No lapsing: Emrit warns Red Force against complacency during break

Red Force head coach Rayad Emrit will use the two-week West Indies Championship break to rest, recover and sharpen up his squad ahead of the remaining four rounds, as TT continue their quest to lift the elusive regional four-day title.

Having notched two convincing wins against Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) and Windward Islands Volcanoes, and a draw against Leeward Islands Hurricanes in their opening three matches, Red Force (55.4 pts) sit in second place on the eight-team standings, with defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles (57.6 pts) in pole position.

Emrit praised his squad for their performances thus far.

TT’s batsmen hit seven centuries, inclusive of an unbeaten double-century by Jason Mohammed (202 not out), and have reaped great reward from spinners Yannic Cariah and Khary Pierre.

“It’s good to be where we are at this position of the tournament. We’re doing a lot of good things consistently and that’s the main focus,” Emrit said.

Over the next two weeks, Emrit wants his team to keep their eyes on the prize and use the downtime wisely, as they seek to win the regional four-day title for the first time since 2006.

The team returns home on February 17 and heads to Antigua on March 2, three days ahead of their round four contest against the cellar-placed West Indies Academy.

“There’s not much room for complacency and we need to keep our foot on the gas and try to be as consistently good as possible. Some of the guys have some work to do so we’ll be working when we get back home,” Emrit said.

He confirmed that Mohammed, 38, who has a three centuries from three matches this season, has a niggle which he is hoping to recover from before round four.

Mohammed is this year’s tournament leading run-scorer so far, having smashed 176 against CCC, 103 versus Volcanoes and a mammoth 202 not out against Hurricanes, taking him to a massive 481 runs.

Some players will also return to their respective clubs over the break to play National League premier one matches.

On his team’s start, Emrit said, “The batting, so far, has been exceptional.

"Cariah and Pierre have been doing excellent for us leading the bowling attack. These guys, day in, day out, they put in the work, so it’s not surprising to me that they’re reaping the rewards.”

Emrit, a former TT captain and fast bowler, took over the Red Force reins after former head coach David Furlonge resigned following their CCC victory.

Emrit coached them to his first win as head coach against the Volcanoes and pulled off a battling draw in his second against Hurricanes, courtesy a real fight put on by the Leewards batsmen.

In that match, which ended on February 15, TT posted 529/5 declared, led by Mohammed’s double century and a captain’s knock of 152 from Joshua Da Silva.

In reply, Leewards also showed class with the bat as they were dismissed for 433, guided by a well-worked 220-run partnership from openers Mikyle Louis (110) and Kadeem Henry (100).

Pierre (5/93) and Cariah (5/103) did all the damage with the ball as Leewards trailed by 96 runs. In TT’s second innings, they scored 191/3 on the fourth and final day, guided by another Da Silva (100 not out) century and Cephas Cooper (52), forcing a draw.

Emrit described the Warner Park, St Kitts pitch as “flat” but credited Pierre and Cariah for stellar spells.

“On a flat pitch, the way Cariah bowled (was great), we were speaking about it, and if the pitch was giving any assistance to the bowlers, we probably might have gotten a full result.

“If we had taken our chances as well, there were a few we let go, and that hurt us. We should have gotten them out a lot cheaper, but that’s how cricket goes sometimes.”

And despite the likes of fast bowlers Jayden Seales, Anderson Phillip, Joshua James and spinners Bryan Charles and Vikash Mohan not finishing among the wickets in their last match, Emrit said their contributions still played an important role in setting the stage for Cariah and Pierre’s success.

“A couple of our bowlers didn’t get wickets but the way they carried about themselves and the way the bowled consistently, I still thought it was an all-round performance even though two bowlers got all the wickets, it was a total team effort.

“Khary bowling 50-odd overs, a marathon spell, and Cariah who had a slight injury (stiff neck), but he came out and did what he did, was tremendous. I can guarantee there will be other guys stepping up. It’s just a matter of time you see others reaping the rewards.”

Round four resumes on March 5 with TT versus WI Academy at Coolidge Ground in Antigua, Barbados Pride host CCC at Kensington Oval, Volcanoes meet Hurricanes at Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia while Jamaica Scorpions host Harpy Eagles at Sabina Park.

WI Championship standings

Guyana Harpy Eagles (57.6 pts)

TT Red Force (55.4 pts)

Leewards Hurricanes (50.8 pts)

Barbados Pride (50 pts)

Jamaica Scorpions (33.3 pts)

Windwards Volcanoes (16.8 pts)

CCC (15.2 pts)

WI Academy (12.8 pts)