Rejuvenated TKR battle Tridents today

COACH of the Trinbago Knight Riders Simon Katich believes his team is rejuvenated heading into their match against Barbados Tridents today after a week off in the 2018 Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

After a shaky start, the Knight Riders have started to show the form that saw the team win the 2017 title.

After winning just one out of three matches at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad to start the tournament, the Knight Riders have won back-to-back matches on the road to get their campaign on track.

Knight Riders now have three wins and two losses and will aim for another win at Kensington Oval in Barbados at 6 pm today.

Dwayne Bravo’s team last played in Fort Lauderhill, Florida, defeating the Jamaica Tallawahs in a last-ball thriller.

They’ve been photographed on social media enjoying a bit of downtime on the beach since then but now are looking to refocus.

Yesterday, Katich said he likes the atmosphere in the camp.

“We have got a sense that the vibe is obviously there and it is good energy after having a few days off; because we had a hectic start in Trinidad in a three, four-day period…the only danger of having a week off you lose a bit of momentum,” Katich said.

The Knight Riders coach believes the break should have helped the players mentally, and he liked the energy in the training sessions.

“A week off could be good from a mental point of view, getting away from it for a few days and freshening up. You come back re-energized and that is what I have sensed the last couple of training sessions.

“We had a fielding drill last night (Friday), the boys look re-energized and I reckon they will be ready to go tomorrow night.”

The TKR coach said the team set themselves some high targets on the road, but know the Tridents will prove a challenge.

“We set ourselves a goal of winning four games on the road and we have done two so far, and we have to tick another box tomorrow (today) night.

“It won’t be easy, Barbados is playing some good cricket and they beat us here last year on their home deck.”

Katich says his team is playing well, but wants the team to go up another gear especially in the field.

“I think there are a lot of positives in our group, a lot of guys are in good form but there are a few areas we could still get better at and we have discussed that as a group.

We still have a bit of improvement to make in the field…I am waiting for the boys to get a direct hit run out because we got a lot last year so the expectations are there.”

Colin Munro, Darren Bravo and Brendon McCullum are among the leading batsmen for TKR, and fast bowler Ali Khan and leg spinner Fawad Ahmed are leading the charge in the bowling department.