Furlonge confident in Red Force top order replacement Kjorn Ottley

RED FORCE coach David Furlonge is confident top order replacement Kjorn Ottley can provide the spark required to stave off current West Indies Championship leaders Windward Islands Volcanoes when round four bowls off at Queen’s Park Oval in St Clair on Wednesday.

Ottley, 34, was the only change made to Trinidad and Tobago’s roster over the two-week break. He replaced opening batsman Cephas Cooper.

At the end of round three, two weeks ago, Furlonge said he wanted to bolster the team’s opening pair. He has been working with Ottley and fellow opener Vikash Mohan to help improve their early attack with the bat.

As it stands, the Volcanoes (62.2 pts) are in pole position, unbeaten from their three matches, while the fifth-ranked Red Force (27.6 pts) have won, lost and drawn one.

Furlonge expressed confidence with his lone change to the team list, heading into round two.

“We looked at the experience of Ottley. He’s one of our top scorers in the regional 50 overs and is just coming back from the West Indies (team). The last time he played four-day cricket he made a century.

“He’s been out of four-day cricket for the last seven years so he’s no stranger to this format of the game and we hope he does well,” he said. Second on the standings are Leewards (45.6 pts), followed by Barbados (43.8 pts) and Jamaica Scorpions (29.8 pts). Rounding off the lower order are Red Force, defending champions Guyana sixth (26.4 pts), WI Academy (24 pts) and Combined Campuses and Colleges (14.6 pts).

Furlonge confirmed the team is fully fit with wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva maintaining his position as captain and spinner Bryan Charles as deputy.

“The guys are confident, we had meetings and so on with the fellas. We talked about having confidence and staying focused and I think the guys are ready for the game. It’s been going good,” he added.

Second on the standings are Leewards (45.6 pts), followed by Barbados (43.8 pts) and Jamaica Scorpions (29.8 pts). Rounding off the lower order are fifth-ranked Red Force, defending champions Guyana sixth (26.4 pts), WI Academy (24 pts) and Combined Campuses and Colleges (14.6 pts).

Round Four WI Championship Matches

Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes – Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad

Combined Campuses and Colleges vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes – Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground, St Augustine, Trinidad

Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Barbados Pride – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

West Indies Academy vs Jamaica Scorpions – Sabina Park, Jamaica