RBL 5 for Fun: Kassiram leads stingy Bamboo bowling attack, as St Joseph TML reined in

A disciplined bowling attack proved decisive in the St George final of the inaugural Republic Bank-sponsored RBL Five For Fun cricket competition, as Bamboo Settlement Government Primary School defended a batting score of 53 runs from five overs (and a total of 111 inclusive of bonus points) to hold off St Joseph TML Primary School at the Eastern Regional Sporting Complex in Tacarigua.

St Joseph gave up 11 extras with the ball, despite clawing back 12 runs through wickets. (Five for Fun rules stipulate that each of the team’s five players must bat for an entire over; however, the batting team loses three wins each time a wicket falls.)

Bamboo Settlement, in contrast, conceded just a solitary no-ball.

St Joseph needed 26 runs from 12 balls to claim the title. But Bamboo bowlers Adriano Kassiram and Sonyam Khan restricted Samir Garbaran and Raeed Hussein to 12 and eight runs respectively to take the honours.

Hussein slumped to the ground in despair, clutching his bat as St Joseph fell short of their target. The Bamboo Settlement students cut short their celebrations to help console their rival.

It might be a fitting encapsulation of the day’s play, as 20-plus pre-teens competed with passion and good-natured sportsmanship.

Even the defeated semi-finalists remained at the venue until the end, rather than beating a retreat to their respective schools.

“[Our students] are quite crazy about the game right now—the entire school,” said Tunapuna Presbyterian principal Sherpa Hanooman. “[…] From infants up to standard five, everybody is walking around with a ball and bat!”

Hanooman shares coaching responsibilities with past student Gabriel Mendoza and a parent, “Mr Prescott”. All three took the day off to support their team, as they faced St Joseph TML in the first fixture of the day.

Stacey Layne had Filza Muhammad caught off her bowling in the first over, for an early three-point bonus for Tunapuna. (Girls can only bowl to girls.) But, by and large, the St Joseph batters could not be contained.

Zaydan Khan, a livewire with bat, ball and in the field, feasted off 9-year-old Adon Pooran with four 6s from his over. Khan’s poise and balance as he played his favoured pull shot hinted at a real talent with the bat.

But Pooran, a standard one student and easily the tiniest boy to play on Thursday, looked to be a natural as well and, with the bat, he got two sweet boundaries off St Joseph’s Jessie Ali.

He is no relation to the decidedly more famous Nicholas Pooran, but, that over with the ball apart, he is off to an encouraging start.

Five years ago, as Hanooman explained, the younger Pooran might have been stuck indoors with only an electronic device for company.

“Coming out of Covid, students were not [much used to] physical activities,” said the Tunapuna Presbyterian principal. “They were more gravitating towards video games and computer games and stuff.

“It is about time we get going with these sorts of initiatives and competitions, to really encourage more outdoor activities for our children.”

Ibrahim Rambally got three dot balls in his duel with Ali, and then produced a few four 4s in a productive but streaky knock against Khan. But their batting score of 62 (from a total of 119) was well short of the 141 (batting 84 + bonus points of 7 and 50) produced by St Joseph.

St Joseph, coached by standard five teacher Al Saleem Muhammad, were going to be a handful in the final for sure.

Bamboo set their own marker in a similarly lopsided semi-final contest with El Dorado Hindu.

Sonyam Khan got 26 runs off one over from Zaydan Mungroo, as Bamboo got 82 off the bat plus 57 in bonus points, for a total of 139.

El Dorado Hindu, led by captain De Andre Samaroo and coached by another standard five teacher, Vivek Mohan, could not come close to that target, although Mungroo did enjoy some revenge with 13 runs off Bamboo bowler Zaiden Birbal.

In the end, El Dorado mustered just 118 runs (62 off the bat with 56 bonus points). And it meant a Bamboo Settlement – St Joseph TML final.

Bamboo, led by principal Kenneth Samuel, opened their batting with Sonika Khan and got 17 runs off the first over. But Filza Muhammad would probably be disappointed about delivering four no-balls and a wide in that over, despite taking a wicket too.

Ariella Sookdeo got three boundaries in her time at the crease, although she was run out off Malia Singh’s last ball—thanks to a combination of Hussein and Garbaran.

And Kassiram chipped in 18 runs off the last over before he was run out by some more sharp fielding from Hussein, who was the bowler.

With both teams level on 58 bonus points, St Joseph had to overhaul Bamboo’s batting score of 53.

Sonika Khan restricted Singh to six runs with no boundaries, and it set the tone for Bamboo’s bowling efforts.

Zaydan Khan was again St Joseph’s most destructive batsman. But his 16 runs contained just two boundaries and were offset somewhat when he was bowled off the second ball by Birbal.

Kassiram restricted Garbaran to 12 runs in the penultimate over. And Hussein, needing 14 runs off the final over by Sonyam, was caught off his first ball, and set back a further three runs.

He then needed 17 from five deliveries.

Hussein launched Sonyam for six runs off his next ball. But then came a dot ball, a single (in accordance with tournament rules, he was allowed to return to strike) and, crucially, another dot ball.

Hussein hit the final ball of the innings for four runs—but the game was already beyond his school.

Away from class, the boys and girls were learning life lessons.

Earlier, Tunapuna Presbyterian Josiah Nagayah said he was disappointed to lose his first game of the season in the semi-final round. But he offered sober introspection after his team’s loss to St Joseph.

“I learned that even though I might be good, there are some people who are way better than me,” said Nagayah, who wrote SEA this year and hopes to pass for Hillview College.

And what does he intend to do with that humbling experience?

“I will train harder!” Nagayah told Wired868.

All three defeated schools are already getting mentally prepared for 2026 action. And there is likely to be some additional enthusiasm for school cricket among the new influx of form ones.

“We welcome this initiative from Republic Bank and the other sponsors that come on board, to awaken the interest of our primary school students in the game of cricket,” said Hanooman.

“[…] It promotes a lot of team spirit and camaraderie among the students. We look forward to doing it again next year.”

Bamboo Settlement Government principal Kenneth Solomon, who also serves as a tournament organiser in the St George District, was effusive in his praise of the competition.

“I want to thank Republic Bank for this initiative,” said Solomon. “It is affording students throughout Trinidad and Tobago to first develop in the game of cricket—since it is a developmental programme—and also offers them an opportunity to showcase their skills at a competitive level.

“Even though it is a fun tournament, they have an option to participate in a competitive environment, which augurs well for the development of cricket in Trinidad and Tobago.

“So thank you to the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, Republic Bank and also Cricket West Indies for this exceptionally wonderful initiative to help grow the sport of cricket, which we all love in the region—and to ensure that future generations would continue to excel in the sport of cricket.”

Bamboo Settlement are not done with 2025 just yet.

The race to crown the inaugural Five For Fun champion school continues.

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Lasana Liburd

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.