BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Multiple time champions Barbados Pride and Trinidad and Tobago Red Force have both exuded confidence ahead of the Regional Super50 Cup which bowls off in Antigua today.
With their sides featuring a plethora of international players, Pride and Red Force have been installed as early favourites for the February 7-27 championship which also features Jamaica Scorpions, Guyana Jaguars, Windward Islands Volcanoes and hosts Leeward Island Hurricanes.
Red Force will be captained by West Indies white-ball skipper, Kieron Pollard, and include the likes of Darren Bravo, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Lendl Simmons and former Test captain Denesh Ramdin.
And Ramdin said the presence of international players had definitely instilled a sense of confidence Red Force could pick up their first title since 2016.
“Having all the international players back with the experience, [it] is important that we go out and execute,” Ramdin told an online media conference.
“[With] all the players making themselves available, we want to go out there and win the title but as I said, we can’t win the title by just saying it, we need to go out there and perform as well.
“The other teams are coming for us [as] one of the strongest teams in the tournament on paper.
“At the end of the day we are going to take it one game at a time. As I said before, we are going to go out there and enjoy our cricket which is most important.
“Our captain, he is very passionate and he wants to go out there and do well.”
Pollard, Pooran, Narine, Lewis and Lendl Simmons are all currently campaigning in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in the United Arab Emirates, but Ramdin said this was not expected to impact Red Force’s preparations.
“I don’t think it will be a problem or hamper us as a team. They have been playing cricket at the moment so most of them have been doing quite well, and those of us back home have been preparing quite well for this tournament.”
Pride, meanwhile, champions four years ago, were stunned by the late withdrawals of West Indies one-day star Shai Hope and his brother Kyle, after both tested positive for COVID-19 while preparing to depart the island for Antigua.
They have been replaced by Zachary McCaskie and wicketkeeper-batsman Tevyn Walcott, but Pride still retain seven players with international experience in their squad, and captain Jason Holder believes there is enough firepower to excel.
“It’s obviously a big blow missing experienced players but I think we’ve got adequate replacements,” the regular West Indies Test captain noted.
“We’re taking their health into consideration and hoping that they get well soon and not only them but their family.
“For us we’ve got a job to do here. We just want to get on the park now and play some cricket.
We’re looking forward to the tournament, I think the teams are evenly matched and I think the competition itself should be a really good one.”
Scorpions, who last won a regional one-day in 2011, said they were also confident of putting forward a title challenge, even though practice matches had been lacking during their preparation.
“If we as a team don’t have that belief, we should be back in Jamaica – not in Antigua,” said senior player and West Indies fast bowler, Sheldon Cottrell.
“The spirit of the team is quite good and we have a wonderful balance, a mixture of young guys and some experience so I think we have a good chance.”
Volcanoes, champions three years ago, have put out a young team for the tournament, and believe they can also make their mark.
“I think it is an opportunity for us youngsters to grab hold of the opportunity in the tournament … and we’re just looking forward to the challenges ahead,” said 21-year-old batsman Emmanuel Stewart, who is one of two former West Indies Under-19 captains in the squad along with 20-year-old Kimani Melius.
Without a title in 16 years, Jaguars will be hoping to break their protracted barren streak, and exciting West Indies left-hander Shimron Hetmyer hopes he can make an impact, despite his lack of cricket recently.
“I see it more as a challenge than anything else because I haven’t been playing any cricket since [the tour of] New Zealand,” the vice captain said.
“I’m really looking forward to being around the guys and playing competitive cricket again.”
Hurricanes will be hoping to go one step further than the last tournament in 2019, when they crashed to a shock defeat to West Indies Emerging Players, and leg-spinning all-rounder Hayden Walsh believes success is possible.
“We’re definitely looking to start with a bang and like everyone else, we’re looking to grab the title,” said Walsh, who has recovered after testing positive for COVID-19 in Bangladesh last month while on West Indies duty.
“Last year we were this close but this year I think we can actually do it with the firepower that we have.”
