T&T Red Steel captain Dwayne Bravo says that Australian coach Simon Helmot has made a huge difference to his team in the current Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 tournament.
The T&T Red Steel is currently at the top of the standings with five wins from six matches. The only game they lost was the Super Over encounter against the Amazon Warriors. They sit on ten points and have three games remaining in the preliminary round against St Lucia Zouks on Saturday, in St Lucia and against the Antigua Hawksbills and Barbados Tridents in St Kitts later on.
If they win their remaining three matches, they will end the preliminary as the top team and will go straight to the finals.
According to Bravo: "When I looked at the squad I had to deal with, I knew exactly what we needed in a coach. I have worked with Simon before and I know what he brings to the table. He has been able to use basically the same players we had last year and turn around their performances.
"He understands the players and knows how to get the best out of the them and this has really worked for us this season. If you look at our team, everyone is performing and this is a result of a great working atmosphere created by the coach."
Helmot said his relationship with Bravo has also been key. "It is important that the coach and captain share a good relationship. We have had that and in fact we have a 26-member family with us."
Helmot also praised his support staff saying: "Gordon Greenidge has been a tremendous mentor. In fact he has been a mentor to me as well. He has a great cricket brain and to have him around is simply awesome. David Williams my assistant has also been very efficient in what he has to do and one cannot underestimate the work he has done."
When Helmot arrived he asked that former national cricketer and University of T&T (UTT) coach Imran Jan join his staff. The two had worked together in Dubai during a coaching course and Helmot was very impressed with Jan.
"Imran understands the players on the Red Steel team because he has been around most of them for quite a while and he brings that added advantage to us. He has a bright future ahead of him as a coach and it is great to have him with us."
The Red Steel left yesterday for St Lucia where they will have a few days to prepare before their next match which is on Saturday at the Beausejour.
The T&T Red Steel is currently at the top of the standings with five wins from six matches. The only game they lost was the Super Over encounter against the Amazon Warriors. They sit on ten points and have three games remaining in the preliminary round against St Lucia Zouks on Saturday, in St Lucia and against the Antigua Hawksbills and Barbados Tridents in St Kitts later on.
If they win their remaining three matches, they will end the preliminary as the top team and will go straight to the finals.
According to Bravo: "When I looked at the squad I had to deal with, I knew exactly what we needed in a coach. I have worked with Simon before and I know what he brings to the table. He has been able to use basically the same players we had last year and turn around their performances.
"He understands the players and knows how to get the best out of the them and this has really worked for us this season. If you look at our team, everyone is performing and this is a result of a great working atmosphere created by the coach."
Helmot said his relationship with Bravo has also been key. "It is important that the coach and captain share a good relationship. We have had that and in fact we have a 26-member family with us."
Helmot also praised his support staff saying: "Gordon Greenidge has been a tremendous mentor. In fact he has been a mentor to me as well. He has a great cricket brain and to have him around is simply awesome. David Williams my assistant has also been very efficient in what he has to do and one cannot underestimate the work he has done."
When Helmot arrived he asked that former national cricketer and University of T&T (UTT) coach Imran Jan join his staff. The two had worked together in Dubai during a coaching course and Helmot was very impressed with Jan.
"Imran understands the players on the Red Steel team because he has been around most of them for quite a while and he brings that added advantage to us. He has a bright future ahead of him as a coach and it is great to have him with us."
The Red Steel left yesterday for St Lucia where they will have a few days to prepare before their next match which is on Saturday at the Beausejour.
scores
?Teams Mat Won Lost Tied N/R Pts Net RR
T&T Red Steel 6 5 1 0 0 10 +0.869
Guyana Amazon Warriors 6 4 2 0 0 8 +0.341
Jamaica Tallawahs 4 3 1 0 0 6 +0.550
Barbados Tridents 5 3 2 0 0 6 +0.115
Antigua Hawksbills 5 0 5 0 0 0 -0.835
St Lucia Zouks 4 0 4 0 0 0 -1.518