LOCAL CRICKET ROUND-UP
November 14th 2008

Central Zone executive disbanded
...three-man interim committee appointed

The executive of the Central Zonal Council of the T&T Cricket Board has been disbanded and and a three-man interim committee was appointed by the local board to run the affairs of the zone for the remainder of the term ending September 2009.

This was revealed by CEO and General Secretary of the T&CB, Forbes Persaud, following the board’s monthly executive meeting held last Thursday at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva.

Persaud said that numerous attempts were made by the board to facilitate an amicable resolution to the problem affecting the zone but it proved unsuccessful.

He said that officers and representatives of the zonal council agreed that an arbitrator be appointed to deal with the issue with the arbitrator’s decision to be accepted by all.

Persaud said Dr Claude Denbow was appointed arbitrator.

“The executive of the T&TCB at its monthly meeting last Thursday accepted the decisions of Dr Denbow, which stated (a)—An independent committee should be appointed to run the affairs of the zone for the remainder of the term; (b) Members of the present executive should take no further part in the running the affairs of the zone; (c) No persons who was a member of the zone in any period during the past five years, should be a member of the interim committee to run the affairs of the zone. Against this background Samuel Saunders (chairman), Lennox Sankersingh (vice-chairman) and Rambhai Patel (secretary/treasurer) were appointed to form this committee,” Persaud stated.

Patel who is the Administrative Manager of the T&TCB told the Trinidad Guardian that the players and clubs are mostly affected and are the ones that are helpless at the moment.

“After serious deliberation and taking everything into consideration—the love and the over 10 years I served as secretary—I just could not turn my back on the zone. I have accepted and will do my utmost in the best interest of the zone. My main concern at the moment is to seek the best interest of the zone for its clubs, players and other stakeholders,” Patel said.

Patel was voted ‘Administrator of the Year’ in 1993 by the T&TCB and in 2002 he was awarded the Humming Bird Silver Medal by the government of the T&T in recognition for his outstanding contribution to cricket and by extension sport.

Former chairman of the zone, Lalman Kowlessar has endorsed the move by the T&TCB to appoint the three-man committee to oversee the affairs of the Central Zonal Council.

“It was a neccessary step taken by the board to appoint the three-man committee. Within the last four years, Central Zone has witnessed a dramatic decline in the the leadership of the council,” Kowlessar said.

The zone which was headed this season by UNC A County Councillor Narsingh Rambaran, has been riddled with controversy with allegations of misappropiation of funds, among other accusations.

When contacted yesterday, Rambaran refused to comment on the matter.

Windies batting collapse hands Sri Lanka series win

COLOMBO – West Indies women suffered a massive batting collapse to lose the fifth and decisive One-Day International to Sri Lanka by seven wickets and surrender the series 3-2 at the R Premadasa Stadium Wednesday.

Having reached 107 for three in the 38th over after being sent in, West Indies lost their last seven wickets for 13 runs in the space of 35 balls, to be dismissed for 120 off 44.4 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka were steady and cruised to 121 for three off 37.1 overs to win the series, which had seen the previous four matches hotly contested.

West Indies were undermined largely by left-arm spinner Suwini de Alwis who claimed four for 25 to be the leading wicket-taker.

She got rid of the dangerous opener Deandra Dottin for 31 and also plucked out middle order batsmen Stacey-Ann King (2) and Juliana Nero (7) cheaply, to ensure there would be no revival for the Windies.

The visitors started well, however, with Dottin posting 60 for the first wicket with Stefanie Taylor who scored 26 from 53 balls.

After Dottin’s dismissal, the Windies struggled to find another partnership and limped along despite Merissa Aguilleira 28 from 68 balls.

When Aguilleira fell to the penultimate delivery of the 39th over, West Indies quickly lost their way and only Anisa Mohammed with 10 reached double figures thereafter.

Sri Lanka started their victory bid positively with openers Dedunu Silva (30) and Chamari Kumarihami (22) staging a stand of 63 to put their side on course.

Silva struck five fours from 56 balls while Kumarihami played the sheet anchor role, also facing 56 balls but hitting just one four.

Both openers fell within the space of two overs as Sri Lanka slipped to 64 for two but captain Shashikala Siriwardene stroked 32 from 60 balls in a stand of 44 with Rose Fernando (12 not out), to ensure there were no more hiccups for the hosts.

Mohammed grabbed two for 14 with her off-spin to be the best Windies bowler on show.

