NEWSDAY continues to focus on the future of cricket in TT. Every week, a player in the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League (SSCL) premiership 50-over competition will be profiled as the SSCL Star of the Week.
The quality performances continue to make the decision diffcult to choose one player, but Fatima College all-rounder Caiden Mack was the cricketer in round four.
Mack guided Fatima to a 207-run victory over Hillview College at Honeymoon Park, Tunapuna on Tuesday.
Opening the batting, he struck 42 to help propel Fatima to 272/6 in 50 overs. His 65-ball innings included seven fours.
Mack, a fast bowler,then opened the bowling and destroyed the Hillview batting. It is always a beautiful sight to see a fast bowler bowl down opposing batsmen and Mack did just that. Four of his five wickets were bowled as the stumps were flying all over the ground at Honeymoon Park.
Hillview could only manage 65 all out in 25.2 overs as Mack ended with figures of 5/14 in six overs.
Newsday spoke to Mack about his memorable effort.
Name: Caiden Mack
Age: 16
Form: Five
Residence: Maraval
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast medium
Batting Style: Right-handed
Favourite Cricketers: Shai Hope, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc
Star Performance: 5/14 and 42 runs
What does it mean to have such a great all-round performance?
My performance this round means a lot to me, as I was able to bounce back and perform in both the batting and the bowling so that our team can get back to its winning ways.
[caption id="attachment_1062505" align="alignnone" width="960"] Fatima College’s Caiden Mack practises his bowluing during a team training session, on Thursday, at the Fatima College grounds, Mucurapo Road. - Faith Ayoung[/caption]
Most of your wickets were bowled. How did it feel to see the bails flying?
It is one of the most satisfying feelings as a bowler. I really enjoy the one-on-one battle with the batsmen.
I realise you open the batting and bowling. Do you cope with that responsibility well?
Yes, I think that my coaches have done a great job in preparing me for my role this season with both the physical and mental aspect and I'll be looking forward to improving throughout the season and helping my team in both areas.
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Fatima are off to a mixed start this season. What can the team do to be more consistent?
I think that we have to just keep our heads down and stay focused on what we want to achieve and continue to train hard. We can take this win and continue to build momentum going forward so that we can keep winning.
Do you think your batting or bowling is more valuable to Fatima? And why?
I think that both are equally important to our team, due to the fact that we lost a few senior players from last season. This means that there's a lot more responsibility on me with both the bat and the ball.
What will it mean to you if Fatima win a title this year?
It would mean everything for me and for the whole team if Fatima wins
