Under-17 cricketers play for national spots

The players will be aiming to earn selection for the forthcoming 2017 West Indies Cricket Board tournament, which is expected to be staged in Trinidad and Tobago.

The players will get an opportunity to address the national selectors when a North versus South Under- 17 clash is held.

As expected, the North squad is dominated by players from the East Zone, and which also includes the talented Joshua James from Tobago and promising North Zone youngsters.

North Zone manager Kazim Mohammed said he was not surprised by the makeup of the team, and he expressed confidence that, following the North/South clash, the national line-up for the regional tournament will reflect a similar combination.

“Although South Zone won the Shell Inter Zone Under-17 Championship this year, we are confident to turn the tables and position North and East players for picks on the national team.

“We see this as a chance to get some satisfaction in beating South,” said Mohammed, a top East Zone official.

Heading the North selection are two Leonardos - Julien and Francis, and two Sameers - Ali and Mohammed, Ronaldo Forester, along with all-rounder Rivaldo Ramlogan. North/ East Zone is represented on the team by Darrien Dodds.

The South line-up will depend heavily on the players who took them to victory in the Shell Inter Zone Under-17 tournament.

Among those expected to stake strong claims for national selection are Tariq Mohammed, Jaydon Seales, Antonio Gomez, Brandon Singh, Kyle Roopchan and Matthew Patrick.

Manager of the South squad is Krishna Sookdeo while assistant TT Red Force coach David Williams, a former West Indies and TT wicket- keeper, has been named coach.

Teams - NORTH: Leonardo Julien, Leonardo Francis, Sameer Ali, Sameer Mohammed, Joshua James, Michael Ambard, Giovani Letren, Darrien Doods, Sachin Soodeen, Adam Reyes, Andre Seetaram, Leon Bassano, Rivaldo Ramlochan, Ronaldo Forester; Kazim Mohammed (manager), Arnold Ruiz (coach).

SOUTH: Jayden Seales, Matthew Patrick, Tariq Mohammed, Mbeki Joseph, Antonio Gomez, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Jevon George, Brandon Singh, Nicholas Ali, Faizal Mangera, Vanir Maharaj, Kyle Roopchan, Denzil Antoine; Krishna Sookdeo (manager), David Williams (coach).