Trinidad and Tobago make Sabina switch (28 January 1999)

28 January 1999

Trinidad and Tobago make Sabina switch

Garth Wattley

Last weekend, the Windward Islands made the change in vain. But this week, it is Ian Bishop's Trinidad and Tobago team who will have to make the Busta Cup switch.

A week of steady rain that forced the rescheduled T&T/Windwards match into a "no decision," has now forced the shift of the T&T/Jamaica encounter to Sabina Park in the Isle of Springs, starting on Saturday. The local team in fact, will board BW 414 this morning for Jamaica.

However, the change of venue was a decision that neither the team management nor the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board were too perturbed about making.

"The fellows are keen and want to play cricket," chairman of the national selectors Rangy Nanan told the Express yesterday. "If the game had to stay in Trinidad," he explained, "we might not have had more than two day's cricket. The important thing is playing cricket."

The request to the West Indies Cricket Board to shift the venue was made after consultation with skipper Bishop, coach Bryan Davis and manager Ellis Lewis, explained TTCB president Alloy Lequay.

"We were looking at the improvement of the weather, the Oval conditions and the availability of Guaracara Park and Gilbert Park. Then The Management team suggested that an option might be to transfer the game," Lequay stated.

"So we eventually contacted the West Indies board and, they contacted Jamaica and they agreed to transfer the game."

But even before the Jamaica option was exercised, the locals had been bowled out by the party season.

"There are two fetes, Thursday and Saturday at Guaracara Park," Lequay said.

"Gilbert Park was available," he added.

But the ground will also be the sight of a Carnival fete on Friday, the preparation for which will take up much of the day.

"With the Carnival season, the interest in this level of cricket is very low," Lequay said.

However, despite what Lequay described as the, "physical pressures to cancel arrangements" (for the match at the Oval), he described the late shift as more blessing than curse, financially speaking.

Although there is a US$10,000 allocation from the sponsors for matches, Lequay said it would take another TT$25,000 at the least to break even in locally-hosted matches.

The TTCB was relying on gate receipts and income from radio rights to get up to that figure.

But they fell far short in the Windwards match. There was no radio coverage because of the late rescheduling. And the take at the turnstiles was a paltry $9,145, leaving the TTCBC with a deficit of $15,855.

Bishop, his team holding 20 points from their two matches so far, will be hoping for much greater returns this weekend.

The Jamaica game will be the first of back-to-back matches on the road for T&T. Next Wednesday, they will travel to Barbados for their fourth round match beginning on Friday.

The same squad of 13 will have to do the business in both matches. Excluded from the group of 15 that had been in training are pacer Asif Jan and leg-spinner Vishal Persad-Maharaj. Mervyn Dillon and Suruj Ragoonath will take their places.

Following is the full squad: Ian Bishop (Capt), Phil Simmons, Leon Romero, Anil Balliram, Suruj Ragoonath, Richard Smith, Dennis Rampersad, Lincoln Roberts, Richard Smith, David Williams, Mervyn Dillon, Marlon Black, Mukesh Persad.

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