‘Jaggy’ back to boost TT cricketers

The national team is currently fourth in the standing on 21 points while the CCC are sixth on 12 points. TT will be without Denesh Ramdin who is representing the West Indies in the 1st Digicel Test against England in Kingston, Jamaica but has retained the services of off-spinner, Amit Jaggernauth who was released from the squad after not being selected.

“We welcome Jaggy back home, he was unfortunate not to be selected in the First Test match, but he is a tough guy who is focused and I know he will take a bundle of wickets as always and continue to deliver as he has done in the past for us,” said TT manager Colin Borde yesterday.

He added the team is finally coming together and hitting full stride, identifying the performances of opening batsmen Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath, scoring a double century and century against England for the West Indies “A” recently.

“The batsmen are coming along with Lendl and Adrian getting huge scores and I hope they continue with their good form,” emphasised Borde.

The TT manager noted that full points against the CCC is of utmost importance due to Jamaica’s good start to the season with the team ready to play aggressive, intelligent and tough cricket.

Yesterday captain of the CCC, Floyd Reifer unleashed a torrent of criticism on the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) for what he described as “the poor facilities” provided at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.

This was the second time so far this season that a visiting team has complained bitterly about arrangements made by the TTCB for training before their match.

Two weeks ago Windward Islands manager Lockhart Sebastien blasted the TTCB about the poor training facilities at PowerGen Ground in Penal as well as conditions at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre during round three of the tournament.

“I am not satisfied about the buildup we had because we had to practise on certain parts of the outfield because it was not the best. We also had to bat in the indoor nets because of the pitch, but we were able to do some catching and fielding,” said Reifer yesterday.

Reifer a former West Indies player and standout with Barbados explained that the problems encountered in Trinidad would not have happened in his homeland.

“When teams travel to Barbados they are provided with first class facilities so they are comfortable and are able to prepare for the match as best as possible. It is unfortunate to see that the same courtesy was not offered to us in Trinidad,” said Reifer.

Despite the unacceptable conditions, the CCC captain said that his players have made the best out of a bad situation and are ready for the start of the match.

“We play to win and always aim to be competitive in the matches. We are a developmental team and are improving, we will not be playing names but bat and ball and I am confident that we will have a competitive match,” added Reifer.

He revealed that he has never played at UWI/SPEC and the team will assess the conditions today but believe that the pacers will benefit from the rainy weather in TT and expects the wicket to have some moisture in it.

“We have a very balanced team who are capable, There is Gavin McLean who had a good performance against England playing for the West Indies “A”, Ryan Austin who has 17 wickets from three matches,” said Reifer.