T&T board to assess disappointing first-class performance

The Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) will be holding discussions with the team management on the disappointing fourth-place finish in the recently concluded Regional Four-Day Competition. The T&T side managed just two wins during the campaign, drawing eight matches and losing two.

"We pretty much know where we went wrong and why we did not win the title but all this will be discussed in one week's time with officials of the T&T board," team manager Colin Borde told CMC. "As is usual at the end of every series, we meet with the board to discuss what transpired and to work on a way forward.

"We had a pretty good season winning the Stanford 20/20 Championship and the regional limited-overs tournament (the WICB Cup) but we did not do as we would have liked in the first-class series."

T&T started the final round of matches last weekend in third position in the standings but an outright loss to Combined Campuses and Colleges at the Three Ws Oval resulted in a slip by one spot. Their only two wins came against the Windward Islands in the third round and the Leewards Islands, two months later, in the penultimate round.

"The on-tour management of the team has already assessed where we went wrong and in what areas we need to improve and now it is about meeting with the TTCB and showing them our plan of action," Borde explained.

"We have mapped out a plan for the next six months for this team and the TTCB would have to let us know if they have the resources for the planned programme."

Borde also blamed the weather for playing a key role in T&T's campaign - affecting a number of their matches and making it difficult to achieve outright results. "No one lost fewer games than us in the tournament," he said. "The champions Jamaica lost twice and we lost twice. Five of our games were affected by the bad weather and this proved costly to us. We thought that we did not get enough playing time out there to really have a chance of winning the tournament.

"And when we did get an opportunity to play, we had to contend with a number of injuries. We actually blooded eight players in this series and this comes like playing a second XI.

"Under these circumstances we found it very difficult to win this championship. What we are happy about through is the fact that we were able to expose these young players and they were able to get a taste of what regional cricket is like."

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Forget the excuses

Blaming the weather for Trinidad and Tobago's unsuccessful campaign this season is not only factually inaccurate, but shies away from addressing some of the more fundamental issues affecting the team

Don't blame the weather, please.

Given the amount of rainfall they've attracted all season, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for the senior national cricket squad to undertake a "Water the World" tour in places as diverse as Ethiopia and Australia in the hope that the moisture-laden clouds will follow them there and result in the sort of irrigation necessary for better crop yields at the next harvest.

All joke aside, though, apportioning primary responsibility for Trinidad and Tobago's disappointing 2009 regional first-class campaign to the elements would not only be factually inaccurate but, more importantly, avoids facing more fundamental issues within the team that need to be addressed if more years of frustration are not to follow.

But let's get this fallacy of being robbed by the rain out of the way first of all. Jamaica retained the title and gained first hold on the new Headley/Weekes Trophy with a final tally of 106 points. Daren Ganga's side, after crashing to defeat inside three days to the Combined Campuses and Colleges in Barbados over the weekend, concluded their 12-match campaign with 70 points. Eight of those fixtures ended in draws, almost all affected to greater and lesser degrees by the weather. But T&T would have had to be in potential winning positions in at least six of those matches for the argument to hold as much water as the covers did wherever they went.

That certainly wasn't the case, and even if it can be noted that vital momentum was lost at home to the CCC and then again when the Leewards were being pulverised, the evidence of the actual overall performances suggests that it is really stretching it to suggest that T&T would have been the new champions but for the amount of time they were kept off the field. If we want to contend that the loss of Ravi Rampaul before the start of the campaign and then Rayad Emrit on the opening day of the second round duel with Jamaica to injury were significant setbacks in the bowling department, there is clearly weight in that, especially as Rampaul showed his worth in claiming 33 wickets in the last six matches of the season.

Maybe we have the best structure, the best operational framework and more opportunities for players to develop their skills. However, the evidence of the last three-and-a-half months suggests that we may be mistakenly assuming that great quantity automatically translates into higher quality.

On the other side of the coin, Jamaica set the pace and were never really close to being caught from the halfway stage onwards, despite having to do without the services - in whole or in part - of Chris Gayle, Brendan Nash, Jerome Taylor, Daren Powell and Nikita Miller, all of whom were on West Indian duty at some stage of the competition.

