PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul says he is champing at the bit for Guyana’s showdown with Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Twenty20 on Saturday night.
Both teams will put their unbeaten records on the line in the clash that will bring the curtain down on the first phase of the CT20 campaign, before the tournament moves to St Lucia next week.
“This will be a great show! It is really exciting to hear that the match sold out almost two days before we have to play,” Chanderpaul said on Friday.
“This has never happened before, at least not since I have been involved in Guyana and West Indies cricket, and this is a wonderful thing. I am really looking forward to playing in the match. This will be great for the game of cricket in the West Indies.”
T&T are on top of the standings with nine points from two wins and a no-result against Jamaica on the opening night of the tournament a week ago.
Guyana, meanwhile, have not been at their best but have managed two sensational wins in their two outings, after seemingly dead and buried.
On Thursday night, they successful defended a paltry 108, beating Barbados by 42 runs in another exciting game at Queen’s Park Oval.
Chanderpaul said though T&T were playing at home, Guyana expected plenty of support from the Guyanese living in Trinidad.
“We know there will be a lot of Trinis in the stand supporting their team and that’s fine. They are the home team and that’s part of home advantage,” he pointed out.
“But there are also quite a few Guyanese living here so we expect some support as well. A lot of people have also flown in to see the tournament and that will add to the support.”
He continued: “The way things have been going with our games and the Trinidad games, the people have really caught on and we knew they would come out and support the match. We have played well and we managed to get two hard-fought wins.
“The ‘fellas’ have been working really hard and we will come out looking for a win tomorrow. We are proud of what we have done so far but there is still a long way to go.”
Guyana won the inaugural CT20 back in 2010 while T&T have won both titles since.
