HAVING seen their male counterparts Trophy Stall take the inaugural Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T)-sponsored nationwide 10/10 softball title in 2010, Trophy Stall Angels will be looking to emulate them, when they face 4R Lioness in Sunday’s female final at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
Sponsor of the team and proprietor of the Trophy Stall in Bourda Market and Hadi’s City Mall, Ramesh Sunich, yesterday told Chronicle Sport that he is brimming with confidence for his team who overcame their fiercest opponent Mike’s Wellwoman in the semifinal.
“I am very confident that the girls can bring home the bacon on Sunday. I say so with pride, after I watched them defeat Mike’s Wellwoman in the semifinal, since to me that was their stiffest opponent in the competition.
The entire team is playing well and we are playing team cricket and not individual cricket, even though we have the players in our lineup who can play that sort of game and for me, that augurs well for the team as they head into Sunday’s final,” said Sunich.
In looking at the composition of the team, one would see players of the calibre of June Ogle-Thomas, who has been tasked with the captaincy position, Kavita Yadram, Janelle Nero, Tanisha Ishack and the diminutive Anisa Persaud.
But according to Sunich, the names don’t matter as what takes place on the field Sunday is of more importance, not only to him but the team, a point that was also highlighted by Ogle-Thomas via telephone.
“We will be concentrating hard on our bowling and fielding as they are our weak areas and once we get it right, we will be holding the championship trophy at the end of the day.
“Our batting is a strong one, I think overall, it is the strongest in our category of the competition and I know we can chase anything they post on the board for us to get, while we ourselves will be looking to reduce them to anything under 70,” said Ogle-Thomas.
The former West Indies female wicketkeeper/batter has led from the front with the bat for her team, aggregating a total of 225 run from four innings at an average of 56.25, while she is yet to be dismissed.
“I am feeling confident for Sunday’s matchup, like Ramesh said, Wellwoman was our strongest opponent and we defeated them. We will not be complacent against 4R, as complacency can result in losing the game, but we will be going out there with the aim of finishing off the job amicably well and win the trophy,” stated Ogle-Thomas.
She added, “I will be looking to continue my form with the bat, while the support of the other girls would be tremendous and once we continue to play as a team, as we were doing before, then only we can defeat ourselves and allow 4R to take the title from us.
Janelle (Nero) has been bowling well for us, picking up a hat-trick during the preliminary rounds while Tanisha (Ishack) took 4-04 in the Super-16 round and we have Anisa Persaud-who turns the ball a lot, as our trump card. Overall, we are confident of victory on Sunday and will be looking for nothing less than the top prize.”
Asked to comment on the success of the team to date, a beaming Sunich said that was possible only by the team spirit they displayed, along with the work of athletics coach Lyndon Wilson.
“It would be selfish of me, if I don’t say a special thank you to Mr Wilson for the yeoman service he has put into the team this year. His input has made a vast difference, when I look at this year’s team and the one from last year.
Already, I have spoken to him about next year’s competition, with the view to retaining his services once again, not only for the females, but the males as well in all softball competitions, whether it is the GT&T 10/10 or Hadi’s/City Mall competitions, as I am looking to dominate softball cricket here in Guyana,” stated Sunich.
At stake in Sunday’s match between the female finalists is a top prize of $1M, while defending champions Wolf Warriors ad Regal XI will meet for the male title and a $2M cash prize.