Barbados Pride might be one of the strongest teams on paper heading into the West Indies Cricket Board’s NAGICO Super50 Competition but they are not about to become complacent on the field, says coach Emmerson Trotman.
During Thursday’s trial match played at St Catherine’s Cricket Ground in St Philip, Trotman acknowledged that there were several West Indian players on the team but that meant nothing when it came to cricket. In addition he also explained that having home advantage didn’t really say much because it all came down to execution on the day.
“It has to do with how well you play on the day, home advantage or not, yes it is an advantage to us but it comes down to being smart and thinking and executing and when you put these things together then home advantage will be good for us.
“It is a strong unit and what we want to strengthen even more is the commitment and attitude of the players. That is very important, don’t care how strong a unit is, as long as you maintain discipline and execute plans that are put in place then we should be successful,” Trotman said.
Barbados’ squad led by Jason Holder will be on a quest to reclaim the Super50 title they relinquished last year to reigning champions Trinidad and Tobago Red Force. Trotman highlighted the fact that the players were working together as a strong unit with a good team spirit which he said would play a key role in their overall performance.
Barbados will host five matches beginning January 24, when they take on Guyana Jaguars in the opening match at Kensington Oval. On Saturday January 28 Pride will play ICC Americas at 3W’s Oval and then on Monday, January 30, they will take on Jamaica Scorpions at Kensington in their first three outings for the NAGICO Super50.
Surprisingly, Shamarh Brooks, captain of the West Indies A team, was not selected to play in the NAGICO Super50 with Kevin Stoute and Anthony Alleyne getting the nod ahead of the talented right-handed batsman.
Trotman told Barbados TODAY there were a lot of talented cricketers in Barbados and everyone could not be selected at the same time to display their skills on the big stage. However he was pleased so far with the progress being made during the trail games.
“There are a lot of good players and all cannot play, it is unfortunate but that shows you the strength of Barbados’ cricket which is quite healthy. Brooks is a good cricketer and he is very committed to Barbados cricket and I am sure he will continue to work hard and look to get himself into the team at some stage.
“I am satisfied with the progress being made so far during these trial games. The guys are all focused, following the game plan well and are executing quite well, so I am happy at the moment,” he said.
Barbados has a strong batting side on paper with the likes of Carlos Brathwaite, West Indies’ 2016 T20 World Cup match-winner, and the dependable Kraigg Brathwaite. There are also Roston Chase, opener Anthony Alleyne and wicketkeepers Shane Dowrich and Shai Hope who have all performed well previously.
However, Trotman, a former Barbados cricketer, believes that their strength lies in the bowling, explaining there was never really a problem in that department.
“Our strength lies in our bowling. We never really had a problem with our bowling, so the bowling is our strength and we have good batters also and they just need to click at the right time which gives us the right combination and that is what we need,” he said.
Barbados are scheduled to feature at home in Group B against Jamaica Scorpions, Guyana Jaguars, Combined Campuses and Colleges Marooners and ICC Americas team.
The full squad reads: Holder (captain), Anthony Alleyne, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shai Hope, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Kevin Stoute and Jomel Warrican.
