ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Two-time reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will try to stave off an anticipated strong challenge from dangerous Jamaica Scorpions, when they clash in the first semi-final of the Regional Super50 here today.
Red Force, who will be aiming for their fourth straight final, will enter the day/night affair at Coolidge Cricket Ground as heavy favourites but head coach Gus Logie said they would not be complacent and underestimate the Scorpions.
He pointed out that the Red Force squad was laced with experienced players who were familiar with championship games and much would rest on these personnel.
“The build-up has been pretty good for the players. In the squad, we do have some experienced players who knows what its about. [They’ve] been there, done that, led by the captain [Denesh Ramdin],” Logie said.
“He’s really and truly steered the ship to where ‘we are at this point in time and the players have responded very well to his leadership and his leadership has been both on and off the field, and I think it augurs well for Trinidad and Tobago cricket.
“We know how competitive and how dangerous the Jamaicans can be and we are prepared in every way possible for that. The players are all comfortable with their own games and we look forward to the challenge against the Jamaicans.”
Red Force finished top of Group A on 31 points after losing just one of their eight games played here in Antigua. That defeat came at the hands of English County Kent in their second game but they then sparked a six-game winning streak to dominate the group.
However, Logie said Red Force had started the campaign full of self-belief and the Kent loss had done nothing to diminish that.
“I think the confidence level has always been high. Not taking anything away from Kent, I think they played a good game … and the Kent bowlers exploited the conditions,” he explained.
“It looked a little bit more like English conditions … and our application was not 100 per cent and at the end of the day we paid the price.
“But the guys sat down [afterwards] and realized we did not perform to the best of their ability and we had to really and truly pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off.”
Red Force will look to Jason Mohammed who has been their only batsman to pass 300 runs with 313 while their attack has been spearheaded by seamer Ravi Rampaul with 17 wickets.
Scorpions, meanwhile, have trained their sights on their first final in five years, after a lean run in recent times.
They were second to hosts Barbados Pride in Group B but ended the preliminary campaign on a high, following their morale-boosting 74-run victory over the previously unbeaten Pride, in their penultimate outing.
Head coach Robert Samuels said, however, he was still waiting on Scorpions to execute the perfect game and believes the semi-final was the ideal opportunity.
“I think the players haven’t really put it together as I would like a 100 per cent but they are sparks,” he noted.
“We have won some Man-of-the-Match [awards], we’ve been doing well with the ball, we’ve been doing ok with the bat but I would like to see the bat do a bit more and then the ball will hold its own. We grew from strength to strength in Barbados and this is now Antigua.”
Having grown accustomed to the conditions in Barbados – especially those at Kensington Oval – Samuels warned that Scorpions would need to make some subtle adjustments for the new venue.
“Looking at the television, looking at the surface, this is a different surface from what we are used to. I must admit Kensington Oval was excellent in terms of ground, the pitch, the bounce, the carry – everything was excellent there and it suited our play,” he pointed out.
“Coming here now, the pitch still looks to be a good batting track but I’m thinking it’s void of grass … you have to show a little more patience on pitches like those. So we have to change our game plan just a little bit, not too much … but once our game comes together we are going to be a formidable opponent.”
Scorpions will look to former Test seamer Jerome Taylor who has taken 16 wickets, to lead their attack while they will use a team effort in the batting to build a competitive total.
The game bowls off at 1:30 pm (Eastern Caribbean time).
SQUADS:
RED FORCE – Denesh Ramdin (captain), Nicholas Alexis, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit, Shannon Gabriel, Kyle Hope, Jon-Russ Jagessar, Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Kjorn Ottley, Khary Pierre, Roshon Primus and Ravi Rampaul.
SCORPIONS – Nikita Miller (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Gavon Brown, John Campbell, Andre McCarthy, Damion Jacobs, Brandon King, Reynard Leveridge, Rovman Powell, Damani Sewell, Jerome Taylor, Steven Taylor, Devon Thomas and Chadwick Walton.
