TTCB – News

Cricketers start Champions League preparation
July 13, 2011

TRINIDAD and Tobago’s cricketers will step up their preparation in earnest for the upcoming 2011 Champions League tournament with the first in a series of practice matches starting on Saturday (July 16).

The T20 clash which gets underway at 10 am at the National Cricket Centre at Balmain, Couva will involve the top cricketers bidding for places on the team to travel to India for a qualifying tournament to get into the main draw of the Champions League.

Team “A” on Saturday will be captained by regular senior team skipper Daren Ganga and includes hard-hitting batsman William Perkins, promising teenager Kjorn Ottley, allrounders Imran Khan and Samuel Badree, spinner Sunil Narine and fast bowlers Navin Stewart and Atiba Allert.

Top wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin will be at the helm of Team “B” which is strengthened by the inclusion of opening batsman Justin Guillen , allrounders Sherwin Ganga and Rayad Emrit; and spinner Dave Mohammed.

Chairman of the national selectors Dudnath Ramkessoon said on Wednesday that he expects the players to turn in performances that will impress as the fight for places on the T&T team will be very competitive.

Trinidad and Tobago by virtue of winning the 2011 Caribbean T20 Championships have qualified for the Champions League but will have to emerge from a play-off with five other teams for the right to contest for top honours .

T&T last participated in the Champions League in 2009 when captained by Ganga, they defied the odds to reach the final with a series of scintillating performances.

TEAM ‘A’:

K Ottley, W Perkins, D Ganga (captain), A Kanhai, S Goolcharan, I Khan, K Cooper, T Edwards, S Badree, S Narine, N Stewart, A Allert, J Ramdhanie

TEAM ‘B’:

E Lewis, J Guillen, J Mohammed, D Ramdin (captain), M Barclay, Y Cariah, S Ganga, R Emrit, D Mohammed, A Jaggernauth, J Alfred, K Kelly