By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 42nd Anniversary – Match #1187):- Just in case no one noticed, it is Mid-October and we are still enjoying some good weather, and playing cricket. Some hoped that it will last, but in all fairness, that may be some wishful thinking, we have had more that enough cricket so far. But we are still rolling along, and last Sunday was the clash between Cosmos and Intruders at Kissena Park; two teams that have shared a good relationship on the field, respect for each other and fuss about nothing. It truly epitomizes the concept that cricket is a gentleman’s game coupled with the elements of discipline, competitiveness, and camaraderie.
Intruders won the toss and elected to field in a match that was reduced to 18 overs. They must have had a few second thoughts about their decision after Cosmos raced to 89 for 1 in the 10th over, on the backs of a good opening partnership between Rajiv Doorjansingh and Togeshwar Ramgobin, before Doorjansingh 27) played a loose drive to extra cover off R. Miki, immediately thereafter, Togeshwar Ramgobin went when he played a healthy pull to the man at deep mid-wicket for a good 34-ball half century that included 2-4’s and 4-6’s.
With both openers back in the pavilion, Intruders attack ceased on the opportunity and succeeded in putting a dent in the Cosmos middle-order. Naresh Persaud was next to go when he ran himself out going for a second run. Yudesh Shivpersaud then lost his off stump when he played back to the young leg spinner Kyle Kowlessar who got one to bite-and-turn, and Toogeshwar Thakoordeen suffered the same fate as Intruders two budding young leg spinners, Kyle Kowlessar and Jaden Ramlakhan, kept Cosmos at Bay. Jaden, though wicketless in this match, showed marked improvement and maturity as he bowled with good flight and variations his approach from earlier in the season, while Kyle picked up three wickets in his spell and dented the Cosmos middle-order, bowled a bit flatter and quicker and got the ball to ‘bite’ and turn, as Cosmos managed just 24 runs in the next six over from 89 to 113 for 5 in the 16th over before their inning closed on 131 for 5 in their allotted 18 overs.
Intruders in their reply ran into a small barrier when N. Persaud, who bowled his best in this all season, got Kerry Ramlakhan to nick one behind, but then young Kyle Kowlessar and Anthony Ramsingh began to repair the inning taking the score to 42. Young Kowlessar’s inning was impressive; it simply had a veneer of quality and respectability for such a young batsman who showed marked improvement from when the two teams met earlier in the season. He was in good command of his inning, and was stroking the ball cleanly. He took a low full-toss from S. Dass over mid-on for a maximum and then punches the next delivery, with a taste of authority, through point for another boundary. His inexperience crept in and he was eventually outdone when he moved down the wicket to attempt an injudicious heave and was stumped for an impressive 32. Cosmos kept themselves in the mix with the asking rate moving up a notch, but Ramsingh rode his luck on four simple chances as he and Anthony Roopnarine took full command of the inning with an excellent 90 runs partnership as Intruders knocked over Cosmos with a convincing 7-wicket victory.
Throughout the 2021 cricket season, emphasis was given to the young group of Cosmos players, however, in this match, there was a refreshing story being showcased of two young promising cricketers on the Intruders team, Kyle Kowlessar and Jaden Ramlakhan. Kyle Kowlessar is an opening batsman, and a right arm leg-spin bowler who bowls with a bit of zip, and Jaden Ramlakhan is a middle-order batsmen and a right arm conventional leg-spin bowler with a pleasing conventional action.
There are few teams that are prepared to take the field just to pave the way for young aspiring cricketers with the likes of Kyle and Jaden so that they will get the opportunity to play despite being outplayed throughout the season by those high-priced contingents. On a lighter side, they probably look forward to the challenge with Cosmos as the two teams can match each other. Tremendous credit must be given to their fathers Udhistir Kowlessar and Kerry Ramlakhan for staying the course for these two young players, undoubtedly, there is wealth of talent and promise in these two young cricketers who will certainly push for a spot on the US Team in the near future (MAKE A NOTE).