The Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago cricket teams affectionately known by their respective supporters as the “Amazon Conquerors” and “Red Fury” in recent times, clash this evening at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, in a crucial Group A match of the 2012 Caribbean Twenty20 competition, in which the winner will almost certainly have one foot in the semi-finals.
Ever since that famous evening on August 13, 2006, when Narsingh Deonarine swung Samuel Badree over mid-wicket for six, to clinch the inaugural Stanford 20/20 competition – battles between the neighbouring countries at regional limited overs level over the past five years have been extremely feisty.
The most recent exchange between these opponents occurred last October during the Regional Super50 tournament hosted by Guyana, which ended with the Trinidadians ousting the Guyanese in the semi-final in a four-wicket triumph.
With another chapter in this pulsating rivalry likely to be written this evening, Stabroek Sport spoke to a number of cricket aficionados to gauge their perspectives on tonight’s fixture.
Clive Lloyd, renowned former West Indies player and captain from 1966-1985, ICC Match Referee, Member of ICC Cricket Committee, said: “I’m hoping Guyana wins. I know it’s going to be a tough game against formidable opponents who are a very good all-round team, which is why they have been such a force in regional cricket in recent years and have represented the region well in the Champions League tournament. The top-five in their batting with Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, the Bravos and Keiron Pollard of course are very good and that young guy Cooper (Kevon) is an interesting little player as well. So really if Guyana defeats Trinidad and Tobago they potentially can win the competition, since toppling such a strong opponent, from experience, tends to give teams the kind of positive impetus to push on in these sorts of tournaments.”
Roger Harper, former West Indies player from 1983-1996, former West Indies coach from 2000-2003, and current President of the Georgetown Cricket Association said: “Guyana and Trinidad clashes in the recent past have always been pretty close and this one is likely to be very similar, given that it’s a key clash in this group (Group A). The key periods of the game will be how the Guyanese batsmen play Sunil Narine and how the bowlers contain Keiron Pollard. Guyana has a batting line-up with a lot of depth and historically in limited overs cricket have always shown great capability in chasing well, so maybe that is tactically an area that management may chose to take advantage of. Overall though, I wish the team all the best in the game.”
Mark Harper, former Guyana regional cricketer from 1974-1991, and seasoned level three coach said: “This is the feature game of the tournament so far and Guyana will be confident going into the game, after starting well with a competent victory against the Leeward Islands. Guyana has a fairly good record against Trinidad in twenty20 in recent years, so I’m expecting a very keenly contested match. The team also seems very mentally ready for the competition, especially after up to late last week it seemed as if they wouldn’t play at all. So that in itself is a good early sign. How to combat the threat of Pollard is obviously going to be a big talking point, but quite clearly the Trinidad side is not a one-man unit. Their bowling attack is most certainly a high quality one by regional standards. Nevertheless I’m expecting Guyana’s bowling to hold its own. Someone like Steven Jacobs has a key role for example with the ball. I have worked with him and in a lot of ways he is replicating the role Lennox Cush did for the national side in this format a few years ago.”
Edwin Seeraj, hosts of Lotto Cricket Info and Quiz and NCN Sports Magazine said: “All games of cricket are important, but after the Windward Islands upset Trinidad on the opening day of the competition, tonight’s game is massive for both teams in the context of the tournament.
Although Guyana has a good record versus Trinidad in recent years, this is one of the stronger teams they have ever put out and they are lucky guys like Pollard and Bravo (Dwayne) decided not to stay longer in the ongoing Australian Big Bash league. The innings Pollard played against the Leewards reinforced the belief that most people already know of how dangerous he is in this format. From a cricket perspective it would be wonderful to see him repeat such an innings, but obviously as Guyanese fans we would hope he gets out cheaply. Guyana though has to keep their cool, if they get blasted for a few overs, they must not lose hope because in Twenty20 cricket, things can change quickly.”
Reon King, former West Indies fast bowler from 1999-2005 and current Guyana Cricket Board Cricket Development Officer said: “Before the competition when one looked at this group, it was always likely that the Leeward Islands were going to be easy to beat and the Windward Islands could upset either one of Guyana and Trinidad on a given day. So far both of these things have come to pass, thus it makes tonight’s game very interesting.
It showed that regardless of how strong Trinidad are on paper they can be beaten on the given day and if there is any team Trinidad are afraid of in the region based on past experiences – it is Guyana.”
Ramsey Ali, President of the Guyana Cricket Board said: “We have been working on the roles of each player during the twenty20 encampment last month. In the first game, this was exemplified with batting of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and the bowling of Steven Jacobs. As things stand, I’m pretty confident the team will get to the semi-finals.”
