VINODE MAMCHAN
vinode.mamchan@guardian.co.tt
T&T Red Force cricket team, the most successful team in the history of regional Super50 tournament, will be favourites to lift the title, as all the top players from this country have made themselves available for selection.
Wicket keeper Denesh Ramdin has been appointed captain of the team and Dwayne Bravo will be his vice-captain. The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Regional Super 50 tournament will commence on October 3 and end on October 28. There will be two groups of teams, with Group A playing in Trinidad, and Group B in Barbados.The semi finals and final will be staged in Barbados.
T&T is in Group A and will play their first match on October 3 against Windward Islands at the Queen's Park Oval in Port -of-Spain. The other match on the day will involve Canada against Windies B at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.
Significantly back on the team is the left handed Darren Bravo, who has been out of the national set up for a while. It now means that he he making himself available again for Windies selection by taking part in the domestic competition. Also coming back into the national fold are Dwayne Bravo, Keiron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul and Sunil Narine.
With the International Cricket Council World Cup to be staged next year in England, all these players are now in contention for selection once they perform well. The Red Force team is a seriously strong outfit as added to those stars are all rounders Rayad Emrit and Imran Khan, spinner Khary Pierre and Windies middle order batsman Jason Mohammed.
Meanwhile, the T&T Cricket Board Executive met last weekend and made a number of appointments for the 2018/2019 season. Former West Indies fast bowler Anthony Gray is the new chairman of selectors and he has with him David Furlonge the national under-19 coach, Roland Sampath and Kelvin Williams. Sampath retains his position as manager, while Williams continues as coach of the franchise.
Senior Selection panel
Anthony Gray ( Chairman)
David Furlonge
Roland Sampath
Kelvin Williams.
The captain of the national team will also be a member of the selection panel.
Officials for the Red Force team for the season are:
Roland Sampath (Manager)
Kelvin Williams (Coach)
T&T Red Force: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (capt), Jason Mohammed, Dwayne Bravo (v-capt), Keiron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Rayad Emrit, Imran Khan, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Odean Smith.