… T&T time to put up or shut up
DESPITE the records showing one thing, Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) still feel they are the superior team to Guyana when it comes to Twenty20 cricket, even though they have lost all three matches to the Guyanese.
To this end, they have been invited to engage their Guyanese counterparts in two practice matches under the lights at the Guyana National Stadium tonight and tomorrow from 20:00 h each day, as part of Guyana’s preparation for the 2010 Airtel Champions League (ACL) in South Africa next month.
It was Guyana, and the only team to date, who defeated T&T in the final of the 2006 Stanford 20/20 tournament and the semifinals of the West Indies Cricket Board inaugural T20 tournament, with the latter victory earning the Guyanese a place in the ACL T20.
In-between, Guyana, thanks to some belligerent hitting from former Under-19 opener Rajendra Chandrika who struck 80 odd, were steered to another convincing victory in the Haiti Earthquake fundraising match at the Queen’s Park Oval, earlier this year.
Even though Guyana is the lone team to stop T&T in T20 cricket, the Twin Island Republic would not admit that they are inferior to the team from the Land of Many Waters and it is left to the home team to force them to say ‘No Mas’.
Earlier in the week, national skipper and West Indies middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan told Chronicle Sport everyone, including T&T, is entitled to his own opinion and he would not place himself in any verbal confrontation as to who is the better team, as the record speaks for itself.
He is not fazed by the Twin Island Republic team and is looking forward to the two practice matches which would give his team a chance to execute what they have been taught in their encampment period over the past three weeks.
No doubt, Guyana and West Indies opener Travis Dowlin who is also the region’s leading run-scorer in this form of the game and his opening partner Sewnarine Chattergoon would be looking to give their team a start that the middle can build on, as the same 11 who played unchanged in the Regional tournament, are expected to take the field today.
Guyana’s middle-order batting rests on the shoulders of Sarwan, Royston Crandon, Narsingh Deonarine, Christopher Barnwell and the new find of T20 cricket, 19-year-old Jonathan Foo.
While the exploits of Sarwan, Deonarine, Royston Crandon and to an extent Barnwell are known on the Regional scene, it was Foo who warmed the hearts of many cricket-lovers including the Barbadian public with his clean hitting that took Guyana to the title.
The Albion Sports Club all-rounder is known for tearing bowling attacks apart at the junior level on the local scene and one can recall that final over of the day at Police Sports Club ground two years ago, when he tore into the bowling of Malteenoes Sports Club youth fast bowler Seon Daniels in a national Under-19 trial match.
It was that batting attitude which shook the Caribbean and even though he failed against T&T in the semifinal (the lone time he was dismissed), he saved the best for last in the final when he plundered an unbeaten 42 from 17 deliveries against Barbados.
Such batting exploits by a young batsman in his first major tournament for his country, speak volumes for his career and along with the experienced middle order and the lower order, T&T would definitely have to put up or shut up tonight and tomorrow night.
Veteran all-rounder Lennox Cush should be on a high, not because he is the lone man to take two hat-tricks in T20 cricket, but for his present form with the bat. He scored a ton the last time he walked to the wicket, albeit for the USA in the ICC Division Three tournament in Italy.
Add all-rounder Esaun Crandon and wicketkeeper/batsman Derwin Christian to the fray, coupled with Devendra Bishoo who showed he is no rabbit with the bat, against Barbados, and the thousands of home fans who are expected to storm the venue tonight can expect their team going up 4-0 against T&T.
Coach Rabindranauth Seeram stated his bowling department was the weakest area in the team, but judging from their performance in the WICB T20 tournament, except for the semifinal encounter against T&T (which they won), they held up well.
Led by Cush who claimed the leading wicket-taker title with his 11 victims including a hat-trick against Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and Bishoo who was later named the MVP, Guyana restricted all their opponents’ powerful batting lineup.
Esaun and Royston Crandon offered valuable support, with the latter routing T&T in the semi-final match-up, while Deonarine and Barnwell are useful customers with bat in hand.
Guyana’s out-fielding and catching were of exemplary standard throughout the tournament – a fact that was highlighted by former West Indies coach Roger Harper, who was added to the coaching staff during the encampment period.
In fact, both Harper and Seeram along with trainer Orin Bailey were taking the players through intense fielding drills, while the bowlers were going through spot bowling under the supervision of Harper.
Sarwan said he was looking to hit South Africa running and hard and certainly with the exposure they have been getting in their encampment period, they will be doing so, as one source told Chronicle Sport, “I have never seen a national team undergo such a rigorous training session before. This is business in every sense of the word.”
Arguably, Daren Ganga is the best skipper in the Caribbean and he will be at the helm of the T&T team for the two encounters, but will be missing the services of energetic all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and the hard-hitting Kieron Pollard.
Bravo is fulfilling a contract in England with Essex while Pollard, whose big-hitting attitude while not as clean as Foo’s and earned him a huge pay day in the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL), from which the ACL was born, is recovering from a facial injury incurred in a County match also in England.
Pollard has been replaced Richard Kelly an all-rounder who is being recalled out of the wilderness of T&T”s cricket and how well he fills the void left by both Dwayne Bravo and Pollard is left to be seen over the next two days.
There are also West Indies openers Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo the younger broter of Dwayne Bravo, all-rounder Rayad Emrit, Daren’s younger brother Sherwin Ganga and the lesser known Justin Guillen, a player who plies his trade in Barbados for Pickwick Cricket Club.
Their bowling will hinge around Emrit, Sherwin Ganga, Kevin Cooper and Dave Mohammed who took two wickets each for 8 and 12 runs in their team’s 10-wicket win over Jamaica, Pollard and Imran Khan.
Whichever way the coin lands, at the end of the match Guyana should be looking to achieve as much practice as possible before they head off to South Africa on September 5 and with the legendary Dave Martins singing his trademark song ‘Not a Blade of Grass” on both days before Guyana take the field, the action is bound to be at fever pitch level in the middle when it gets under way at 20:00 h.
There will be one supporting match on both days, with today’s supporting match which bowls off at 16:00 h involving DJ Stress’ T20 Festival winners Universal DVD Club Berbice Titans and former champions Hotel Tower New Line Cavaliers.
Tomorrow’s supporting match will be contested between Gizmos and Gadgets Georgetown and East Coast Jaguars commencing at 16:00 h and with an admission fee of $1 000 taking patrons to any of the four stands in the venue, a packed-to-capacity crowd is expected on both days.
T&T from: Daren  Ganga ( captain), Lendl Simmons, Justin Guillen, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Kervon Cooper, Sherwin Ganga, Imran Khan,
Dave Mohammed, Rayad Emrit, Daniel St Clair and Sunil Narine. Colin Borde (manager), Kelvin Williams (coach) and Ronald Rogers (trainer)
Guyana from: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo,         Sewnarine Chattergoon, Derwin Christian, Esaun Crandon, Royston Crandon, Lennox Cush, Narsingh Deonarine, Travis Dowlin, Jonathan Foo, Assad Fudadin, Steven Jacobs, Paul Wintz, Richard Ramdeen. Carl Moore (manager), Rabindranauth Seeram (coach), Orin Bailey (trainer), Beverley Nelson (physiotherapist).