Debutants light up Guaracara Park

West Indies youth opener Tishan Maraj (61) and Nevisian left arm spinner (7 for 123) impressed everyone with the brilliant debut performances on the opening day of  Carib Beer Series regional tournament first round match between Trinidad and Tobago and Leeward Islands at the refurbished Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre yesterday.

Both Maraj and Browne were extremely happy with their starts and are looking ahead for a productive regional First Class season. Batting at number three Maraj shared 110-run invaluable fourth wicket partnership with Shazam Babwah (94) after the other Trinidad and Tobago frontline batsmen — Imran Jan (55), Dwayne Bravo (26), Ricardo Powell (3) and Aneil Kanhai (2), squandered a golden opportunity to  compile a mammoth first innings total against the most inexperienced Leeward Islands bowling attack ever seen in operation locally. Maraj’s heart-warming half-century was punctuated with fluent drives on both sides of the wicket and the 18-year-old displayed solid technique and excellent temperament in his first senior outing for TT. He disclosed that he was nervous at the start but gained confidence to play his shots as the innings progressed.

Maraj said yesterday: “I was nervous at the start but gradually I was able to relax and played with greater confidence. I was happy to get the half-century but was disappointed with the way I got out.” The youngster was outfoxed by Browne who did likewise to six other Trinidadians as he finished with an astonishing debut bowling performance of seven wickets on an easy-paced pitch. The 29-year-old Nevi-sian, who is coached by former West Indies Test spinner Dereck Parry, prised out the over-ambitious locals with clever variations to help his team share the honours on the opening day. He described the track as too slow for good spin bowling. ‘But I am extremely happy to get seven wickets in my first innings at this level. My main aim this season was to get into the Leeward Islands senior team and to get at least five wickets in the first match. To get two more than I had planned is a big bonus but it has made me now focus on getting 40 wickets for the season. I want to help my team to do well and for us to be successful,” Browne said.

Leewards manager Ingleton Liburd was high in praise for both debutants and declared that Maraj has the right technique and temperament to play at this level. “He played exceptionally well for his first match at this level and this will help West Indies youth team in the World Cup. He batted extremely well and has a bright future,” Liburd said. In relation to Browne, Liburd stressed: “This is his first match for Leewards at any level but he works hard at his game. He bowled well on this track and the Trinidadian batsmen did not read him well. “We are happy to see him getting so many wickets and didn’t allow the opposition to get a very big total. “It was a great performance from Browne and I am hoping that his performance will also inspire the other players in the team to lift their game and produce outstanding performances too.”