SPORTS
Newsday reporter
FORMER Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies leg-spinner Samuel Badree told the finalists in the North/South Classic U-19 Club Award on Wednesday that there is no better time than now to stake their claim for a place in the West Indies team.
Badree was speaking to the enthusiastic crowd at the National Cricket Center in Couva ahead of their 50th title match.
A statement released by the TT Cricket Board (TTCB) on Monday said Badree was “very disappointed” with the performances of Caribbean cricketers playing at home in the ICC U-19 World Cup in January.
He said the team failed to progress to the knockout stages of the competition and also failed to impress in the plate playoffs.
Badree said, “Cricketers of mediocre performance were being selected to represent the region, which could explain the lack of favorable results.”
He told the youngsters that they should “never give up on their dream of playing for the West Indies as he was not selected at that level until he was 31”.
The 41-year-old said only 25 per cent of young cricketers graduate at the top level and some cricketers are late bloomers, pointing out that after being selected for WI, he ended up with two ICC T20 World Cups (2012 and 2016).
He told the young cricketers that they were lucky to participate in the age group tournaments organized by the TTCB and also pointed out that he also never participated in those development programmes.
Badree played 52 T20Is for WI and took 57 wickets, and also claimed 187 wickets in 197 T20 matches.
