Technology to keep T&T cricket ahead

The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (T&TCB) will be placing greater emphasis on the latest technology available for training and equipping the future generation of cricketers on the brink of national selection to take their place on the international stage. This revolution in the way the progress of the youngsters is monitored in order to help them develop their skill and correct their faults in the formative stage of their careers will come about as the T&TCB seeks to strengthen several areas of its highly successful youth development programme. President of the T&TCB, Azim Bassarath spoke of the new direction at the launch of the BG T&T National Zonal Youth Cricket Tournament staged on Tuesday in the multinational gas company’s Hospitality Suite of the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.

 

“Already some of our coaches have been trained using video footage of players to identify and possibly correct technical faults and weaknesses and as the development programme unfolds for our youth, so too will parallel upskilling work will be done with our coaches,” said Bassarath. Also in attendance at the launch was Krysta de Lima, Chief of Staff BG Trinidad and Tobago; Franklyn Dolly of Dolly and Associates; Colin Borde, former national senior team manager who now manages the West Indies “A” team and Wendell Constantine, BG TT’s Communications Manager. Bassarath praised the T&TCB’s association with BG TT which spans 17 years and designed to specifically target the U-13, U-15, U-17 and Under-19 age groups. It has reaped great rewards over the years and the local cricket chief  outlined some of the successes the partnership has enjoyed to date.

 

“All of our present national cricketers have at some time participated in these age group tournaments. Many have gone on to excel not only in sport but in professions as diverse as education, medicine, engineering, information technology and business management,” Bassarath said. He said some of the graduates, including Kieron Pollard, Daren Bravo and Sunil Narine now command some of the highest salaries in international cricket and the T&T players continue to attract the attention and interest of the biggest clubs in the world. “They are not just wonderful cricketers but perfect ambassadors of T&T and we are proud of them both on and off the field,” said Bassarath. He also pointed out that late last year eight members of the T&T team were selected by the West Indies for a tour of India and last week ten local cricketers were drafted in a regional training camp to prepare for the upcoming home series against Australia.