Dillon fit for Barbados

TRINIDAD and Tobago, smarting from a two-run defeat by Jamaica in their final preliminary match in  the Red Stripe Bowl cricket series, will be buoyed by the fact that lanky West Indies pacer Mervyn Dillon is fit and will be playing against Barbados in their semi-final on Friday.

This was revealed by team manager Omar Khan yesterday. Speaking from his hotel in Jamaica,  the PowerGen engineer said: “Mervyn Dillon was passed fit to play against Jamaica but we did not want to risk further injury seeing that we were already in the semis. “He is okay right now and will be coming up against Barbados on Friday.” Dillon was struck by lightning last week while batting against the Windward Islands.

Khan reported that although the team lost narrowly to Jamaica by two runs, the team spirit was still very high. “The boys have put that one behind them already and will be going after the Barbadians with full gusto. “We have to take the positives out of the last match, for instance the batting of Aniel Kanhai, Shazam Babwah and skipper Daren Ganga who nearly took us home. “The Barbadians are a tough nut to crack but once our batting clicks we can defeat them. They have a very good professional outfit but we can overcome them in the semis. “Their strength lies in the bowling department with Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Vasbert Drakes and Pedro Collins. Once our batters can rise to the occasion, I see no reason why we can’t win this one. “Our bowling has been great all through the tournament and the batsmen must stand up and be counted now. The ground fielding was good against Jamaica but we let down a few catches and I have told the guys that they must be focussed for the entire innings, if  they want success.” Trinidad and Tobago have never won the Red Stripe Bowl. Last time they tasted limited overs success was in 1996 when Rajindra Dhanraj grabbed a hat-trick against Guyana in the final.