After finishing second in the CG United Super50 Cup, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force are shifting their focus to the West Indies Championship and with that in mind, coach David Furlonge has planned some changes in terms of their preparations.
The Red Force had experimented with extending their training time in the resumption of the four-day tour earlier this year and Furlonge is looking to continue with that formula, which he hopes will bring success next year. .
“Practice will be extended from 9am to 5pm so we will be able to give batsmen a longer period to hit the nets rather than just 15 to 20 minutes,” Furlonge said. for Express recently.
He said the team is not shying away from the fact that they struggled badly in the latter stages of the first-class season and the players are ready to put in the work as they seek an elusive four-day title.
“It’s something we tried at the beginning of the year when we started the four-day tournament and won the first two rounds. The players were very happy with it and even wanted to continue longer.
Even the bowlers, they need to be able to bowl 15 wickets a day in the longer version of the game, so we want them to get long periods in practice to get conditioned to that,” Furlonge explained.
Asked about the plans to solve the problems of the batting team, the Red Force coach said: “I think the batting will take care of itself with the plans we have put in place.”
“We’re playing one game here now and another from January 3, then the North-South game. After that we will focus on training from 9-5. The batsmen will bat for two hours.
This year we have a change in their contract where they will have to continue their Red Force practice during the club cricket season to ensure that what happened in the last three games of the first class season at the start this year’s will not be repeated,” Furlonge continued. . He said the players have embraced the changes in the training program and are willing to put in the effort.
Furlonge also insisted that everything being done is geared towards helping the players reach their full potential with an eye on lifting the four-day trophy that has eluded them since Daren Ganga’s side won the title in 2006.
While the Red Force did not have the kind of success on the field this year that he would have predicted, Furlonge noted that a number of players would have earned call-ups to the West Indies A team and the senior team, including Yannic Cariah, Anderson Phillip and Bryan Charles.
T&T started the four-day tournament with wins against Jamaica Scorpions and Windward Islands Volcanoes before losing to Leeward Islands Hurricanes and Barbados Pride to exit the title race.
T&T ended the 2022 first-class season with a rain-affected draw against the Guyana Jaguars as they finished fourth in the standings behind champions Barbados, the Leewards and third-placed Guyana.
“We are helping the players develop and grow and we are looking forward to next year. “Winning the four days is the main thing,” said Furlonge.
“T&T over the years have only won the longest version about four or five times. It’s not something that’s just happening now.
As a coach I want us to be successful in that tournament and this is one of the main goals for next year and everything we are doing will be oriented towards achieving this goal”, added the coach of the Red Forces.
