T&T Squad For Champions League

An "eager" and "confident" full-strength Trinidad and Tobago cricket team was confirmed yesterday to represent the region in the US$6 million Champions League Twenty/20 2009 tournament scheduled to take place in India from October 8-23.

T&T qualified after winning the regional Stanford T/20 Tournament and followed up by winning the Stanford Super Series match against English champions Middlesex last year.

Those victories have given the national team confidence they can match up competitively against the other club champions from around the world and, according to T&T manager Colin Borde, the Champions League will be another "fantastic opportunity for the local players to test their skills".

Daren Ganga will lead the squad and West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will serve as his deputy for the series, which will see T&T go up against English 20/20 Cup runners-up Somerset on October 12 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, and then tackle defending Indian Premier League champions Deccan Chargers on October 14 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad.

The T&T selectors have opted for three pacers--West Indies quickie Ravi Rampaul, all-rounder Rayad Emrit and Tobago-born Navin Stewart.

Borde said the team is "enthusiastic, confident and eager" for the challenge.

"I think it's a balanced team and we have enough bowlers and we have the depth in batting. We also have a variety of spin bowling so what this particular team has is depth in all departments," the manager pointed out.

The batting in the T&T line-up in recent seasons has often gone right down to the tail, with Rampaul, Emrit and Stewart capable of aggressive strokes, while at the top there are current and former West Indies cricketers Ganga, Bravo, Lendl Simmons, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.

Borde also noted that the T&T team who defeated Middlesex and came close to beating England last year in Antigua did not have Dwayne Bravo, Pollard and Emrit in the ranks but still proved to be a force to be reckoned with.

The inclusion of such players, he said, will no doubt strengthen the team even further.

Spinner Dave Mohammed will also return to the national fold after a season of absence and he is expected to lead the spin-bowling attack which has been very effective in the shorter form of the game.

Sherwin Ganga, Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree are the other spinners at the skipper's disposal.

Amit Jaggernauth and Imran Khan, who were in the original 20-member training squad, were overlooked for the tour.

Opener Adrian Barath also earned his first call-up in the shorter version of the game and is expected to feature at the top of the order.

"The ability is definitely there and I think we have a good chance once we stay focussed and play to our potential," Borde added.

The T&T squad have been in intense training for the last two months and the final 15-member squad had an outdoor session yesterday at the National Cricket Centre in Couva and they will continue with their outdoor training today with another session at Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine from 1 p.m.

T&T Squad- Daren Ganga (Captain), Dwayne Bravo (Vice-Captain), Lendl Simmons, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Sherwin Ganga, Navin Stewart, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin (Wicket-keeper), Sunil Narine, Adrian Barath, Rayad Emrit, Dave Mohammed

Colin Borde (Manager), Kelvin Williams (Coach), Ronald Rogers (Physio).

Roger Seepersad
Daily Express