Khan pushing for renewed success

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Newly re-appointed Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) cricket manager Omar Khan has vowed to return some measure of success to the national side, following a string of recent failures.

Khan, a former West Indies team manager, was recently handed a second stint in charge of T&T, ahead of next month's Caribbean Twenty20 Championship scheduled for Antigua and Barbados.

"I met with the national players today and I have stressed to them that we need 'thinking' cricketers out there representing T&T," Khan said after his first session with the squad last Friday.

"As is normal in life, I think that the players would have relaxed a bit too much over the past year and taken things for granted, and hence paid the price.

"They need to set realistic goals, and in order to attain this, they need to take a professional approach to their cricket. That is another thing that we have to work on, and it is the professionalism within the sport here."

T&T have had several disappointing results in recent competitions. They finished a distant fourth in the first-class championship earlier this year, and now have not won the tournament in four years.

And while they captured one-day titles in 2008 and 2009, their quest for a hat-trick ended meekly in Jamaica this year when they bowed out without even reaching the semi-finals.

Seeking to also repeat as T20 champ-ions, they were soundly beaten by eventual champions Guyana in the semi-finals of the Caribbean T20 earlier this year.

"I have told the guys in no uncertain terms that talent alone cannot win tournaments," Khan pointed out.

"They have talent in abundance, but they need to think through situations that would crop up during the game and move accordingly. I see no reason why we cannot go on and win this upcoming regional T20 cricket tournament.

"None of the teams are ahead of us, and we must go out there and execute the plans set out by the coach."

T&T will do battle in Group B of the January 10-23 tournament alongside Barbados, Leeward Islands, Canada and English county, Hampshire.

'I have told the guys in no uncertain terms that talent alone cannot win tournaments ... . They have talent in abundance but they need to think through situations that would crop-up during the game and move accordingly.'