Defending CG United Super50 champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will begin their title defense as favourites.
However, captain Nicholas Pooran and manager David Furlonge have warned the players that having a strong and experienced squad is not enough to guarantee success.
T&T take on the combined campuses and colleges in the Zone A opener at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, from 2pm today, while the Windward Islands Volcanoes take on the Guyana Harpy Eagles at Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair, from 9 o’clock in the morning.
Furlonge is also backing the West Indies white-ball captain to do a good job as captain of the Red Force. “Watching him with the team over the last couple of days, he’s positive and I’ve seen the players respect him. “He’s got a positive outlook since he’s come back and talked to the players and me, he’s a more mature person than before,” Furlonge said of Pooran. “I’ve seen him take over and he’s called a few meetings and I’ve had talks with the old players and I know he’s going to do a good job.”
Looking ahead to their opening match, Furlonge said they cannot afford to take any team for granted. “All the teams in the competition are on a level playing field. Once you cross that tightrope, rosters and team names don’t matter and it’s about who will perform on the day,” said the Red Force coach. “Luckily we’ve had the last two days without rain and we had a full training session on Friday and I think now we’re finishing up the preparations a bit and hopefully when Monday comes we’ll be fully ready. added.
Meanwhile, Pooran said the team will have to play hard on the day to ensure they get the results they want and while he would like the team to finish the tournament unbeaten, he said he will be happy once get the trophy.
“Yes, we have experienced guys and we are defending champions, but again it doesn’t matter how strong your team is; it’s (about how he plays) on the day,” Pooran said during the team’s training session at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy on Thursday.
Along with Pooran, T&T will have the experience of Darren Bravo and Jason Mohammed in the middle order, Windies Test wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva behind the stumps and fast bowlers Jayden Seales, Shannon Gabriel and Anderson Phillip who all have experience at the level higher. . In the spin department, the defending champions will rely on orthodox left-arm spinners Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre and all-rounder Sunil Narine, who was named vice-captain, as well as leg-spinner Imran Khan, to raised if necessary.
“We are not focusing on who the players are in the dressing room. We’re focusing on how we want to play and how we want to improve as individuals and how we’re going to actually win games of cricket,” Pooran explained.
“We respect every team in this tournament and that is our focus. Just looking at our team, there’s a lot of good guys who obviously want to prove themselves and want to get runs on the board and wickets on the board, so it’s going to be interesting to see,” he continued.
“Once we get the title, I will be happy, but again we have to focus on ourselves and do the right things when it comes to that time,” Pooran added.
Looking ahead to the opener, Pooran said he is feeling very good about his team’s chances despite the bad weather hampering their preparations over the past two weeks. The Reds were put through a full practice game last Tuesday when they took on the Volcanoes in Tarouba. But Thursday’s practice was interrupted by rain.
“I am feeling very well. “The boys have been training for the last two weeks and they had a practice game against the Windward Islands and they were successful so the preparations have been good,” said Pooran. “Obviously, the weather is difficult this time of year in Trinidad, but the boys are in good spirits,” he added.
