Navin Stewart’s inclusion in the Trinidad and Tobago squad for the 2009 regional series was one of the high points for the sister island and interest is expected to grow even more thanks to his exploits in last month’s Champions League Twenty/20 tournament in India.

Tobago Cricket Association representative Moses Thomas was full of praise for the fast bowling all-rounder and insisted that with all the hype over the national team’s success, now would be a good time to bring back first class cricket to Tobago.

Thomas, speaking to the Express during a reception for the T&T team on Saturday at President’s House, insisted: ’Tobago cricket at present is definitely on the up.

’When Navin was selected to go to India, that gripped the island. There was a kind of frenzy in Tobago when he played,’ said Thomas. ’It really brought out the kind of pride that comes from knowing that Tobago was part of this whole process...that we could have a player on show, but not just a player on show, but one that did so well. That brought out a lot of pride in people and it was wake-up call for a lot of people.

’Navin was really the flag-bearer on the team and a lot of youngsters really want to be like Navin now. He is very well liked and looked up to by a lot of youngsters and a lot of people probably don’t know this but wicket-keeper Deems Baird was also in the national team trials and he is also doing very well.

’So it is very important now that first class cricket and international cricket comes back to Tobago because it helps to promote the sport on the island and because it is the number one sport in Tobago,’ he added.

The Tobago venue, Shaw Park, in Scarborough, has not hosted any regional first class matches since 2006, when T&T lost to the Windward Islands.

Thomas insisted that the regional matches in Tobago draw a large turnout and noted: ’Shaw Park is much better now and the playing conditions are excellent. The surface produces results.’

Thomas also thanked the Deryck Murray-led ’Friends of Cricket’, recently voted out at the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board’s annual general meeting, for the work they did to revive interest in cricket in Tobago.

’We have been doing pretty well over the last three or four years. Club cricket is really up and running and what we are concentrating on now is the primary and secondary schools cricket.

’We are concentrating really hard on doing the development work. We have a strategy plan and we have been able to produce some top class players in Jahron Alfred, Ako George and now an exciting prospect in Anthony Providence, who was in the Under-19 trials,’ Thomas added.

’We have been doing extremely well since the Deryck Murray regime took charge and we have forged a very good relationship with the Board and that has caused Tobago cricket to leap to heights that have never been achieved before and hopefully we can continue to rise in the future.’