THE Covid-19 pandemic has put cricket around the world in a spin and the story is even worse in Trinidad and Tobago where there has been no domestic cricket.

Cricketers in the twin Island Republic have been frustrated at not having a chance to play the sport they love. They have been looking at every opportunity overseas to get in some action as they look to continue their development.

A golden opportunity has presented itself through the US Open T20 tournament hosted by Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) in Fort Lauderdale, USA. The tournament which is run by business tycoon Mahammad Qureshi carries US$100,000 in prize money and gets going on December 6 and ends on December 13. Trinidad and Tobago cricketers have registered in the draft in numbers and have been taken up by the 10 franchise teams.

Former T&T Red Force manager Colin Borde is also involved in the tournament as the manager of the US All-Stars team and he spoke to CricScope about the fact that the local cricketers are getting a chance to play competitive cricket.

“This tournament comes at the right time for our cricketers here in Trinidad and Tobago. With the prolonged lockdown of sports in the country, they have suffered and are just waiting to exhale and now comes the chance.”

A total of 17 cricketers from Trinidad and Tobago — Navin Stewart, Mark Deyal, Sunil Narine, Terrance Hinds, William Perkins, Jarlanie Seales, Kyon Ottley, Khary Pierre, Rayad Emrit, Jesse Bootan, Ricky Jaipaul, Yannick Ottley, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed and Jon Russ Jaggessar — will be taking part in the week-long tournament. This presents the biggest number of players from T&T taking part outside of the country sending a team as they did way back in 2012 and 2013.

Borde added: “We are very grateful for this opportunity for our players to get on the park. This run out by our players is sure to help in their development. For this, we must thank Maq Qureshi who continues to look in our region and help our players.

In addition to the 18 players from Trinidad and Tobago, there are also several cricketers coming in from the rest of the Caribbean. This is a fantastic opportunity and we thank the organisers.”

The T&T players will be spread around the Titans CC, Florida Scorpions, Brampton Pacers, Samp Army, Punjab Blue, Somerset Cavaliers, Yankee Royals, US All-Stars, NDCC Mace Royals, and Clarion Country Eagles teams.

(Extracted from Trinidad Guardian)