The team returns to the Caribbean on Friday.

Heart-breaking loss for Windies in tense finish

ABU DHABI –West Indies, in particular Jerome Taylor, lost their heads, and Pakistan clinched a four-wicket victory in a dramatic conclusion to the first One-day International on Wednesday.

Taylor conceded 17 runs – including consecutive sixes to Kamran Akmal – in the final over, as Pakistan, chasing 295 to victory from their allocation of 50 overs, reached their target with one ball to spare.

The West Indies strike bowler saw Fawad Alam formalise the result, when the left-hander swung a full toss through mid-wicket for a single to hand Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

The outcome was a major letdown for the visitors, especially their captain Chris Gayle. He had rampaged to his 17th ODI hundred – a purposeful 113 from 106 balls – which earned him the Man-of-the-Match award, and paved the way for West Indies to reach 294 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs.

West Indies then appeared to be on course for victory, when Taylor had Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik caught at mid-wicket for 66 from 50 balls in the 48th over, leaving the substantive home team requiring 33 runs from the last 17 balls.

Gayle tightened West Indies’ grip, when he conceded just six runs from the penultimate over bowling his uncomplicated off-spin before he turned to his most reliable bowler to navigate West Indies to safe harbour.

But the second and third deliveries of the final over from Taylor were two juicy length balls outside the off-stump to Akmal which the Pakistan wicketkeeper/batsman dispatched over long-off and backward point – with aplomb.

A further three came from the next delivery through no fault of Taylor’s, but ragged fielding and a couple of overthrows to level the scores before Alam put the visitors out of their misery.

The finish far belied what transpired earlier, when Gayle mauled the Pakistani bowling, and smashed 11 fours and five sixes after choosing to bat on a hard, true Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch.

He was especially harsh to ODI newcomer Abdur Rauf, whose nine overs cost 77 runs, and the West Indies captain reached his landmark, when he tickled a delivery from malik to fine leg for a single.

After West Indies found out that key Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Ahktar was sidelined by a calf muscle injury, Gayle put on 125 for the first wicket with fellow left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon, who made 33.

He then shared 73 for the second wicket with his deputy Ramnaresh Sarwan, who hit a crisp 55 from 61 balls.

World Cricketer-of-the-Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 36 from 33 balls and the embattled Xavier Marshall got 26 from 22 balls in a stand 42 for the fourth wicket.

But the rest of the batting was guilty of gifting their hands, as the visitors lost their last six wickets for 39 runs in the space of 40 balls.

Sohail Tanvir was the pick of the Pakistani bowlers with three wickets for 42 runs from 10 overs, and Umar Gul collected three for 66 from his allotment of 10 overs.

West Indies bowled tightly early on, but Pakistan still launched their chase with a stand of 64 between Khurram Manzoor, whose 69 from 89 balls was the top score, and left-hander Salman Butt with a knock of 24 before ODI newcomer Lionel Baker bowled him in the 16th over.

Baker became the 145th player to don the Maroon Cap for West Indies in ODIs, and the first player from the tiny, volcanic island of Montserrat to play international cricket.

He was the most impressive of the West Indies’ bowlers, snaring three for 47 from nine overs, and his two other scalps were Younus Khan for 56 in the 40th over, and the brazen Shahid Afridi for four in the 42nd over, as Pakistan subsided to 262 for six in the 48th over.

But Gayle chose the experience of Taylor over the youthful exhuberance of Baker for the final over, and it ended in tragedy for West Indies.

The second match of the series will be contested tomorrow, and the third and final game on Sunday.

SCOREBOARD
WEST INDIES innings
*C Gayle c Shahid Afridi b Umar Gul *113
S Chattergoon c Khurram Manzoor b Shoaib Malik *33
R Sarwan c Kamran Akmal b Shahid Afridi *55
S Chanderpaul c Salman Butt b Sohail Tanvir *36
X Marshall b Umar Gul *26
+C Baugh c Shoaib Malik b Umar Gul *5
B Nash run out *9
J Taylor b Sohail Tanvir *3
D Powell b Sohail Tanvir *0
N Miller not out *0
Extras (lb6, w6, nb2): *14     
TOTAL (9 wkts, 50 overs): *294
Fall of wickets: 1-125, 2-198, 3-213, 4-255, 5-276, 6-285, 7-294, 8-294, 9-294.
Bowling: Sohail Tanvir 10-1-42-3, Abdur Rauf 9-0-77-0, Umar Gul 10-0-66-3, Shoaib Malik 10-0-43-1, Shahid Afridi 10-0-45-1, Fawad Alam 1-0-15-0.

