Since the resumption of team sports, the domestic cricket calendar has been packed and there is much more to come including the return of international cricket and regional youth cricket to Trinidad and Tobago.
This was revealed by Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath as he gave an overview of the season during the launch of the Price Club Under-17 InterZone competition earlier this week.
The TTCB domestic season concluded at the end of February with the Dream 11 T10 Blast and that was followed by the resumption of club cricket with the TTCB Sunday League 50-overs tournament involving 22 clubs as well as a TTCB U-19 team.
Junior cricketers were also on show at the start of the season with the U-19 InterZone being completed on Wednesday and the U-15 concluding on Friday. TTCB also has an InterZone U-17 tournament as well as an U-13 competition.
Regarding the return of international and regional youth cricket to T&T, Bassarath said the TTCB “has embraced all opportunities to host regional and international matches in Trinidad and Tobago”.
“The CWI has realized that the TTCB is one of the best run territorial boards in the Caribbean and that is perhaps why they decided to send the last three rounds of the first-class cricket season to be played here in Trinidad and Tobago .” said Bassarath.
T&T hosted four matches in the first two rounds of the West Indies Championship in February with four teams – Guyana, Leeward Islands, Windward Islands and Jamaica – being accommodated in addition to hosts T&T Red Force.
The remaining fixtures are yet to be confirmed, but Bassarath said the TTCB is planning to host all six teams at the end of the season.
“We also have the Indians coming here in July for three ODIs at the Oval and the first T20 international game at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy,” noted the TTCB president.
“We are planning for all of this, as well as our youth four-team tournaments and other local initiatives, but remember that the TTCB has been planning the resumption of the sport since last year, so we are seeing the fruits of that planning and it’s making things a lot easier for us and the staff to implement these plans smoothly,” explained Bassarath.
He also noted that it has been smooth sailing in terms of starting the domestic season. “We are very pleased with what we have seen so far – from the performance on the field of play and also the support we have seen from the public,” added Bassarath.
“We had the last T10 and the support was great. I have also been to various Premiership 1 and 2 (Sunday League) games and we have seen more people come out to watch the games compared to before. So, people were looking forward to see some kind of sports activity taking place in the country. They’ve got that opportunity now and they’re grabbing it with both hands and we hope that support continues,” he said.
“The players were also looking forward to the start of the cricket competition and they have put in some great performances so far. In terms of the U-19 and U-15 tour, we had a couple of centuries so far,” Bassarath continued.
“We’ve had absolutely no problems so far in terms of following protocols and setting everything up. There is no concern about this and we have not received any complaints about the protocols and everyone has adhered to it. We have received tremendous support from the clubs as well as administrators and players.”
“We had a 90 per cent vaccination rate, but some players who weren’t vaccinated at the time have since received the vaccine, so more players are coming into the fold. We have stuck to our guns in terms of allowing only vaccinated people to play and I am sure that all cricketers who have not been vaccinated so far, when they see what is happening on the field, will be encouraged to do so this and make themselves available to play,” concluded Bassarath.
