Rampaul takes ball today in practice match

West Indies young fast bowler Ravi Rampaul will bowl outdoors today for the first time since he sustained shin splints in England earlier this year. The Clico Preysal player was forced to abort the West Indies tour and return to home midway during the mp Power Test series and NatWest One-Day Internationals. He also missed the ICC Champions Trophy and the West Indies Cricket Board President’s Cup tourney. Rampaul has been undergoing rehabilitation under the supervision of Dr Terry Ali and national trainer Gerard Garcia at the Ato Boldon Stadium and the Sir Frank Worrell Development Centre, both in Balmain near Couva.

He played in the first trial match but batted after being advised not to push himself too fast. He  started bowling from the short run-up at the Angostura Indoor Nets. Rampaul was expected to spearhead the South team bowling attack but was further advised not to go through the rigours of such a highly competitive match as the Pizza Hut/Gerry Gomez North-South Classic held last weekend at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain. According to Dudnath Ramkessoon, chairman of senior selectors, Rampaul will bowl for short spells and would not be required to go flat out. “It will be a gradual return process for Rampaul. He will be used in short spells — probably three or four overs per spell. He will not attempt to push himself too much or try to bowl too fast in the initial stages. We want him to be comfortable with himself and bowl at his own discretion.”

Ramkessoon is hoping that Rampaul will be fully fit to play in the upcoming First Class season. “We are hoping that Rampaul will regain full fitness and be available for selection for the national team in the upcoming season. It will be a longer programme than usual. There are ten rounds and we are hoping that all the players will be able to sustain the work load,” Ramkessoon said. The Carib Beer Series regional tournament starts with TT against Guyana in a first round match at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain from January 7 to 10. Meanwhile there has been a change in the original two teams listed to play the final three-day trial match which starts today at Gilbert Park, California.

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who was listed to lead Team “B” has withdrawn from the match for personal reasons and Dinesh Ramdin will instead lead Team “B.” He was originally slated to do wicketkeeping duties with Team “A” which is being led by Test fast bowler Mervyn Dillon. Gibran Mohammed switches places with Ramdin. Jamaican-born Ricardo Powell, who was listed for Team “A” is now in Team “B with Imran Jan coming into Team “A.” Jan who was forced to miss the North-South Classic due to to the flu and Bravo led the North team instead. Jan has recovered partially but is anxious to play. TT captain Daren Ganga who trained with the WI squad in Barbados for three-weeks and then led South in the Pizza Hut/Gerry Gomez Classic, will take a sabbatical from the rigours. The trial match starts at 10 am today.

Team “A”: Mervyn Dillon (captain), Tishan Maraj, Sherwin Ganga, Gregory Mahabir, Lendl Simmons, Imran Jan, Samuel Badree, Gibran Mohammed, Dave Mohammed, Rodney Sooklal, Brent Harriot and Richard Harris.
Team “B”: Dinesh Ramdin (captain), Earnil Ryan, Imran Khan, Ricardo Powell, Kenton Thompson, Shazam Babwah, Richard Kelly, Ravi Rampaul, Amit Jaggernauth, Rishi Bachan, Kyron Lynch and Theodore Modeste.