PAKISTAN innings
Salman Butt b Baker *24
Khurram Manzoor c Baugh b Taylor *69
Younis Khan c Chattergoon b Baker *56
Misbah-ul-Haq b Miller *7
*Shoaib Malik c Chanderpaul b Taylor *66
Shahid Afridi c Chanderpaul b Baker *4
Fawad Alam not out *26
+Kamran Akmal not out *24
Extras (lb6, w10, nb3): *19     
TOTAL (6 wkts, 49.5 overs): *295
Fall of wickets: 1-64, 2-142, 3-159, 4-206, 5-224, 6-262.
Bowling: Powell 10-0-58-0, Taylor 9.5-0-54-2, Baker 9-0-47-3, Gayle 6-0-33-0, Miller 10-0-64-1, Nash 5-0-33-0.
Result: Pakistan won by four wickets.
Man-of-the-Match: Chris Gayle.
Toss: West Indies.
Umpires: Mark Benson, Steve Davis.

East Zonal News

The 1st Annual Presentation and Awards Function of the East Zonal Council of the TTCB took place on Sunday 9th November at El Dorado Secondary School. The 136 people in attendance celebrated all the awardees from on and off the field.

The President of the TTCB, Deryck Murray gave the feature address and complemented the performances and contributions of players and officials from the Zone. He emphasized the need for improvement in the quality of facilities and players at all levels and not only at the top. Murray stressed that Test cricket would remain the true standard by which players would be judged and alluded to the quality test players performing even in other forms of the game. Test cricket has stood the test of time even with the advent of many modifications to the game in last 40years. Memories of past players from this zone such as Sir Learie Constantine, Ellis 'Puss' Achong, Jaswick Taylor, Harold Joseph, Larry Gomes and others have given a rich tradition of contribution to National cricket, Murray said and he can see trend continuing.

On hand to help present the awards were also the 1st Vice President, Azim Bassarath, General Secretary, Forbes Persaud, Treasurer, Richard Williams and Executives of other Zonal councils. The HCL Trincity League was praised for keeping cricket alive in the zone over the last 15years. Sponsors such as Toyota Trinidad Ltd, Bartholomew's Transport, Ricking Ltd, Vemco Ltd, Regal Products and others were thanked for all their support during the inaugural season.

THE EAST ZONE OF THE TTCB
2008 HONOUR ROLL AND AWARDEES

SUNDAY LEAGUE (35 overs):
Winner -- --- Dinsley Cricket Club
2nd Place -- --- UWI Cricket Club

DIVISION I LEAGUE (3-Day):
Winner -- --- Dinsley Cricket Club
2nd Place -- --- Prisons Sports Club
3rd Place -- --- Las Lomas Sports Club

DIVISION II LEAGUE (3-Day):
Winner -- --- Cane Farm Sports Club
2nd Place -- --- Burnley Sports Club
3rd Place -- --- Buggy Haynes Coaching Sch.

TWENTY20 (20 overs):
Winner -- --- Prisons Sports Club
2nd Place -- --- Riversdale Sports Club

DIVISION I RESERVE LEAGUE (2-Day):
Winner --- Brazil Progressive Sports
2nd Place --- Dinsley Cricket Club

5 SENIOR CRICKETERS OF THE YEAR:
1) Arif Ishak
2) Gavri Ramlogan
3) Ryan Boodoosingh
4) Mahendra Nauth
5) Andy Briggs

CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: -- Arif Ishak

ROOKIE CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: -- Anthony Simmons

4 YOUTH CRICKETERS OF THE YEAR:
1) Brian Christmas
2) Isaiah Rajah
3) Deon Smith
4) Marc Panchu

YOUTH CRICKETER OF THE YEAR: -- Brian Christmas

EAST ZONE HONOUREES:
1) Sonnylal Batchu (deceased)
2) HCL Trincity League “ For Long and Meritorious Service to East Zone Cricket”
3) Carol Jitman
4) Cyril Duncan

EAST ZONE HALL OF FAME:
1) Jack Noreiga (deceased) “Outstanding Contribution to Local & Regional Cricket”
2) Larry Gomes

COACHES & MANAGERS OF THE YEAR:
1) Brenda Solozano
2) Aslim Mandol
1) Cyril Duncan
2) Rajendra Ramadhin