Bajans plan to peak for semi-finals

ST JOHN’S, Antigua: Barbados team manager Tony Howard wants his players to peak in time for the semi-finals of the Red Stripe Bowl limited over competition this week. The defending champions qualified for the final four from Zone B on Saturday — winning three of their four matches, but were beaten by Antigua and Barbuda in an upset result in their second game.

“What we are really trying to do is to see if we can get all (parts of our game) right, and we have about three days to get them right,” Howard said. Howard said the performances in Zone B had been “up and down.” “The guys have not hit their true form but part of the problem is the type of tracks you get here (Antigua Recreation Ground). “This track (Saturday) stayed slow all day long. We had a couple of others which were very slow in the morning but sped up in the evening. So it has been a battle trying to get to grips with the conditions under which they have been playing.” He said they expect “to get different tracks” in Jamaica for the semis. “We already know what Kaiser is like and given that we are going to get even bounce and a little bit more pace, I expect to see a better performance,” Howard said.

The Barbados manager said the duration of the preliminary group was too long and that all the matches should not have been played at the same venue. “To play five matches in ten days on the same track, you are always going to have difficulty in reading the track. It is not exactly the easiest thing to do,” Howard said. He said hard-hitting 20-year-old batsman Dwayne Smith, who smashed a sizzling century against Guyana last Wednesday, needs to settle down before he attacks the bowling. “He played three games, didn’t get off in two of them, he got off in one. “What he really needs to do is start getting starts and once he gets starts he is going to be a difficult player to contain,” the manager said. Howard said Kurt Wilkinson, who has been nursing a finger injury since the first game, should be fit for the semis. “The finger seems to be getting better. We’ll give him a few days to get it right and once he gets into the nets he will be considered for the final XI. We leave Monday and then straight up to Kaiser so it’s going to be a long day so hopefully Tuesday afternoon we will be able to get knock.”

Looking at the West Indies Under-19 team that the Barbadians beat by three wickets on Saturday, Howard singled out some of the players for mention, including their captain Dinesh Ramdin. “I liked the captain Ramdin. He seems to be a good ‘keeper. A good captain too. Seems to understands what he is doing. “(Pacer Ravi) Rampaul, obviously he is a player for the future. He’s a guy who works hard at his bowling. He has two basic deliveries — one right up and one very short. If he works on one just back of the length he will be hand full. “Young (Rishi) Bachan seems to be able to control his bowling. Very steady left-arm orthodox with a good arm ball. He’s one as well we have to look at. “(Top order batsman Lendl) Simmons has the right attitude. He needs to temper his (game) a bit, but once he gets that balance right he will be all right. “(Left-handed batsman) Assad Fudadin is a guy who seems to be able to understand how to bat long. The West Indies haven’t found one of those for a long time,” Howard said. Barbados, who claimed the Red Stripe Bowl title last year with a victory over hosts Jamaica in the final, will be tackling Trinidad & Tobago in the semi-finals. Jamaica will face Guyana in the other semi-final match.