WEST Indies Under-19 World Cup winner, Jyd Goolie and left-arm spinner Khary Pierre have been named in the T&T Red Force team for the first two matches of the Digicel Regional 4-Day tournament which bowls off next Friday.The pair, along with all-rounder Roshon Primus, were the only uncapped players in the 13-man squad that will open its campaign against the Windward Islands Volcanoes on November 11 in a day/night match at the Queen’s Park Oval, from 3 p.m. The Red Force will then play arch rivals Barbados Pride in Round Two of the tournament at the same venue, starting on November 18.
Goolie has been consistent with the bat throughout the trials, stroking an unbeaten 107 to force his way into the Red Force team.
The batting all-rounder was scheduled to attend the Darren Lehmann Academy in Australia this month, but will be involved in the 4-Day tournament instead.
Meanwhile, Yannick Ottley will continue as captain. The batting all-rounder led the Red Force in a couple matches last season when the T&T franchise finished fourth in the six-team standings. Ottley also captained teams at every trial match this season.
West Indies A team players Jason Mohammed, Kyle Hope and Jon Russ Jaggesar will also be in the mix, while Rayad Emrit and Evin Lewis will be unavailable for selection.
Head coach Gus Logie is also satisfied with his team’s preparation for the 4-Day tournament, saying that his charges are fitter and hungry for success this season.
“Our preparation has taken into consideration all aspects of the game. We looked at our fitness levels and we worked on improving that, discussed our teams goals and mental strength,” said Logie.
“At the end of the day, we discussed our expectations of each other and improving our skill level. We have done a lot of work in the nets and unfortunately the pitch at the National Cricket Centre is under reconstruction so we were unable to have enough middle practice as we would want to, but the nets were available to us and we had a few practice games.
“The players have been going through various cross-training. We have been doing swimming, playing table-tennis and doing everything possible to get our minds right for the season,” Logie added.
RED FORCE SQUAD: Jeremy Solozano (Queen’s Park), Kyle Hope (Pickwick CC & FC Clarke Road), Yannic Cariah (Queen’s Park), Jason Mohammed (PowerGen), Yannic Ottley – Captain (FC Clarke Road), Jyd Goolie (FC Clarke Road), Steven Katwaroo (Alescon Comets), Imran Khan (Alescon Comets), Roshon Primus (Wanderers & Alescon Comets), Marlon Richards (Merry Boys), Khary Pierre (Queen’s Park), Jon Russ Jaggesar (Caldrac Club), Sheldon Cottrell. (Trinidad Express article)