Newly crowned Secondary Schools Cricket League champions Presentation College of Chaguanas and the defending T20 Intercol champions Presentation College of San Fernando will not get any action when round two of the Intercol bowls off at various venues across the country, Tuesday.
Vishnu Boys Hindu College missed out on a top-two finish in the league after keeping pace with Presentation Chaguanas for most of the season before fading away badly after losing to Fatima College and the eventual champions.
Hindu College capped off the horrible end of the league with a loss to Hillview College while Vishnu allowed Presentation of San Fernando to overtake them to seal the second sport, while they just managed to fight off Fatima to hold on to third place.
However, Vishnu Boys’ team hopes that a fresh format brings a fresh start today as they host Trinity College East at Bamboo Settlement this morning from 10 am.
Skipper Andrew Rambaran will be hoping for more support from his teammates for a better showing in the 20-over format. His 314 runs during the 50-over format were supported by Ishmael Ali (206) and Aaron Basant (188) but he will need more assistance if they should do better in the shorter format.
As far as their bowlers are concerned, Ali Aidan Lakhansingh and Rambaran will carry the burden of the team against their “lesser” opponents.
Fatima is another school that dropped off the pace during the league.
Despite Zachary Siewah’s 391 runs that placed him at the top of the runscorers list for the league, the Fatima unit failed to get among the top two as they fell against the two Presentations and suffered a surprise loss to Naparima College to place fourth. The Fatima players might be a bit rusty as their last two matches in the league were not played. Both El Dorado East Secondary and Princes Town West Secondary forfeited their matches. Fatima’s last match was the loss to Naparima on February 27.
Tuesday’s matches
At Bamboo: Vishnu Boys College vs Trinity College East, 10 am
At Fatima College: Fatima College vs Rio Claro East Secondary School, 12 pm
At Lewis Street: Naparima College vs Manzanilla Secondary School, 12pm
At Honeymoon Park, Tunapuna: Hillview College vs Couva East Secondary School, 1 pm
At Serpentine Road: St Mary’s College vs Toco Secondary School, 1 pm
At Chapman Park: St Benedict’s College vs ASJA Boys College, 10 am