Source: Saturday Express
As the countdown to the CG United Super50 Cup enters its final days, Trinidad and Tobago Red Force assistant coach Gibran Mohammed said the home team is fully fit, energised, and primed to launch a strong challenge for the title. The tournament, to be staged entirely in Trinidad, bowls off next Wednesday.
Speaking following the team’s training session at the National Cricket Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva, yesterday, Mohammed confirmed that the Red Force have now entered the final phase of their build-up, with their competitive schedule set to begin with a fixture against Barbados Pride at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground at UWI SPEC, St Augustine, on Wednesday.
T&T’s preparations began with the four-team TTCB 50-Over Cup last month and continued with trial matches, followed by practice games earlier this month, before engaging in focused training sessions this past week.
T&T will continue their preparations with “light training sessions” on Monday and Tuesday before their opening match. “Everything is more or less organised already,” Mohammed said.
“We had a good block of work this week, practising almost every day, and I think we got through most of what we needed to get done,” the former T&T wicketkeeper added.
He also noted that the players will get some downtime over the weekend to ensure they remain fresh for what will be a compact, high-intensity tournament. “It’s basically one day on, one day off when the tournament starts, so we want the guys mentally and physically right,” he explained.
The Red Force will move into their tournament camp on Tuesday, the day before their opening match. That session is expected to be a light morning workout.
Crucially for the Red Force, the assistant coach reported a clean bill of health throughout the squad. Concerns around Joshua James and Joshua Da Silva, both of whom were being monitored recently, have been put to rest.
“Everybody is ready and raring to go,” Mohammed assured. “James is 100% now –firing on all cylinders. It’s just about managing his workload and helping him look after himself but he knows what is needed and how to handle his workload. And Da Silva is back up to full 100% as well.”
“We’re in a good place,” Mohammed said. “Now it’s just to stay sharp and hit the ground running when the tournament starts.”