Red Force coach urges players, ‘Don’t take CCC lightly’

DAVID FURLONGE, coach of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force, has urged his players to not take Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) lightly, when both teams square off in their opening Zone A match of the CG United Super50 Cup, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba on Monday from 2 pm.

The Red Force won the last Super50 Cup, which was held in Antigua last year.

This year, the tournament will feature eight teams, split in two zones – Trinidad and Antigua.

Zone A involves the Red Force, CCC, Windward Islands Volcanoes and Guyana Harpy Eagles, while Zone B will comprise the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, West Indies Academy, Jamaica Scorpions and Barbados Pride.

In an interview on Friday, Furlonge said the Red Force’s technical staff have impressed on the players to guard against complacency.

“We had that discussion already,” he said. “The guys are professionals but we still had the discussion, and just jostling their memory that in 2018, a similar top (Red Force) side with (Kieron) Pollard, (Sunil) Narine and Lendl Simmons lost in the semi-finals to the CCC.”

Furlonge added, “The guys are taking each team at a time and playing professionally, as they would with any other top team.”

Nicholas Pooran, the much-maligned West Indies T20 International captain, will serve as the Red Force skipper during the Super50 Cup, with the experienced Narine as his deputy.

Pooran and a few WI T20 International players returned home this week after the regional team’s early exit from the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. The other Red Force players who came back home from Australia were left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, all-rounder Yannic Cariah and opening batsman Evin Lewis.

Concerning the mood in the camp, especially with the returning WI T20 players in the fold, Furlonge noted, “Very good. They have known each other for years and they have played with each other. Everybody is comfortable with each other and are happy.”

The WI Test team will be engaged in a two-Test series in Australia in late-November, and the players (who will be competing in the Super50) are expected to head Down Under on November 8.

Furlonge said, “We have an idea of the players who have been called by (Cricket West Indies) so we have an idea of who is leaving and who will come into the team.”

Trinidad is under an adverse weather alert, but the Red Force were able to have a full training session on Friday.

“We’ve been able to get in some time out in the middle,” said Furlonge. “Despite the orange alert, we were able to have a full three-hour practice session which we were grateful for because, prior to this, we were not able to have much time outside. It was good to have a full session, with everybody getting an opportunity to do fielding, batting and bowling.”

The Red Force team are expected to have their final training session, weather permitting, on Saturday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.