Davis wants fast start in regional Under-17 cricket

TT Under-17 cricket coach Gregory Davis, wants his team to come out the blocks quickly in the Cricket West Indies Regional Under-17 50-over Tournament, as a poor start in the short tournament will see the team fail to defend the title.

The tournament, which will be held in TT from July 10 to 17, will be played in a round robin format with each team playing five matches in eight days. Any team that starts the tournament slowly will be out of contention to win the crown. TT will open their defence of the crown against Barbados at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.

Davis, talking about the importance of a strong start said, "You definitely want to come into the tournament with a strong first game that is important."

There has been a lot of rain in TT recently, and Davis knows the weather may also affect the tournament. "A factor now that we are seeing in the last week in Trinidad is the rain, so that is a big factor as well. (However) the main thing is a good start to the tournament which might set the trend for the rest of the series," Davis said.

The Under-17 coach is uncertain how high TT will finish in the tournament, but knows the team is preparing well.

Davis said, "It is hard to determine how well we will do in a tournament when you have not seen the rest of the teams. All we can really judge is your preparedness. We had a good programme, with a few games that were rained out which we should have gotten but unfortunately we didn't. Most of the guys will be able to perform at their best or close to their best."

Davis says the national team has an all-round team, but the TT bowlers may prove to be the difference. "The team's strength may weigh a little heavier on the bowling side, but I think it is a well balanced team. Once the batsmen come out and perform (we should compete at a high level) because we have batting right down to number 11 hence the reason of the balance."

Davis says fast bowler Jayden Seales and spinners Nicholas Ali and Sameer Ali will lead the bowling attack. Some of the batsmen expected to the lead from the front are Tariq Mohammed, Leonardo Julien and Rivaldo Ramlogan. The team will be captained by Antonio Gomez and managed by Surujdath Mahabir.

TT Under-17 Squad

Antonio Gomez (captain), Ryan Bandoo, Leonardo Julien, Rivaldo Ramlogan, Darren Samlal, Anderson Mahase, Nicholas Ali, Leon Basanoo, Sameer Ali, Tariq Mohammed, Isaiah Gomez, Aaron Bankey, Jayden Seales, Vanir Maharaj, Surujdath Mahabir (manager), Gregory Davis (coach)

FIXTURES (All matches start at 9.30 am)

July 10

TT vs Barbados, Brian Lara Stadium

Guyana vs Windwards, National Cricket Centre (NCC)

Leewards vs Jamaica, Gilbert Park

July 12

Windwards vs Barbados, Gilbert Park

TT vs Jamaica, NCC

Leewards vs Guyana, Brian Lara Stadium

July 14

Barbados vs Jamaica, Brian Lara Stadium

Windwards vs Leewards, NCC

TT vs Guyana, Gilbert Park

July 16

Leewards vs Barbados, NCC

Guyana vs Jamaica, Gilbert Park

TT vs Windwards, Brian Lara Stadium

July 17

Guyana vs Barbados, NCC

TT vs Leewards, Gilbert Park

Jamaica vs Windwards, Brian Lara Stadium