Da Silva: Red Force batsmen will deliver vs Guyana in title decider

FROM 10 am at the Queen's Park Oval in St Clair on April 9, captain Joshua Da Silva and his TT Red Force team will try to displace leaders and reigning champs Guyana Harpy Eagles when the final round of the 2025 West Indies Regional Four-day Championships bowls off.

The Harpy Eagles, who are chasing their eighth title in ten years, lead the eight-team table with 111.6 points. Red Force, who are trying to land their first regional four-day title since the 2005/06 season, are second on 105.4 points.

In their previous match versus the fifth-placed Jamaica Scorpions at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, the Red Force were hammered by 223 runs – leaving them in a must-win scenario against Guyana.

While the Red Force will be engaged in battle in Trinidad, the third-placed Barbados Pride (100 points) and the fourth-placed Leeward Islands Hurricanes (92.1 points) will have their own clash at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts as they try to sneak an unlikely title win.

Red Force players Jason Mohammed (552 runs) and Khary Pierre (37 wickets) top the respective batting and bowling charts in the ongoing season, with Da Silva fourth on the run-scoring charts with 481 runs.

Da Silva shared the team's mindset during a virtual media interaction with the captains of the top four teams on April 8.

"It's a title that has eluded us for 20 years. For us, it's just about going and playing the good cricket we've been playing all season – barring the last game we've played exceptional cricket," Da Silva said.

"We know this is probably the toughest challenge we've faced in many years, being so close to winning the title. I know we came second in the covid-19 period, but this is the closest we've ever been to having any kind of hand on the trophy. We're not really thinking about that too much."

Against the Scorpions, the Red Force had a woeful batting performance as they made 171 and 165, with Da Silva's first-innings score of 86 being the only score of substance from a TT batsman in the match.

Despite suffering their first defeat of the season at an inopportune time, Da Silva has backed Mohammed and his top order to come good against Guyana.

Mohammed scored centuries in the Red Force's first three matches, including an innings of 204 vs Leewards in a drawn round-three match. However, in the last three rounds, Mohammed has managed 69 runs in five innings.

"It's good to see how Mohammed started. And it's good to see when he wasn't scoring runs that other players put their hands up and we were still able to get big scores and get wins under our belts. It's definitely not a one-man show as you can see," Da Silva said.

"The conversation with him is that we're backing him and we know the experience and talent he has. He's going to come good. We know it because of his experience and what he brings to the table. He loves to play against Guyana as well."

Da Silva also threw his support behind opening batsmen Cephas Cooper and Kamil Pooran, and suggested his team will find back their scoring touch after their struggles against the pink ball in the day/night match with Jamaica.

With the island experiencing rainfall in the last few days, Da Silva is also hoping for favourable conditions as he and his charges try to stop Guyana in their tracks.

"We can't control the weather. God has his plans for us and if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. We need a little more than first-innings points, I believe. I think we will have to go for the outright win in order to overtake Guyana.

"It's going to be a dogfight as well here. Hopefully, rain doesn't affect the game so both of us can have a good game of cricket and the best team comes out on top."

When it comes to one of the things under his team's control, the TT skipper said his team must sharpen up in the field as they would have missed key chances against Jamaica.

Red Force will be without allrounder Yannic Cariah as he suffered a hamstring tear in the last game. However, Da Silva didn't confirm Cariah's replacement or any other adjustments to the squad.

Guyana captain Tevin Imlach, who took Da Silva's place behind the stumps on the Windies Test tour to Pakistan in January, believes his team's execution and planning will help them get the job done in the final round. Imlach has also been in good form with the bat this season, racking up 505 runs, with top-order batsman Kevlon Anderson leading Guyana's charge with 522 runs.

"We've been playing good cricket and it shows because we're at the top of the table. We're very confident. We have the necessary pieces together...if we play good cricket, that will obviously take care of itself. At least that's the way we feel," Imlach said.

Although they have a lead of 6.2 points, Imlach doesn't want his team to be complacent.

"We're going into the game looking to win the match, that's the idea around it. Obviously, getting a first-innings lead or a big first-innings total would be massive in any four-day game and one that's as important as this one."

Imlach said the Guyanese team have been establishing a winning culture over the last ten years and wants them to continue their dominance under his leadership as the franchise develops younger players and help them push for Windies selection.

The winner of the four-day title will receive US$ 250,000, with the second-placed team set to collect US$ 100,000.