Red Force to meet Hurricanes in Super50 semi

THE TT Red Force will be meeting the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in Friday’s second semi-final of the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Cup, at the Queen’s Park Oval, St Clair, for a spot in Sunday’s final, against the winners of Thursday’s match between Barbados Pride and the West Indies Emerging Players.

The Red Force finished atop the points standings in Group B, while the Hurricanes placed second in Group A.

Red Force captain Imran Khan said on Wednesday, during a media briefing at the Trinidad Hilton, St Ann’s, “The home games (were) pretty good. The games were good for us, in all aspects.

“(There are) a few key areas to work on as well, as a team. I think we’ll keep improving.

The Red Force played all their group matches here in Trinidad, but Khan did not want to admit that the familiarity of the Oval pitch will be a plus for his team. “I’m not really worried about the conditions,” Khan said. “The Leewards have been playing good cricket. Right now, we’re sticking to our game plan.”

Khan, the veteran leg-spinning all-rounder, admitted, “Our fielding wasn’t the best throughout the tournament but we’re doing some work on it and, hopefully, we’ll accomplish it.”

At Wednesday’s media briefing, Hurricanes’ skipper, Jahmar Hamilton commented, “We’ve been performing well in the group stage. We lost to Barbados twice. That’s the only two games we’ve lost in the group. It’s just about playing good cricket.

Concerning Friday’s match, Hamilton, the WI wicketkeeper/batsman, said, “It’s just about backing our skills. It’s different conditions for us, coming from St Kitts (where they played their group games), but the team’s plan is very important. We’re just going to enjoy it, make it as easy as possible.”

The team’s batting has revolved around former WI players – opener Kieran Powell, who has compiled 464 runs, and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, who has scored 325 runs.

About the experienced duo, Hamilton said, “It’s very important. (Powell is) supportive to me as a captain. I have Thomas who’s very seasoned in this cricket also, who’s getting some runs for us.”