By Prior Beharry
AS the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) are set to take on the Guyana Amazon Warriors (GAW) at the Queen’s Park Oval on Tuesday evening, TKR coach Phil Simmons says the recent close wins by his team have instilled confidence.
Speaking at a press conference at the Hyatt Regency on Monday, Simmons said, “In tournaments, it is nice when you can win close games like that.
“It creates a certain amount of confidence within the team and I am sure we are going to get into a position like that again and we will have the confidence that we have won one like that… it helps.”
He was full in praise for his players specifically Nicholas Pooran.
Simmons said, “All it says to us is somebody is going to put up their hand at different points.
“I think when you look at the team, the number one person you expect to put up their hand is Nicholas (Pooran). He has not (shown) his class yet and still we won three games.”
He said, “So it is nice that people put up their hands in different situations and once you have that in the team, then you have a chance of winning from positions that people don’t believe you can win. Not many people would have believed that we could defend 140, so that is nice for us to have.”
In their previous game, TKR successfully defended 142 against the Jamaica Tallawahs
Caribbean Premier League (CPL) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pete Russell is hoping for an “amazing” atmosphere as the tournament begins its Trinidad leg.
He said, “I think the frustration with St Lucia is we were a bit unlucky with the weather.
“We had great weather everywhere else, St Kitts and Barbados.
“The tournament has really got underway and I think the atmosphere in Barbados was great and we know it is going to be amazing here in Trinidad. Obviously, nothing beats a Trinidad/Guyana game, the first one in Trinidad, so I think tomorrow night is going to be an absolute cracker. Both teams are playing well, so we are looking forward to that. We are very excited about Trinidad.”
CPL also announced a partnership with Guardian Life to distribute 1,400 tickets to games at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.
The tickets will be distributed through the Daren Ganga Foundation, the Samuel Badree Cricket Academy and Secondary Schools Cricket League.
