Pugnacious Barbados batsman Dwayne Smith said that his current team is one of the best he has seen and played in over the years and he is optimistic about weighing in with big runs today when Barbados and the undefeated Guyana Jaguars clash in round three of the 2014/15 WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) Regional Four-day tournament.
Stabroek Sport caught up with the 31-year-old West Indies player who along with the rest of his teammates, was preparing for their practice session yesterday at the venue of today’s match, the Guyana National Stadium, Providence. Despite the rain and the other trainings sessions which were affected by the weather during the previous rounds, Smith noted that the team has gelled incredibly well which he says is due to them playing together in the Under-15 levels.
“I think we have been gelling very good, majority of the guys have played together coming from the U-15 levels so they all know each other and it’s good to see they are grouped together. I think it’s one of the best teams I’ve seen in terms of togetherness for the years I’ve played, it’s just for the guys to put in the performances and I know they will do it; it’s a good emerging team,” he said.
Smith, who is regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, especially in the limited over formats, remains a key figure in the Barbados team for the four-day set-up as he brings seven first-class hundreds along with 15 half-centuries and 128 wickets to the table, statistics which can earn him the complimentary tag of being one of the “Big fishes” in the side.
Smith is not impressed with his notoriety as a ball-beater, a bowler with a golden arm or a sublime fielder. The all-rounder opined that he will definitely need to step up as one of the senior players for the remainder of the competition, while disclosing that Barbados will miss Captain Kraigg Brathwaite who has left the squad to perform his duties as opener in the upcoming West Indies/South Africa Test series. Nevertheless, he is confident that the other youngsters in the side will step up.
“Apart from Kraigg we still have some youngsters coming through, I’m an experienced guy. I still need to get in some performances, it’s just for me to get some good scores and move on from there but like I said we still have some good youngsters coming through that can put out some good performances as well,” he said.
The explosive right-hander said that the encounter between Guyana and Barbados will be highly competitive and his team is rearing and ready to go. “We’ve been unfortunate to have the bad side of the rain, but we are still confident that the boys can come and put on a good game,” he said.
When asked if he thinks that there are specific areas where his team needs to improve to gain the upper hand over the table-leaders, Smith said, “Our area is to improve on our game, we can’t really look at their game (Guyana). I know once we do our basics right we can come out on top. We’ve had the better hand of Guyana over the years we just need to look at our game and we will come out on top.”
Barbados is aiming to topple the Jaguars who have roared to two consecutive wins at home. Meanwhile, the local side is seeking to continue their dream winning streak by wrapping up their final match at home with another win before winging out to Trinidad and Tobago for the fourth round.
Guyana Jaguars (34), T&T Red Force (20), Jamaica (19), Barbados (12), Leeward Islands (06) and Windward Islands Volcanoes (04), heading into the third round.
