Quadrangular Tournament the future of T&T cricket

BGTT public affairs manager Gail Decle, third from left, and BGTT public affairs and community relations head Aleem Hosein, second from right, display the trophy up for grabs in the BGTT Quadrangular Tournament, at the media launch held at BGTT House, St Clair yesterday, as BGTT Elite Under-15 team captain Derone Davis, left, Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board CEO Forbes Persaud, second from left, and T&T Under-17 captain Yannic Carriah look on।

The BGTT Quadrangular Under-17 Tournament, featuring teams from Guyana, Windward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago as well as the BGTT Elite Under-15 squad, seeks to fill a familiar gap in local cricket and the tournament's organisers hope it will become a permanent regional fixture।

Murray, speaking at the media launch at BGTT House in St Clair yesterday, described the tournament as "the future of T&T cricket and, by extension, West Indies cricket"।

"There is no substitute for proper preparation," he said, indicating that cricketers must be ushered into the professional realm of cricket at an early age in order for them to prepare for the rigours of the regional and international arenas।

The Quadrangular Tournament, which bowls off tomorrow, is being used as a benchmark to measure the progress of the local players, all of whom took part in the TTCB's High Performance Centres (HPC) programme, which comes to an end in the coming weeks।

This inaugural and "historical" tournament is also special as it marks the return to the cricketing fraternity for former T&T cricketer Alec Burns, who is the media manager for the BGTT team.
Murray hopes that the return of Burns will mark the beginning of former players coming back to help the new cricketers develop and assist cricket in T&T to move forward।

BGTT, who have spent approximately $87,000 in sponsorship for the tournament, remain committed to promoting youth development and participation in sport as a means of developing well-rounded citizens।

According to the company's head of public affairs and community relations, Aleem Hosein, "Sporting activities teach discipline, team building and goal-setting that could only strengthen one's character...it reorients attitude, develops mental power and is self-motivating।"

A lot has been said about an Under-15 team taking part in the competition, but Baldath Bodoe, the T&T Under-15 coach, believes the experience will be welcome as it will help the players prepare for the regional Under-15 tournament next year।

Stephen Katwaroo, of Iere High School, who took part in the 2006 regional Under-15 tournament, will feature on the BGTT team, while Yannic Cariah, who captained the Under-15s, will be at the helm of the T&T Under-17 squad।

The Guyana and Windward Islands teams will arrive today and will have no time to rest as Guyana take on the BGTT team at Inshan Ali Park, Preysal and the Windwards clash with T&T at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva tomorrow।

The competition will take place at three venues- NCC; Gilbert Park, California; and Inshan Ali Park--and will be played on a round-robin basis, with three points for a win and one for a tie, with the team tallying the most points walking away with the BGTT Trophy.