G Wattley: Trinidad and Tobago squad play Bermuda today (4 Oct 1997)

Saturday, October 4, 1997

T&T squad play Bermuda today...

By GARTH WATTLEY

AS THEY begin their quest to land the Red Stripe Bowl this morning against Bermuda, team Trinidad and Tobago will be thinking both of the present and the future.

T&T, defending regional One-day champions, will go into this first encounter minus opener West Indies "A" team leg spinner Dinanath Ramnarine, opener Andre Lawrence and fast bowler Nigel Francis. This means that national Under-19 skipper Darren Ganga will make his regional One-day debut, quite possibly as an opener alongside Suruj Ragoonath. "We are giving him an opportunity early," was the way manager/coach Rangy Nanan described the move to insert the youth player right at the start of the campaign.

Ganga also filled the opening slot midway through T&T's Red Stripe campaign this year. And today, he will get a chance to shine against a team that failed to win any of its matches in last year's competition. "We are not," Nanan stressed, "taking Bermuda lightly," Nanan told the Express.

"We know what Andre can do and Ramnarine can do. But definitely when we play Jamaica on Sunday, we will be thinking differently." The Bermudians however, are also thinking positive.

"We are already aware that our team is not one of the powerhouses but on a given day someone small can beat the mighty... we have just concluded our season so the guys are still fresh," said coach Allan Douglas. And in today's start-up of group "A" action in the renamed, re-formatted tournament, the local side will take on the Bermudians at the scenic Chedwin Park ground just outside Spanish Town, 16 miles west of Kingston, while Jamaica face Bermuda at Melbourne Oval in Kingston. And while the national team will be focussed fully on the task at hand, they will also be training eagle eyes on the weather.

Jamaica's unseasonal period of drought has recently ended. And the change in conditions has already affected the T&T side. "We have had rain every day so far. And the times we had to go for our sessions, it rained.'" Nanan said.

In fact the local squad's sole day of practice was yesterday, and even that session had to be curtailed because of showers. However, the setbacks have apparently done nothing to dampen spirits. "Everyone's okay. We are the defending champions and in our discussions, we talked about what is expected of us," Nanan said.

And certainly Lara and his men will be grateful if their cricket can sparkle from day one, much in the same way their red white and black outfits should in the morning sun.

SQUADS:

T&T: Brian Lara (captain), Suruj Ragoonath, Phil Simmons, Darren Ganga, Ian Bishop, David Williams, Rajindra Dhanraj, Mervyn Dillon, Lincoln Roberts, Kenneth Hazel, Richard Smith. BERMUDA: Arnold Manders (captain), Albert Steede, Clay Smith, Dexterden, Anthony Amory, Lionel Cann, Janeiro Tucker, Irving Romaine, Roger Trott, Donald Norford, Del Hollis, Herbie Bascome, Roger Blades, Gregg Foggo.

Source :: The Trinidad Express (https://www.trinidad.net/express/)