SPORTS
Jonathan Ramnansingh
Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) President Azim Bassarath has said youth development remains an integral part of the board’s plans for the 2023 season.
As the previous season ends with the third two-week edition of the Dream XI T10 Blast from Monday, Bassarath confirmed that TT’s U23 players will also get a chance to take to the field before the end of the year in a four-team tournament from December 28.
This competition ends at the beginning of January and the board aims to provide as the U19s were unable to compete at this stage in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic.
The U19 tournament also sets the pace for a packed schedule of youth matches in 2023.
At Monday’s Dream XI T10 Blast player draft at the National Cricket Center in Couva, Bassarath said youth development and competition remained a top priority. He wants youth cricket to be played regularly in a bid to improve TT’s chances of capturing the Cricket West Indies (CWI) youth titles.
“In 2023, we start with the same youth tournaments, starting with interzones. From there, we will select four teams to play in an U16 and U19 tournament, and then select teams for the North/South Classics.
“We are providing, for the youngsters, a lot of cricket to play in preparation for the regional tournaments.
“We didn’t do very well in the regional tournaments in 2022 and because of the changes, all the teams had to go through the same thing, but because there were changes in the middle of the tournament, we thought it affected our plans in the country. for those tours.”
Bassarath confirmed that the CWI U19 tournament will be played in July 2023 and the U15 competition will be brought forward to the Easter break.
The National League starts in February.
“We have to make sure we put everything in place for our youth cricket for 2023. The more cricket you play, the better you get.”
At the final edition of the Dream XI T10 Blast, which begins at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on Monday, Bassarath said, “I am very sure that when the National League starts, all these players (competing in the Dream XI) will be well prepared for the restart.”
