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Come on Beckles
PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board Azim Bassarath said the contributions of former West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin and top-order batsman Lendl Simmons will be remembered, calling Ramdin the best wicketkeeper he has ever seen in West Indies.
Both Ramdin and Simmons announced their retirement from international cricket in recent days.
Simmons made his Windies debut in 2006 and Ramdin in 2005.
Ramdin and Simmons were part of the West Indies teams that won the 2012 and 2016 International Cricket Council T20 World Cups.
Both players have been consistent members of the TT Red Force team for the past two decades.
“I think it’s sad for both players to see them leave the international scene. I think they had two outstanding international careers,” Bassarath said.
Bassarath said Simmons played a “critical” knock in helping West Indies retain the World T20 title in 2016. Simmons scored 82 not out from 51 balls to help West Indies beat India by seven wickets in the semi-finals. West Indies chased down a challenging 193 to win the contest.
Speaking about Simmons, Bassarath said, “He was really a more aggressive player and a player that some of our players have emulated over time. I think he had a good international career and we at TT hope he continues to stick around our local cricket and help the youngsters coming up with his wealth of experience. I’m very sure he will be able to support the young guys and contribute in a positive way.”
Discussing Ramdin, Bassarath said: “From a very early stage people identified him as a true leader…people keep saying he was the best master in the Caribbean for some years.
“The TT Cricket Board will definitely be engaging him in some way to help our young cricketers and we look forward to working with him, but he has had an outstanding international career in my estimation.”
Bassarath said his skills behind the stumps are world class. “From what I’ve seen personally and I’ve seen a lot of good goalkeepers in the Caribbean, but I’d definitely rate Denesh as the best goalkeeper I’ve seen.”
The TTCB president said Ramdin had a level of maturity beyond his years. “That’s what a number of people have noticed with him. He would have led people who were much older than him and who had played cricket for more years than him. It is because of his knowledge of the game that he got the support of those senior statesmen he would have led.”
