SPORTS
Jonathan Ramnansingh
AZIM Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), is impressed with the high standard of cricket being played in the ongoing Scotiabank NextGen Under-15 and The Price Club-Tiger Tanks Trinidad Ltd Under-19 Youth Series tournaments .
These competitions were among the first to start the 2022 indoor season after two years of inactivity due to Covid19.
The U15 final, between South East and Central, takes place at the National Cricket Center in Couva from 9.30am on Friday, while the U19 final took place at the same venue on Wednesday.
So far, both tournaments have lived up to the billing and even exceeded expectations, even though players have not been allowed to compete locally since March 2020.
On the return of domestic youth cricket, Bassarath said: “The response we have received from players, parents and supporters has been overwhelming. This is something they have been looking forward to.
“It has been a long time since the U19 players have not been given the opportunity to take the field. The standard of cricket has been surprisingly high, with several centuries. We are now in the final stage of the Scotiabank U15.
“Just yesterday (Monday), two centuries were made in one match. So the standard was high. The enthusiastic approach shown has been great.
“We are very pleased with what we have seen so far. More spectators are coming out. People were eagerly waiting for cricket to resume. The support has been great.”
The TTCB has proven to be one of the most prepared national sports organizations following the government’s recent lifting of Covid19 restrictions, which allowed the sport to resume, with restrictions.
They have already completed an entire star-studded T10 (Dream XI) tour, with only vaccinated fans, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.
Approximately five national and inter-zonal competitions are currently underway and more competitions are scheduled to start soon.
Bassarath believes the cricket board’s intensive planning over the past two years, in anticipation of a resumption of the sport, has allowed them to deliver an almost seamless return to the game. He predicts a positive future for the enthusiastic young cricketers.
“I can only imagine what would happen in two or three years when the kids are given the opportunity to get back on the field to play. We are constantly playing now so we expect that very soon the TT will produce very high quality players for the West Indies,” he added.
Asked how the TTCB and the clubs were coping with the new return policies mandated by the government, Bassarath said they have not had any problems so far.
The TTCB has mandated that all players must be fully vaccinated for Covid19 if they are to be selected for any TTCB sanctioned tournament.
“There were no complaints about the protocols. Clubs and administrators are happy. We had a 90 percent vaccination rate before. And now, players who haven’t gotten the vaccine are getting it now.
“Very soon we will reach 100 percent. We have stuck to our guns that only vaccinated people will be allowed to play. When the cricketers see what is happening on the field, they will go and get vaccinated,” he said.
Additionally, the U17 Youth Series, sponsored by The Price Club, begins on Monday. After each youth tournament (U15, U17 and U19), four teams from each age group will be selected to compete against each other.
The best players from these three four-team tournaments will then be selected for their respective North/South Classic matches. After that, the cream of the crop will be selected to form the national junior TT teams for the upcoming regional tournaments.
Regional competitions begin with the U17s from July 17-28 (TT Pret), the U15s from August 15-28 (Grenada) and the U19s from August 17-28 (St Vincent).
