PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL CRICKET TOURNAMENT
May 7th 2008

T&T U-21 wins USA Series

T&T Under-21 team returned home on Tuesday after successfully taking part in the Philadelphia International Tournament in the United States of America.

The local team defeated Toronto by four wickets in the final on Monday, which was played at the Philadelphia Cricket Ground.

Matches were also contested at Merioun Cricket Ground and the German Town College Ground in Philadelphia.

In the final against Toronto, the Canadians batted first and were restricted to 139 for nine from the allotted 25 overs. Former T&T Under-19 players, Dane Teelucksingh (2-15) and Visham Ramroop (2-20) were the top wickettakers.

In response, T&T reached their target in 23.3 overs, with Mark Brown hitting an unbeaten 50 not out, while there were useful contributions from Kareem Jumadeen with 22 and Clifton Halls 21.

In the semifinal against Littleton, T&T led by a fine allround performance by Kareem Jumadeen, scored a 55-run-win against their opponents.

T&T batted first and were dismissed for 177, with Jumadeen scoring an unbeaten 58 and Halls 39. In reply, Littleton were routed for 122 with Jumadeen picking up three for seven, and Ramroop two for 16.

Former T&T U-19 right-arm off-spinner was the leading bowler in the tournament for the local team with 13 wickets.

Another former T&T player, Franklyn Rouse was the leading scorer with 152 runs, while Jumadeen emerged as the best allrounder with 140 runs and six wickets.

Former T&T and West Indies left-arm spinner Raphick Jumadeen praised the T&T Cricket Board and in particular the CEO and General Secretary, Forbes Persaud for allowing the youngsters the opportunity to show off their talent and to develop other skills in the process.

“ I think it was a learning experience for the youngsters, besides the cricket, the players have experienced different conditions, different wickets, and fielding on some superb cricket fields.

The standard of cricket was not very high, but you can see improvement in certain areas with the North American teams. The guys have learnt a lot by various site visits, and by socialising with the other teams,” Jumadeen said.

Twelve teams from the United Kingdom, Pakistan, Houston, New York and Canada took part in the tourney, and were placed in two groups of six.

According to Administrative Manager of the T&T Cricket Board, Rambhai Patel, the visit was part of the national U-21 team’s overall developmental programme, and also to help Philadelphia Cricket Association to improve on their game.

CEO and General Secretary of the T&TCB, Forbes Persaud said that the visit by the U-21s to the USA is the first step in trying to plug a gap that existed.

“We are trying to plug a gap that existed. After the regional U-19 competition, the next step for the players is the senior national team. We find that gap is wide, hence we need to harness them with programmes involving the U21s. Next year, we will be focusing on the Under-23 players,” Persaud said.

Summarised Scores

Pittsburgh 88 (Visham Ramroop 2-18) v T&T 92-1 (Kareem Jumadeen 28 n.o., Franklyn Rouse 40 n.o.). T&T 185-5 (Franklyn Rouse 52 n.o., Clifton Halls 44, Shiva Rambaran 36 n.o.) v Privateers 102-6 (Ansil Bhagan 2-7, Stefon Kallie 4-19). BOCC 49 all out (Visham Ramroop 3-13, Dane Teelucksingh 3-13, Ansil Bhagan 2-15) v T&T 50-0 (Stefon Kallie 25 n.o., Marc Panchu 20 n.o.). T&T 273-3 (Franklyn Rouse 50 n.o., Shiva Rambaran 51, Adrian Ali 50, Kareem Jumadeen 25) v Merion 122 (Ansil Bhagan 3-2, Visham Ramroop 2-25, Kareem Jumadeen 2-11).

Semifinal

T&T 177 (Kareem Jumadeen 58 not out, Clifton Halls 39) v Littleton 122 (Kareem Jumadeen 3-7, Visham Ramroop 2-16).

Final

Toronto 136-9 (Dane Teelucksingh 2-15, Visham Ramroop 2-20) v T&T 137-6 (Mark Brown 50 n.o, Kareem Jumadeen 22, Clifton Halls 21).