SPORTS
Jonathan Ramnansingh
AFTER average performances with the bat for Trinidad and Tobago Red Force in last year’s West Indies Championship and more recently in the North South Classic, favored opener Jeremy Solozano, 27, remains motivated ahead of another bumper year for cricket.
The left-hander, along with his Red Force teammates and coaching staff, landed in Grenada on Saturday ahead of their first four-day match against the Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Grenada National Stadium on Tuesday.
Solozano scored 66, four and 14 in three of last year’s five regional championship matches and then scored one run and an unbeaten 28 in North’s ten-wicket win over South in the final match of the home Test.
However, in June 2022, he scored an impressive 92 for West Indies Cricket President’s XI against Bangladesh. The match ended in a draw with the Caribbean team only able to score once.
Although he hasn’t always been the most influential with the bat, Solozano believes the upcoming four-day competition will provide him with the stage to showcase his skills as a top-order batsman.
Solo is among a quartet of potential Red Force openers, including newcomer Vikash Mohan, Tion Webster and Imran Khan, who is in line to possibly lead the charge in the 2023 tour.
Looking back on his last performance at North South, Solozano said: “I didn’t really get the points I wanted, but I prefer to get them when it really counts. I’ve put it behind me and can’t wait to get some results and get some runs under my belt.
“This year I will go out there and enjoy my cricket. The result will take care of itself. I know what I want and need to do, and once I do those things, the results will come.”
Solozano said team spirit is high and the players are eager to get out there and perform for the TT. The Red Force have not won this competition since 2005 and capturing the elusive prize this time around has been a hot topic in the dressing room.
“The mentality of the team is simply positive. I have a clear mind now, thinking positively and can’t wait to go out there and perform for the team and the nation. The energy has been there for the team and they are all ready and looking forward to it.”
Solozano also praised Red Force coach David Furlonge’s approach to building the team’s confidence by forcing them to spend days in between working on their craft.
Inconsistent batting has always plagued the Red Force in this format and Furlonge tried to address the issue by giving his players a chance to spend more time on the field.
He added, “Training has been training many hours over the last few weeks, basically all day. The coach gave us a lot of time in the center as a stick and I think that was beneficial for me and my teammates.
“Spending time out in the middle, that’s where you want to be. So the more you hit there, the better you would be in the game.”
“We just have to use our experience to go out there and score consistently and play consistently in all aspects of the game. That’s what we’ve been putting in for the past two weeks. Everyone is on the same mission.”
