With the holidays over, the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will be doing some serious work this month as the countdown to the start of the 2023 regional season begins.
The season begins on February 1 with the first two rounds of the four-day West Indies Championship tournament featuring six territorial franchise teams.
The first two rounds (February 1-4 and 8-11) will be played at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada and the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) and Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua.
After a nearly five-week break in the championship, the final three rounds will be played from March 15 to April 1 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Queen’s Park Oval and the Diego Martin Sports Complex in Trinidad, after which the champions will be crowned. and was presented with the Headley-Weekes Trophy.
A T&T team has not won the four-day title since 2006.
The Red Force will hit the ground running with a three-day game at the Oval starting today. The players will also be involved in the North/South Classic which is scheduled to be played from January 12-15.
Red Force boss David Furlonge confirmed the players will be out from today after the New Year’s “long weekend” but expects them to be ready for action.
“We brought them in after Christmas for a two-hour fitness session at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, which was very good,” Furlonge said.
“We’re going full throttle when we start on Wednesday with fitness and everything, because it’s only a month before the four-a-day starts,” he continued.
“That month will fly by so quickly and the tournament will be upon us, so we have to add everything now with our preparations to make sure we are ready,” added Furlonge.
The coach expects a tight contest, with Darren Bravo selected to captain one of the teams and Imran Khan the other.
Bravo’s team includes West Indies all-rounder Yannic Cariah, fast bowler Shannon Gabriel as well as experienced spinners Bryan Charles and Khary Pierre.
Meanwhile, Khan’s team includes left-arm pacer Shaaron Lewis, openers Jeremy Solozano and Keagan Simmons, as well as West Indies wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva and veteran middle-order player Jason Mohammed.
Missing from the line-up is Windies pacer Anderson Phillip, who has been left out for this match as a precaution as he recovers from a minor injury. “He’s doing physical work right now, so hopefully he’ll be ready for the North/South Classic,” Furlonge said.
teams
KHAN XI: Imran Khan (captain), Keagan Simmons, Jeremy Solozano, Isaiah Rajah, Jason Mohammed, Joshua Da Silva, Jyd Goolie, Terrance Hinds, Andrew Rambaran, Ricardo Chase, Shaaron Lewis, Kyle Ramdoo, Jacen Agard.
BRAVO XI: Darren Bravo (captain), Kjorn Ottley, Vikash Mohan, Rajeev Ramnath, Yannic Cariah, Tion Webster, Amir Jangoo, Khary Pierre, Bryan Charles, Uthman Muhammad, Shannon Gabriel, Joshua James, Kyle Kisoondath.
