NAGICO Super50 cricket final… Chanderpaul, spinners could play key roles as Jaguars, Red Force battle for title today

Jan 25, 2015 Sports

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By Sean Devers in Trinidad
In Association with Carib Beer, GT&T
Lifetime Reality & Cascadia Hotel

It has come down to one last and most important game and statistically the odds favour the Trinidad & Tobago’s Red Force as they face-off with

Guyana’s Jaguars in the grand finale of the 2015 NACICO Super50 cricket tournament at the Queens Park Oval in a Day/Night game from 13:30hrs in what should be a riveting contest between the two best teams in the tournament.
In 25 games between the teams T&T have dominated; winning 13 while losing only eight. The other four ended in no-results including the twice washed out 1995 finals when the teams shared the title.
In 2009 at Providence, Guyana reached their only final since last the winning title in 2005 and it was the team from Carnival Country, spearheaded by fifties from Darren Bravo and Kerion Pollard, who spoiled Guyana’s title hopes with an 81-run win.
The Guyanese were knocked out last year at the semi-final stage by Barbados and did not meet T&T, who were also beaten by the Bajans in the Final.
However, when the teams last met at this level in 2013, the Trinis won by two wickets on home soil and today they have six players who have played ODI cricket in comparison to the South American based side which has only four.
These are the two most successful teams in the tournament. Guyana have nine titles while T&T’s last of 10 titles was won in that 2009 final at

Providence.
On paper the hosts have the stronger team with dropped West Indies players Dwayne Bravo and Pollard looking to prove a point while Darren Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, mystery spinner Sunil Narine and skipper Ryad Emrit, who shares the top wicket-taker’s spot with the Guyanese pair of Veerasammy Permaul and Devendra Bishoo with eight each, all having ODI experience.
But what the anticipated sell-out crowd would know is that cricket is not played on paper and the Jaguars have clawed their way from 77-7 against Barbados to win and qualify for the semis before rebounding from an upset defeat against CCC in their final group match to beat Jamaica in the semis and should be never written off.
The Red Force reached the final with an unbeaten record but they will know that what happened previously means very little on match day.
The Jaguars have shown a fighting spirit and will depend heavily on the experienced Shiv Chanderpaul to again bat through the innings after he opened the batting in the semi-final.
In that knock he fell two short of his second ton at this level and the third century in this year’s tournament as his magnificently compiled unbeaten innings proved to be the glue that held the Jaguars’ innings together.
Skipper Chris Barnwell, Bajan Raymond Reifer, Royston Crandon, Anthony Bramble and Steven Jacobs are all capable of big hitting and will aim to bat around Chanderpaul today.
But the illness to Jonathon Foo and the continued failures of opener Trevon Griffith puts tremendous pressure on Vishaul Singh, who soaks up too many dot balls, in a batting line-up missing Test batsmen Sarwan, Fudadin, Johnson and Deonarine.
While spinners Permaul, Bishoo, Jacobs and Crandon have all been frugal and Barnwell has done a good job, the Jaguars’ think-tank could consider replacing pacer Ronsford Beaton (who has bowled without any consistency) with Paul Wintz who could be the better option on a track which could be on the slow side.
Evin Lewis and talented 19-year-old left-hander Jeremy Solozano would be expected to give the Red Force a solid foundation for the classy Darren Bravo, his brother Dwayne, Jason Mohamed, Pollard, Kevin Cooper and Skipper Ryad Emrit to build on.
The Jaguars’ batsmen could be severely tested by the four-prong pace attack of Ravi Rampaul, Bravo, who has bowled brilliantly, Cooper, and Emrit (who along with CCC pacer Christopher Powell) has the only five-wicket hauls in the competition. Narine befuddles the best of batsmen with his both ways spin and should get support from Mohamed’s off-spin on a wearing pitch today.
Although this is the middle of the Carnival season and there will be massive Soca competition featuring Trinidad’s best in the business at the Queen’s Park Savannah, a ‘stone throw’ from the cricket ground and rain which could be a factor today, a massive Sea of Red is anticipated in the stands by the flag waving and drum beating Red Force supports.
Guyana also has a huge population here and they should make their presence felt tonight to see which team will be crowned Regional 50-over Kings under lights.
It rained in Port-of-Spain yesterday but the forecast for today is for partly cloudy conditions and tomorrow has been designated as a reserve day. If the contest cannot be completed today it will be continued from the last ball bowled at 13:30hrs tomorrow.

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