Such has been the form of the Jamaicans that they made a clean sweep of all their preliminary round games to finish top of the table but T&T captain Denesh Ramdin believes a huge upset is on the cards at Sabina Park.
“We played unbeaten in the Super 50 preliminaries and then CCC (Combined Campuses & Colleges) took us out in the semi-finals, so we believe we can do a similar thing to Jamaica,” said Ramdin, reflecting on his side’s misfortune in the one-day competition.
“They have not lost a match for the season and we are well aware they will be confident, but we believe we can pull off a result and reach the final.”
T&T, however, will need to play out of their skins of they are to beat Jamaica. They have been inconsistent this season, with three wins and three losses leaving them fourth on 36 points.
They are also without key experienced players – all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, Test batsman Darren Bravo, along with the West Indies pair of seamer Ravi Rampaul and off-spinner Sunil Narine.
Adrian Barath, who has experienced a poor run of form of late, has been dropped for the game following a long run of poor scores.
Their absences have left Ramdin with a huge hole to fill and he is hoping that the youthful faces in the squad grab the opportunity to shine on the big stage.
“We have some young players – Akeal Hosein, Steven Katwaroo and Jeremy Solozano – who are very exciting, talented and willing to go the extra mile. They have brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm,” the Windies wicketkeeper pointed out.
“We all know they can ‘play’ and they are confident of doing the job. We have worked hard. We know what is required. We believe we will deliver in this crucial match.
He added: “Our bowling has been very strong. The bowlers have been very steady, very reliable and did everything we have asked of them. We can’t complain about our bowlers.
“We expect another very good showing from the bowlers on the Sabina Park pitch, and once the batsmen give them scores to work with, I know our bowlers will do what they have done all season and get wickets for us.”
Much will therefore depend on opener Lendl Simmons and Ramdin to underpin the batting, while West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel and seamer Rayad Emrit, will lead the attack.
With five consecutive titles under their belt, it is difficult for Jamaica’s captain Tamar Lambert not to be confident but he recognises that T&T are not likely to just roll over.
“I expect it to be a challenge. It will be tough. Trinidad & Tobago are a competitive side and we have to prepare ourselves well for them,” he said.
“We are the defending champions. We did not win the Regional Super50 title and we want to make sure that we do not end the season empty-handed, so we want to win this tournament.”
With their run of form, they will definitely enter as favourites. Admittedly, their batting has been a let down but whenever this has happened, their spin-based bowling attack has bailed them out.
Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller remains their trump card and his 46 wickets this season has topped the charts.
Lambert said they were not taking anything for granted, despite the form they had displayed so far.
“We are going to try to take it one day at a time. Knowing it’s a semi-final, we want to play well. We are not a side that will get complacent that easily,” he pointed out.
“We have set our goals and it is to win the Regional Four-Day Tournament and this is just another stepping stone to the Final. We will not be dwelling too much on having won every match in the preliminary competition because this is a semi-final and we will be out of the competition if we lose.”
He continued: “The key will be to put runs on the board. We have struggled with our batting. Our bowling unit is capable of taking 20 wickets, but once we put the runs on the board, it will make things much easier for them.”
SQUADS:
JAMAICA – Tamar Lambert (captain), Carlton Baugh Jr, David Bernard Jr, Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Odean Brown, Sheldon Cotterell, Danza Hyatt, Andre McCarthy, Jamie Merchant, Nikita Miller, Brenton Parchment, Andrew Richardson
T&T – Denesh Ramdin (Captain/wicket-keeper), Yannic Carriah, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Akeal Hosein, Amit Jaggernauth, Steven Katwaroo, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Kjorn Ottley, Marlon Richards, Jeremy Solozano, Lendl Simmons.
UMPIRES: Gregory Brathwaite, Nigel Duguid.
