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JELANI BECKLES

PRESENTATION College Chaguanas are the champions of the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League premier division 50-over competition again. “Pres” defended their 2024 title with a six-wicket victory over Vishnu Boys’ Hindu College in round eight of the 2025 tournament to seal the crown.
It was the eighth win in a row of the season and Presentation held an unassailable lead over second-placed St Mary’s College with one round remaining.
Speaking to Newsday, Presentation coach Kellman Kowlessar said, “It is really a good feeling, (going) back-to-back and to win it with one round to go it really showed Presentation’s dominance this year. Going into this match, I knew Vishnu would have been a tough contender.”
The Pres coach said all the cricketers played their part during the season. “I think they way the team gelled...everyone played their roles which was important because when you look through the season we did not only depend on Luke (Ali) or Fareez (Ali), everyone would have chipped in and contributed.”
Batting first at the Bamboo Recreation Ground, Vishnu posted a competitive 242 all out in 48.2 overs. Openers Christian Lall and Israel Gonzales got Vishnu off to a promising start with an 83-run partnership in less than ten overs.
Lall, Ishant Roopnarine and Zachary Madray then fell in the space of three overs as Vishnu slumped to 87/3 in 12 overs after being 83 without loss. Lall struck 49, Roopnarine fell for duck and Madray made one.
However, Vishnu continued to build partnerships, led by Gonzales (44), Andrew Rambaran and Ishmael Ali. Rambaran hit 50 off 88 balls with one four and two sixes and Ali belted 61 off 60 deliveries with seven fours and one six.
Daron Dhanraj, still eligible to play Under-16 cricket, continued his solid campaign with 4/30 in eight overs for Presentation. Fareez also proved to be a handful for Vishnu, as he grabbed 3/44 in 8.2 overs.
Presentation’s run chase got off to a shaky start, as they were reduced to 60/3 in the 15th over. A 69-run partnership between captain Luke and Fareez guided “Pres” to 129, before the former fell for 56 off 89 balls.
The match was in the balance with Presentation 129/4 after 31 overs. However, Fareez put Presentation on his shoulders with solid support from Zakariyya Mohammed (32 not out).
Fareez started his innings off patiently but went into second gear after getting past 50. He guided “Pres” over the line and also completed his century as they closed on 245/4 in 47 overs. He ended on 101 not out off 93 balls, an innings with six fours and seven sixes. Roopnarine picked up 2/38 in ten overs for Vishnu.
Talking about the run chase, Kowlessar said, “When we look at the 242 we thought that was a good target considering where they were at initially...we thought we did well to restrict them to that score and once our batters applied themselves, that total on that small ground would not really be a tough challenge.”
Fatima College and St Benedict’s College both lost in round eight and will be relegated to the championship division. Sixth-placed Hillview College recorded a pivotal win over seventh-placed ASJA Boys College San Fernando. To stay in the premiership, ASJA will have to win in the last round and hope Hillview loses badly to avoid demotion. The bottom four teams in the ten-team table will be relegated.
Last-placed Toco Secondary will also be demoted.

Summarised scores:

VISHNU BOYS’ HINDU COLLEGE 242 (48.2 overs) (48.2 overs) (Ishmael Ali 61, Andrew Rambaran 50, Christian Lall 49; Daron Dhanraj 4/30, Fareez Ali 3/44) vs PRESENTATION CHAGUANAS 245/4 (47 overs) (F Ali 101 not out, Luke Ali 56, Zakariyya Mohammed 32 not out; Ishant Roopnarine 2/38). Presentation won by six wickets.

ST MARY’S 223 (33.2 overs) (Jesse Sookwah 61, Mikaeel Ali 38; Kevin Kanhai 3/20, Jubari Bacchus 3/35, Shiva Harripersad 3/50) vs ST BENEDICT’S 111 (24.2 overs) (Kristoph Seeraj 29, J Bacchus 20; Samir Boodoo 5/20, Jadon Simon 4/25). St Mary’s won by 112 runs.

ASJA BOYS COLLEGE SAN FERNANDO 146 (46.5 overs) (Mark Ramkissoon 48, Samuel Stewart 21; Ethan Ramsundar 2/7, Rajeev Ramgoolie 2/20, Renaldo Fournillier 2/29) vs HILLVIEW COLLEGE 147/5 (29.3 overs) (E Ramsundar 36, Joseph Mendoza 33; Kayden Manohar 2/16). Hillview won by five wickets.

PRESENTATION SAN FERNANDO 391/3 (50 overs) (Brendan Boodoo 200 not out, Rijav Rajkumar 65, Ethan Ramcharan 62) vs TOCO 112 (31.4 overs) (Tariq Richards 35; Emilio Villafana 4/16, Zion Phillip 3/31, Riyaad Mohammed 2/22). Presentation won by 279 runs.

NAPARIMA 113 (31.5 overs) (Amrit Pittiman 21; Davis Guerra 5/22, Scott Frankland 2/9) vs FATIMA 82 (21.4 overs) (Kaiden Pollard 39; Aidan Bissoondath 4/11, Aarion Mohammed 3/19, Mathew Cooper 2/22). Naparima won by 31 runs.

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