The pitch at the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair may well hold the key as to who will prevail in the final round of the regional Four-Day tournament when T&T comes up against arch rivals Barbados from 10 am this morning.
Both teams have already qualified for the semifinals of the tournament and are locked on 36 points. The team that has the better match will more than likely play the Windwards in the semifinals, while the team that finishes on the losing end will face five-time defending champions Jamaica in the other semifinals.
This season, the Oval authorities have been preparing pitches with more grass than usual and with the Barbadians having a good pace and seam attack, it may well play into their hands. However, manager of the national team Omar Khan says it is not a problem as his team is packed with professionals who will do well on any type of pitch.
"Whatever pitch we get, when we turn up for the match, we will play on it and play to our best. We have professionals on our team and they can play on any surface. I don't see the pitch as being a problem for us. We are confident that in front of our home crowd we can go out there and do the business and bring home a victory."
The national team practised at the facility yesterday and all players are fit and raring to go. Queen's Park all-rounder Akeal Hosein is expected to make his senior debut today. The all-rounder has been in good form for the Parkites this season with both bat and ball and could play a crucial role coming in lower in the order.
Winning is the name of the game according to Khan and his team is looking to go into the semis with one under their belts. "We want to win this game and head into the semis with confidence. We did not do well in our last game against the Jamaicans but the guys rebounded with a victory over Barbados in the Super50 and they would want to continue in that vein in the four-day.
"We have an excellent chance of finishing off the season on a brilliant note and we plan to give it everything going into the last few games. At the beginning of the season we formed a project management unit for this team and we set ourselves a target of winning the Regional T20 and Super50 tournament and at least reaching the finals of the first class. So far we have won the Regional T20, we have played unbeaten in the Super50 and are into the semis of the first class, so the guys are doing well and going according to plan and we would want to continue in that direction in this game."
Teams
T&T: Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Akeal Hosein, Jason Mohammed, Denesh Ramdin (captain), Imran Khan, Yannic Cariah, Rayad Emrit, Amit Jaggernauth, Kjorn Ottley, Shannon Gabriel, Marlon Richards and Kavesh Kantasingh.
Barbados: Kirk Edwards (captain), Rashidi Boucher, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Kyle Hope, Ashley Nurse, Javon Searles, Jomel Warrican and Tino Best