Under-17s whip Bajans in final

The TT team defeated the homesters by 41 runs to remain unbeaten in the competition playing eight matches in their march to the championship.

Trinidad and Tobago skipper Akiel Cooper won the toss and elected to bat with opener Marc Panchu getting the score off to a blistering start. Panchu spearheaded the batting effort of the national Under-17s with a magnificent innings of 55. His knock was well paced, mixing defence and attack as he battled against a testing Combermere bowling attack.

Yannic Cariah continued his rich vein of form in the tournament with an aggressive innings of 49 but missed out on a well- deserved half-century. Cariah, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago team in the CLICO West Indies Under-15 Tournament again displayed his class with another consistent display with the bat.

Javed Boodram then chipped in with 23 as the visitors closed their innings on 191 for seven from their allotted 40 overs.

Combermere in need of 192 runs for victory was then undermined by the spin attack employed by skipper Cooper.

Panchu then employed his off-spin to put the Bajan batsmen in total disarray deceiving them with his flight and variation off the pitch. He captured four for 33 as Combermere struggled to 152 for eight with Carlion Brome top scoring with 32 not out.

The Under-17 team is only the second team from Trinidad and Tobago after Presentation College, Chaguanas to win the tournament.

Coach of the Trinidad and Tobago team, Tarandath Sammy said that the team was very happy with the guys celebrating in the dressing room. “When we left Trinidad the team was confident and I was quite optimistic of our chances at the tournament. The guys are under 17 and we played in this Under-19 tournament and I knew it would have been a challenge but we stuck together.

“It was challenging at times but we played as a team, overcame these challenges and won the tournament,” said Sammy.

He said several good individual performances from Cariah, Panchu, Darren Beekah, Javed Boodram and Shervon Sankar contributed to the team’s success.

However, he stressed that despite the glamorous individual exhibitions it was still a collective team effort.

Team manager, Mishri Lutchmedial paid tribute to the coach of the team for his efforts in stressing the need for emotional and physical assets to be fully developed to ensure victory. “Combermere were champions over the last three years and this victory by Trinidad and Tobago is an indication of our progress in regional cricket,” said Lutchmedial.

Cariah was awarded the prize for most runs in the tournament while another award for most centuries is being disputed.

The team is scheduled to return to Trinidad today at 8.15 pm.

Summarised Scores:

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 191/7 (Yannic Cariah 49, Marc Panchu 55, Javed Boodram 23, Carlion Brome 2/32) vs COMBERMERE 152/9 (Carlion Brome 32 not out, Darion Vaughan 28, Shane Dowrith 36, Marc Panchu 4/33, Darren Beekah 1/19, Yannic Cariah 1/18, Javed Boodram 1/41)