da spicy bet： Barbados’ déjà vu story of crashing out at the semifinalstage of the Red Stripe Bowl will come to an end today ifSherwin Campbell is serious about his words
Haydn Gill12-Oct-2001Barbados’ déjà vu story of crashing out at the semifinalstage of the Red Stripe Bowl will come to an end today ifSherwin Campbell is serious about his words.And the Barbados captain has never been known to make wildpredictions.But he and his team know that the critical public back homewill want to hear no excuses if they do not overcomeTrinidad and Tobago at the Kaiser Sports Club on the scenicnorth coast of Jamaica.For three successive seasons, Barbados have qualified forthe semifinals and after each match, they had to get on aplane and head back home before the championship final.We’ve been there (semifinals) so many times before and havefaulted at the end, Campbell told WEEKENDSPORT.This year we are going to try hard to go to the final. Mostof the guys are senior players and we’ve been over and overthis too many times. I think we are going to go all the waythis year.The intention is not only to advance to Sunday’s final, butto capture a regional limited-overs title that has eludedBarbados since 1988.They know, however, that Trinidad and Tobago will be nocake-walk with the presence of Brian Lara, Daren Ganga,Mervyn Dillon, Marlon Black and new captain DinanathRamnarine.They are playing well and we cannot under estimate them,Campbell said.Trinidad and Tobago used the same 11 players throughout thepreliminaries in which they maintained a 100 per centwinning record on the way to topping Zone A and manager IanBishop was quietly confident of making their first finalsince 1996.Both teams would fancy themselves. Without taking sides, Iwould say that Trinidad and Tobago have a well-balancedteam, Bishop said.Balance is the key word. We’ve got some batsmen making runs,but we’re quite happy as well to see a balance between ourspin bowlers and our faster bowlers.At the same time, Bishop admitted that Barbados would be athreat.We’re looking forward to a good game of cricket. We’vealways had some good battles against Barbados and I don’tthink this one will be any different.It’s been somewhat of a turn around for Trinidad and Tobagoin the shorter form of the game this year. They made noimpression in the last two seasons when they could not getpast the preliminaries.There has a good deal of planning by the coach. Phil Simmonshas trained the guys well and refined their techniques andmindset, Bishop gave as one of the reasons for their successthis year.Not a single Barbados batsman could manage an aggregate of100 runs in their three preliminary matches in Guyana.The Barbados captain’s three innings brought him 48 runs,but he is in no way bothered by his form.The confidence is there. It’s just a matter of spending somemore time in the middle and everything will just flow fromthere. I am not too much worried about my form at themoment, Campbell said.I have to make that extra effort to concentrate a little bitharder. I have to carry on, not only for the benefit ofmyself, but for the benefit of the team.It’s semifinals and you have to win, no matter who you playagainst. It is matter of going out there and getting the jobdone, Campbell said.Match detailsBarbados v Trinidad and TobagoVenue: Kaiser Sports Club, Discovery BayThe teams:Barbados (from) Sherwin Campbell (captain), AdrianGriffith, Dale Richards, Floyd Reifer, Ryan Hinds, CourtneyBrowne, Ian Bradshaw, Hendy Bryan, Sulieman Benn, PedroCollins, Kurt Wilkinson, Ryan Nurse, Carlo Morris.Trinidad & Tobago (likely) Dinanath Ramnarine(captain), Daren Ganga, Andy Jackson, Lincoln Roberts, BrianLara, Richard Smith, Keno Mason, Dave Mohammed, MervynDillon, Darrell Brown, Marlon Black.Umpires: Steve Bucknor (Jamaica), Eddie Nicholls(Guyana).Match referee: Hugh Perry.Playing times (Jamaica time): 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.;1:45 p.m. to close (scheduled 5:15 p.m.). East Caribbean onehour ahead.