Flamingos aim to silence Hummingbirds in Namalco Under-23 final

MATTHEW PATRICK, captain of Namalco Under-23 Cup finalists Flamingos, believes much more is at stake in Saturday’s title match against Hummingbirds.

Both teams chase the first domestic title of the 2023 season when they meet in the final at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva, from 9.30 am.

Patrick, 22, wants his youthful bunch to flawlessly execute on the day, lift the title and, in the process, blitz the eyes of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force selectors and bolster their chances of a call-up for the forthcoming Cricket West Indies Four-Day Tournament.

Patrick thinks Saturday’s final is the “perfect opportunity” for his team to perform at their best.

“It’s all about opportunities," said the former TT and West Indies Under-19 all-rounder. "It just takes one good score, one good bowling performance to catch the attention of a selector to get grooved in to the four-day trials. It’s going to be a long cricket season because there’s a lot of cricket to be played.

“One performance can break you into the team. Once you get that, just try to cement your spot in the team. TT is saturated with a lot of great players and it’s very hard to get into that set up. And you have to make sure when you get in, you stay there,” he added.

Patrick said consistency remains a key element to sealing selection.

“Even if you’re selected to the Red Force, there are others knocking on the door so you have to keep getting better as an individual and I think the U-23 final is the perfect opportunity to showcase their talent as it’s a final. And that’s what the selectors want to see,” he mentioned.

From their three preliminary round matches, Flamingos won the first, had a no-result in the second and lost the last one, by 61 runs, against fellow finalists Hummingbirds, on Wednesday. Hummingbirds however, won two of three, and automatically qualified for the final.

After the three rounds, Flamingos and Masqueraders shared an identical win/loss record, but the former prevailed, courtesy a higher net run-rate.

In Wednesday’s match, Hummingbirds were dismissed for 259 in 49.4 overs, led by Antonio Gomez (68) and skipper Cephas Cooper (52) with the bat, coupled with Justyn Gangoo (3/36) and Avinash Mahabirsingh (2/50) with the ball.

In reply, Flamingos seemed victory-bound at 181/3 after 34.5 overs. However, when their top scorer Aaron Bankay (87) perished, the remaining seven wickets fell cheaply, for just 17 runs, and saw Flamingos embarrassingly dismissed for 198 in 41.3 overs.

Patrick said they’ve learnt from their mistakes and aim to turn around their last result, on Saturday.

“After the first game, the mood was good after we secured victory against one of the tougher teams. Unfortunately we lost our third game, I’d say the ball was in our court but we gave it away.

“Knowing that we still qualified for the final, the team vibe is still very good. The guys know where they went wrong in the last game. The thing about being a good team is the ability to bounce back and possibly win the final; this will show our grit and determination.

“I think the guys planned well; we just have to execute now and give 110 per cent. We know how to go about the batting in a different way as compared to the last time,” he added.

HUMMINGBIRDS: Cephas Cooper (captain), Tariq Mohammed, Navin Bidaisee, Antonio Gomez (wicketkeeper), Damion Joachim, Aaron Nanan, Nicholas Ali, Kyle Roopchand, Avinash Mahabirsingh, Jevon George, Vanir Maharaj, Mbeki Joseph, Justyn Gangoo, Chris Sadanan; Stephen Ramkisson (manager), Amin Forgenie (coach).

FLAMINGOS: Matthew Patrick (captain), Denzil Antoine, Daniel Ramsawak, Isaiah Ali, Aaron Bankay, Rahul Pitiram, Shiva Sankar, Justin Manick, Sameer Ali, Ryan Bandoo, Lemuel Matthews, Amrit Dass, Crystian Thurton, Kieron John; Frank Simmons (manager), Gibran Mohammed (coach).