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Up to 640 boys and girls between the ages of eight and 12, from 80 different primary schools, could get their first taste of competitive cricket in 2025, as the Republic Bank Five for Fun Cricket programme makes its bow in Trinidad and Tobago.
The competition features eight-member mixed sex teams from which three boys and two girls must be selected on each match day. Each innings last five overs and every player must bat and bowl for an entire six-ball over.
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
There are creative scoring rules for the competition, including three run deductions for every ‘out’ suffered by the batting team, although the batter will continue to face the mandatory number of balls. If a batter hits an odd a single or three runs, he or she will be allowed to return to the striker’s end to continue batting.
The organisers also factored in meetings between all-boys and co-ed primary schools, with the latter teams starting with a 10-run advantage while all runs scored by girls in such match-ups will be doubled while wickets taken by girls will incur a five-run deduction.
In clashes between co-ed schools, girls are only allowed to bowl to girls.
The Republic Bank Five for Fun debuted in Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia in 2022, before being introduced to Guyana (2023) and Grenada (2024) respectively.
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) vice-president and Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) president Azim Bassarath described the initiative as a “collaborative grassroot cricket initiative” that could play a key role in the fortunes of West Indies cricket.
“It is timely and essential in reviving mass participation in the sport,” said Bassarath, during the Five for Fun launch at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain on Thursday. “The programme establishes a foundation for national and regional cricket development and sows the seeds for the West Indies’ quest for world cricket dominance once again.”
There were expressions of support too from at least two arms of the government too: Lyndell Hoyte-Sanchez, the head of community sport at the Sports Company of Trinidad and Tobago (SporTT), and Mignon King, the curriculum coordinator for the Ministry of Sports’ Physical Education and Sport Curriculum Planning and Development Division.
“Once you have children involved in an activity, you have the community involved,” said Hoyte-Sanchez. “Once you have the children and the community, you have the parents involved—and that is where your main support comes from: the parents and the community.
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
“[…] We know the biggest party in sport now is the CPL—a lot of persons would like to aspire to be there. We are here to assist [these children in getting there].”
King described the Five for Fun competition as “visionary” and in alignment with the Ministry of Education’s cultural transformation policy to “reduce levels of deviant behaviour among the nation’s youths”.
“[It is] a programme that will create the opportunity to develop levels of physical literacy and fundamental sport skills in the participating students, harness character traits of discipline, cooperation and personal growth while allowing an opportunity to engage in a worthwhile and fun-filled sporting pursuit,” she said.
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
Republic Bank Group Enterprise Risk Management general manager Karen Tom Yew described cricket as part of Trinidad and Tobago’s national fabric.
She offered anecdotes of being introduced to mango chow and curry duck at the Queen’s Park Oval—and skipping class as a UWI student to see iconic West Indies pacer Courtney Walsh trap Australia’s Ian Healy lbw for his 400th wicket on 6 March 1999.
“Once six stumps were up in the Oval, my family was there,” said Tom Yew.
Now, she is proud of her employer’s role in promoting cricket to children.
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
“This game is rooted in fun, inclusion and equality,” said the Republic Bank manager. “Each team must have a mixture of boys and girls, and everyone has an opportunity to bat, bowl and field.”
Avocat Vedic Primary School student Avery Seepersad did not participate in the exhibition matches after the launch. But the nine-year-old certainly impressed with an animated soliloquy on the benefits of Five for Fun Cricket.
“This isn’t just about cricket,” said Seepersad. “It’s about opportunity, it’s about inclusion; it is about giving every boy and girl—no matter how small, how shy or how new to the game—a chance to play, to grow and to shine.
“Five players, fast matches, big moments; every ball counts, every run matters. And guess what? Every child gets a turn!”
Bassarath rattled off the qualities that cricket could help inculcate in its young players, such as: leadership, patience, teamwork, confidence, time management, commitment, responsibility and help [in dealing] with adversity.
“The programme goal is to promote fun and engage children to grow a love for the game,” he said, “while developing critical life skills including leadership, mental focus, patience, dealing with adversity, tactical awareness, physical development and much more.”
Photo: Republic Bank Ltd.
Bassarath insisted that the five over primary school cricket competition will not be “isolated” from other “pathway initiatives” for encouraging and exposing new talent, such as the ongoing Breakout T20 League.
“[Republic Bank Five for Fun Cricket] forms a critical part of the national strategy for cricket,” said Bassarath, “which sees the national cricket board and Cricket West Indies working with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sport and Community Development, cricket clubs and other cricket agencies […] to ensure talented boys and girls have the necessary next step cricket training […] to continue individual progression.”
The Five for Fun competition bowls off on 16 June with matches across both islands and culminates in a national final on 9 July.
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
