South East take Unit Trust cricket

PowerGen’s Jason Mohammed with a fine all round performance has taken South East to the 2004 Unit Trust Interzone Under-19 cricket title. Mohammed rescued South East against North East after they were bowled out for just 67 in their first innings. Sunil Narine grabbed four wickets for ten runs to rout the home team at the Shell ground in Rio Claro. West Indies Under-19 spinner Rishi Bachan then returned four for 23 and together with Mohammed (three for 17) bowled out North East for 54 in reply to set up the win. Batting a second time South East made 212 with Mohammed scoring 106. Geewan Ramroop bowling for North East took six for 80 to end with match figures of nine for 106.

Chasing 226 runs for victory, North East then folded for 146 to lose the match by 79 runs. Mohammed bowling his off-spinners grabbed four for 22 to end the encounter with seven wickets. The victory took South East to 40 points and the title for the first time in 22 years. Chairman of the South East Zone, Azim Bassarath said they were very happy with the honours. “It shows that the hard work is now paying off. I must say thanks to the Coaching Technical committee for the work they are doing. I must single out Terry Lee for special praise,” Bassarath said. “He has done a lot of work with these guys and he has brought home glory for us. As a matter of fact, he was on the South East Under-19 cricket team that won the title 22 years ago.”

Bassarath who has been credited with the rise of cricket in South East since he took over as president of the Zone in 1997, added that the inclusion of the talented trio Jason Mohammed, Kareem Mohammed and Rishi Bachan proved the difference. “These three guys were really the foundation of the team and Jason played a great final match for us. Cricket in the South East area is on the rise and it is my hope that this victory gives cricketers in the Zone the impetus to go on to better things,” he said.

UNDER-19 INTERZONE
CRICKET SCORES
At Rio Claro: South East 67 & 212 (Jason Mohammed 106, Kevon Francois 28, Kareem Mohammed 21, Geewan Ramroop 3/26 & 6/80, Sunil Narine 4/10) def North East 54 & 146(Jonathan Cabralis 34, Steve Affonso 36, Rishi Bachan 4/23 & 2/38, Jason Mohammed 3/17 & 4/22) - by 79 runs.
At Pres, Chaguanas: South 97 & 101/6 (Kerwin Mohammed 23, Anderson Bryce 3/15, Magnum Nanan 3/18) drew with Central 150/8 dec (Anderson Bryce 35).
At Shaw Park: North 244/5 dec (Petrock Nicholas 84, Justin Gullien 76, Darron Cruikshank 40 not out) drew with Tobago 108/8 (Leron Lezama 37, Shiva Rampersad 4/26).
Final standings: South East 42, Central 40, North 28, Tobago 18, South 16 and North East 14.