Skipper Bravo confident

THE TT Red Force will be missing some key players for the opening match of the Cricket West Indies Four-Day Regional Tournament, but captain Darren Bravo is confident in his players, who he says all deserve their selection.

Red Force will tackle Jamaica Scorpions, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, at 10 am, from Thursday to Sunday.

Some injuries have affected the Red Force preparations with the experienced duo of Jason Mohammed and Imran Khan both unavailable and rising fast bowler Anderson Phillip is also injured. Mohammed was the team’s leading run scorer last year with 634 runs at an average of 35.22 and the bowling pair of Khan and Phillip were the top two bowlers for Red Force. Leg spinner Khan took 42 wickets and Phillip grabbed 28 scalps.

“I have to be (confident in my team), quietly confident that the guys are ready to go. Obviously we are missing some of the senior players, but having said that it is a wonderful opportunity for the younger guys who have gotten the opportunity to go out there and showcase their talent and hopefully they do well and give the selectors a bit of a headache. As long as they get the opportunity, I don’t see any reason why they would not want to go out there and do well,” Bravo said. On his new role as captain, Bravo said he is anticipating the opportunity. “It’s a good feeling indeed. It’s a privilege and an honour to captain TT national senior team. It is a matter of going out there and trying my best and just giving the entire team my full support and hopefully things go according to plan.”

Jeremy Solozano and Joshua Da Silva, two relatively inexperienced players, are coming off solid performances in the Colonial Medical Insurance Super50 Tournament and Bravo hopes they will continue that form.

“Just a matter for them going out there and being positive, continue believing in themselves. Da Silva has been there and there abouts for sometime now, also young Solozano is probably on the radar for a West Indies selection with some good performances under his belt.”

Red Force started poorly last season, before finding some form in the second half of the season which eventually saw the team finish fourth in the six-team table. Bravo said a quick start will give the team a boost. “Personally, I always believe in starting well especially with a young team like us. If we do start well that will make things much easier while the tournament progresses. Obviously when you start bad negative doubts start to step in the mind, but I believe the guys are ready to go and it is a start of a long and hopefully an enjoyable season for us.”Bravo is encouraging his players to be confident, as he believes they all earned their spot. “First and foremost the first thing I said to them is the fact that no one actually got a lucky pick. Everyone actually earned their selection on the team, so I just want them to go out there and play with that assurance that I actually earned my pick and I deserve to be here, so that in itself should give them some sort of confidence.”

RED FORCE SQUAD

Darren Bravo (captain), Jeremy Solozano, Kyle Hope, Isaiah Rajah, Joshua Da Silva, Yannick Ottley, Yannic Cariah, Akeal Hosein, Cephas Cooper, Terrance Hinds, Uthman Muhammed, Odean Smith, Bryan Charles, Keagan Simmons, Mervyn Dillon (coach), David Furlonge (manager), Lyndon Knights (physiotherapist)