T&T’s Rampat tastes victory with Suriname

T&T’s Rampat tastes victory with Suriname
Story Created: Sep 7, 2014 at 10:48 PM ECT
Express

TRINIDAD and Tobago is continuing to lead the way in assisting regional countries with their cricket development programmes. Just recently, one of the leading local coaches, Kumar Rampat, was able to taste victory with Suriname’s Under-19 cricketers who copped the ICC Americas Division II Under-19 Championships in Nassau, Bahamas.

Also involved in this tournament were the Cayman Islands, Argentina and hosts Bahamas with Suriname emerging champions and gaining promotion to Division I. According to Rampat, a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Territorial Development Officer (TDO), it was a well-deserved victory by the talented Surinamese cricketers with all-rounder Joshua Holder claiming three of the top individual prizes at stake.

“The Suriname team won five of their six matches. They were beaten by tournament favourites Argentina in the first round but came back to gain revenge in the second round,” said Rampat. He said the tournament, comprising six T20 matches, was staged over three days with Suriname coming out on top. They will now compete with Canada and Bermuda in Division I.

Rampat said he was very pleased with the performance of the Suriname team saying he was appreciative of the effort of president of the TTCB Azim Bassarath, who was instrumental in him travelling to Suriname to assist in their technical progress.

The top coach said he first met the treasurer of the Suriname Cricket Association at a course he conducted in Mexico City, Mexico, in 2004 and kept in touch with him over the years. His stints there are now paying rich dividends and Rampat believes that Suriname could be the next strong cricket playing country in South America after Guyana, a powerhouse in West Indies.

In the last match at Windsor Park, Suriname locked horns with the Bahamas hoping to improve their NRR with a big win over an inexperienced Bahamas side. After losing the toss, Suriname turned their fortunes around, plundering a mammoth 232 in 20 overs.
Holder was the star of the innings, blasting 129 from 71 balls. Bahamas were never in the hunt, consistently losing wickets, and were dismissed for their lowest total of the tournament.

The victory gave Suriname a much needed NRR boost, ultimately pushing them above Argentina and crowning them champions of the ICC Americas Pepsi U-19 Division II Championships.


Tournament awards

Batsman of the tournament:
Joshua Holder (Suriname) 219 runs

Wicket-keeper of the tournament:
Tomas Marinozzi (Argentina)