Top guns face big test in Fruta Twenty/20 cricket

TITLE-HOLDERS Clico Preysal will not be under-estimating their little-known opponents Flavorite Las Lomas today when they open their defence of the Fruta Twenty/20 cricket championship. But from all indications they would be hardpressed to steamroll their way to the $20,000 first prize as easily as they did during the previous two tournaments which again will be contested under lights at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Balmain, Couva. Both Clico Preysal and Flavorite Las Lomas are in Group One with Queen’s Park and W Connection Wanderers, recently crowned Sunday League limited overs champions. It is this “group of death” that is some worry to Tyabali Khan, secretary of Clico Preysal who admitted yesterday that the hat-trick of Fruta victories, although not an easy task is possible and will be the objective of the star-studded team.

“We have several seasoned players who are exceptional in the limited overs game and we hope to introduce several youngsters to give some balance to the team,” said Khan, a newcomer to the administration. He pointed to hard-hitting Andy Jackson, batsman Miguel Nedd, the Bryce brothers (Alvarado and Anderson) and left-arm spinner Rakesh Maraj, a Basta Hall Village find who is making a strong claim for selection. But Flavorite Las Lomas, impressive campaigners in the National League (Division Two)  though not exactly bubbling with confidence are quietly optimistic of a positive result. Club Public Relations Officer and opening batsman Anil Ramsingh said yesterday the team is extremely competitive and it was based on their potential in the limited overs game that they were picked to compete with their more illustrious opponents in the Fruta tournament. “We have a very good track record against the big teams in the 50-overs Division Two tournament and the national Carib Beer 30-overs competitions,” said Ramsingh yesterday. The unsponsored club is currently fourth in Division Two and are looking to learn as much from their campaign in the Fruta Twenty/20 competition. “We have been around for 50 years and have been fighting our way to the top improving all the time,” said Ramsingh.

Among their promising players are former national youth cricketer Hospedales Singh, Gavri Ramlogan, both allrounders; and Vaden Singh, a Queen’s Royal Collage offspinner/left-handed batsman who at 17 years old has been called for national youth trials. In the other match-up of the night, FCB Clarke Road come up against the University of the West Indies who boast among their ranks several outstanding players with national and regional experience. But Clarke Road’s Baldath Mahabir has promised entertaining cricket and is not fazed by the prospect that the UWI boys are harbouring hopes of taking the tournament by storm. “We are going to give it our best shot. It’s a different kind of cricket and much will depend on the condition of the pitch but we are promising a good show,” said Mahabir.

The Clarke Road team will again depend heavily on their top players Tishan Maharaj, Gregory Mahabir, Kenton Thompson, Gibran Mohammed and spin bowlers Mahadeo Bodoe, Mukesh Persad and David Sultan. The UWI side, drafted into the Fruta contest to advance the combination of sport and academics, on paper has one of the more formidable line-ups in the competition. This is not lost on Keshava Ramphal, a Preysal allrounder who believes the team can go all the way to the final. “We have at least six former national youth players who play for the top clubs in Trinidad. And  we have been practising under Narendra Maharaj at St Augustine,” said Ramphal. The team will be captained by Sanjeev Maharaj a former national Under-19 player who campaigned with Queen’s Park last season and will be boosted by promising batsman Richard Kelly who will officially join UWI in September. “We have top quality players with regional experience in the Red Stripe competition. We are definitely a strong unit,” said Ramphal.
First match gets going at 6 pm.