North Zone opened the 2025 Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) U15 Interzone Youth Tournament with a three-wicket victory over East Zone on Wednesday at Knowles Street Recreation Ground, Curepe.
Opening bowler Larell Guiseppi and all-rounder Davis Guerra shared four wickets as North limited East to 74 for 8 in a rain-affected match.
North was cruising to victory at 59 for 2 in the 10th over before a middle-order collapse left them scrambling over the line with three wickets standing.
“The game wasn’t a bad game per se in terms of where the intensity and the heart rate are concerned. The game was rather intriguing,” North coach Earnil Ryan told northzonecricket.com.
“However, it was a bit disappointing in the way we batted. I think we need to work more on the batting. I don’t think the weather was a big factor, the boys did not apply themselves,” the former Trinidad and Tobago player said.
With the rain stalking the Curepe venue, North opening bowlers made early inroads with Guiseppi dismissing Rayhan Gooding (1) and Justin Pamphille (3) within four balls.
Brandon Ramdoo had Nicholai Castillo (5) caught to reduce East to 24 for 3.
With the dangerous Samir Boodoo coming to the crease, Davis was introduced and his spinning talents soon put East in further trouble.
He knocked back Boodoo’s (2) stumps before rattling the timber of Declan Manswell (3) in a spell where he conceded only one run per over.
Panic was setting into the East batting and Sanjiv Bachu (12) was run out next ball with his team tottering at 46 for 6.
North kept things relatively tight for the remaining seven overs, with East adding 29 runs off the next 52 balls to close on 74 for 8.
Alex Nicholas dismissed Zyon Daniel for 11, while Kaiden Pollard had Isaiah Johnson caught for 5.
Guerra was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 6 off his six overs while Guiseppi had 2 for 11 from five overs.
“(Guiseppi) has been showing good potential even before the actual tournament. In the practice games, he had a couple of wickets. He was very consistent. He has marred mentally, in my opinion,” coach Ryan said.
“He is going from strength to strength but he just needs to be more focused for a longer period. Other than that, I think he is an excellent prospect for us,” he added.
The North Zone U-15 coach also praised the bowling of Guerra, who has shown all-around promise during the past season.
“Guerra wasn’t a bowler at first. He actually made him into a bowler because of a lack of resources. He made him a spin bowler and he has never turned back since,” Ryan said.
“It is concerning because his batting has fallen away but he is bowling well,” he added.
Ryan was not as pleased with his bowlers producing 18 wides among 24 extras in the game, but he did note this represented an improvement.
“Coming into the tournament, we had 27 wides in a training game. Eighteen wides is a lot, however, they are improving in that area,” he said.
North went in search of 75 for victory with a solid stand of 32 for the first wicket between Levi Burke and Abdiel Boland.
Burke struck two boundaries and the only six of the matches in getting 19 off only 16 balls before a mix-up led to his run out.
“(Burke) is definitely a gem in the rough, a very, very promising young man in terms of his approach to batting is concerned. He plays the ball the way he sees it. He doesn’t play conditions, he doesn’t play the situation, he plays it how he sees it,” said Ryan.
“His strokeplay is very, very clinical. He is one to look forward to in the future. However, most young men around that age tend to get carried away. He just needs to control his mentals,” he added.
Boland was the ideal foil for the flamboyant Burke, collecting 15 off his 25 deliveries faced.
However, left-arm medium-pacer Abhishek Maharaj brought East Zone back into the game, worrying the North batsmen with his nagging accuracy and movement which challenged both edges.
In his four overs, he conceded only 11 runs, produced 17 dot-balls and snared three wickets.
Combined with the disciplined bowling of Bachu (1/7) and Boodoo (1/5), Maharaj triggered a collapse that saw North lose four wickets for seven runs and collapse to 66 for 7.
“Even in big international games it happens. It is a human phenomenon,” Ryan said of the collapse.
“There was no reason to panic, we had overs and many wickets but it happens. It is a good experience for young players like that to learn to not panic in those situations,” he added.
However, Dylan Lee Chow (4*) and Ayden Antoine (0*) staved off the worst fears of the dressing room to knock off the remaining runs and secure a morale-boosting win.
East defeated North by 36 runs in the opening round in 2024.
North made it to the semifinals of the 2024 tournament and Ryan believes that his team can go all the way in the 2025 edition.
“This bunch of boys potentially is a very good crop. I had this crop from the Under-13 level. They have the potential to win the tournament as long as things happen at the same time,” he said.
“We have the potential to win the tournament easily. It is about who wants it more and who can keep their nerve the longest.”
North is due to play North-East at the Brian Lara Recreation Ground, Santa Cruz in the second round on 5 February from 9:30 am. The match was originally carded for the Brooklyn Recreation Ground in Sangre Grande, but was deemed unfit for play.
South Zone defeated Central Zone by 39 runs in the 2024 final.
Summarized scores: East Zone U-15 74 for 8 in 27.0 overs (Sanjiv Bachu 12, Zyon Daniel 11; Davis Gerra 2/6, Larell Guiseppi 2/11, Alex Nicholas 1/12) vs. North Zone U-15 73 for 7 in 16 overs (Levi Burke 19, Abdiel Bolan 15; Abhishek Maharaj 3/11, Samir Boodoo 1/5, Sanjiv Bachu 1/7). North Zone U-15 won by 3 wickets
Groups
Group A: East, North-East, Tobago, North
Group B: South (champions), Central, South-East, South-West
Round 2 Fixtures – 5 February
Tobago vs East – Shaw Park
North-East vs North – Brian Lara Recreation Ground, Santa Cruz
South-West vs Central – National Mon Desir Recreation Ground
South-East vs South – Sancho Recreation Grounds
*All matches begin at 9:30 am
