Bidhesi: team will do well
January 2nd 2009

Former T&T middle-order batsman Narine Bidhesi and newly appointed chairman of the senior selection panel is quietly confident that the national cricket team will do well in the upcoming regional four-day tournament.

Bidhesi headed the three-member panel which also included two former national players — Claude Phillip and Alec Burns.

Three newcomers have been included in a 13-man Trinidad & Tobago squad for the opening match of the regional four-day tournament against Barbados, starting next week in Bridgetown.

Former Under-19 batsman Justin Guillen has earned a call up after a tremendous showing in the trial matches and the Stanford Super Series last year, while former West Indies Youth team off-spinner Sunil Narine and fast bowler Atiba Alert, have also been included after a series of impressive performances.

Narine sent a strong signal to selectors when he took all ten wickets in an innings in a trial match recently while Alert has been steady, bowling impressively in the annual North/South match on Wednesday.

“The team is a mixture of youth and experience. The opportunity was there for the younger players to show their worth as the West Indies cricketers are on international duty, also two of the team’s key players — Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Rampaul are on the injured list.

We expect the team to do well, especially that several players are looking for a recall on the West Indies team, including skipper Daren Ganga, batsman Lendl Simmons and spinners Dave Mohammed and Amit Jaggernauth,” Bidhesi said.

Bidhesi admitted that it was a tough decision to leave out talented allrounder Imran Khan from the squad of 13 but said that is a long season and his chance will surely come.

Khan performed well in the annual North/South Gerry Gomez Classic, scoring 96 runs in South’s second innings.

“ It was a tough decision to leave out Imran (Khan) but at the end of the day, opportunities will be there for him and others , since it is a long season. Also Amit Jaggernauth has a niggle on his right-arm and that it is a slight concern for us,” Bidhesi added.

The team will train at the Oval on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will leave for Barbados on Tuesday.