Needing to win their final game of preliminary round clash against the Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Providence Stadium in Guyana today, to book a place directly into final of the 2015 Hero CPL tournament, the Red Steel will be looking towards the heavens, hoping for a break in the rain.
When the team touched down in Guyana at 3 pm yesterday, they were greeted by rain which has been falling here all day. The Red Steel is currently on 11 points and second in the standings, one point behind the leaders Barbados Tridents. A win today will push them to 13 points and they will avoid the horrors of having to play a semi-final match.
If the rain falls today and washes out the game, Red Steel will finish on 12 points equal to Tridents but will still finish second because the Tridents have a better net run rate.
If the Red Steel lose, they will finish third because Amazon Warriors have a better net run rate than the Red Steel. It will mean that they will have two matches to play–one against the fourth place team, the Jamaica Tallawahs, and then one against the second placed finishers to get to the final.
The Red Steel will go into the game confident after winning their last three matches at home. Warriors on the other hand, lost their last match against the defending champions Barbados Tridents.Red Steel will be hoping that all goes well with key all rounder Jacques Kallis, as he left the field after bowling just one over in the win against the Tallawahs.
Manager of the Red Steel, Colin Borde said that he should be fine for the game.He said: "Jacques got some muscle spasms in his lower back but he is fine and will be ready against Guyana."He has had a very good series so far and has played a key role in us gaining victories and he is very important at this stage for us."
Red Steel is expected to go into the clash with four spinners given the slow nature of the track. Against the Tallawahs, the Red Steel played Samuel Badree, Derone Davis, Johan Botha and Sulieman Benn.Manager of the Amazon Warriors team Omar Khan is confident that his team will come back strongly.
He said: "We had a disappointing game against the Tridents and the guys have taken ownership over their performances and are looking to come back strongly and give their fans something to cheer about in their final game at home. "Also there is the added bonus that if they win they play just one match in the knockout phase enroute to the finals, so they are all geared up and ready for battle.
"The rain has been around and we are hoping that it gives us a break for this match because the rivalry between the Warriors and Red Steel has always been great and the people here are looking forward to a great clash."Checks with the local CPL authorities here indicates that tickets for the match have been sold out for the 6 pm start.
TEAMS
T&T Red Steel: Dwayne Bravo (capt), William Perkins, Cameron Delport, Kamran Akmal, Jacques Kallis, Yohan Botha, Darren Bravo, Samuel Badree, Derone Davis, Miguel Cummins, Javon Searles, Jason Mohammed, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Mark Deyal, Kevon Cooper. Head coach Simon Helmot, assistants David Williams and Imran Jan.
Guyana Amazon Warriors: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Lendl Simmons, Umar Akmal, David Wiese, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Christopher Barnwell, Ronsford Beaton, Devendra Bishoo, Marchant de Lange, Assad Fudadin, Trevon Griffith, Brad Hodge, Shemron Hetmeyer, Sunil Narine, Veerasammy Permaul and Paul Wintz.