious national team spot.

“We’re getting the selected fruit (best players) of the North/South Classic. This tournament will introduce you to national duty; be prepared to represent TT. This North/South Classic is where we take in the last set of fruit out of the 120 plus boys who competed in the U15 tournament.

“If you don’t make the team, cricket continues. You’re 15, you have all the years ahead of you. We’re grateful the (cricket) board has set up an avenue for development. Academics are also important. We have to manage both properly. You cannot substitute one for the other,” he said.

After the U15s, the series continues with the U19s (May 3), U17s (May 24) and U13s (June 3).

TT Cricket Board president Azim Bassarath welcomed the return of domestic cricket and was pleased with the steady flow of local competitions since the government’s roll-back on covid19 restrictions in January. “Only the best cricketers playing on the national team or in line for selection feature in the North-South Classic and a star-studded list of cricketers have had their names inscribed in its scoresheet.

“Cricket now occupies a special place post-pandemic as the only local sport which has successfully hit the ground running in a smooth, organised manner which has earned the plaudits and recognition with cricket administrators around the Caribbean,” Bassarath said.

He added that these competitions return a sense of normalcy to young cricketers who were keen to get back into action after the long layoff owing to the pandemic.

“We are thankful for the financial support of The Price Club, Tiger Tanks Unlimited, and Scotiabank who all had no hesitancy in partnering with us as we got back on track,” Bassarath said.

Also present at Wednesday’s launch was The Price Club Supermarket marketing manager Riaz Abdool, who also brought greetings on their continued partnership with TTCB, cricket operations manager Dudnath Ramkessoon, TTCB second vice-president Parasram Singh, both coaches and U15 players. Abdool, accompanied by other officials of The Price Club is a former school cricketer and he said quite apart from cricket developing healthy bodies, the sport offers hope for many as their grapple with serious issues off the field.

He pledged the support of the company he represents to partner with the TTCB in their thrust to use cricket as a vehicle for national development and produce citizens who are mentally strong and become role models and leaders of their communities.