The Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) was established in 1962 and is an affiliate of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB). As the organization in charge of ALL cricket played at the Secondary school level in the country, the SSCL decided to divide the Secondary schools’ cricketing landscape of our country into 8 zones to enable easier management of the cricket affairs of the nation’s Secondary schools. Each zone has their own Executive body that is responsible for the administration of all competitions amongst the schools in their zone.
The NORTH ZONE of the SSCL has produced some of the most gifted and successful cricketers in our twin-island Republic, many of whom have gone on to represent both Trinidad and Tobago and the West Indies with distinction in various formats of the game. Our famous trio of Colleges – St. Mary’s, Fatima and QRC – can lay claim to former players such as Deryck Murray (QRC); Bernard Julien (St. Mary’s) and of course the legendary Brian Lara (Fatima). In more recent times, North Zone schools have continued to develop immense cricketing talents, from the Bravo brothers and Kieron Pollard all the way to Khary Pierre, Akeal Hosein, Amir Jangoo and Joshua Da Silva. In fact, the victorious Trinidad and Tobago National U-15 team at the 2019 WICB Regional U-15 championships contained 3 North Zone players – Joshua Davis and Kyle Ramdoo of Fatima College and Saleem Ali from St. Mary’s. Given the success of their predecessors from the zone, it is entirely likely that these young men, as well as their fellow school cricketers, have bright futures ahead of them.
At present the Executive body of the NORTH ZONE is:
Thanks to the tremendous support and commitment of title sponsors PowerGen, who have just concluded their 25th consecutive year of partnership with the league, the SSCL is able to provide Secondary schools with opportunities to play cricket across 12 competitions arranged in different age groupings. These competitions take place on both a National and Zonal level and are structured to enable mass participation in the game of cricket by our talented young students.
Premiership Division
Championship Division
Boys’ Intercol T-20
Senior Division
Seniors T-20
U-16 Division
U-14 Division
Girls’ Open Division
This is the highest level of cricket played amongst Secondary schools in the country and it’s made up of 10 teams. Each season the bottom 2 teams are demoted to the Championship division with the top 2 from that division moving up to the Premiership. From 2016 – 2019 Fatima College was the zone’s sole representative, capturing the title in 2016. They were joined by St. Mary’s College in the 2020 season. For the 2024 season, the teams in this division are:
This is the virtual Second Division of Secondary Schools’ cricket in our twin island Republic. It comprises 14 schools from across all 8 zones that the SSCL manages. To eliminate the need for extensive travel over long distances for games, this division is further subdivided into two separate groups:
The Championship Division North
The Championship Division South
At the end of every season the winners of these divisions meet in the Championship Final. Both these teams are promoted to the Premiership division for the following season and are replaced by the bottom two teams from the Premiership. The bottom team in each division is demoted to their respective Zonal Senior Division.
Each of the SSCL’s 8 zones is responsible for running their own U-19 Senior Division competition which is open to all schools in that zone. For the 2023 season, the NORTH ZONE had 5 participating schools and successfully completed the competition with St. Anthony’s College crowned Champions, their rivals East Mucurapo Secondary, Diego Martin North Secondary, Tranquility Secondary and Blanchisseuse Secondary. The 8 Zonal winners contest a National playoff every season to determine the two finalists who will be promoted to the Championship Division the following year.
Past winners of the division include:
The HNC ladies have been relentless in their pursuit of zonal titles, securing the crown in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020. The return of cricket in 2023 saw the Queens in the North capture the title once more to continue their reign over the zone. HNC’s “Girl Power” has not only taken them to Zonal titles – they finished as Runners-up in the Girls’ Intercol final in 2016, 2019, and 2023, and were semi-finalists in 2018.