BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Denesh Ramdin said winning the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament was a testimony to the strength and the depth of the Trinidad & Tobago side.
The T&T captain was speaking after explosive batting, led by Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, followed by crippling bowling coasted the “Red Fury” to their second straight CT20 title on Sunday with a crushing 63-run victory over Jamaica in the Grand Final on Sunday at Kensington Oval.
Ramdin conceded that losing their first match of the tournament against Windward Islands was the reality check his side required to get them focussed on the job.
“We have a great bunch of players in this team and a superb support staff and that is what did it for us,” said Ramdin.
“We are known as the ‘Red Force’ and we showed we are a true force. We didn’t get it right in the first match, the Windwards gave us a kick up the backside, but we came back as a good strong force against Leewards and against Guyana as we found our range.”
He added: “After that it was smooth sailing because we know we have match-winners in all departments.
“We actually thought that Jamaica would have been stronger in the Final, but our bowlers did a fantastic job in the first six overs and that squeezed them. After that we knew we had the trophy in our hands.”
It was the second time T&T defeated Jamaica in a regional T20 final and avenged their loss in the Regional Super50 final last October in Guyana, preventing Jamaica from becoming Triple Crown champions.
This was also the first major tournament that T&T have won under new captain Denesh Ramdin, following the controversial resignation of the long-standing Daren Ganga.
The biggest prize for T&T however, is a third trip to the lucrative Champions League T20 later this year in India, where they will face the World’s best T20 franchises.
Ramdin hailed the value of having star players like Bravo and Pollard in the line-up for important matches like the Final.
“It is always great to have these two fantastic players on the field for us,” he said. “Once you have Dwayne and Polly on the field it makes the job of captain that much easier.
“They can do damage to the opposition and make life very difficult for them as we saw here.
“I also want to congratulate our bowlers – Sunil Narine, Samuel Badree, Ravi Rampaul and Kevon Cooper – who did everything right.”
Ramdin also welcomed the support his side received in the second phase of the competition in Barbados, with a sea of red spread across the World-famous ground for the Grand Final.
“It was great to see the way our fans came out and supported us here in Barbados for the semi-finals and the Final,” said Ramdin. “It was like a home away from home.
Also we were delighted that the games were being seen on [television] all over the World, so the fans could see the talent in our team as well as all the talent in the other teams across the Caribbean.”
