All-rounders Maleek Lewis and Nathan Sancho finished on the losing side despite solid all-round performances as North Zone fell to an 83-run defeat to East Zone in their opening match of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board U17 Inter-Zone tournament on Wednesday 12 March, at Honeymoon Park, Tunapuna.
Chasing 211 for victory, Lewis hit an even 50, while Sancho got 30 not out as North Zone fell for 127 in 26 overs.
Earlier, Kaiden Pollard, North Zone U15 captain, took three wickets while Lewis and Sancho shared four scalps as East produced a winning 210 for 9 in their 50 overs.
North Zone coach Dwayne Davis, also in charge of the team in 2024, said his team was on the back foot after an inconsistent performance on the field and later tricky batting conditions at Tunapuna.
“In the bowling department, we started a bit shaky. Probably nerves from the guys. They came back very well though and pulled it back. We had some poor fielding at that juncture that allowed them to get quick runs. The bowlers then pulled it back. It was up-and-down, it could have been more consistent,” he said.
“We wanted to win the toss and batted first but it was not a fair wicket. But Maleek did bat well at the wicket. The other batsmen have to look at themselves and see where they went wrong,” Davis added.
East skipper Tyler Ramroop called right at the toss and decided to bat on a rock-hard pitch at Honeymoon Park that started to crack up as the game wore on.
Despite the deteriorating conditions, East prospered with two fifty-plus partnerships sending their team total past the 200-run mark.
The opening stand between wicketkeeper Christian Lal (30) and Brian Harricharan realized 52 runs in 36 balls before the former was bowled by seamer Tristan Craig (1/37).
However, North fired back, taking the next five wickets for 58 runs with Pollard leading the way with two wickets.
Sancho also took two scalps while skipper Lewis had one to see his side reduce East Zone to 110 for 6, with the home team losing their last three wickets for seven runs.
However, North Zone could not break the seventh-wicket partnership between Alejandro Kassiram and Ishant Roopnarine, before it realized 56 runs with the former falling for 37.
Pollard dismissed Roopnarine for 37, but Quadeer Juman hung tough for 26 not out off 48 balls to nurse East Zone to 210 for 9.
Pollard, the MVP of the recently concluded TTCB U15 Inter-Zone championship, ended with 3 for 36.
Skipper Lewis had 2 for 31 and seamer Sancho took 2 for 37 in his six overs.
Davis commented on the bowling of Pollard, who was making his U17 debut, Lewis, and Sancho, who shared seven wickets among them.
“Pollard came in and he was good from the onset. His figures would have been better if the fielding was a bit better. There was a lot of misfielding off his bowling. As the captain, Maleek was solid but I think in the other games he will bowl better,” he said.
“Sancho opened the bowling and he was under a little bit of fire from Christian Lal in the early stages. He was a bit loose, but he came back very well in his second spell and took wickets, and was tight in his second spell,” Davis added.
In search of 211 for victory, North Zone struggled early against seamer Tyler Ramroop, with skipper Lewis doing his level best to hold his team’s inning together.
Ramroop removed both openers with nine runs on the board, before knocking over Rufano Stewart’s stumps (7) to reduce North to 26 for 3.
Pollard and Lewis staged the best partnership of the North inning with 41 in 34 balls before Ravi Seunarine bowled Pollard for 15.
The introduction of Brian Harricharan was the harbinger for the decline of the North Zone innings with the East bowler taking the next three wickets with only 17 runs scored.
He bowled Mickaeel Ali for 2 before trapping Josiah Nicholls LBW for a first-ball duck.
Harricharan then had Lewis caught just after he reached an even 50 to leave North Zone reeling at 105 for 7.
Juman took two wickets in five balls before Harricharan returned to bowl Austin Lukur for a duck to clinch victory for East Zone.
North Zone was bowled out for 127 off 26 overs with Sancho not out on 30 off 31 balls.
Harricharan finished with 4 for 29, with Ramroop (3/21) and Juman (2/18) also making telling contributions with the ball.
Davis said his team was undone by pitch conditions at Honeymoon Park, but, at the same time, also wanted to see more from his top order.
“I was hoping the openers would have stayed a bit longer, see off the new ball and bat a bit longer into the innings to give a better platform for the middle order to bat with. It was unfortunate the way they got out,” he said.
“The wicket though left a lot to be desired. We need better preparation of wickets for these youngsters. The ball was staying low and the wicket was totally cracked up after an hour. It was a very poor wicket and they need to do better with that. I think it affected the confidence of the batsmen,” Davis added.
Davis, an assistant coach to Miguel Paty at Fatima College, also coaches football with QPCC in Tier 1 of the Trinidad and Tobago Premier Football League, and with Trinity College East in the Secondary School’s Football League (SSFL).
North Zone returns to action next Wednesday against Tobago Zone at Brian Lara Recreation Ground in Santa Cruz.
Summarized scores: East 210 for 9 in 50 overs (Ishant Roopnarine 37, Alejandro Kassiram 37, Christian Lal 30; Kaiden Pollard 3/36, Maleek Lewis 2/31, Nathan Sancho 2/37) vs North Zone 127 all out off 26 overs (Maleek Lewis 50, Nathan Sancho 30*, Kaiden Pollard 15; Brian Harricharan 4/29, Tyler Ramroop 3/21, Quadeer Juman 2/18). East Zone won by 83 runs
