PowerGen begin title defence against Victoria

CHAIRMAN of Raw Fitness Victoria United Dhanraj Ramroop is questioning the new TT Cricket Board National League Premiership I format, saying some teams will have an unfair advantage.

Victoria will play defending champions PowerGen at the Barrackpore West Secondary School ground in round one at 2 pm, on Friday.

In other matches starting on Friday, Preysal and FC Clarke Road United will face off at Inshan Ali Park in Couva, Alescon Comets will tackle Central Sports at the Pierre Road Recreation Ground in Charlieville and it will be a Queen’s Park derby at the Queen’s Park Oval when the club’s first team play the second team (Queen’s Park II).

This year, two-day and three-day matches will be played during the tournament.

Rounds one, four and seven will be contested over three days, while rounds two, three, five and six will be played over two days.

During the three-day matches, the opening day’s play will start at 2 pm and end at 6 pm with approximately 55 overs being bowled. On days two and three 100 overs will be bowled each day with action taking place from 10 am to 5.30 pm.

During the two-day matches, 100 overs will also be bowled each day with players playing from 10 am to 5.30 pm.

Ramroop, who thanked Raw Fitness for supporting his club, is uncertain about the new format where some matches will be played over three days and some over two days.

“To me that is not a fair tournament. The reason why I am saying this is that in two days a match will finish with 90 per cent of the teams winning on first innings and the game will draw and 90 percent of the three-day games end in an outright result, so I think it is unfair to have a two-day league and a three-day league in the same tournament.”

Ramroop said some teams will have more three-day matches at home and that may give those teams an advantage. “Let us say out of your four home games two of your home games are three-day matches, you could fix your wicket to get a result and a two-day wicket would not really crumble so much (to get a result). I don’t mind losing, but I prefer to lose on a level playing field and I don’t think this format is a level playing field.”

Discussing the other teams this season, Ramroop said his team is confident. “With all due respect we respect every team, but playing at this level for the past four years we are not afraid of anyone.”

Ramroop said some of the players on the Victoria squad this season include former Guyana and West Indies opening batsman Rajendra Chandrika, former national player Sherwin Ganga, Farrel Jugmohan and former PowerGen players Aaron Nanan and Jovan Ali.