KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – Windward Islands are looking to end Trinidad & Tobago’s dominance over them in the last five years in their fourth round match of the WICB Regional first-class championship, starting today at the Arnos Vale Multi-Purpose Complex.
Windwards have not won a match, let alone gain first innings points over T&T, since Rawl Lewis led them to an 86-run triumph five years ago at Shaw Park in Tobago.
Since then, T&T have won five of their last six encounters, and collected first innings points in the drawn other match, which coincidentally took place at this same venue.
Windwards are fifth in the Championship on 19 points, and will be confident, following a tense, four-wicket victory over Guyana in the previous round at the same venue.
“First of all, we don’t play names,” said Windwards manager Lockhart Sebastien. “We are not afraid of any other side.
“It is true that T&T have dominated us over the last five years, but maybe this is the year we beat them.”
He added: “We are short of five experienced players from last year’s squad, and people do not expect us to go too far in the competition. That’s unfortunate.
“We have a number of young, inexperienced players, and they are still learning the game. But we always try to play as a team, with everybody playing for each other, and we are confident that we can play well over the next few days.”
T&T are fourth in the competition, just two points ahead of their opponents, and will be eager to make progress, after they conceded first innings points in their drawn previous match against the England Lions on home soil at Queen’s Park Oval.
“When we sat down before the start of the series to plan our strategy, we wanted to achieve 60 points and upwards,” said T&T manager Omar Khan.
“We targeted a number of teams for full points, and the Windwards are one of those.”
He said: “We are still well on the way to achieving our 60-point target, but the players must ensure we fight hard against the Windwards.
“We are confident going into the clash, the players are fresh although they have been playing three weeks on the trot in the sun, and they want success.”
Bowling has been the strength for the Windwards so far this season, with Nelon Pascal, Mervin Matthew, and Kenroy Peters, supported by spinners Garey Mathurin, and their Liam Sebastien putting pressure on opposition batsmen.
But the Windwards’ problem continued to be their slipshod batting, which almost cost them the previous match.
The Guyanese spin duo of Veerasammy Permaul and Davendra Bishoo exploited their vulnerability to slow bowling, and they turned the molehill of chasing 58 for victory into a mountain, wobbling to 35 for six at one stage.
“To be honest, the pitch for that match was not the best,” Lockhart Sebastian said. “The ball was turning sharply from the first day, and was keeping low.
“Luckily for us, Liam Sebastien and Garey Mathurin are left-handers, and they saved us. The ball going away was a problem for our batsmen, but with Liam and Garey, they were able to combat Permaul and Bishoo with their left-handedness, since the ball was turning into them.
He said: “Playing spin has been a perennial problem not only for us, but for all the batsmen in the Caribbean over the years because many of them do not use their feet. Look at what happened to the West Indies in their opening World Cup match.
“Many of the batsmen know this might be their last chance. They have to perform, or they know they will not be around when we reconvene after the break.”
T&T have little or no problems. They were simply outclassed by a far more professional outfit in the previous match.
To find themselves in this position in the table without the cream of their players is a huge achievement, and a testimony to their depth.
T&T have made no changes to their squad, but Khan outlined their strategy against the Windwards will be depend on the conditions.
“The pitch looks like a slow one, which is what we have gotten so far in the series,” he said. “There seems to be nothing there for the faster bowlers, and our attack will again revolve around our spinners.
“The batting is coming along, although a number of players are getting starts and not carrying on, and this must change. We continue to harp on the point that they need to stay in the game, stay with the moment, and don’t throw their hands away.”
Windward Islands: Liam Sebastien (captain), Johnson Charles, Keron Cottoy, Andre Fletcher, Donwell Hector, Lyndon James, Delorn Johnson, Keddy Lesporis, Gary Mathurin, Mervin Matthew, Nelon Pascal, Kenroy Peters and Tyrone Theophile
Trinidad & Tobago: Daren Ganga (captain), Atiba Allert, Yannic Cariah, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Sherwin Ganga, Justin Guillen, Amit Jaggernauth, Imran Khan, Dave Mohammed, Runako Morton, Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons
Umpires: Goaland Greaves, Richard Illingworth (England)
