The T&T Red Force will begin their quest for an unprecedented 13th Regional Super 50 title today at the Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair, Port-of-Spain versus the Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC).
Having won their last title in 2021, the local team now has 100,000 reasons to claim the trophy, along with the new first prize of US $100,000.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dr Kishore Shallow announced the increased prize money at a media conference at the Hilton Trinidad Hotel and Conference Centre in Port-of-Spain and it will also include increased incentives for man of the match and other individual cash awards.
The Red Force, captained by Darren Bravo, will come up against seven other teams all vying to get their hands on the lucrative first prize. The others are defending Jamaica Scorpions, Guyana Harpy Eagles, West Indies Academy, Windward Islands Volcanoes, Leeward Islands Hurricanes, and Barbados Pride.
Head coach David Furlonge says there some niggling matters within the team, but generally the unit was ready to go.
“All the 14 players want to play and made themselves available. Anybody left out will be a medical decision,” said Furlonge who added his team was wary of the CCC team.
“The game is played on the day and we can’t take any team for granted. We just have to go out there and play cricket the proper way tomorrow.”
Admitting the increased prize money would be an added incentive, Furlonge said the trophy was enough incentive for the players to want to win their 13th title.
The second match of the double-header will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando between Guyana Harpy Eagles and the Windward Islands Volcanoes from 1 pm.