PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is the latest body congratulating Trinidad and Tobago’s cricketers for their exhilarating performance at the Champions League Twenty20 championship in India that landed them the runner-up spot and US$1.3 million.
In a press release Monday, CARICOM extended “hearty congratulations” to T&T and said their appearance at the tournament revives hope in West Indies cricket.
“The exhilarating performances rekindled hope in West Indies cricket and reminded spectators around the world of the panache associated with West Indies cricket at a time when the game in the Region is traversing a difficult path,” CARICOM said in the press statement.
Proving to be the surprise team of the tournament, Trinidad and Tobago reeled off upset wins over reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Deccan Chargers and England’s Somerset to top Group A before defeating NSW, the eventual champions and the Eagles (South Africa) in the Super 8 round.
The Caribbean T20 champions whipped South Africa’s Cape Cobras in the semi-final before losing a rematch with NSW in the final and CARICOM believes T&T’s performance in India proves that cricketers in the West Indies can match the world’s best.
“The team’s accomplishments demonstrated that our cricketers can more than hold their own with the best in the world given the fact that most of the other teams in the tournament comprised of proven players at the highest level of the game.
“The consistency, discipline, team work and leadership displayed are a tribute to the team, its management and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and are a fine example of what can be achieved when these elements are blended together,” CARICOM said.
T&T’s 41-run loss to NSW in last Friday’s final was their only defeat in the entire tournament and CARICOM said they made the Caribbean proud.
“Captain Daren Ganga and his men have certainly made West Indians proud once again of their cricketers’ prowess and for that alone they deserve our praise and thanks,” the press release concluded.
The once powerful West Indies, who ruled world cricket from the late 1970s to the mid 1990s, have suffered declining standards for over a decade now and are near the bottom of the world ratings – at No.8 in both Test and One Day International (ODI) rankings.
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) have also congratulated Trinidad and Tobago’s cricketers.