Top Teams and Cricketers Rewarded at Sandals Cup Under 19 Awards

From all accounts it was another successful Sandals Cup Under 19, with Gros Islet again emerging with the title. The competition ended on a perfect note with an awards ceremony last Saturday at Sandals Halcyon, with a former West Indies player turned cricket commentator being the highlight of the evening.

Trinidadian Daren Ganga, having been among the broadcasters at the ICC Cricket World Cup, was the guest speaker. He delivered in a big way, not with the bat which he did on numerous occasions with the Windies, but with his immense knowledge of the game.

Besides Ganga, attendees at the awards ceremony, held in association with the St Lucia National Cricket Association (SLNCA), included Minister of Youth Development and Sports, Edmund Estephane; Managing Director of Sandals St Lucia, Winston Anderson; Sandals Regional Public Relations Manager, Sunil Ramdeen; President of the SLNCA, Julian Charles and other executive members; sports personality and former cricket commentator, Joseph “Reds” Perreira and last, but certainly not least, coaches and players from the various teams who took part in the competition.

During his brief remarks, Anderson congratulated not only the winning team, but all the players and officials who made the second annual Sandals Cup Under 19 cricket competition a success. With Sandals being the principal sponsor for West Indies Cricket, Anderson put out a challenge to the players selected to play for the Windward Islands cricket team. He told them: “I want to challenge you and say to you that with the talent that we’ve seen, that you should now be putting up some serious challenge and showing off your talent, so that you too in the very near future can be part of the West Indies Senior team.”

Estephane, after praising both the winning team and finalists, remarked, “The Ministry of Youth Development and Sports takes a keen interest in the development of young sports personalities. It is this very development, if harnessed properly, that will produce well-rounded sportsmen and women and, of course, model citizens.” He spoke of government’s desire to have cricket grounds all over the island and that a sports infrastructure programme would see to that.

Estephane added: “It is pleasing to see that the St Lucia National Cricket Association is continuing to invest in its young cricketers. The staging of this very competition is a critical step in ensuring that these young men progress to be great cricketers.”

Charles had the pleasure of introducing Ganga but, before that happened, he spoke briefly about the competition. He singled out players like Lee Solomon who had three centuries in the tournament and Simeon Gerson’s nine wicket haul. Charles also mentioned Akeem Auguste for making 92 runs on debut in the Windward Islands cricket tournament and female cricketer Qiana Joseph for dominating the West Indies Under 19 cricket competition.

Ganga, who delivered a lengthy but thought-provoking feature address, complimented Perreira, Charles and, of course, Daren Sammy for their contribution to cricket over the years. In Sammy’s case, Ganga recalled taking some flak from broadcaster and former West Indies teammate Michael Holding, for supporting the Saint Lucian who was named captain for a Test Match that was played in Manchester, England.

“We all know what transpired thereafter in terms of Daren Sammy,” said Ganga. “Just as Mr Charles being a pioneer for Saint Lucian cricket, I think Daren Sammy has taken over the baton and become the first Saint Lucian to go on to play for the West Indies and represent you guys proudly.”

With T20 cricket enjoying a great deal of popularity, Ganga cautioned the young cricketers about ignoring the other formats of the game. He mentioned that several of the top players in T20, most notably Chris Gayle, excel because they have a database of other formats of the game. He explained that as the king of T20, Gayle played close to 200 first class matches and got two triple centuries in Test Cricket which enhanced his overall performance in all formats of the game.

Strengthening your database across all formats of the game was his first advice to cricketers. He told them, “For many of you who value T20 cricket in your young careers as being the pinnacle, and then you put some consideration into 50-over cricket and four-day cricket, I say that needs to change.”

Ganga again emphasized that for success as a cricketer and having a career in cricket, it is important to play all formats of the game. Training and coaching mythologies was the next subject he dealt with, saying: “It is a very different era than what we have been brought up in and I don’t think we have yet established a West Indies cricket way in coaching.”

He cautioned players about trying to emulate somebody; that instead they should try to be the best talent they can. The importance of a player’s routine was his next item. He mentioned that it is scientifically proven that when you are in a relaxed state you achieve maximum performance.

Having said that, Ganga spilled the beans on a teammate who performed a rather unusual routine before each game: “I am not going to call out any names, but I remember in Trinidad and Tobago when we were playing, there was this one particular player; do you know what his routine was before he played? He was so hellbent that it was crucial for him to score runs, he had to have time to go visit his girlfriend before he played a game. And let me add—it might sound real funny—to have a hickey on his neck before he played. Now you tell me how that impacts on a guy performing.”

Turning to visualization, Ganga said: “You have got to feed your mind with positivity, and research has shown in sports that visualization is essential in achieving success.” Ganga praised Sandals for being “responsible corporate citizens”, being principal sponsor of West Indies Cricket and for the overall development of, and commitment to, the sport.

In closing, the guest speaker, who is a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, spoke about his interaction with cricket administrators. “Some administrators are stagnated in the manner in which they do things. There are some who are not creative and disconnected with the evolution of the game, while there are many who are forward-thinking and very efficient in how they do stuff. I find that far too many of our administrators are not up to speed with the modern game on all fronts.”

He didn’t stop there: “From the point of view of governance, I still feel strongly that there should be term limits in terms of leadership in our cricket. I still think we should improve on our transparency and accountability when it comes to the administration of the game. I still think there is room and bandwidth for all of us to collaborate a lot more, especially in tough economic times, and that is something that should be done in a respectful manner without a personal agenda. We must see ourselves as administrators, as facilitators, and not persons who are keen just to have office.”

After Ganga’s address, awards were presented. In first place, Gros Islet received the championship trophy, gold medals and a cheque; in second place, Babonneau received a cheque and silver medals. Lee Solomon was the big winner on the night. He was the MVP of the finals as well as the tournament MVP and he also received the award for Most Runs.

Caleb Thomas was the MVP of the semi-final between Babonneau and South Castries while Gavin Serieux was the MVP of the other semi-final, Gros Islet vs. Central Castries. Awards were also presented to match officials.