Trinidad and Tobago’s U-19 men’s cricket team ended the West Indies Rising Stars Cricket Championship in St Vincent one from the bottom on Saturday.
This came after their play-off match against the Windward Islands for fifth and sixth place in the three-day series ended in a draw. Play was only possible on the first day on Thursday, while the next two days were abandoned due to rain. In the game that was possible, The Windwards were dismissed for 156 and T&T closed at 71 for four.
The tournament was won by the Leeward Islands who had faced Barbados in the final.
Rajeev Ramnath-led T&T Youth finished winless in the series and lost to Barbados and Guyana. And reflecting on his team’s performance in the tournament, T&T coach Amin Fogenie said after the team’s return home yesterday: “Application is the key.”
He further explained, saying, “batsmen have to apply themselves to achieve great results. Bowlers have to apply themselves to their craft in order to create pressure and create wicket-taking opportunities and finally, the team has to apply itself to executing the plans.”
However, the T&T coach also saw some positives. He told CWI Media last week: “The evidence shows that our team has improved with every game they have played. In the last match against Leewards, our bowlers made better decisions about their shot selection, and this allowed us to create more partnerships during our innings. That’s the key to building big totals as we hit a score above 2,500 for the first time in the tournament.”
He added: “I’m proud of the team’s performances considering this was a new format for them and our preparations were hampered a lot by the weather. All in all, this tournament would have provided them with great experience and played a major role in their development as young cricketers.
