Barrackpore crowned school champs

A HEROIC knock of 85 runs by skipper Jason Mohammed allowed Barrackpore Secondary  Comprehensive to be crowned PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League Championship Division winners. They narrowly edged out Princes Town Senior Comprehensive by one-wicket on first innings yesterday at the PowerGen Sports Club Ground, Penal yesterday. Set and victory target of 270 by Princes Town whose players tallied 269 runs in their first innings on Thursday, Barrackpore scrambled home to reclaim the nationwide league title they shared with Tranquillity in 2003. Barrackpore dethroned Presentation College, Chaguanas in the semi-final.  And it was Mohammed who piloted his team to victory over Presentation with an unbeaten 179.

Yesterday, Barrackpore resumed their first innings at 133 for the loss of two wickets with Mohammed and wicketkeeper Anderson Beharry (28 not out). Their team needed a further 137 runs for victory and eight wickets intact. They defied the Princes Town bowlers and added a further 27 runs together before Beharry was dismissed for 41 which contained one six and five fours. Mohammed together with Rishi Bachan who made 14, posted 56 for the fourth wicket. Mohammed blasted three sixes and nine fours in his 85, before his opposite number Lyndon Luke prised him out via the LBW route. The ninth wicket fell with ten runs required and the burly allrounder Gary Nandlal brought up the winning runs with his third boundary. He remained unbeaten of 28.

Samuels bowled brilliantly and finished with six wickets for 63 runs. On Thursday,  William Perkins made an impressive 98 and shared a sixth wicket partnership worth 118 runs with skipper Lyndon Luke who made 46 as Princes Town posted a challenging 269 runs. Having won the 2004 PowerGen Intercol schools cricket title, Barrackpore Secondary will be seeking to make it a unique double should they win the PowerGen Intercol cricket series this year. Competition has been switched to May because of the great number of  schoolboys who were involved in the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board’s Midweek and NCL Division One and Two Cricket competitions.

Summarised Scores—
Princes Town Senior Comprehensive 269 all out (William Perkins 98), Lyndon Luke 46, Kevin Lamont 52 not out, Mark Gangapersad 17; Adesh “Bun Bun” Deonarine 4 for 31, Rishi Bachan 2 for 71, Roger Seenath 2 for 80) vs Barrackpore Senior Comprehensive 133 for two wickets (Shirvan Sankar 31), Kareem Mohammed 20, Anderson Beharry 41, Jason Mohammed 85, Rishi Bachan 14; Gary Nandlal 28 not out; (Jason Samuels 6 for 63).
RESULT: First Innings to Barrackpore Secondary Comprehensive.