A confident Trinidad and Tobago senior cricket team, led by Daren Ganga, leave for Barbados today ahead of their first round West Indies Cricket Board Regional Four-Day Competition opener which bowls off on Friday.
T&T face Barbados in their opening round fixture at Police Sports Club Ground, Weymouth, before returning home for two fixtures against Jamaica and the Windward Islands.
The team has a good balance of youth and experience, with teenagers Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo retaining their spots in the line-up. They will be joined by 23-year-old Queen’s Park Cricket Club skipper Justin Guillen and his club teammate 20-year-old spinner Sunil Narine.
The 27-year-old right-arm pacer Atiba Allert also did enough to earn a call-up to the squad who finished second to Jamaica in last year’s tournament.
The experience in the squad will come from the 29-year-old skipper. Ganga led T&T to victory in the WICB limited overs tournament last year and will provide stability for a mostly inexperienced middle order along with opener Lendl Simmons, now veteran in this side.
Coach Kelvin Williams has already indicated that he expects a keen contest when the ’rivalry’ against the hosts resumes Friday. And speaking with the Express yesterday, he reiterated his confidence that his players will do well in the long season ahead.
’I am confident that they can actually perform as well as we expect them to against Barbados and I think this team has a good mix of players,’ he said.
’From the way they performed in the North/South Classic, I have no doubt that the guys will show their full worth in Barbados,’ he added.
The coach also expressed his confidence in the team’s bowling which is one of the strong points. T&T have a battery of spinners to choose from. Amit Jaggernauth (25) and Dave Mohammed (29) have considerable experience with 101 first class matches between them. They are also proven performers at this level.
Jaggernauth has taken 158 wickets at an average of 21.93 from his 37 matches, while Mohammed has 215 wickets in 64 appearances. Together, the pair has been a major force in T&T’s rise to the top over the last four seasons.
In the absence of the injured Ravi Rampaul, Rayad Emrit will shoulder the burden of using the new ball with fellow all-rounder Richard Kelly, while Allert will be trying to carve out a permanent spot on the squad whenever he makes his debut.
T&T also have a good recent record against the Bajans. The psychological advantage should be with Ganga’s men. However Williams warned that his players will be mindful of the challenges they will face in the upcoming season.
’The guys know that they have to play to win and perform to win, they realise that and despite our psychological advantage, we know we have to play hard to win.’
T&T squad: Daren Ganga (captain), Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Justin Guillen, Sherwin Ganga, Gibran Mohammed, Rayad Emrit, Richard Kelly, Dave Mohammed, Amit Jaggernauth, Atiba Allert, Sunil Narine; Colin Borde (manager), Kelvin Williams (coach), Ronald Rogers (trainer).
Barbados squad: Jason Haynes (captain) Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Patrick Browne, Jonathan Carter, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Ryan Hinds, Rohan Nurse, Dale Richards, Kemar Roach, Dwayne Smith, Kevin Stoute.
