KFC $$ for Under-13 cricket

PRESTIGE Holdings Limited will sponsor the Under-13 Youth Cricket Inter-Zone Tournament for the eighth consecutive year. The parent company of KFC fast food restaurants yesterday handed over a cheque for $29,800 to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). The Presentation was made at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva and the sponsorship would cover expenses for the tournament this year. Competition is among teams from five zones — North East (Zingers); North (Finger Lickin Good); Central (Crunchers); South East (Snack Pack); and South — last year’s champions (known as Colonel Sanders).

Attending the function yesterday was Sue-ann Solomon, Marketing Assistant of KFC who handed over the cheque to  Fazida Mohammed, secretary of the Inter-Zone Youth Committee. A match between Central Zone and North Zone followed the brief ceremony. In a short speech, Solomon said that the recent world record batting performance by Brian Lara against the English Team in the Fourth Test in Antigua “should be an inspiration to all young cricketers in the Caribbean.” “It is certainly exciting times at the moment in the history of West Indies cricket as it was only two weeks ago that we were all fortunate to have been able to witness one of the great feats in international sports and it was the monumental innings of 400 not out by Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies star batsman, Brian Lara,” she said. 

She pointed out that “those of you who would be taking part in this year’s competition are the cricket stars of the future, the ones who will be required to carry the mantle of West Indies cricket  over the next 10 to 20 years, a great responsibility if ever there was one,” she added. Solomon told the youngsters that they should take the lessons that can be learnt from that knock by Lara and “apply them to your own game.” And those lessons she pointed out were “determination and grit, and the ability to conquer  adversity as evidenced by the fact that Lara batted with a fractured finger and this was against the background of previously losing three Test matches against their opponents.”

“You will find that if you do that you will emerge not only as better cricketers but also as better persons,” she said. Chief Executive Officer of the Cricket Board, Alloy Lequay, apologised for the absence of president Ellis Lewis, who had to return to Tobago after the weekend. Lewis was in Trinidad for the second and third One-Day International matches bewteen the West Indies and England at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. Lequay said Lewis nevertheless sent his best wishes for a successful Under-13 tournament. He said the Under-13 competition  was the nursery ground for the Under-15, U-17, U-19 and 21s. “As players if you want to reach far you must be committed and dedicated and develop a strong passion for the game striving for excellence at every stage of your development,” Lequay said.