It was an anti-climactic end to an exciting North Zone T20 competition at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex on Monday evening. The final between Savannah Boys and Santa Cruz was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to inclement weather. Both teams were declared joint winners of the inaugural tournament.
However, the chairman of the North Zone Cricket Council, Winston Sobers, said the wet end did not dampen the spirits of organisers who were satisfied with the tournament. He said, “The tournament exceeded my expectations. All the planning and hard work put into the staging of the tournament was well worth it. Speaking with the clubs, it was clear that the tournament achieved what the North Zone intended. Excitement, competitiveness, and a very smooth running, high-class tournament.”
A significant part of the tournament’s goal was to give an opportunity to cricketers to make a name for themselves. Sobers feels it did that. “There were many highlights of the tournament, but to have zonal players match their skills with the likes of Darren Bravo, Tion Webster, and Rayad Emrit, all national players, was surely a memorable sight.
A number of players in the tournament may have caught the eye of the national selectors. National coach David Furlonge indicated he viewed some of the games and several players will be called up to the T&T’s T20 trials,” he added.
Plans are already in the pipeline for a 2023 edition of the competition. Sobers said, “We feel there are areas to build on. At our post-mortem, we plan to discuss these areas to strengthen the tournament for 2023.”
The North Zone also paid tribute to the late Patrick Rampersad on the fourth anniversary of his death. The award, recognising his years of dedicated service to cricket, was presented to his wife, Mrs. Sandra Rampersad.
