Tony Becca
THE REGIONAL Carib Beer cricket series takes the spotlight once again with the top four teams from the league matches for the Cup contesting the semi-finals of the Challenge Shield starting today.
Winners of the Cup after a close battle with Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago host fourth-placed the Windward Islands at Guaracara Park, and second-placed Barbados entertain third-placed Guyana at Carlton in what, despite the results of their earlier meetings and the absence of some key players, could
be two close and exciting encounters.
In the league section of the series, completed two months ago, Trinidad and Tobago, playing at home at Shaw Park in Tobago, lost by 84 runs to the Windward Islands in a low-scoring affair, and Guyana, also playing at home at Everest, dropped first innings points to Barbados in a relatively high-scoring match.
This time around, however, it could be a different story in both matches.
DWAYNE BRAVO
Although they will be without Brian Lara, and even though, if he does play, Dwayne Bravo will do so as a batsman only, Trinidad and Tobago are bubbling with confidence after winning the Cup - their first major title in 21 years.
On top of that, their batting line-up includes Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Gregory Mahabir, Tishan Maraj, Denesh Ramdin and Richard Kelly; their bowling attack includes pacers Mervyn Dillon, Reyal Emrit and Kelly, left-arm spinner Dave Mohammed and off-spinner Amit Jaggernauth, and that combination could be and should be too good for the Windward Islands - and especially so at Guaracara Park.
FORMIDABLE TOTAL
What promises to make that match close and exciting, however, is that although the Windward Islands' batting, headed by Devon Smith, Craig Emmanuel, Alvin La Feuille, Sergio Fedee, Junior Murray, Daren Sammy and possibly Romel Currency, is hardly likely to post a formidable total, their bowling of pacers Deighton Butler, Sammy and Kenroy Peters, leg-spinner Rawl Lewis and off-spinner Shane Shilling-ford can be dangerous, and could make life difficult for Ganga and company.
After dropping first innings points at home last time out, Guyana should be no problem for Barbados - especially as they will be without top batsmen Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
In Krishna Arjune, Narsingh Deonarine, Sewnarine Chatter-goon and Travis Dowlin, however, they possess some solid batsmen, in Leon Johnson they have one good young one, and their attack of pacers Reon King and Esuan Crandon, right-arm leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo and left-arm spinner Neil McGarrell is good enough, on their day, to deal with the likes of Dale Richards, Kurt Wilkinson, Ryan Hinds, the ageing Floyd Reifer, and Alcindo Holder.
FAST BOWLING
The problem which Guyana face is that their batsmen, generally, are suspect against fast bowling, and that although the West Indies selectors have asked the Barbados selectors to rest Fidel Edwards, with Ian Bradshaw and Tino Best around, with Corey Collymore and Pedro Collins reported as fit and ready for action, they are likely to be up against four pacers and that could be intimidating - especially at Carlton.
With Chanderpaul and Lara, the injured Sarwan and possibly Edwards out of action, the semi-finals will be short of a few of the region's top players, and based on inconsistency of the batsmen during the league, based on so many low scores during the league, it could be a disappointing four days in Bridgetown and in South Trinidad.
It could, however, be four days of close and exciting cricket, and hopefully, after the disappointment in the change in the format of the competition, the late start, the stops and starts and the long intervals between matches, that is what it will be.
