Red Force coach wants disciplined bowling in Super50 final

Trinidad and Tobago Red Force coach David Furlonge is urging his bowlers to stick to the plan in the CG United Super50 Cup final as the Red Force clash with Jamaica Scorpions in what is expected to be a batting-friendly wicket at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua on Saturday. The match bowls off at 2 pm.

Furlonge, describing the mood in the camp, said, “The fellas are in good spirits. We just had a nice practice session.”

He said a meeting was planned for Friday night and one item on the agenda was discussing ways to contain the Scorpions batsmen.

“Later on today (Friday) we will go through the Jamaica batting line-up. We are just waiting on some information from the analyst…and see how best we could plan and prepare for their batters. The semi-final wickets over here have been very batsman-friendly, so bowlers just have to be consistent, stick with the plan that we go out with.”

Red Force fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been making life difficult for batsmen, grabbing 4/43 in ten overs in the semi-finals.

Scorpions skipper Rovman Powell has been in scintillating form, scoring a century in the semi-finals.

Powell’s hundred led Scorpions into the final with a three-wicket win over Guyana Harpy Eagles in semi-final two at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday.

Powell struck 105 not out off 92 deliveries as Scorpions got to 322/7 in 48.1 overs after Harpy Eagles scored 318/7 in 50 overs. Powell’s innings included seven fours and three sixes.

Furlonge is satisfied with the effort of the Red Force batsmen during the tournament.

“The batting has been good, and as I said, the wicket here is batsmen-friendly, so we hope that the batsmen can be consistent and maintain their form.”

On Wednesday, in semi-final one, Pooran slammed five fours and eight sixes in his innings of 111 off 82 balls to guide Red Force to a competitive 312/6 in 50 overs against Barbados Pride at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Opener Amir Jangoo found form, hitting 81 off 114 balls, and the experienced Darren Bravo struck 54 off 65 deliveries.

Pride responded with 302/8 as Red Force escaped with a ten-run win.

Pooran’s century came just days after he cracked an unbeaten 99 off 71 balls in the group phase of the tournament against Windward Islands Volcanoes at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.