Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – The Jamaicans have declared themselves “ready for the fight” when they face defending champions Trinidad & Tobago in what is expected to be an action-packed opening contest in the Caribbean T20 2013.
Jamaican cricketers during a practice session. Photo: WICB Media
Left-arm new ball bowler Krishmar Santokie will be a key man in the Jamaica bowling attack as they look to silence the large crowd expected to support the home team at Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday night. First ball is 8 pm (7 pm Jamaica Time).
“It will be a tough match…but we are all ready for the fight. We are focussed and ready to take on Trinidad in their yard. There won’t be any backing off. We are here to play hard cricket and that’s exactly what we will do. There will be a big crowd … we know it will be ‘hot’ and everyone will be supporting Trinidad, but we have played here before and we know how to play over here,” said the 28-year-old.
“We have set out specific plans for their batting. We know that they like to come hard at you and look to ‘fire’ in the first six overs, that is where they get their momentum. So we will look to limit the scoring in the powerplay overs and keep them in check. If we can keep things tight in that period, that would force them to look at other ways to score and that would create wicket-taking opportunities for us.”
Santokie is known for his skills with the new ball and clever changes of pace at the ‘death’. He holds the record for the most wickets in regional Twenty20 – 33 wickets in 16 matches. Overall in his career, he has taken 51 wickets in 25 matches at an impressive average of just 10.54 runs per wicket. Last year he was brilliant with a hat-trick against the Netherlands.
In addition to Santokie, Jamaica’s bowling attack includes left-arm pacer Sheldon Cotterell; experienced left-arm spinner Nikita Miller and Odean Brown, the big-spinning leg-break bowler. The strength in the squad lies in the allrounders Andre Russell and David Bernard, who can win a match with bat or ball. The batting, however is somewhat inexperienced with the bulk of the runs expected from Nkrumah Bonner, Danza Hyatt and skipper Tamar Lambert.
“I want to continue with my performances for Jamaica. I have had three good years in the Caribbean T20 and my aim is to make it another good year for the fourth. I want to continue to put on a show. The one thing missing for us is the trophy and we will be looking to take it home this time around,” Santokie said.
SQUAD: Tamar Lambert (Captain), David Bernard Jr. (Vice Captain) Nkrumah Bonner, Odean Brown, John Campbell, Sheldon Cotterell, Yannick Elliott, Danza Hyatt, Andre McCarthy, Jamie Merchant, Nikita Miller, Andre Russell, Krishmar Santokie, Aldane Thomas.
Team Management: Donovan Senior (Team Manager), Junior Bennett (Coach), David Bernard Sr. (Trainer)