TTCB Media Release.
Couva, Trinidad - The NGC T20 Cricket Festival which bowls off on Tuesday, April 8, 2015 with two matches at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva will set the stage for the next generation of regional stars in the shortest format of the game.
This point was emphasised by Azim Bassarath, president of the T&T Cricket Board at the official launch of the 2015 edition of the highly anticipated competition which for the first time will be staged on the NCC Ground under lights.
“From tomorrow, the chance to impress in the T20 format falls to a new group of players. Four championship clubs--- RSC Endeavour, Central Sports, Defence Force and Diamond United, as well as eight Premiership clubs--- QPCC, Jenexcon Tableland, Merryboys, Esmeralda, PowerGen, Alescon Comets, Calcutta and Preysal will do battle in separate competitions to capture lucrative prizes and awards,†he said.
The Championship Division winners will receive $50,000. and the Premiership Division champions collect $150,000. all made possible by our energised and productive partnership with the National Gas Company of T&T Ltd,†said Bassarath.
Among the officials present on Tuesday for the occasion were Manohar Ramsaran, chairman of the NGC T20 festival Committee; Patrick Rampersad, chairman of the National League of the T&TCB, NGC Head of Community Relations Wynda Chandler, and Roger Sant, Marketing and Communications Manager, NGC-CNG Company Limited.
Also gracing the proceedings were leading members of the T&T senior national team including captain Rayad Emrit, allrounder Imran Khan, star batsman Jason Mohammed and other stake-holders including Dr Allen Sammy, Paras Singh president of the Umpires and Scorers Association, T&TCB first vice-president, Lalman Kowlessar, second vice-president of the T&TCB, Sukesh Maniam,T&TCB treasurer, CEO Suruj Ragoonath, Cricket Operations Manager Dudnath Ramkessoon and Richard Ramkissoon, a member of the T20 Festival Committee.
Bassarath said T20 has added spice and value to the world of cricket as its short, ultra exciting format that allows for three hours of non-stop action in most matches. “Innovation, athleticism, the utilisation of every square foot of the field and many times beyond the boundary ropes as well. Great catches on the field and at times by spectators who all keep their eyes riveted to the game. T20 cricket is an attention grabber,†he said.
“For the past nine years, we as a board has recognised this and has been staging domestic T20 festivals for our top clubs. And for the past four years, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago has been our main partner,†Bassarath said.
He said perhaps the pinnacle of T&T’s T20 achievements came in 2012, when eight local cricketers were on the West Indies team that won the ICC T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
“This was not by chance. We had developed our players on the domestic circuit and by way of the now infamous Stanford Twenty20 tournament, later to be replaced by the WICB’s Caribbean T20,†he said.
The local cricket chief said T&T dominated the regional T20 competitions which led to the Red Force participating in four Champions League tournaments in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 staged annually in India with one edition in South Africa.
“Our T20 brand, the Red Force, became known worldwide for our quality of cricket, the exuberance of our supporters and the uniqueness of our on-field entertainment. These opportunities allowed our players to develop even further in the IPL, Big Bash, CPL and other leagues around the world, culminating in a T20 World Cup win for the West Indies,†he said.
Bassarath reminded the audience that it all started on the home front. “Every single one of these now well-known names like Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, brothers Dwayne and Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Ravi Rampaul, Lendl Simmons and Denesh Ramdin have passed through the TTCB’s domestic system, developing and honing their skills that have taken them to their current status.
He said the tournament, for the very first time, will be held at “our own†National Cricket Centre where he said the newly installed lighting system will come under intense scrutiny by players and spectators alike.
“Thanks to the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission, our ground has been provided with lighting that allows us to host this exciting T20 Festival. This is most appropriate too, as we are at the gateway to Point Lisas Industrial Estate, the home of our esteemed partners, the National Gas Co. of T&T Ltd,†said Bassarath.
He said NGC is world brand and the T&TCB was very pleased that they chose to partner with them during a number of Caribbean T20 tournaments as well as at Champions League of 2011, 2012 and 2013.
“It is clear too, that our partners understand and value development for their investment in this tournament is an investment in the development of our preferred sport of cricket and an investment in the future of our country.
“For this we thank the NGC family and take this opportunity to assure you that you valued inputs are helping to grow our sport and improve our organization. Cricket is now a world sport with the ICC having on its books membership of ten Full Members, 38 Associate Members and 57 Affiliate Members.
“T20 has the capacity to move these numbers higher, bringing additional players, fans and sponsors to the game. Just as our own National Gas Company is becoming a major world energy player, similarly little T&T Red Force is a major player in this format of the game and we must both do our utmost to maintain our positions of importance.
“So it is with great anticipation and excitement we await the commencement of the NGC T20 Festival, where new talent will emerge, where tomorrow’s stars will give us the first hints of their bountiful talent and where our spectators will later claim to have identified such a player as a potential world superstar. Just be reminded, the longest and most difficult of journeys begin with the first step,†he said.
TTCB Media Release.
