North’s bid for their first U15 title in more than two decades came up agonizingly short, as South East won the 2025 Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board U15 Inter-Zone title by 12 runs on Wednesday at the National Cricket Center in Balmain.
Chasing 214 for victory, Kaiden Pollard notched his third half-century of the tournament to take North to 97 for 2 in the 20th over.
However, his dismissal at 140 for 5 saw North lose three quick wickets for the addition of six runs.
Dylan Lee Chow hit a patient 22 not out and put North within touching distance before the last wicket fell with nine balls still unused.
Earlier, Curtis Nanan, who took the last wicket to clinch the title for South East, top-scored with 43 to go with delightful cameos from Jordan Julien (29) and Ansar Mohammed (29) as North East battled to 213 for 9.
Pollard, who took 3 for 38, said his team gave their best and showed a great fighting spirit.
“It was very well played. I congratulated the boys for a hard effort. I just want them to keep fighting for future games,” Pollard told northzonecricket.com
North Zone coach Earnil Ryan said his team did their zone proud.
“I won’t think it is a loss. This team has been working very hard. They did yeoman service to North this season and just being in the final, for us, that’s a win,” he said.
“As the manager would have told in the (post-match review), the better team didn’t win, the more fortunate team did. I think we put up our hands this season. We came and we represented. Young Pollard was exceptional in every aspect of the game, and I am happy.”
North struggled with the ball at the start of their innings, and South East capitalized with Julien and Mohammed helping their team to 80 for 1 in the 12th over after deciding to bat.
Pollard turned to spin, as he has done throughout the Inter-Zone tournament, and with Davis Guerra (1/30) and Kemuel Yard (0/35), took a tighter grip on the game.
All three spinners bowled their full complement of overs, conceding 103 runs at 3.43 per over.
However, Narod Ramkissoon (28) led a late surge as South East’s last two wickets earned an invaluable 40 runs.
“I think we struggled a bit in the first 10 overs, not only in the final but throughout the tournament. I think our opening bowlers were struggling somewhat,” said coach Ryan.
“However, after the first 10 overs, the spinners came on and I think they pulled us back nicely. To bowl the team out for 213 was an excellent performance. I was very happy not having to chase 250,” he added.
“We started off pretty rough and then we brought it back for a long time. In the end, we slacked off a little bit. I felt it could have been tighter,” Pollard lamented.
South East got to 213 for 9 in their 50 overs, a challenging score in a high-pressure final.
The chase did not start well as North lost Levi Burke (5) early before Pollard and Guerra put on 36 for the second wicket to take North to 44 for 2.
Pollard’s innings blossomed in the company of Ashton (23), who has played the sheet anchor role to perfection during the season, as the pair added 53 for the third wicket.
South East turned to off-spinner Rylee Gangoo, who started impressively, troubling both batters before striking in his second over.
The off-spinner, the younger brother of promising spinner Justyn Gangoo, had Ashton caught and bowled for 23.
Jean-Paul Barrimond (4) quickly fell to the bowling of Mickel Sookdeo, before Gangoo struck the killer blow.
He had Pollard playing too early and the North captain sent a simple catch back to Gangoo to depart for 76.
It was the North captain’s fourth straight 50+ score for the tournament and his loss gave South East supporters a sense that it was going to be their day.
North lost three wickets for six runs as the shock waves reverberated through the dressing room.
Dylan Lee Chow was not deterred and the wicketkeeper-batter stitched together a stand of 25 with Alex Nicholas (8) for the eighth wicket.
However, North lost two more wickets for five runs and were 176 for 9 when Lee Chow and Shaheem Khan started another dogged fightback.
The pair added 25 runs off 36 balls, giving North a chance with 13 runs needed off nine balls.
Khan, who had already hit a six and a four in his innings, went to slash the ball over cover, only for the ball to sky high behind point.
Point fielder Jhercel Montrose ran back and held a superb running catch, tumbling with the ball in his hands, to end the match and seal the title for South East.
North, in their first U15 final in almost two decades, had fallen 12 runs short.
After the game, the post-mortem centered around North’s batting.
“Pollard most definitely would have put up his hand again. He made an excellent 76, but I was a little disappointed where our engine room was concerned. That would have been the likes of Guerra, Ashton, and JP (Barrimond),” coach Ryan said after the match.
“They have been toting us right through the tournament and today, I think, we just needed to just take it a little more, support the captain a little better outside there, and not put too much pressure on him. We were actually doing that to a point and then we just lost it. Generally, that is one of the areas we have to work on, consistency in batting,” he added.
“The batting, it was very consistent across the batting order. I feel like most of the boys put in a good effort and there was a consistency they need to keep for the rest of their future innings,” Pollard said.
Pollard was named Best Batter for his 76 and earned the new award for Player of the Tournament for his 340 runs and nine wickets in the tournament.
The North skipper also had the highest score in the tournament (135) and the best batting average (85.00).
Ryan said he was honored to coach the team and wanted to see his players go on to bigger and better things.
“This team has been playing together since 2023. They know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They are a good bunch of boys. They gelled nicely. They were nice to coach. It was a great honor to coach these young men. Hopefully, they go on to represent the national team, and I will be there watching on,” he said.
Pollard, keenly aware of the historic moment his team had played a part in, expressed his pride in their showing.
“It’s over 15 years that North Zone has not reached the finals and I am so very proud to be the captain of this team.”
Summarized scores: South East 213 for 9 in 50.0 overs (Curtis Nanan 43, Jordan Julien 29, Ansar Mohammed 29, Narod Ramkissoon 28; Kaiden Pollard 3/38, Ayden Antoine 2/14, Davis Guerra 1/30, Alex Nicholas 1/32) vs North 201 all out in 48.3 overs (Kaiden Pollard 76, Elijah Ashton 23, Dylan Lee Chow 22*; Rylee Gangoo 3/23, Zion Phillip 3/29). South East won by 12 runs
North Team: Levi Burke, Davis Guerra, Kaiden Pollard, Elijah Ashton, Jean-Paul Barrimond, Larell Guiseppi, Alex Nicholas, Ayden Antoine, Dylan Lee Chow, Kemuel Yard, Shaheem Khan.
Honor Roll
Best Bowler – Rylee Gangoo (3/23)
Best Batsman – Kaiden Pollard (76)
Best Fieldsman: Levi Burke
Player of the Match: Rylee Gangoo (3/23)
Player of the Tournament: Kaiden Pollard (340 runs, Highest Score of 135, 9 wickets)
