Cottrell set to bolster Red Force attack

The management staff of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force will have a tough decision in selecting a starting XI, as fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell is expected to be in the squad against the Guyana Jaguars in round four of the Digicel Regional Four-Day tournament.

Second placed Red Force will play leaders Guyana at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba from tomorrow until Sunday. The Red Force are off to a promising start to the season with one win and two draws under their belt. The return of Cottrell will add more depth to the bowling attack which had an excellent match against Windward Islands Volcanoes in the last round at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair.

Red Force manager Roland Sampath welcomes the return of the Jamaican fast bowler. “Cottrell is coming off West Indies A duty so he is an asset to the team. If he is selected it will assist because we will get the (fast) bowling points.”

The Red Force are hoping that any changes to the team will bear fruit again. In the last match, Jason Mohammed and Kyle Hope, playing in their first match of the season both contributed to the team’s 10-wicket win over Windward Islands Volcanoes. Mohammed scored 113, while Hope cracked 68 to lead Red Force to 402 all out in the first innings.

Sampath said the selectors have a tough job selecting a squad with a number of in-form players available. “The selectors never had this sort of headache for years. There is a cycle and we are starting to come good now and the guys are performing so everybody is happy,” Sampath said.

TT Red Force can go to the top of the standings with a win over the Guyana Jaguars. Speaking about the match Sampath said, “This is very important because Guyana has won the tournament for the last three years and you have experienced people in (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul just coming off a century. This is a big, big game.”