Councillor Rajcoomar Bhagaloo of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) has given the assurance that cricket grounds in the district will be prepared for the 2016 season of the North East Zonal Council of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB).
Bhagaloo, local government representative for Cumuto/Tamana, was speaking at the recent prize distribution of the zone staged at the Guaico Secondary School at Turure, when allrounder Brendon de la Rosa of Dreadnought was adjudged “Cricketer of the Year.”
The councillor said that two weeks ago he chaired a meeting with officials of the North East Zone, led by its chairman Arjoon Ramlal, general secretary of the TTCB and recently appointed director of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), when fears of a late start to the season because of the condition of the grounds were allayed.
He said it has always been a challenge because December and January were traditionally the wettest months of the year in the North East Zone but that a new approach is being taken to ensure that remedial and maintenance work are completed in time for the season’s opener.
Bhagaloo said that he fully understood the impact on the performance of cricketers who did not have access to proper playing fields for both training and competition in the TTCB competitions.
He lamented that fact that the budget for the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation had been cut by $10 million, which he said would have a negative effect on the local government body’s plans and programmes in the new fiscal year.
However, Bhagaloo gave his commitment that he would do his utmost to allow the North East Zone to conduct an uninterrupted 2016 season so that the district’s young cricketers can attain their best performance.
At the presentation function, North East Zone also honoured three stalwarts of the game who epitomised the spirit of the game, and were the first poster boys who helped promote and popularise the game in the rural district.
Present to accept special awards were Matthew Joseph, of Sangre Chiquito, known as “Big David” for his hard-hitting style; Davis Parey, a talented batsman and one of the zone’s first inductees in the West Hall League; and Toolsie Deonanan, a Plum Mitan spinner who still holds the zonal record of most wickets in a season (65).
Ramlal, chairman of the North East Zone, also remarked on the challenges of the zone this past season when the fixtures had to be revised on at least three occasions because of rain, despite which all competitions were completed by June 8.
He said that North East Zone has been occupying an office on Oxford Street since 1996 but was forced to find a new office after the landlord requested the property for an alternative use.
As a result the North East Zone has relocated to their original base at North Eastern College, where the zonal meetings and coaching programmes (on Sunday mornings) will be conducted.
He thanked the school and the Ministry of Sports for accommodating the zone and revealed that North East will continue offering free registration for schoolboys to play in their competitions, which so far has attracted ten in the Senior Division and five in Division One.
Ramlal reiterated that the zone has always focused on development of their young talent and paid tribute to the administrative officers of the various clubs who have been working tirelessly to promote the game.
He said that the primary and secondary schools continue to be the feeder to the North East Zone competitions as the cricketers progress and develop to national level with opportunities to excel in the inter-zone BGTT competition.
Ramlal noted that this year four young cricketers were honoured with Most Valuable Players awards, namely Vasant Singh (U-13), Shondell Eammons (U-15), Christoph Lewis (U-17) and Dariel Ramdhanny (U-19).
For the second year in a row Cunaripo Presbyterian School provided the top male and female cricketers in Christoper Roscoe and Aliyah Boodram.