Port of Spain, Trinidad – Leeward Islands Hurricanes coach Ridley Jacobs wants to see an improved showing from his team in this year’s NAGICO Super50 one-day series.
The Leewards finished last in their group last year and were last overall in the 2012/13 tournament.
Jacobs said that he wanted to see improvements in “all areas”. “We didn’t bat very well in the last NS50 and we did not bowl in the right areas, so I believe if we can get these two things right we will be far more competitive in the upcoming tournament,” he added.
Their preparations for the tournament have been going well and Jacobs is hopeful his players will, “put things together and give a good account of themselves.”
“We have been together for the last five days and we have been working hard on simulating match situations because I think that we need to have a plan going forward for a game setting instead of being restricted to just net sessions,” he explained.
We are setting targets and trying to get to those targets, so that they are actually playing a game, so that when they get into the tournament, they will have a clear understanding of what it is they need to do to win games,” the coach added.
Jacobs was also confident that he had a good team that could challenge for the title.
He said it was important that the senior players like skipper Devon Thomas and vice-captain Jahmar Hamilton put up good scores on the board and that the other players rally around them.
Jacobs said his team was focused and fully aware that the Leeward Islands have been poor over the last few years.
“They know that we need to improve on all areas of our game and continue to work hard to try to change things around,” Jacobs explained.
“We must play together as a unit. We must come together as a family. We must get to know each player’s strengths and weaknesses, and the same about players from other teams.
“We also need our players to aim to put the performances that would allow them to play for West Indies,” Jacobs added.
Leeward Islands Hurricanes: Devon Thomas (Captain), Shane Burton, Jason Campbell, Rahkeem Cornwall, Jahmar Hamilton, Montcin Hodge, Shane Jeffers, Steve Liburd, Jeremiah Louis, Anthony Martin, Orlando Peters, Austin Richards Jr, Lyndell Richardson, Gavin Tonge.
Team management unit: Ridley Jacobs (Head Coach), Leroy Percival (Manager), Masefield Neblett (Physiotherapist). (Reprinted from Trinidad Express)