West Indies batsman Darren Bravo and opener Justin Guillen will replace Jason Mohammed and Jeremy Solozano in the T&T Red Force squad when it faces Windward Islands Volcanoes in the last round of the Regional Four-Day tournament starting at the National Cricket Centre, Balmain, Couva, today, from 10 am.
The selectors decided to drop captain Mohammed, as the right-hander has struggled with the bat in recent matches. Yannick Ottley who captained the team earlier this season will lead the team again. Bravo was expected to play in the last round against Barbados but did not recover from a head injury which he suffered four weeks ago.
Bravo will be joined in the squad by his Queen's Park teammate Guillen, replacing Solozano who injured his left hand while fielding in the last round against Barbados. Guillen has scored heavily this season for Queen's Park in the T&T Cricket Board National League.
Fourth placed T&T can only hope for a third place finish as leaders Guyana Jaguars and second placed Barbados Pride are in a two-horse race for the regional title. With a victory over the Windwards Islands, T&T can leapfrog Jamaica Scorpions and finish third in the standings.
T&T will need a better all round performance after both the batting and bowling failed to impress in a seven-wicket loss to Barbados Pride in the last round at the National Cricket Centre. T&T coach Gus Logie wants his team to finish the season with a win. Logie said, "There is a lot to play for in the final game of the tournament, it is about the players finishing the season on a high. There is a lot at stake individually."
Logie praised Barbadian Kyle Hope for scoring two half centuries (76 and 77) against the Pride and would like to see other players stepping up. "Kyle is a team person and he went out there to do the best for the team. He is a hard worker and disciplined human being. Players need to take a leaf out of his book the way he works."
STANDINGS
Team P W L NR Bat Bowl Pts
Guyana 9 7 0 2 14 26 130
Barbados 9 6 1 2 18 27 123
Jamaica 9 4 5 0 10 24 82
T&T 9 3 4 2 13 22 77
Leewards 9 1 6 2 7 23 48
Windwards 9 1 6 2 10 19 47
T&T SQUAD:
Yannick Ottley (captain), Darren Bravo, Justin Guillen, Yannic Cariah, Narsingh Deonarine, Rayad Emrit, Kyle Hope, Jon-Russ Jagessar, Steven Katwaroo, Imran Khan, Bryan Charles, Marlon Richards, Ewart Nicholson.