So the consistent contention that Trinidad and Tobago have the widest pool of available talent and the greatest strength in depth in the region also seems to have run aground. Maybe we have the best structure, the best operational framework and more opportunities for players to develop their skills. However, the evidence of the last three-and-a-half months suggests that we may be mistakenly assuming that great quantity automatically translates into higher quality.

No sir, an appreciation of where it all went wrong can only be achieved if everyone with any role in the team structure, from the newest player to the most senior administrator, honestly reviews his own contribution to the national effort.

Last year, after the fiasco of the three-day defeat to Jamaica in the regional challenge final at Sabina Park, there was talk of a thorough investigation by the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. Whether or not it was properly conducted, the story of 2009 so far indicates that there are many unresolved matters that are impacting on the ability of the team to perform at a consistently high level.

First (and really the only issue as far as I am concerned), it must be determined whether cricketers representing us are really motivated to give their all for the country. Are too many of them in a comfort zone as a result of the money earned from their limited-over successes over the past three years, especially from Sir Allen Stanford's events? Are there lingering grouses with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board that are just being papered over?

Whatever the issues, be they significant or trivial, it is the results that matter at the end of the day. This is not a friendship society or benevolent organisation, so players getting along should be secondary to performances, as many of those involved in the halcyon days of West Indian dominance often remind us. Are players within the team set-up contributors to the constant bickering and mauvais langue that people close to the squad always seem to indulge in? Is the management structure of the set-up - from the captain to the coach to the manager to the administrators - prepared to make decisions in the best interests of Trinidad and Tobago cricket, even if it means doing without the services of certain players?

In the midst of all this modern team-bonding, lovey-dovey tripe, it seems the fundamental purpose of sporting competition at national level is being sacrificed for the sake of keeping the lads happy. You play to win, to bring honour to your country, and if you're a significant contributor to a successful side, there will be individual benefits to come.

More than anything else, the decision-makers at all levels of T&T cricket need to determine who really wants to represent us, or hire someone to come up with excuses - other than rain - for several years to come.

Fazeer Mohammed
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T&T fail to cash in on Rampaul's six-wicket haul

Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) suffered a batting collapse, after Ravi Rampaul had given them the upper hand against Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) at the Three Ws Oval. T&T wobbled to 95 for 6, replying to the CCC's first innings total of 153, which was kept largely in check by Rampaul's 6 for 44. He flattened CCC's top order, capturing all the five batsmen dismissed before lunch. He bowled opener Omar Phillips for 8, trapped Nekoli Parris lbw for 5, had Jamal Smith caught behind for a duck, before Kyle Corbin holed out to mid-on for 19, and captain Floyd Reifer was caught at second slip for 29 in the last hour prior to lunch. CCC continued the meek surrender after the break, before Khismar Catlin's late flurry pushed them up to a respectable 153. Catlin struck two fours and three sixes during his 50-ball 40. CCC hit back during the reply, as Shervon Penco took 3 for 32 and offspinner Ryan Austin picked up 2 for 38 to destabilise the T&T batting. Penco removed openers Adrian Barath and Imran Khan before Daren Ganga and Darren Bravo put on 51 for the third wicket. But a collapse followed once Penco had Ganga caught at backward point for 28. Austin added the scalps of Bravo and Kieron Pollard, and Anderson Sealy removed Amit Jaggernauth in the final over of the day to set-up a fierce battle for first-innings points on Sunday's second day.

Kieran Powell stroked a brilliant half-century as Leeward Islands shared honours with Windward Islands at St Thomas. Powell struck 88 as Leewards were bowled out for 243 after opting to bat first. Despite losing opening partner Montcin Hodge for 8, Powell starred in a 98-run second-wicket stand with Runako Morton. He was looked in good touch and produced an array of shots to reach his fifty. He finally ended on 88 off 118 balls, which included 12 fours and a six. Morton fell soon after, having hit seven boundaries during his 71-ball 53. It was left to Tonito Willett with an unbeaten 61 to hold the batting together, as legspinner Rawl Lewis (3-2) and medium pacer Mervin Matthew (3-43) combined to wreck the innings. Kenroy Peters and offspinner Shane Shillingford provided able support with two wickets each, as the last seven wickets fell for just 52. Windwards opener Johnson Charles provided a breezy start during the reply, scoring 31 off 18 balls. He shared a 55-run opening stand with Miles Bascombe (20) but legspinner Anthony Martin (2-12) removed both batsmen to haul Leewards back into the contest.

