The T&T Red Force, led by captain Jason Mohammed, will hope to turn the screws when the second half of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-Day tournament resumes today.
Fourth-placed T&T will face leaders Guyana at the Guyana National Stadium from 10 am, a team it defeated on the way to the Nagico Super50 title, which was held in T&T last month. In the semifinal of the Nagico Super50 tournament at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain, T&T defeated Guyana by 54 runs, before defeating Barbados by 72 runs in the final on January 23 also played at the Queen’s Park Oval.
T&T will aim for a more consistent showing in the second half of the four-day competition after winning only one match in its first five matches of the season.
T&T head coach Gus Logie is hoping for more success during the second half of the season, which has been on a break since the middle of December because of Christmas and the Super50 tournament. Speaking earlier this week, Logie said T&T will be looking to come out on top in the five remaining matches.
“We have five games to go. If we can come out on top in the five games, I think we would have done well.”
He added: “We are taking it in two parts. The first part of the season is finished and we are in fourth position. If we could finish in first position in the second half added to what we have in the first half I think we would be pretty good.”
Spin is expected to be the major feature during the contest with Imran Khan and Jon-Russ Jagessar leading the charge for T&T. Leg spinner Khan is in fourth place on the most wickets table with 26 wickets, while newcomer Jagessar is hoping to continue the form he showed during the Super50 tournament.
Gudakesh Motie will aim to keep Guyana at the top of the standings with another top performance. The left-arm spinner is leading the bowling charts with 34 wickets, while the experienced duo of Devendra Bishoo and Veerasammy Permaul is expected to give Motie ample support.
In the other match starting today, Barbados Pride will face Windward Islands Volcanoes at Kensington Oval, Barbados. The other match features the Jamaica Scorpions and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, which bowled off at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua, yesterday.