Trinidad will be a threat, says manager

Trinidad and Tobago, the only participating team from the West Indies for the Champions League this October, are hoping to play at least two trial matches before departing for India. Their team manager Colin Borde has said that the team appears to be shaping up well for the tournament, despite the rainy weather in the region.

"The inclement weather has been a factor in our preparations thus far but we are hoping to round off our preparations with at least two trial matches," Borde told CMC. "The guys have been working very hard and they have taken a very professional outlook to their preparations. We have been touching all aspects of the game in our training sessions and we are about to embark on some game scenarios."

Borde was confident his team would prove stiff competition for the other teams drawn in Group A of the Twenty20 tournament - Deccan Chargers (from India) and Somerset (England) - in the early stages. He said the presence of West Indies players in the side should boost the team's chances of advancing to the second stage.

"This is a tough tournament and there will be no easy games but I have confidence in our squad that they can go very far," Borde said. "We are going there with the hope of winning every game. It is not a matter of thinking that we are going to lose against the big team Deccan Chargers and hoping for a win against Somerset.

"We have a number of experienced players like Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Daren Ganga and Rayad Emrit and they would play a vital role in leading the others."

Trinidad play their first game on October 12 in Bangalore, against Somerset, before taking on Deccan two days later in Hyderabad. The Champions League features the top Twenty20 teams from India, England, South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand.