Cooper blasts South-East into Shell U-19 final

He made 104 as South-East crushed Tobago by 180 runs at Shaw Park and will now meet defending champions East Zone in the final today at the National Cricket Centre Ground in Balmain, Couva from 9.30 am.

Cooper’s innings was the foundation of his team’s massive score of 318 for eight wickets in a match reduced to 48 overs. He received solid support from Justin Gangoo who made a well-played 56, while Avinash Mahabirsingh contributed 48 and Antonio Bebe made 32.

Joshua James was the pick of the home team’s bowlers grabbing three wickets for 41 runs in eight overs while Keston Rodney took two and Daveon Shongie and David James grabbed one apiece.

Facing a mammoth target, Tobago made a credible effort with Shongie making a patient 40 and David James compiling 23, but they were dismissed for just 138 in 39.4 overs to end their 2017 campaign with their best performance in reaching the last four.

Doing the job with the ball for South-East was Mahabirsingh who claimed five wickets for 36 runs in nine overs and four balls, while Rajiv Singh (two for 21) and Michael Dindial (two for 26) also proved a handful for the Tobago batsmen.

Coach of the South- East team Faoud Bassarath said he was very pleased with the performance of his team and was very confident that his players can give East Zone a big fight in the final and claim their first Shell Inter Zone silverware of the season.

Bassarath was high in praise of Cooper who is he said had the talent and drive to play for the national senior team soon and will grab the attention of the West Indies selectors should he continue to develop and live up to expectation.

He said there were other players on the team including Gangoo, Jace Assoon and Bebe in the batting line up while Tariq Abdool, Dindial and Sherron Lewis are effective with the ball and can tilt the scales in South East’s favour against the favourites.

Expected to meet the players before the first ball are Azim Bassarath, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, and Shell Trinidad Limited representative Kelli Marie Patel.