SPORTS
Newsday reporter
A Trinidad and Tobago U-13 REPRESENTATIVE cricket team will travel to Guyana for a series of matches in what is a major development initiative between the territorial cricket boards.
The inter-regional collaborative effort between the TTCB and the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) is scheduled from December 10 to 22 and complements Cricket West Indies’ (CWI) two-year development programs plans.
This marks the first time that a TTCB U-13 team is going to Guyana and cricket officials hope that the promising youngsters will be exposed to competitive cricket that will boost their growth and development.
The groundbreaking tournament is the brainchild of TTCB president Azim Bassarath, who saw the absence of an U-13 CWI tournament as an opportunity to offer that age group a taste of regional rivalry.
“I immediately got in touch with the GCB president after the local Scotiabank Inter Zone U-13 tournament about the tournament and was very pleased with their enthusiastic response to host us,” said Bassarath, in a TTCB media release.
He said he would like the TTCB to invite the Guyana U-13s for a reciprocal visit next year, which will further the close relationship the two cricket boards enjoy in the interest of national youth development .
The GCB also expects the series to be a prelude to future development programs such as the national under-15, under-17 and under-19 training events.
In a statement praising the visit, GCB president Bissoondyal Singh stated that currently, there are structured cricket development activities for the Under-11, Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and senior levels.
The under-11 activities are run through the Republic Bank Five for Fun Cricket Development program and also, GCB and Republic Bank are in the planning stages of initiating a national under-23 inter-club tournament.
Singh expressed his satisfaction at being able to positively engage TTCB’s Bassarathi. “Both territorial boards are keen to expose our future professional cricketers at a young age to the highest competitive standards possible. We recognize the need for kids to develop their art, bowling, batting and fielding in a fun-related way,” he said.
“However, we strongly believe that players in the U-13 age group can start to challenge their minds a bit more than is currently being done. Learning the techniques of cricket is good, but executing the relevant skills in competitive environments will set players on a greater path to success,” he said.
The GCB boss says the initiative paves the way for a regional U-13 tournament. “We believe in promoting the coaching aspects of cricket so that players can inculcate the practices recommended for the game as well as a person.
“Our planned cricket academy, which will cater to players aged seven to 17, aims to make our players into cricketers. Apart from technical and skill development, our academy focuses on the areas of cricket laws, scoring, umpire and match referee duties and tagging, including personal communication, interviewing as a priority activity and psychology,” he said.
Bassarath noted that the TTCB is perfectly placed to provide support to the GCB’s development ambitions as the local cricket administration is well advanced in its development programs, which is the envy of other territorial boards.
In anticipation of the proposed tournament, the TTCB selectors have named a 17-member squad.
Squad: Zakariyya Mohammed (captain), Michael Ali (vice-captain), Brian Harricharan, Shaan Ramtahal, Reyad Jerome, Roberto Badre, Ethan Ramcharan, Ra’ed Ali-Khan, Sameer Ramdath, Zion Phillip, Abdiel Boland, Tyler Ramroop, Adam Owen, Jordan Julien; Sanjay Naidoo, Amrit Pittiman, Avinash Bhemull (reserves).
