Mahabir, Persad top Clarke Road cricketers

NATIONAL opening batsman Gregory Mahabir, a member of the triumphant Trinidad and Tobago President’s Cup champion team and off-spinner Mukesh Persad were voted joint “Senior Cricketers of the Year” of FCB Clarke Road United. The duo were named at the annual presentation function held at their Wilson Road club headquarters on Saturday night. Outstanding performances by both players enabled the Penal-based club to capture the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board National Cricket League Division One title for the 2004 season.

Left-handed Mahabir provided the stability in the batting order with solid contributions throughout the season and topped the club’s aggregate and averages with 472 runs at 59.0 per innings including two centuries and a  highest of 151 against dethroned champs Ceramic MerryBoys. In the Carib Cup competition (midweek 30-overs-a-side), Mahabir showed his class with an unbeaten match-winning 108 against Green Arrows in the preliminary round. His team FCB Clarke Road United were knocked out by eventual champions W Connection Wanderers, but this did not prevent Mahabir topping the aggregate with 272 runs at an impressive average of 90.66. Persad mesmerised the opposition with his clever variation and superb control but missed the NCL Division One aggregate bowling record by one wicket.

He finished the league season with 48 wickets with 10 for 79 against Transbrokerage Couva Sports his best match analysis. Persad also topped the bowling aggregate and average for the club in the Carib Cup competition. He picked up 10 wickets at 8.5 runs per wicket. The club also created history by winning the Fruta 20/20 Cricket Tournament at the Ato Boldon Stadium. And it was West Indies Youth player Tishan Maraj who provided the inspiration with the bat by scoring the most runs — 193 and was voted “Player of the Tournament”. Maraj also excelled as an opener with the West Indies Under-19 team which finished runners-up to Pakistan in the ICC Junior World Cup held in Bangladesh. Maraj scored two half-centuries and led South to victory in the Gerry Gomez Pizza Hut North-South Classic at the Queen’s Park Oval.

A national scholarship winner, Maraj started classes at the Medical Sciences Faculty of the University of the West Indies (St Augustine) last September, ruling him out of playing in the President’s Cup. Justice Prakash Moosai, an ex-Trinidad and Tobago left-handed batsman, delivered the feature address and congratulated the club for its historic 2004 double crown and the many outstanding players produced over the years.
Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Affairs Jarrette Narine, TTCB chief executive officer Alloy Lequay, Penal-Debe Regional Corporation boss Dr Allen Sammy and FCB’s Manager Retail Banking Edwin Chariah, who deputised for the bank’s CEO Larry Howai, also paid tribute to Clarke Road  for their achievements during the 2004 season.

Chariah noted FCB appreciate the strides made by the Clarke Road United Club members, and  pledged the bank’s continued support. Honour roll: Senior Cricketers of the Year: Gregory Mahabir and Mukesh Persad;  Junior Cricketer of the Year: Kerwyn Mohammed;  Club Member of the Year: David Sultan. Club member excelling in Football: Javed Mohammed (TT national Under-17 captain).

Special Awards: Roland Sampath (West Indies Under-19 manager); Tishan Maraj, Gibran Mohammed and Kenton Thompson (TT Senior players)
TISHAN MARAJ and RISHI BACHAN (West Indies Under 19 team-reached ICC World Junior Cup final). Gregory Mahabir (West Indies Development team and TT President’s Cup team) Somant Maraj and Kelvin Gobin (TT Under 15 team); Alan Mahabir (West Indies Cricket Board’s Academy — Most Disciplined Graduate 2004); Roy Jagroopsingh (for Outstanding contribution in the field of sport and education);  Glen Dwarika (for Club’s contribution — maiden NCL century on new turf pitch) Alan Mahabir and Sean Siloch (TTCB Cricket Academy Graduates) Sean Siloch (Education — Diploma in Mechanical Engineering — TTIT).