Never-say-die attitude does it again for Young Guns

TRINIDAD and Tobago’s young cricket team yesterday produced another gutsy and determined performance to beat Guyana and lift the President’s Cup, symbol of regional one-day cricket supremacy. And yesterday team manager Omar Khan credited the team’s never-say-die attitude as one of the most significant factors in their success. “The guys never gave up and lost belief in themselves and their abilities,” he said after Trinidad and Tobago earned a four-wicket victory against the defending champions at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Chasing the modest Guyana total of 160 in a match reduced by early rain to 45 overs, Trinidad and Tobago were reduced to 86 for six before the big partnership of 78 between Imran Jan and allrounder Richard Kelly secured the impressive win. Khan said from the Silver Rock Hotel yesterday that despite the slump, in which three top order batsmen failed to get off the mark, the players never panicked and the thought of losing never came into their minds. “We always knew we had the depth in batting to come out on top. Jan has become an experienced player who held the innings together in the end and Kelly had the talent and confidence to bat on,” said Khan. He said the players had learned from the experience gained against Jamaica and the Leeward Islands in the preliminary rounds that they could climb out of any hole that they found themselves in which reflected the confidence they had in their abilities.

Khan said the dream start Trinidad and tobago had of reducing their opponents to four wickets for 19 runs after winning the toss and sending them in was not surprising in the least. “The overcast conditions and the state of the wicket were always going to favour the bowlers who played according to plan keeping a correct line and length and it paid off,” Khan said. Riyad Emrit took three of the first four Guyanese wickets to fall and ended up with four for 27 in  nine overs. Khan also singled out the outstanding fielding of the Trinidad and Tobago team effecting spectacular catches, throwing with accuracy to force run outs and saving valuable runs in the outfield. Emrit credited coach David Williams with their impressive fielding describing the former West Indies wicketkeeper as a “field-a-holic” which earned the team kudos from one radio commentator as the best fielding performance of the three-week tournament.

Skipper Daren Ganga, in the postmatch presentation function commended his young team saying that the victory will surely earn them the respect they deserve from the other territories. Ganga said despite losing the services through injury of several top players including Brian Lara, Mervyn Dillon and Dwayne Bravo, the young replacements proved their more than deserved places in the team. “They never gave up despite the odds. They are true champions,” said Ganga. Yesterday, Khan said the players dedicated the one-day victory, the first in eight years, to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and were hoping that they had made everyone proud. The new champions are expected back home today at 1.40 pm on a Caribbean Star flight from Barbados.