T&T will do well in Champions League says coach

TRINIDAD and Tobago cricketers will continue their preparation for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament with a practice match today at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva starting at 1pm.

The Daren Ganga XI will take on the Amit Jaggernauth XI as final adjustments are made before the national team leaves on Sunday for India. Coach of the national team, Kelvin Williams is confident that the squad will have a good tournament. “Our team has a good chance as any other in the tournament. We have players who have played at the international level and others who have not. However, the balance in the team is excellent and everyone fits their role. When you look at the bench we have players who can come in and make an impact. I think this gives us a good recipe for success,” said Williams yesterday.

Trinidad and Tobago are pooled in Group “A” with Indian Premier League champions, Deccan Chargers and English Twenty20 winners Somerset County. However, Williams is not concerned about the difficulty of the group and is focused on the team performing as a unit.

“I am looking for each player to deliver at the tournament. I don’t want them thinking about individual goals but more team goals. This bunch is a group of team players and they will move with the game plan and are ready to execute,” said Williams.

The former Trinidad and Tobago batsman noted that the players were extremely well-prepared and the squad is moving full steam ahead in its preparations and are eager for competition time.

“It is important for us to do well in India because we are also representing the West Indies at the highest level for Twenty20 cricket. Some guys have played at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup and others not on that level. But I expect us to do well, we have very talented players in the team and the national team likes to perform on the big stage so I am sure we can raise our standards,” said Williams.

The Trinidad and Tobago coach admitted that he was concerned about the preparation of the team but the performance in Guyana has ended any insecurities. Williams explained that the immediate emphasis is being put on adapting to conditions in India.

“Few of the guys have played in India. I have not been there before so we will be relying on these individuals to explain and help the others adjust and prepare to the conditions they will meet. Also we are going to focus on team strategy and how we play such as what is expected at certain stages of the match,” said Williams.

Trinidad and Tobago have excelled at Twenty20 cricket winning the Stanford 20/20 tournament and Stanford Champion of Champions match against 2008 English champions Middlesex County. Williams believes that the squad selected for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament is a much stronger team than the previous title winning teams.

“The team that competed in the Stanford Champion of Champions match has six debutantes and they brought a level of energy to the team but this squad is much more experienced” said Williams.

GANGA XI - Daren Ganga (Captain), William Perkins, Sherwin Ganga, Samuel Badree, Dave Mohammed, Dwayne Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Denesh Ramdin, Sunil Narine.

JAGGERNAUTH XI — Amit Jaggernauth (Captain), Daron Cruickshank, Kevon Cooper, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed, Gibran Mohammed, Shannon Gabriel, Richard Kelly, Justin Guillen, Adrian Barath, Yannick Ottley, Rayad Emrit, Navin Stewart.

T&T Newsday