Red Force to inject new blood for four-day season

AS the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force look ahead to the 2025 regional Four-Day Championship, scheduled to start on January 29, coach David Furlonge is hoping veteran seamer Shannon Gabriel will be fit enough at the start of the campaign to lead what is expected to be an inexperienced pace attack.

The 36-year-old Gabriel retired from international cricket after an 86-match career with the Windies. However, the burly pacer is currently recovering from a knee injury he sustained at the end of the 2024 CG United Regional Super50 tourney.

Furlonge will be without allrounder Terrance Hinds, and pacers Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales for the opening game of the four-day season.

“Last year, we had a discussion with Shannon and he agreed to step aside to give the younger players (like Anderson, Terrance and Jayden) a run. With them being unavailable, we hope Shannon will be available.” Furlonge told Newsday on December 29.

Phillip and Seales are included in a 15-man West Indies squad for a two-Test tour of Pakistan from January 17-29. The West Indies squad is expected to leave the Caribbean on January 2. Meanwhile, Furlonge said Hinds has been given permission to play in the January 11-February 9 International League T20 tournament.

“This will force us to focus on certain areas…those were the three fast bowlers who played for us last year,” the Red Force coach said.

“They will definitely miss the first game, so right away you have three openings there for three fast bowlers. I'd like to think we would go with three fast bowlers and not three spinners. That will be an opening for three young fast bowlers, so we will have to start preparing those youngsters or whoever has to fill in there.”

Despite a fifth-place finish on the eight-team table in last year’s four-day season, Furlonge pointed to positives with the performances of players such as Bryan Charles, Jyd Goolie, Amir Jangoo and Phillip. Charles, Phillip and Jangoo were all rewarded with Test call-ups this year, with the latter also being picked for West Indies’ tour of Pakistan after a stellar year in both the four-day and 50-over formats.

With players such as Fareez Ali, Shaaron Lewis, Justin Manick, Aaidan Racha and Abdul Raheem-Toppin doing their best to impress with the ball in Red Force’s trial match earlier this month, Furlonge said the competition in the fast bowling department will be a stiff one.

For the first match at least, there will be gaps to be filled in the batting and wicket-keeping departments as well, as Jangoo and West Indies vice-captain Joshua Da Silva jet off to the Pakistan tour. Furlonge said they are also monitoring the fitness of veteran middle-order batsman Jason Mohammed, who picked up an injury in the CG United semifinal against Barbados Pride last month.

Jangoo topped the Red Force’s batting charts with 500 runs last season, with the 38-year-old Mohammed being the next-best batsman with 443 runs.

Should Mohammed be unavailable for the opening games, Furlonge anticipates players such as Goolie, Kjorn Ottley, Isaiah Rajah and Tion Webster to step up and show their worth. Behind the stumps, he said Antonio Gomez and Daniel Williams are among the players vying for selection.

Furlonge also said he doesn't expect former captain Darren Bravo to return to the Red Force setup for the 2025 season. Last year, the 35-year-old Bravo announced he was taking a break from the game after being overlooked by the then-West Indies selectors. Bravo had topped the 2023 Super50 batting aggregate with 416 runs and captained the Red Force to the title.

For the 2025 season, Furlonge said his team’s fitness will be key to their success and he has asked his players “to give a little extra.”

He said, “We have talked about it. Our next goal is the four-day competition. We have increased training days and times. It's a matter of players working harder and smarter,” Furlonge said.

“They're professional players who are paid to come and practice five days a week. That way, we'll see a much better aim and performance from the team. We'll see fitter, more focused players.”

While the Red Force coach noted players have been getting good scores, he said strike rotation and shot selection will play a big part in turning out more match-winning totals.

Ideally, with bat in hand, Furlonge said his team is aiming to score in the region of 300-310 runs in one day’s play, or to take seven or more wickets if they bowl first in the match.

“We've been getting the performances from the players, but we just need to have a total performance for us to make that extra push,” Furlonge said.

After putting the players through a fitness test on December 30, Furlonge said the next real test for the players will come in the form of another practice match which is tentatively set for January 2.

The popular North/South game will be the next thing on the agenda and is expected to bowl off in the second week of January. It’s anticipated that Furlonge will name his first four-day team after the North/South match.

“One of the main concerns is that we don't get to play as a team until the first game of the tournament. After the (Red Force) team is selected, we may want to have one or two practice games.”