Manager of the Trinidad and Tobago cricket team, Omar Khan, yesterday welcomed back his captain Denesh Ramdin and senior players, Ravi Rampaul and Darren Bravo to the national team for tomorrow's Regional Four-day semifinal against Barbados. A delighted Khan said the presence of the trio is certain to strengthen T&T's bid to win this year's tournament. The match will be played at the Queen's Park Oval. Ramdin and Bravo were T&T's leading batsmen before both were selected for the West Indies squad for the One-day series against Australia. However, a finger injury sidelined Ramdin while Bravo had a poor run in the series.
Khan said Ramdin had recovered and was eagerly looking to continue from where he left out in the early part of the season, although there is some debate as to whether he would be wearing the wicket keeping gloves. "His presence is very important to the team, both because of his vast experience and his leadership skills, and with Bravo and Rampaul also returning, and Adrian Barath having a good run, we are confident of giving a good performance." Bravo played in all five ODIs but failed to get a big score and Khan said that the gifted left hander was due for a big score. "We all know how capable he is and we expect him to come good on the weekend. He is a quality player." Khan also welcomed the return of Ravi Rampaul who has not played in the Four-day tournament this season because of injury.
"He has been our most consistent fast bowler and his return is certainly going to boost the squad."
He noted that Barath had made an immediate impact with a century against Guyana in the previous match. "These are four quality players and to have them back certainly means a lot to the team. We would like our fans to come out and support the team since it was our goal to win the title this season. We are two matches away and once we play intelligent cricket this weekend, we are more than likely to be in the final." Khan said it does not matter who his opponents are. "A final is always a different kind of contest, Jamaica has played really good cricket throughout the season but this is the stage where anything can happen. Guyana has been playing well in the last few matches and if Chanderpaul and Deonarine click, anything can happen."
Squad
Denesh Ramdin - Captain
Justin Guillen
Adrian Barath
Marlon Barclay
Darren Bravo
Aneil Kanhai
Rayad Emrit
Gibran Mohammed
Ravi Rampaul
Kavesh Kantasingh
Shannon Gabriel
Imran Khan
Evin Lewis
Omar Khan - Manager
Kelvin Williams - Coach