TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – There will be extra motivation for Trinidad & Tobago Red Force and Guyana Harpy Eagles to play hard in the first semi-final of the West Indies Super50 Cup on Wednesday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad.
Red Force ended the preliminary tournament phase on top of the standings with 49 points and did not lose any of their seven matches, enduring only a washout in their first match. In comparison, Harpy Eagles finished fourth with 34 points, squeaking into the semi-finals ahead of the West Indies Academy by only one point.
Against this backdrop and a 114-run win for Red Force during the prelims at the same venue, the two teams enter this day-night contest, and the home team has been installed as the raging hot favorite to win it all.
For Red Force, there are several reasons for them to come out on top, including reaching the final on home soil, trying to win their 14th title, and giving mercurial off-spinner Sunil Narine a memorable send-off after he announced his retirement from playing international and List A One-day matches this past Sunday.
“I think the tournament has been pretty decent for us so far,” Red Force captain Darren Bravo said. “As a team, we would have put in a lot of work leading up to the tournament, so it’s pleasing to see the performances of everyone.
“As a team, we are quietly confident going into the semi-finals. We know the Harpy Eagles are always a force to reckon with over the years, but we are ready and looking forward to the challenge. I think the belief and togetherness within our dressing room are unique.
“As a team, we are focusing on what we must do and not worrying too much about the opposition. We have been ticking the right boxes and will continue to do so until the very last ball.”
For Harpy Eagles, this semi-final is a chance to prove the loss earlier in the tournament was a blip on the radar, and it will be an essential step towards ending their 18-year title drought.
In addition, the Harpy Eagles are hoping that they could complete the double of the West Indies Championship and Super50 titles, and teams from Guyana could sweep all three major titles in a single calendar year, with the Amazon Warriors franchise having won the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 title this past September.
“We have had our ups and downs,” Harpy Eagles head coach Ryan Hercules said. “We did not see our bating come to the forefront until the last match against the Jamaica Scorpions when it was much needed.
“The most important thing was trying to reach the semi-finals, which we did, and anyone would take that as a plus. We know our batting has not been at its best, and sometimes, some of our ‘death bowling’ – without Romario Shepherd – has let us down.”
He said: “But I am pretty confident knowing that in the last match we played, we had a convincing win against the Scorpions. Some of the guys found some form. Anything is possible once we stick together as a unit, play smartly, and execute.
“It will be about working the match-ups and according to plans that will be key to getting ten wickets and restricting them for as low as possible. In the field, we have to go out there and give it our all from the first ball to the last to set the energy to get ahead and stay ahead. In the batting, it will be about getting decent partnerships and creating the opportunity for our middle order to go there and play some attacking cricket.”
The second semi-final, another day-night contest between Hurricanes and Pride, will be played on Thursday at the same venue, whereas the day-night final will be contested on Saturday.
All two semi-finals and the final start at 1 p.m. local time (Jamaica subtracts 1 hour).
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