A youthful Trinidad and Tobago senior cricket team will be looking to pay tribute to the memory of former teammate Runako Morton when it goes into its fifth round match against Jamaica in the regional 4-day tournament tomorrow. Morton, the hard hitting middle order batsman died in an accident on Sunday night, hours after representing Queen's Park Cricket Club in the National Cricket League. Yesterday, new T&T captain Rayad Emrit who will lead the local team in the Queen's Park Oval match, noted that while Morton's death had the potential to cloud the mood within the team, the players were using it instead to motivate themselves.
"Runako was very close to the players. In fact, he was there playing among us on the weekend and it was not easy to learn of his death. But I think we all know that he would want us to go out there and do well. He was that kind of person. I think we have agreed that we will go out there and do what is required to remember him-and that is to play good cricket and get a good result."
Emrit noted that T&T was having an "up and down season so far." "We have to focus a lot more on our batting and I think that once our batters convert their starts and we put a good total on the board, then we will have a great chance of getting the results we want." Emrit, who has led T&T on two previous occasions, said his task at the helm was challenging. "It will be a big challenge but I think we have a good group of players who, if they fulfill their potential, can do well." He noted that while there was a newness to the team because of the absence of several established players, there were several experienced players in the squad.
"Rajah, Barclay and Castro may be new but we have several seasoned players who have returned. Players like Sherwin Ganga, Imran Khan, Jason Mohammed and Gibran Mohammed are experienced and will definitely be looking to take advantage of this opportunity." Emritt said he is looking forward to the challenge of leading the team. "It is always great to play for your country but leading it is an honour. I am hoping the fans will come out and support us. We want them to be our 12th man since we are playing against the leading team in the tournament. This is not a weak team, we have the talent to do well."Emrit explained his players would be setting out to ensure first innings points. "That is the plan and when we achieve that, we will look to see what else is possible. It really would be nice to see a good crowd there backing us all the way."