Okay, so to enhance your reading experience, listen to this timeless classic; to feel a sense of national pride and understand first-hand the enthusiasm I felt typing this blog. Patriotism should always be displayed when it comes to our beloved Trinidad & Tobago. Now that we have established the rules let us dive in!
Sweet Sweet T&T!
Trinidad & Tobago have once again flexed their muscle in this competition, winning for a record 13th time (12 if you don't count the shared title back in 1995-1996 with Guyana). It is a truly phenomenal feat, almost doubling that of its nearest competitor, Guyana, who have 7 (2 of which were shared; one of course being with T&T). This is the country’s first Super Regional 50/50 crown since the 2015/2016 campaign. In a typical Trini fashion they managed to win with style and matched the unbeaten effort of our T20 franchise, the Trinbago Knight Riders. The Knight Riders went an impressive 12-0 throughout their tournament; whereas the Red Force compiled a 7-0 record in the longer version of the One Day game. What a way to assert your dominance, proving once again that we are the best team at one day cricket in the region. In this blog, I am going to give an overall summary of the Red Force’s campaign and also highlight, what I consider, an outrageous snub for the one day squad in the upcoming matches in the West Indies’ series against Sri Lanka.
Tournament Summary
Whoever picked the name Red Force for Trinidad & Tobago needs a raise because that is exactly what this team is: A f@#!ing force. And this is one force that you do not want to reckon with. I mean the strength and depth of our squad is absolutely ridiculous.
We are literally star-studded, with names like Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Sunil Narine, Jason Mohammed... I can go on but that list would go on forever.
That is a batting line-up that would strike fear into any team in world cricket and I mean that. Notice one name not there is Joshua Da Silva, a budding superstar and the best batsman in the region right now. (Ha! I kid. But way to represent Saints Josh. If you do not know of him I strongly suggest you check him out on YouTube because you are doing yourself an incredible disservice.)
The Red Force's first game set the tone for the tournament, as the team clearly went out to send a message to its competitors. Against Jamaica, Captain Pollard elected to chase (which would be a trend throughout the tournament). Making a par score of 258 for the loss of 6,Jamaica would have never fancied themselves to defend this total.
This game was played at the Sir Vivian Richard Stadium in Antigua, a historically flat surface and widely recognized as a batsman's paradise. I mean this can easily be proven by stating that the West Indies, yes you heard correctly, The WEST INDIES, actually successfully chased 418 runs in a test match, versus the mighty Australia no less, back in 2003... a World Record to this day. That being said, shout out to Anderson Phillip, who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/66 in his ten overs. He got the key wicket of Brandon King bowling him on 97, agonizingly close to his century. (Good. Nothing for them boy).
The Red Force then went on to comfortably chase this total, making 259/5 with 9 overs to spare. Evin Lewis and Darren Bravo had their way with the Jamaica bowlers making 107 and 59*, respectively. Lewis' effort was enough to earn him the man of the match award for his classy knock against a bitter rival.
T&T Red Force then went on to beat the likes of the Windward Islands, Barbados, Leeward Islands and Guyana... with all wins in convincing fashion also. As aforementioned, this Red Force team did fancy a chase and resultantly, all 5 of their wins derived from batting 2nd. This led to the team being top of the group, earning themselves a semi-final spot, as the #1 seed and the right to play Jamaica again. Having beaten them already, the team would have liked their chances to progress to the final.
After winning yet another toss, Captain Pollard opted to chase yet again; if it is working, why change it? He dropped a catch early on in Jamaica's innings but that wasn't the most frustrating part for captain Polly. He got the edge of both John Campbell and Brandon King, but both times umpire Gregory Brathwaite remarkably adjudged the batsmen not out. The skipper was clearly upset by both decisions made. It translated to his team, as Red Force got a little sluggish in their demeanor on the field as they were not their usual boisterous selves.
