Under-19s signal great future

THE TRINIDAD and Tobago public must not believe that their Under-19 cricketers, who completed a unique cricket double triumph in Guyana recently, have broken a drought stretching back to 1987. “It is true that this is the  First Under-19 tournament that we have won, but people must remember and not under-value or devalue the performances of the Under-15s who  won the regional tournaments in 2000, 2001, and 2002. “This is in addition to the Shell-Sandals Limited Overs senior tournament in Guyana in 1996 when Rajendra Dhanraj took a hat-trick to win,” said Alloy Lequay, CEO and President of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). He added that the year before TT also won the Shell-Sandals tournament here tying with Guyana in a rain-affected series and declared winners by virtue of a better run-ratio. “So it is not correct to say that we now broke the drought since 1987. Some people seem conveniently to forget recent history,” Lequay said.

The veteran sports administrator  said what the TTCB  have been putting in place for several years are now being bearing fruit. “It is a sign of greater things to come,” Lequay said. He explained that the Under-19 cricketers performed with great distinction to capture the two one-day and league competitions. “It demonstrates the Development Programme of the TTCB is definitely on a positive growth path with indications of a brighter future in the years ahead,” the evergreen Lequay said. “The Under-19s were a talented group and many of them were also members of the successful Under-15 teams of 2000, 2001 and 2002,” Lequay said. “Some were also members of the Under -15 regional team which won the Costcutter World Championships in 2000, so that all in all, their talent was developing at a resasonably satisfactory pace,” Lequay said. “We hope to see the Senior Team in the future reflecting the same level of success because of all the development plans we have in place,” the TTCB president said.

Lequay said that the board would continue to pursue  similar training programmes for other teams taking part in regional tournaments stressing physical, technical and mental preparedness. This was prominently featured through the effort of Dr Marlene Ottley, a renowned sports psychologist, (a Trinidadian resident in the USA) who made a significant contribution in the Under-19 team preparation at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Development Centre, Balmain, Couva. Lequay was pleased to note that Sir Vivian Richards, former West Indian captain and star batsman, had done an analysis of some of the youngsters on the TT Under-19 team. Roland Sampath, manager of the Under-19 team, was at the National Cricket Centre yesterday showing off the two trophies won. He also commended coach Tony Gray for his contribution in making sure “that victory came our way with some brilliant performances by team members.” At the end of the tournament six members of the TT team were selected for a  Regional Under-19 Camp for the 2003 Red Stripe  Series and in preparation for the Youth World Cup in 2004 in Bangladesh. They are Tishan Maraj, Ravi Rampaul,  Dinesh Ramdin, Lendl Simmons, Rishi Bachan, and Jonathan Augustus.