Naparima, Hillview battle for T20 crown

Hillview, with their star-studded team that has been strengthened this year with two of the country’s leading players in Leonardo Julien (national under 15 captain) and Sachin Seecharran who switched from Trinity East. They also have West Indies under 19 opener Keagan Simmons but he is reported to be suffering from a groin injury and will probably miss the final.

Hillview won the SSCL 50-overs title and will definitely fancy their chances of doing the national secondary schools double.

Apart from Julien and Seecharran; Hillview also have West Indies Under 19 player Teshawn Alleyne, skipper Dexter Sween and national under 19 players Nathaniel McDavid whose overall abilities with both bat and ball makes them the odds-on favourite.

But Naparima, the 2015 finalists, will be a formidable force to reckon with as they will be led by West Indies under 19 player Cephas Cooper who will be seeking to create history and win their first nationwide T20 crown.

Cooper has been in terrific form and has chalked up a couple triple- figure scores in the Shell Inter- Zone competition. He will depend heavily on all-rounders Justin Gangoo, Avinash Mahabirsingh and Clevon Kalawan to boost their chances of stopping their rivals from celebrating double success.

Naparima’s team manager Percy Samlal and sports co-ordinator Richard Naguar are optimistic of their school’s chances of coming out on top although they recognise that Hillview’s combination looks awesome on paper.

Commenting on his team’s chances of winning their first Intercol T20 title, Samlal said: “Our team is not as strong as Hillview.

We have many younger players who lack the experience but will fight all the way.” Hillview’s coach, Richard Kelly, is full of confidence but is hoping his players relax and enjoy the final.

“They have played well throughout the season. And our chances of doing the double are pretty good. I don’t want to put any pressure on the players and I told them to just go out and enjoy themselves,” he said.