Royston Crandon scored a confident unbeaten 65 to spoil Barbados advance against Guyana on a rain-hit opening day at the Providence Stadium. On a day when over an hour's play was lost to the bad weather, Guyana finished on 208 for 6 when bad light stopped play with nine overs remaining. Still searching for their first win of the tournament, Guyana chose to bat and lost openers Chris Barnwell (13) and captain Sewnarine Chattergoon (16), before a heavy shower saw them taking an early lunch at 57 for 2. Assad Fudadin was trapped leg before to Kevin Stoute for 26, and when Vishal Singh edged Stoute to the keeper Guyana looked to be stuttering at 93 for 4. Wicketkeeper Delbert Hicks and Crandon then added 53 for the sixth wicket to prop up the innings. Crandon reached his fifth half-century of the season from 80 balls, hitting seven fours en route, and together with older brother Esaun Crandon saw Guyana safely through to stumps.

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In-form Barath must bide his time

Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo and any other Caribbean cricketer who feels harshly treated by the selectors must keep on believing that performance will eventually prevail over old talk and emotion.

Adrian Barath has every reason to feel hard done by at not being selected in the West Indies squad for the upcoming tour of England.

Still, the little right-handed opening batsman should steer clear of those seeking to console him with all sorts of destructive talk about bias and victimisation on the part of the senior regional selectors. It may be easier said than done, but the most productive way for the soon-to-be 19-year-old to channel that disappointment is to keep on scoring runs-at every level and trust that, sooner rather than later, his chance at the highest level will come.

It is, of course, small consolation for him to appreciate that he is not the first, and certainly won't be the last, to be overlooked despite an outstanding regional first-class season (810 runs at an average of 47.64).

Indeed, his Trinidad and Tobago team-mate, Darren Bravo, has also put up the kind of numbers (571 runs at 47.58) to suggest that he must have been worthy of some consideration, especially as the two Tests at Lord's and Chester-le-Street will be preceded by three first-class matches, representing an excellent opportunity, in the context of shorter and shorter build-ups these days, for newcomers to further their cricketing education in challenging conditions.

Such is the power of insularity in these former British possessions in the Caribbean that fans from almost every single territory can claim to have a grouse over any West Indies squad that is selected. That's just the nature of the beast in that very few will ever take the time for rational analysis, preferring instead to go the easy way of yielding to emotion which, at the end of the day, serves no useful purpose.

In any event, that will not make an iota of difference as far as the composition of the squad, but may actually heap more pressure and weight of expectation on young shoulders to justify all the noise made on his behalf the next time he walks to the crease.

And this is another thing. We're talking about very young players here who, barring injury or some other unforeseen development, have time on their side. Believe me, it may not be such a bad thing after all if Barath and Bravo are made even hungrier for the chance to step onto the senior international stage. All they need to do is appreciate the circumstances faced by their batting idol when he was kept waiting in the wings for what seemed an unreasonably long time.

Despite his obvious blossoming talent and increasing weight of runs, Brian Lara only got the chance to make his Test debut on the 1990 tour of Pakistan because of the absence of Vivian Richards. With the "Master Blaster" back at the helm for the home series against Australia and the subsequent tour of England, the brilliant left-hander was kept waiting a further 16 months before playing his second Test, the dramatic one-off duel with South Africa in front of deserted stands at Kensington Oval in 1992.

The challenge is to stay focused on what so far seems to be an elusive goal, trusting in your own ability to sway the decision-makers with what really matters in the end - performances on the field.

In between, he set a new standard for a record run-tally in a single season of the regional first-class competition (627), although established West Indies opening batsman Desmond Hayes surpassed that mark in the final match of the same campaign in 1991.

Indeed, the Australians who saw him at his sumptuous best in taking 91 off them in a one-day match against Trinidad and Tobago at Guaracara Park then were both bemused and grateful that such a talent was being kept on the sidelines.