Campbell and King went on to form a partnership. Even though wickets were not falling, the bowling was disciplined and Jamaica scored their runs really slowly. Like reallyyy slowlyyy. When the breakthrough eventually came at 113, the flood gates began to open. Brandon King is clearly Anderson Phillip's fish, as he bowled him yet again. Jamaica proceeded to make a meagre 255 for the loss of 7 wickets. Man of the Match, Ravi Rampaul, turned back the hands of time with incredible figures of 4/29 in his ten overs. Both economic and full of wickets, Rampaul's spell no doubt played a pivotal part in swinging the match in favor of the Red Force.
Onto the chase, where opener Lendl Simmons was belligerent. Carting the Jamaican pace attack to all parts of the park, top scoring with 68 in the process. Simmons, and the ever reliable Jason Mohammed, led the team to 139 before Simmons eventually fell, trying to play one shot too many. The hitting was no where near finished, as Nicholas Pooran was joined by the Captain (Pollard) later on in the innings, who mercilessly reminded the Jamaican bowlers as to why you should not pitch the ball short when bowling to him. Pollard smacked 5 6s effortlessly; Fabian Allen suffering the brunt of his brute force. The onslaught was spectacular, as T&T ended their chase in rapid fashion with 47 balls remaining.
So with the Red Force cruising through to the finals by chasing whatever score set by their opposition, Guyana did not hesitate to send in T&T in to bat first after having won the toss. I bet whoever suggested that idea must have thought they came up with a revolutionary game plan that would completely throw the Red Force off their game. I mean, it is not as if these pitches in Antigua were flat throughout the tournament. It literally made no difference. The Trinidad batsman were rearing for their chance at the crease first. I must say, I expected it. Guyana are accustomed bottling finals. It is in their DNA.
Needless to say, Simmons and Lewis immediately set the the tone and blistered the ball to every section. They compiled an opening stand of 121 runs for the first wicket before Lewis departed for a well-played 57. Bravo and Pooran joined the party smashing 47 and 39 respectively. But it was Lendl Simmons who stole the show. The opener made a scintillating 146 runs as the Red Force amassed a whopping 362-5. Guyana had their hands full (not with the trophy, that is for certain).
With an intimidating total posted, Red Force knew if they can get the wickets of the Guyana leftys, Hemraj and Hetmyer, it should be smooth sailing from there. Hemraj made 87 in the reverse fixture of the group stage, so he would've headed into this contest full of confidence. He departed for just 14. Hetmyer who was touted as the "danger man" for Guyana, came to the crease at 3. T&T knew once they got this wicket, it was Game Over.
(Just to sidetrack a bit, not a huge fan of Hetmyer, loads of talent but my goodness his shot selction is so poor and he does not pace his innings well, I expect better from a batsman who has been around the West Indies scene since the U-19 level.) Prime example: Guyana chasing a massive total, before playing himself in, he goes after a loose delivery:
With the main man gone, it was all downhill from there for the Jaguars. At one point they were 94-7. Just a really disappointing effort in the end. Special mention to Raymon Reifer who made a valiant 97*. He was left stranded as T&T finally sealed the victory with the wicket of Nial Smith bowled by Jayden Seales. Here is the winning moment...
Before I leave you, I would just like to address one issue. Why is Lendl Simmons not on the ODI team? Did he retire or something?
Source: Twitter @Windies
I have no problem with the squad but surely you would want the tournament's 3rd highest scorer in your team right? Or is it just me? Not only that, Simmons had amassed 316 runs in 4 matches. 4 matches!!! At a batting average of 79.00 and two centuries under his belt for the tournament. Simmons is in the absolute form of his life. He, along with Evin Lewis would make for the perfect opening partnership. Something the West Indies have struggled to find since the loss of Chris Gayle. They fit the mold; a left hand, right hand combination at the top. They have the chemistry, having opened together for T&T in this recently concluded tournament. Really puzzling decision but oh well, I digress. Simmons is striking the ball really well by the way...
Will not let the West Indies dampen my mood. Congratulations to the T&T Red Force on yet another victory. It was a dominant performance and you did your country proud. Hopefully this leads to selectors picking more of our players for the T20 and ODI formats. I think we have
proven just how much we excel at these versions of the game.
👏🏾👏🏾