Source : Trinidad & Tobago Sunday Express
Joshua Da Silva’s itinerary had him listed to be in Barbados on Friday and yesterday, but the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force skipper made it back home ahead of schedule—well ahead of schedule. He made the quick trip to Barbados, led his team to one of their best wins of all-time, and got back home in time to line up for his club Queen’s Park in the ongoing T20 Festival, Friday.
The victory over Barbados Pride at their fortress Kensington Oval—by an innings and 56 runs—was one of the most significant wins in the 130-year history of organised cricket between the two countries. This triumph is sure to be a confidence booster for the Red Force who have kept pace near the top of the points table in this year’s regional four-day first-class tournament. Currently, they are on 101 points from five matches, just 1.6 behind leaders and defending champions Guyana Harpy Eagles.
What brought a smile to Da Silva’s face during and after the performance was the fact that they beat their arch-rivals at their own game. Historically, dating back to the early 1890s, whenever T&T faced Barbados away from home, there was a notion that the visitors were vulnerable to quick bowling on a lively surface. Therefore, the green-top which was presented by the ground staff was expected to intimidate the Red Force. It didn’t and the opposite happened—the Red Force used their own three-man pace force and planning artillery to out-gun the shell-shocked hometown boys.
“We had our plans, which were basic…stick to the basics and ask the right questions of their batters for as long as possible. To be honest, nobody could have actually expected it to go that well. We played to win but to do it in two days at the ‘Mecca” against a Barbados team at full strength with some really good players is a special feeling. It went better than we planned,” Da Silva told Sunday Express.
T&T were exceptional when they bowled out the home side for just 86 in the first innings. The visitors then battled hard for 84 overs to make 263—a lead of 177. It proved too much for the Pride as they were again shot out, this time for 121.
“The win was exceptional, because of what we have done. The support we have from the coaching staff, our head coach Rayad Emrit has given us the license to play the brand of cricket that we see Trinidad and Tobago as. Everyone has contributed and made an impact so far this season,” Da Silva said.
Before the match he did say they would “fight fire with fire” with the inclusion of their three pacers. Jayden Seales was irrepressible and had four wickets in the match. His eight-over spell in the second innings showcased his stamina. Anderson Phillips was bustling and aggressive with match figures of six for 74. The surprise was Joshua James, the 24-year-old who had a career breakthrough in his 11th match.
He returned impressive figures of 7-3-8-3 in the first innings and 12-5-16-3 in the second. The towering Tobagonian bowled some unplayable deliveries—the ‘jaffer” to uproot the stumps of Jonathan Drakes brought back thoughts of the phrase “only God could play that”.
“Jayden and Andy are class and we know what they bring to the table, especially in this format. They have both played Test cricket for the West Indies and always had confidence they would be able to exploit the conditions. James was exceptional. The way he got that ball to ‘talk’ was something that I’m sure he himself did not expect,” said Da Silva, who watched it all from behind the stumps. “Sometimes he asked me what the ball was doing…he was getting it to nip away and also to in-swing which nobody else was getting, and it made him unplayable. I was really happy to see the performance and it showed the depth we have in our bowling attack. I just hope he (James) takes this performance and builds on it.”
The next assignment is a date with the Jamaica Scorpions from April 2-5. This will be a day/night contest using the pink ball at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy. To close out the season they will be at home to host the Harpy Eagles at the Queen’s Park Oval from April 9-12. This is likely to determine the winners of the title; the ones who will take away a first prize purse of US$250,000 and the Headley-Weekes Trophy.