Frustration did take its toll on the England tour that followed with the continuing inability to break into the Test XI contributing to a lack of motivation as he averaged less than 25 in nine first-class matches before an ankle injury forced him to return home early.

It is almost impossible for an eager young cricketer who is delivering the goods not to suffer a real let-down at some point, as Lara obviously did. The challenge therefore is to try as best as possible to stay focussed on what so far seems to be an elusive goal, trusting in your own ability to sway the decision-makers with what really matters in the end - performances on the field.

Contemporary West Indies cricket is littered with players who either burst onto the big stage in a blaze of glory only to fade out just as quickly, or just couldn't cut it at the top level despite continuing to dominate the regional scene.

Instead of eating themselves up about not being on the flight to London next week as members of the senior West Indies squad, Barath, Bravo and any other Caribbean cricketers who feel harshly treated by the selectors (for the record its Clyde Butts, Raphick Jumadeen, Robert Haynes, captain Chris Gayle and coach John Dyson) must keep on believing that performance will eventually prevail over old talk and emotion.

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Barath and Khan give T&T firm control

Openers Adrian Barath and Imran Khan scored centuries as Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) closed in on first-innings points against Leeward Islands at the Ronald Webster Park. An enterprising stand of 239 between Barath and Khan helped T&T close on 292 for 3, in pursuit of Leewards' first-innings total of 303. Khan top scored with 125 off 241 balls, comprising 14 boundaries, while Barath struck a 193-ball 113, which included 14 fours and a six. After the Leewards added just 13 to their overnight score of 290 for 9, Khan and Barath gave T&T a rousing start and by lunch they had reached 92 without loss. They kept up the tempo in the post-lunch session adding a further 91, with both batsmen nearing three figures Having reached their centuries, Barath was the first to fall, caught by Codville Rogers off Steve Liburd. Khan followed 11 runs later when he became the first of Brent Defreitas' two victims but T&T ensured safety till the close, despite losing Darren Bravo cheaply for 6.

Narsingh Deonarine stroked an attractive half-century on Saturday, even as Guyana faced an uphill battle against Jamaica at Jarrett Park. Deonarine scored 63 to move his aggregate for the season to 1013 runs, breaking the record of 974 runs held by former Leeward Islands batsman Stuart Williams. Resuming on 294 for 4, Jamaica's overnight batsman Carlton Baugh managed to add 13 to his overnight 50 before Brandon Bess trapped him leg before. The other not out batsman David Bernard got to 36, before falling lbw to Chris Barnwell. No significant contributions from the tail meant Jamaica ended on 389. Guyana were given a rousing start as Barnwell hit five fours and a six during a 31-ball 38, and posted 79 for the opening wicket with Sewnarine Chattergoon. Deonarine shared an important 48-run, third-wicket stand with Sewnarine Chattergoon (63) but both batsmen fell when seemingly set for big scores. Deonarine, who also scored 63, struck seven fours during his 81-ball innings. But Guyana let the advantage slip as Odean Brown and David Bernard jnr picked up two wickets apiece to leave them struggling at 268 for 6 at stumps, still 121 runs behind.

Omar Phillips hit a composed 89 as Combined Campuses & Colleges (CCC) clawed their way to a first-innings lead against Barbados at the Three Ws Oval. Phillips, a double-centurion in the previous match against Leeward Islands, pushed CCC to 271 for 8, in reply to Barbados' first-innings total of 235, having struck eight fours and five sixes during his 189-ball stay. Several other CCC batsmen got starts, but failed to cope with Barbados' spin duo of Shane Ramsay (3 for 83) and Ryan Hinds (4 for 54). Resuming on 27 for no loss, Ramsay struck early to send back Kyle Corbin and Nekoli Parris. Jamal Smith and Phillips then added 91 for the third wicket, before Hinds dismissed Smith and Phillips in quick succession. Kurt Wilkinson (26) fought bravely to give CCC the lead but Ramsay had him caught at slip soon after. Hinds trapped Anderson Sealy leg before for 5 and then bowled Kavesh Kantasingh for a first-ball off successive deliveries to leave the CCC at 245 for 8. Wicketkeeper Chadwick Walton and Kevin McClean however, took them through to stumps.

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