TT seek revenge on Windwards

BOOSTED by the addition of West Indies players Mervyn Dillon and Ricardo Powell, Trinidad and Tobago will be aiming to avenge their away defeat by Windward Islands when they meet in a seventh round Carib Beer Series match at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre from 10 am  today. Skipper Daren Ganga will now have under his charge some experienced players in both departments of the game to chase an outright victory to stay in the race for a place in the Carib Challenge Trophy final.

The Trinidad and Tobago “Young Stars” made a grand start to the campaign, winning their first two matches outright after a washout at the same venue against Guyana. But their resounding victories over Barbados and Leeward Islands were soon followed by shock defeats to the Windwards at Arnos Vale, St Vincent,  Jamaica at Alpart Sports Complex and Guyana. Although his own batting form has been a worrying factor, Ganga should be  more at ease with the inclusion of  Dillon to spearhead the bowling attack alongside the youthful Richard Kelly and Rayad Emrit.

He can also call upon Dwayne Bravo and of course Powell to supplement the attack. This should be good enough for Trinidad and Tobago to beat Windwards, and put themselves in a position to add to the President’s Cup they won on October 31 last year, beating  Barbados at Kensington Oval in the final. Ganga will also be well pleased with the batting form wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin who scored his maiden First Class century against Guyana last week. However, the spotlight will be on spinners Amit Jaggernauth and teenager Rishi Bachan who made an auspicious start to his First Class career with five wickets against the powerful Guyanese batting line-up.

His variations could spell trouble for the Rawle Lewis-led Windwards which has been forced to make some changes. Windwards have been well served by West Indies players Devon Smith, Junior Murray, Darren Sammy and leftarmer Deighton Butler. They, along with Craig Emmanuel, Kenroy Peters and Shane Shillingford, are expected to carry the burden of thwarting TT once again.

Teams: TRINIDAD and TOBAGO (from): Daren Ganga (capt), Denesh Ramdin (vice-capt), Lendl Simmons, Ricardo Powell, Dwayne Bravo, Gregory Mahabir, Imran Khan, Samuel Badree, Richard Kelly, Rayad Emrit, Rishi Bachan, Mervyn Dillon and Amit Jaggernauth.
WINDWARDS (from): Rawle Lewis (capt), Devon Smith, Junior Murray,
Craig Emmanuel, Sergio Fedee, Alvin LaFuille, Ezekiel Francis, Darren Sammy, Deighton Butler, Kenroy Peters, Shane Shillingford, Camilus Alexander, Jean Paul.
Umpires:  Harry Rajkumar (TT) and Clancy Mack (Windwards). Standby is
Desmond Geoffrey (TT).