T&T looking to capitalise on 'dent' in Jamaica confidence

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) captain, Daren Ganga, says his team will be looking to capitalise on a "dent" in Jamaica's confidence, when both meet this weekend at Sabina Park.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Four-day Tournament top-of-the-table clash will see both teams seeking to maximise points, to guarantee themselves of hosting one the tournament's semi-final matches later this month.

Jamaica, who this week narrowly lost first innings points to the Combined Campuses and Colleges (CCC) in their drawn encounter, lead the standings with 39 points, two more than second-place Trinidad and Tobago, who lost outright to the Leeward Islands in their last encounter.

"Jamaica has been playing some good cricket. However, having lost to the CCC in their last game there should be a slight dent in their confidence," Ganga said shortly after his team arrived in the country yesterday.

"With this in mind, we will therefore be looking to capitalise on opportunities that may present itself."

The 32-year-old Ganga has scored a century and two half-centuries at an average of 75 this season, to lie third in the batting aggregate behind Jamaica's Marlon Samuels (86.85) and England Lions' James Taylor (84.20).

Absence

The T&T skipper is expected to again lead Trinidad's charge in the absence of five of their regular starters - the Bravo brothers Dwayne and Darren, Adrian Barath, Ravi Rampaul and Kieron Pollard, who are either injured or representing the West Indies at the on-going ICC World Cup in India.

They will also be missing the services of former West Indies middle-order batsman, Runako Morton, who along with Leewards all-rounder Tonito Willett, were last weekend arrested and charged by Trinidadian police for marijuana possession.

Both players have since been offered bail and are slated to return to court on March 17.

"We have made a few changes to squad in light of losing Runako Morton, in a bid to bolster our batting and as such have added a few new faces, namely openers Tishan Maragh and Nicholas Alexis, and middle-order batsman Jason Mohammed."

Meanwhile, the team's manager, Omar Khan, says the situation regarding Morton has affected his team psychologically.

"It is somewhat of a culture shock and it has affected us psychologically," said Khan. "We are known around the region to be a very disciplined team with high family values and all the players try to live by this. So to see all of this unfolding has been a challenge for the team."

Khan added: "The team has, however, since the incident gathered itself and the hope is that this weekend we will put it together and come out with a positive result against Jamaica."